Mama Mamiya ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, the last break before that long, slow slog to Christmas. The date means something else to me now because, six years ago this weekend, I photographed the last wedding I would ever shoot before I moved to France. It began at a church in Altrincham and moved to a reception in Manchester city centre, and I remember sitting at a roof-top bar whilst I waited for the meal to finish, reflecting that I would probably never do anything like that again ..

The thing is, I thought I'd miss it like hell. After all, I'd concentrated on wedding photography for seventeen years up to that date. But the surprising thing is, I didn't. Once I'd got into the swing of life in France, I never gave wedding photography a second thought. (In fact, I've even turned down the offer of shooting a couple over here). Those days have gone. I'm a different 'me' now. A retired 'me', a more relaxed 'me', a 'me' that doesn't have to work all the hours God gives me just to maintain a presence in a completely flooded and clichéd market. So never again will you see me at Peckforton Castle, up a ladder with a Mamiya RZ67 Pro strapped to the top, shooting a mere twelve frames before I had to change the film ..

Come to think of it, they were bloody great, those days ..   

Concentrate! ..

Moving house! I can't see it ever happening for me! It would take so long for me to go through all my 'stuff' that I'd forget why I was trying to clear it all out in the first place! Take this morning, for instance. All I needed to do was find one old Wedding photograph to add to my new revamped website. A ten minute job! Ha! I have been so side-tracked! I've looked through 1970s diaries, old programmes and exhibition flyers, stored negatives, autograph books, boxes of god-knows-what .. my old cub-scout necker, anyone? - and a heap of archive CDs. You'll be pleased to know I did actually find what I was looking for - and I've already added it to the new website of Manchester Wedding Photography - but I also dug out some really cool 'old' shots of yours truly at work! I say 'old' .. the CD I pulled this off was dated 2004 .. yet look at it! Here I am at Peckforton Castle, still using my lovely Mamiya RZ67 camera to shoot this Wedding scene and yes, I did used to hike it up a ladder and tie it to the top rung to keep it steady!..

I actually met a 'photographer' on a job last week who'd never heard of an RZ! Imagine not knowing of such a wonderful machine! Imagine never having used film! And yet this guy gives 'lessons'! (I looked him up on his website!)  How can a guy who's only been a photographer for two years give lessons? What experience could he impart to an eager young snapper?  How can ...  Oh, I'm getting side-tracked again ..

What I did at the weekend...

The sun was out yesterday and so were the snowdrops, looking lovely in the park. The sight brought out the photography enthusiasts, too .. although I'm not so sure about one couple I saw who both had huge tripods with little compact cameras stuck on top - in that light! They either had the DTs from Saturday night or shot everything at f22! Anyway, I was in the park to shoot an engagement portrait for Laura and Chris, which they'll use as a Signing Board at their Wedding at Thornton Hall Hotel in April. Can't wait to get cracking on their Big Day!..

I was on the verge of selling my old Mamiya RZ 67 gear this weekend. It's a medium-format camera that I used to use for Weddings and magazine shoots, but I haven't used any of it for at least five or six years. I have bodies, backs, lenses, viewfinders .. the works! Trouble was, I looked at the prices the gear's going for online, and put it all straight back in the case. I couldn't insult such fantastic equipment by letting it go for such painfully low return. I now have some of the most expensive ornaments known to mankind and, unless someone can lend me £25K for a digital back, it's likely to stay that way for a very long time!

I hope Her Maj is feeling a little better after her bout of Gastroenteritis. I remember back in the 90s when I got the commission to shoot her at a three-day event in Hyde Park and, naturally, the adrenalin was a' flowin'! "Don't be nervous.." my old Dad told me "She's just a normal person like the rest of us. Try to imagine her on the toilet!..."

On that note ...