I live in
Blythe Bridge, a village on the edge of the Staffordshire
Moorlands.I have been interested in photography since I was
‘relieved’ of my job with British Coal back in 1988 and
found I
needed something to occupy my time.
I had dabbled a little with photography in
my work with the safety department,
recording underground incidents using only
a cap-lamp for illumination as flash was
forbidden. I soon realised I had an affinity
for black and white photographs, they seem
to say much more than colour and allowed
me to express my personal feelings for a
scene when seeing it through the viewfinder.
I
started printing as many others before me
had done, printing in the bathroom at home
where there was a ready water supply but
entirely impractical, before I fitted out a spare bedroom as my darkroom
and spent
the next 19 years or so turning out many hundreds of prints
which
I entered in exhibitions world-wide, national and domestic,
with
some
being reproduced in books and magazines.
My photographic honours
include LRPS, EFIAP, CPAGB and BPE3*
and I have held several exhibitions of my work at various venues
throughout the Midlands area as well as conducting photography
workshops at Keele University.
Sadly, I have
now abandoned my darkroom for digital printing which I
find very convenient but, sometimes I miss the ‘hands-on’
feel and
quality of a monochrome print which has been produced in the
‘wet’
darkroom.
Nevertheless,
I am still as enthusiastic about printing monochrome
images whichever the method of production.
Purchase
of prints can be arranged or just send me your comments
by contacting me via either email at
alanbrownphotos@yahoo.co.uk
or phone 01782 392403. Mobile: 07779534422.