I prefer taking photos at times when there is no one else around. I like the early morning when I can look for subjects without other people wondering why I am loitering around.

I liked the shapes of the bicycle wheels overlapping against the lines of the fence. I chose to have the rest of the street out of focus but I imagine that it could have looked fine with the background able to be seen.

This was taken with the Bronica SQ-A. I think I have managed to get the exposure right and I like the clean, white tones. I think you can see the detail in the old building. I like the clear sky with no clouds as the building stands out against the sky. This was from my first ever roll of medium format film, using 400 ASA film – so I was expecting there to be some grain in the image. I was looking to see how grainy it would be and I like the look of this film.

This is my Bronica SQ-A medium format film camera, which I have just started using. I like the simplicity of setting the shutter speed from a small selection and having to meter using an external meter. I’m not sure exactly what I am doing with it yet and considering I am also trying to learn how to develop the film myself, I really don’t know how good the results are going to be.

I think there are two main problems that I will have to deal with. Firstly, I will need to get used to the depth of field. With my first two rolls of film, I have ended up opening the aperture too wide and blurring the background far too much. I will also have to pick my film more carefully to match the conditions because there is no faster shutter than 1/500th and I found that I was looking for a faster shutter than this.

I think the square format is more versatile than I thought it would be and going back to a ‘normal’ camera might feel weird after using the Bronica.

This is a picture taken with a Nikon F5 film camera, using HP5+ and scanned using an Epson V550. This was my first attempt at scanning and also the first roll of film taken with the F5. I took a roll using the FM and the F5 and found both cameras to work well. I think I might prefer focusing manually with the FM.

I have a Nikon FM, which I did not know how to use one little bit. I read, experimented and took some photos to check that it worked. I find taking photos with this film camera to be liberating compared to using a digital camera. I wish that there was a digital camera with exactly the same controls as on the FM – and that you had to just work within the limitations of the camera. I find focusing manually to be easy. I realise that I take photos of inanimate objects and so manual focusing suits me. Using precisely three controls, plus focusing the lens, allows me to think about developing my composition. I chose Ilford HP5+ because I liked the idea of grain in the pictures. If the picture is too smooth and un-filmlike then maybe there wouldn’t be any point in taking pictures on film. Scanning the developed film takes time but to my untrained eye the scans look good.