Antony Marlow LRPS.

Brunel's Legacy.

Tony is a member of Bookham Camera Club in Surrey, and an exponent of traditional darkroom work. However he has recently upgraded his computer, and is becoming proficient in the intricacies of digital scanning. He still prefers to produce his prints by traditional methods, but is keeping an open mind with regard to the future. He says: "I'm trying to keep my Club's digital wiz kids at bay, they deride me as 'someone of the night', meddling with smelly old chemicals. So in order to keep ahead for a bit longer I read every book on monochrome printing, seeking the magic formula. Still a long way to go, but my bookshelf guru, Tim Rudman is guiding me. My equipment is Pentax MZ 3 & ME super cameras with Pentax 24mm, and 43mm lens, plus an old 135mm Tamron lens. I feel prime lens offer better quality than zoom lenses, and I do use a tripod whenever I can. For a slow film I am settled on FP4 rated at 80 ISO developed in Rodinal 1:50. I am still trying 400 ISO combinations."

This is the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which crosses the river Avon gorge. The light was superb, perhaps too bright, but the negative, printed quite easily with just a bit of tweaking with the dodger and burning. I do wonder if there is too much tree, but thought there must have been a tree preservation order, so I put my axe away. With structures like these you can only wonder at the genius of Brunel. Camera:- MZ 3, 43mm lens, orange filter. Film:- Kodak Tri X pyro developer