Bristol ballon fiesta -Clifton suspension bridge

I've spent the last 7 years enjoying exploring the capabilities of antique cameras and historical process to create wonderfully pleasing images. Follow links above or from the top menu to explore the different types of image making I am working with. My Instagram feed shows my latest work and my blog has archived information.
If you’d like to collaborate, book a talk for your camera club or simply have a question for me, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

NEW! - buy my work through 'Bath Contemporary Artists Fair' website

Up-coming presentations:

Clevedon Art Club, Clevedon School: 10-02-2026

Forest of Dean Camera Club: 23-03-2026

Stroud Camera Club: 10-10-2026

Backwell Camera Club: 03-12-2026

Cymru Monochrome Group: 16-08-2027 - Morriston, Swansea:

Exhibiting:

Saturday 17th January to 7th March 2026- Studio3 at Clevedon Craft Centre.

"Meet the artist (me!)” - Sunday 8th Feb 11-4, Saturday 21st Feb 11-4

Friday 8th May to 3rd July 2026 - Studio3 at Clevedon Craft Centre.

Bath Contemporary Artists Fair

April 12th 2026

May 10th 2026

June 14th 2026

Artist statement:

What started off as an experiment; “Can I make a photograph with this 100-year old camera?” has become a passion for creating hand-crafted pictures that are more about the sense of the subject or place, than their literal representation. The discovery of the work of early photographers, their techniques and aesthetics has encouraged me to develop not only my skills but my “eye”. Each new (to me) antique camera, film format and historical printing technology prompts me to look at subjects and scenes with a different eye; one that exploits the uniqueness of each of those.

Pristinely clear images from our modern cameras and phones can be scanned, appraised, re-tweeted or ignored and then forgotten. But an image that draws you to explore, think, imagine, can create and deposit something of value in us, that will last.

To re-work the words of Edgar Degas;

A photograph requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy, some ambiguity.

Even at its best, life isn’t always perfect and photographs that are manipulated to say otherwise are dishonest. I like to keep, in my images, the honesty of the imperfect old camera lenses, the light leaks in the old bellows and the marks from the hand-made processing. This honesty adds to the quality of the images that give me most pleasure.

Antique cameras and historical processes are my tools to achieve this.
Simon Williams 2026

Cleeve Abbey. Taken with 1910 Sanderson Full Plate camera onto XRay film. Printed in 5 layers of “Printmakers Friend” a pigmented photopolymer onto Bergger Cot320 paper. The same process as for gum bichromate printing but without the hazards of using chromate chemistry. This is my first complete image after a week of learning, exploring and testing the technique and materials. #pictorialist #gumbichromate @printmakers_friend #alternativephotography

So privileged that this natural spectacle is happening right on my doorstep. Awesome display from the dunlin at high tide today! Mesmerising murmurations from tens of thousands of birds. #murmuration #loveclevedon

All set up for my new exhibition at Studio3 in Clevedon, Somerset.
Featuring recent work with the 1900s Thornton Pickard Enlarger and Sepia toning.
Open every day and I am doing a “meet the artist” on Sunday 8th Feb 11-4 or Saturday 21st Feb 10-4.
Featuring contemporary fine art photography with large format antique cameras and historical processes.

Exciting to try a new process - Speia toning. This is the bleaching stage to oxidise the silver - this process and its result will be shared at my upcoming talks: Clevedon Art Club, Clevedon School: 10-02-2026
Forest of Dean Camera Club: 23-03-2026
Stroud Camera Club: 10-10-2026
Backwell Camera Club: 03-12-2026 @clevedon_art_club @forest_of_dean_camera_club @stroudcameraclub @backwellcameraclub #alternativephotographicprocess #largeformatphotography

Have you explored the National Trust’s Padley Gorge in The Peak District National Park, Derbyshire? Plenty of water running through the gorge and woodland. Photographed here with my 1900s wood & brass bellows camera onto 5x7” film. Very low light menat long exposures. The fuji film is very high contrast. #peakdistrictnationalpark #peakdistrictphotographer #longexposurephotography #largeformat #nationaltrust

Back to #rspb ham Wall #starling morning lift off to try again with the old camera - left the phone running to record the event too - overhead today!

