Steam Porfolio

lan Krause

KENTON
MIDDLESEX

I started railway photography in 1959 at the tender age of 11; however it was not until 1961 that I began to take a serious interest in the subject, and obtained a cheap Japanese 35mm camera. However, I was not satisfied by the limitations of the negative format and bought instead a secondhand Agfa Isolette in 1963. Schoolwork naturally tended to curb my activities, but I managed to cover a great deal of the country during these years. By 1966 the Agfa was beginning to show signs of age so I moved on to a Rolleicord VA, which has given trouble-free service and excellent definition. I have also used a Praktica Nova with 105mm and 300mm lenses which supplement the Rollei, providing a different aspect for many shots.

At present I am on a three-year full time course at the Harrow School of Photography, which has brought a wider knowledge of camera and processing techniques; this in turn has led me to take a wider look at the field of railway photography. I prefer the industrial scene - Tyneside, the West Riding, and Lancashire for example - but I am equally happy sunning myself in the Lune Gorge (not on the Shap Wells mound) or on the Continent. But, above all, I find the most enjoyable part is the social life which the "after hours" work brings - the Newcastle Brown Ale at the Ribblehead Inn or the Old George in Newcastle, conferences in the street, at Plymouth or Leeds, at 5 in the morning, refreshment at Charnock Richard on the burn-up on the M6, and, most of all, the personalities who bring the laughs to railway photography.