My first photographs [7]

In 1960, or more probably 1961, I was given my first camera as a birthday present. This was a Welsh-built Purma made out of bakelite. It had three shutter speeds defined as slow, medium and fast and shutter sped was controlled by how you held the camera, upright one way for slow, horizontal for medium and upright the other way for fast. The shutter was a weighted focal plane and one had to be careful in fast mode not to allow the camera to jolt when the the shutter fired with a massive clunk. The film used was 127 size in square format. I'm not 100% sure that the photos in this set are of my first film, but certainly from the first few films I ever took. As mentioned, date uncertain but more probably 1961 when I would have been 12 years of age.

 

 

My brother Geoff attempting to squeeze my sister Sheila off the swing we had in our front garden. The swing is probably the star in this photograph it was a wonderful plaything to have. The sold hanging rods were a bit strange to get used to but once mastered swinging was great fun. Constructed from two A-frames the swing also doubled as a den, a few planks across the middle and a tarpaulin or old sheet thrown over the top and you had an elevated camp which provided hours of extra amusement. The swing moved with us to a new house in 1963 and was still in the garden a decade or more later until it went to live with another family for years more childhood entertainment.

Done