The Shoot Candids
Gallery
Gallery
A little bit about Alan Skyrme
| Who is behind Shoot Candids? A piece of history ... when I was about 14 years old I was given a Brownie Box camera. I know a lot of photographers like to quote the fact that they started their photographic careers with one of those mock-leather clad things ... or, worse, a more recent pretentious plastic version. Sorry, but not for me! I am not one of those - though I may have foolishly written some rubbish along those lines in a profile somewhere (Arrrgh!!!). I mention this only because it propelled me from expressing my art through pencils, paper and paintbrushes to doing this with a camera film and hours in a darkroom. In reality, regarding the Brownie, I have to state honestly (1) that there was no way that I, as a precocious teenager at that time, was going to be seen dead out and about with the thing (2) I was very grateful to my aunt (bless her) for giving the camera to me so that I could take it apart and work out the basics of photography (3) it had the effect of helping me develop my scientific mind and artistic eye in the direction of photography and (4) I decided that I could not embark on a life of photography with anything less than a (state-of-theart at that time) Nikon Photomic F .... which is what I did (as soon as I had paid my tailors bills, bought my first Rolex, had collected a decent range of shoes to match my Saville Row suits, Austin Reed shirts and assorted Ferragamo neckwear!) Priorities, priorities!! Still we get there in the end. We must plan our lives, or at least have an idea of the direction we want to head in. Now the present. Tastes change. My taste in suits moved from Saville Row to Armani though is currently in danger of returning to lower Piccadilly! Austin Reed shirts are still in my humble opinion the best but I am more inclined to wear tee-shirts. I am bored of Ferragamo ties - they just seem too much the same (and I seem to have given away more that I have bought recently). I spend a bit of time in the jungle, so I have a collection of camo tee-shirts and long sleeved shirts that I wear in the vain hope of keeping mosquitoes at bay. I have fed mosquitoes on 5 continents! But Nikon .... I almost doubted them when I moved from film to digital a few years ago. But Nikon is still IMHO the best in its category. The underlying focus of Alan Stanley Skyrme - Hunter / Gatherer / Photographer - is in the quest for quality. If I dress up, I feel comfortable in smart clothes that are designed with quality in mind. Ditto with accessories. My first Rolex is still working after almost 40 years. Ditto with the photo equipment I work with. There is always a nagging doubt with inferior quality stuff that it may let one down - so why bother cost-cutting! Too much heart-ache - and commercial risk. 2009 and the future. I will continue to travel, though at times I feel homeless! I am a torn person ... I feel in need of a fixed base, but the nomad in me is destined to travel. Perhaps a tent at Heathrow will suit me best! |
Alan Skyrme's photographic equipment
Exclusively Nikon!
I need to feel confident that wherever I am, in the jungle, in the street, or in the studio, that my image capturing equipment will not
let me down. I bought my first Nikon, an F2 Photomic, in 1972 and used it extensively in the deserts of Oman and the Emirates.
Unfortunately I dropped it in the Gulf of Oman in 1978. Not deep sea-proof! Not clever!!
As a replacement I bought an F2AS that I still use, and since then I have added the F5, F6, D1X, D200, D2x and now the D3X to my stable ... plus
a multitude of Nikon lenses, flashes and other accessories - all of which gets used and abused.
Completing (but by no means concluding) the suite of Nikon digital imaging equipment is the top of the range SuperCoolscan LS9000
that ensures 35mm and medium format films are converted to high quality digital format.
I have taken a decision to stay at the leading edge of camera development and have just bought the the D3x (the D3 didn't suit my business needs)
on one of my regular visits to Gray's of Westminster .... a shop that I cannot recommend enough.
If you want the kind of service of which legends are made ... visit Gray's of Westminster!!!
My equipment has withstood some heavy beating in extreme location and weather conditions. Sturdy stuff! Just what I need to ensure I keep control
of my image capturing knowing that the reliability of my equipment is not ever in doubt. Nikon IS reliable.
Exclusively Nikon!
I need to feel confident that wherever I am, in the jungle, in the street, or in the studio, that my image capturing equipment will not
let me down. I bought my first Nikon, an F2 Photomic, in 1972 and used it extensively in the deserts of Oman and the Emirates.
Unfortunately I dropped it in the Gulf of Oman in 1978. Not deep sea-proof! Not clever!!
As a replacement I bought an F2AS that I still use, and since then I have added the F5, F6, D1X, D200, D2x and now the D3X to my stable ... plus
a multitude of Nikon lenses, flashes and other accessories - all of which gets used and abused.
Completing (but by no means concluding) the suite of Nikon digital imaging equipment is the top of the range SuperCoolscan LS9000
that ensures 35mm and medium format films are converted to high quality digital format.
I have taken a decision to stay at the leading edge of camera development and have just bought the the D3x (the D3 didn't suit my business needs)
on one of my regular visits to Gray's of Westminster .... a shop that I cannot recommend enough.
If you want the kind of service of which legends are made ... visit Gray's of Westminster!!!
My equipment has withstood some heavy beating in extreme location and weather conditions. Sturdy stuff! Just what I need to ensure I keep control
of my image capturing knowing that the reliability of my equipment is not ever in doubt. Nikon IS reliable.
All text and images on this site are protected by various national and international copyright laws. Theft of any images will be treated appropriately.
Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Stanley Skyrme
Who is behind
Shoot Candids?
Shoot Candids?
Check these out - I will update them
annually. See how I grow!
annually. See how I grow!
. a y m o t a y
A l a n S k y r m e P h o t o g r a p h y