Its challenging to capture the morning starling lift-off at @RSPB #hamwall With low light pre-sun-rise that is changing quickly. My panoramic shot came out best. I gave the plate camera too long an exposure to capture the movement of the starlings clearly - even though it was correctly exposed at f8 and ISO100 for the light conditions. I need to adapt a lens board to fit my F4.5 Rodenstock lens to my Thornton Pickard plate camera - and try again

Excellent @clevedon #carsandcoffee today with good showing of early 1900s motorbikes #japmotorcycles #ajsmotorcycles phtotographed with a camera contemporary with the bikes - a #houghtonvicto halfplate #largeformatcamera

Taking the heavy full-plate 1920s Sanderson field camera into a … field! Deer leap above Wells in Somerset.
Shooting on #largeformat Xray Film, vintage dry glass plates and some dry glass plates I have made myself from the raw chemicals.
Most of these images are taken with the large “Air Ministries” lens a Dallmeyer Pentac F2.9.
Only I brought the wrong tripod for the camera so have to rest the camera on my camera bag or a conveniently placed ant-mound (dormant!)
The lens and the media combine to add atmosphere to the brightly lit scenes.
All processed in my home darkroom. #somersetphotographer @mendiphillsnl

Took the opportunity of @thematthewship being on the @underfallyard slipway to do some #largeformatphotography with my #antiquecamera - a 1920s Sanderson Full-plate teak and brass field camera. Two images here made on X-ray film and one is an emulsion-on-glass image that I made myself from the raw chemicals.

Severn Estuary high tide at St Thomas’s Head - captured with 1900s Kodak Panoram 4C onto X-ray film (9x30cm). #panoramic #antiquecamera #largeformatphotography

Overview of making a Lith print in a pictorialist style from a glass plate negative taken in a 100-year old Thornton Pickard Large Format Camera. Waterfall near Pontneddfechan Wales. Moersch Easy Lith chemistry on vintage bromide paper. #instructional #moersch #breconbeacons

Very happy with the results of my trip to Wales’ “Waterfall Country”. Cover image is on a vintage dry glass plate. All photographs are “Full-plate” about 6.5x8.5 inches. Camera was 1920s Thornton Pickard Triple. Fuji HRU Green film negatives digitised and inverted for social media. #largeformatphotography #waterfall

Experimenting with large format in-camera cyanotype photography - thankfully no fire damage to camera! #firehazard #largeformatphotography #cyanotype

Testing out my £10 purchase at #fromewessexcamerafair #Agfa #isolette #6x6film at the #cumberlandbasin and one of the Birnbeck pier. Seems to be all working fine now the focussing ring has been un-gummed thanks @petesotherworldtoday for unscrewing it for me!

Photographing industrial Bristol with antique large format camera onto x Ray film. Inverted in Photoshop. #bristolphotographer #bristolphotography.

Fun morning working with #thetimetravettersnews antique shop in #bradfordonavon a #bradfordonavonbusiness making photographs with an antique camera ( #largeformat #fullplate #thorntonpickard Imperial from 1920) Images made onto glass plate ( second image) and x Ray film. #bradfordonavonlife

Bark texture, a micro landscape to get lost in. Crab Apple tree in my garden photographed with an Antique, Sanderson Full Plate (#largeformat)camera with x-ray film. Period lens on #f64, exposure time 15s. Black cloth background.

#lith prints onto old Ilford Plastika paper. #pears and #waterfall s from #ingleton #ingletonfalls #xrayfilm negatives exposed in 1900s #largeformat Houghton Victo #fieldcamera #moerscheasylith mounted onto A4 mount board using vintage drymount tissue

Thinning the camera collection: I've used this one a lot with all sorts of film/plates. Its very lightweight for a full-plate camera, but I now have 2 others that offer different capabilities that I need more than portability. Only available in the UK (Postage to USA is shockingly expensive and France seems to impound anything mahogany even if it is antique). Ebay item number 136680781753. #largeformatphotography #cameraforsale #bellowscamera #antiquecameraforsale

#ingletonwaterfalls trail - images made with 1920s #largeformat Plate camera onto #xrayfilm

Taking the #kodakpanoram 4B #panoramiccamera on #cumbrian #yorkshire road trip - here at Kent #Viaduct, Arnside and The #ribbleheadviaduct

Stunning walk along the Ingleton #waterfalls trail in #yorkshire

Fungi - Biddulph Grange’s stumpery. I-Phone 14 #blackandwhitephotography #fungi #nationaltrust

Pushing this fogged Veribrom in Lith developer as paper negative - very happy with the results. Again much overexposing 1 minute with 2x150 WattSecond modelling lamps and 2x 60 flashes of 400WattSeconds
#veribrom #lith #quarterplate Lancaster camera from 1880 Chemistry #moerscheasylith #moersch 1+1+20 with a dash of old brown.

What a result! An online purchase of a box of expired photo paper is always risky. This box of #kodak #veribrom hadn’t aged well and I could only get a very muddy print from it with ordinary developer and most any variation I tried - I had given up on it but thanks to a prompt from @petesotherworldtoday I tried again and after some more experimenting tried the paper with Moresch Easylith 1+1+20 having vastly overexposed the thin negative at full aperture on the enlarger for 4 minutes. And got this wonderful result after 10 minutes - so pleased - and relieved that the box of 100 10x8 sheets will be useful! Image is from the #quantockhills -Hodders Combe on a glass silver emulsion - self poured negative - full plate size in a 1910 Thornton Pickard #largeformat #antiquecamera

Peaceful morning in the #quantocks with the full plate #largeformat #antiquecamera and some self-poured emulsion glass plates and x Ray film to capture the autumnal beauty of the area - great company with @petesworldtoday. Some #longexposure images as the glass plates are only ISO2 and it was a very cloudy day - up to 7 minutes exposure times!

