Spoff’s Photography (The early days)

The blog is called SpofforthPhotography so I really should really have it live up to it’s name and do a photography blog!

One of my main regrets is not doing photography at A level, instead I drank and slept through eighteen months of a Business GNVQ before leaving without any qualifications and getting a job in… a camera shop!

I would like to say I was a superb camera salesman at BentleyFilms, who were based in the centre of Leeds at the time, but in reality I was little more than a tea boy and shelf duster! But for £7,777 a year what did they expect…

Although I was no good in the retail sector I did learn a fair bit about photography and bought my first SLR, A Yashica 108MP (second one down). Boy did that thing weigh a tonne but I loved to use it and took it all over the place. Including the South of France when I was seventeen. You’ll have to wait for them pictures though, that’s a blog post itself, and I’ve not scanned the pictures in yet!

These were taken around 1997/8 and I remember quickly discovering I much preferred photographing ‘things’ rather than people, one of my first trips out was to St Mary’s Church, at Whitkirk, where I played with the long lens and then to the grounds at Temple Newsham and finally some that were taken in the fields round the back of my parents house.

I should really take my camera round there again and see how it has changed in the years since. I could perhaps take my son and see how he fairs with an old compact camera I have given him.

Hmmm, he’s seven years old and will probably get better pictures than me. That would do nothing for my confidence so maybe not!!!