Lunch break

Sheerness on Sea, England. 2024

Lunch break

Leica M-P (Typ240) with the Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH lens and a B+W ND filter.

Scouting for girls

Margate, England. 2022

Scouting for girls

Taken with my Leica M-P (Typ240) and the Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 II VM lens.

Debate

Maidstone, England 2021

Debate

Leica M-P (Typ 240) with the Summicron 35mm ASPH lens.

Grandfathers tools

I haven’t had much chance to get out and about last few days. So I’ve been thinking about maybe doing a little still life digital image like the picture I shot of my late father’s photo album picture Dad’s photographic life

After my father’s pasting I inherited all of the tools from his shed, many from both of my Grandfathers. Among these items are many old tins and cardboard boxes full of nails, screws and tacks of all sizes. I been fascinated by many of these old tins, some must be over 60 or 70 years old. Unfortunately some of these old tobacco tins have become so rusty or worn off the original painted labels have become unreadable. Along with many of his old hand tools, I liked the idea of a collage of his few belongs I possess as a still life.

Grandfathers tools

These few tins are from my late Mother’s father, one Reginald Norman who pasted away before I was born in 1959. My Grandmother Elsie told me he died from complications from Emphysema and this was blamed on his smoking habit. He had health issues all his life and interesting to see the asthma, throat lozenges and ‘Potter’s Asthma smoking mixture’ tins which he had obviously been using due to his ill health. Sadly we now know it wasn’t Emphysema that caused his demise but Asbestosis.

I took this colour image of the tins give you all an idea what these items look like today. Amazingly the steel screws in the foreground are in great condition for their age.

Before and after the Second World War, Reginald was a plumber by trade and in those days they thought nothing about cutting up asbestos pipe lagging by hand, so you can imagine the exposure to the asbestos fibres he must had in lofts, cupboards and cellars while carrying out his work. Add to this during the war he was working in North London repairing, maintaining Army trucks and mobile canteens. Twice he was blown across the workshop floor by German bombs during the Blitz.

Image taken with LED bulb lighting the subject and daylight from shed window behind. B&W 2 x neutral density filter used for both images.

Leica M-P (Typ 240) with the Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH lens.

Reginald Arthur Norman
1912 – 1959