Keep it quiet
aul Wilkinson’s ‘Choose your words with care’ article (N-photo 141, September 2022) resonated with me as I experienced a similar event many years ago. I’m approaching 50 and, like many of your readers, I got my first camera in my early teens as a Christmas present. I got a Saturday job in a camera shop which gave us a few perks – seeing new kit, hearing about upcoming launches etc… I was given 10 Fuji Velvia 35mm E6 rolls to test before the launch. I was told to ‘keep it quiet’ and return them to the Fuji sales rep for processing. I was so excited, a 16-year-old with an exclusive opportunity.
On a family holiday to Tenerife, I took amazing rocky landscape shots, local scenery and sunsets with my basic kit, a Nikon FM. As expected, the results were surprising – Velvia gave such colour saturation it was a ‘new era’ as it was the latest rival to Kodachrome.
I entered a couple of mounted slides into the local camera club monthly competition. I’d only been a member for a few weeks and, as a nervous teen, I sat in the room looking at the entries and hearing the praise and comments. When my slides were projected, there were a few oohs and aahs – shortlived as the elderly ‘senior’ judge shook his head. He rambled on about “the unnecessary use of filters” and “messing with the E6 process”. He said the slides “shouldn’t have been allowed into the room – let alone the competition”.
I was shocked. Shyness meant that I collected my slides and left – never going back. I did not have the courage or life experience to discuss this with him – nor could I ‘spill the beans’ about the new film that I’d used! I walked home, upset and annoyed. Paul’s article reminded me of this.
I continued to work in the industry at weddings and corporate events, before ending up as a photographer for the Fire & Rescue Service. I wanted to say to anyone reading this – listen to the criticism and learn from it – but sometimes in life others don’t know best, especially when they don’t know all the facts.
Jay Hounsell
Thanks for sharing, Jay. Although it was undoubtedly a crushing experience at the time, you’ve clearly risen above it and enjoyed a long-lasting and fulfilling photographic career.