Home-grown pears. #rodenstock f4.5 21cm lens c1915 #pearshape #pearphotography #largeformatphotography #xrayfilm

Excellent Clevedon Cars & Coffee event - lovely example of a “Bristol” #bristolcars and loving the nose of the Prince Henry #vauxhall #vintagecar #vintagecameras #largeformat Thornton Pickard Imperial full plate x Ray film negatives scanned and inverted for social media

Raindrops on Pear- 1900s Houghton Victo Triple Bellows plate camera. Half-plate size. F45, 6s exposure. X-ray film digitally photographed and inverted.
#pear
#Xrayfilm
#largeformatphotography,
#largeformatcameras,
#analoguephotography,
#diydeveloping,
#vintagecamera,
#largeformat,
#darkroomprint,
#blackandwhite,
#studiothree_galler
#Studiothree_Gallery
#alternativephotographicprocesses
#clevedoncraftcentre #studiothreegaller_

#prague #panorama #kodakpanoram 4b and 4c used with #xrayfilm on my trip inspired by the work of #josefsudek #poetofprague whilst acknowledging I wasn’t giving each shot the hours/days of consideration and planning that he did. I was using one sheet of film at time and swapping over in I changing bag. As previously posted so grateful for the facilities and welcome from Lubos at #fotoskoda @europe_explorers_

Here are Sudek’s image and mine together - He had the luxury of no vehicles 65 yrs ago - and being able to pick his timing!

A visit to #josefsudek ‘s reconstructed #prague studio and an excellent exhibition of his “apprentice’s” work petr helbich

Just a few quick and dirty iPhone scans of the negatives I was able to develop today @fotoskodacz Fabulous facility and generous host Lubos - thank you! All images taken in the 1900s Kodak Panoram - same type as used by the #poetofprague #josefsudek whose work has been a tutor to using the camera to make the kind of panoramic images that capture me. More and better to come when I can scan these properly! #visitprague #charlesbridge #praguecastle Each negative is 30 cm long and the image is formed by the projection of light onto the curved film as the lens swings through 120 degrees.

Just arrived and finding food and the Charles Bridge!

Good day for photography in Lyme Regis with my 3 large folding Kodaks making x Ray film negatives of post card, 4”x5” and half-plate size.

Rydal Cave wall and reflection in pool turned through 90 degrees - an exercise in #pareidolia how many faces can you see? ( not AI not photoshop trick!) Above Rydal Water in the Lake District UK.

Before being able to use any of my old shutters reliably I have to check the speed accuracy of the indicated shutter speeds. I do this using my digital camera. I place the (removed) camera shutter (without lenses) in front of the Fuji’s lens. I take a shot of a scene with my Fuji XT20 set with a shutter speed that I want check on the Kodak. (1/50s)

With the fuji on a long exposure of 5 seconds operate the Kodak shutter.

I then compare the histogram of this image with that of the fuji image shot at the “same” speed and note any difference.

In this case the shutter is firing at somewhere between 1/30 and 1/25s not 1/50s.

#antiquecamera #antiquelens #vintagecamera #camerarepair

All set for Bath Contemporary Artist’s Fair - Greenpark station Bath

Some beautiful cars on show at Clevedon Cars And Coffee - to photograph today! - Using some new-to-me folding Kodaks from c1910 with film rolls I have had to make up myself from strips of X-ray film. #porsche #citroends #kodak #largeformatphotography

#largeformat #largeformatcamera #kodakpanoram #panoramic #panoramicphoto #diyfilm #xrayfilm

My Folding Kodak collection has grown with the addition of the huge half-plate sized 4A - needing large film I have to roll my own using X Ray film. #kodak #largeformatphotography #antiquecamera #studiothreegallery #bcaf - come and meet me at Bath Contemporary Artists Fair - Green Park Station in Bath September 14th

Great day out at the North Cotswold Steam & Vintage Show - Images here taken with cameras of the same era as many of these engines (1910). Please get in contact if you’d like me to send you a high resolution copy of a picture of your engine (no charge).
All but one of the images taken on my 1910 Houghton Victo Triple Half-Plate (5x7”) camera onto X ray film. #largeformat #vintagecamera #steam #steamengine #stationaryengine #northcotswoldsteamandvintageshow #vintagerally

Good day with the large format (full-plate) Thornton Pickard Triple (c1920) at The East Somerset Railway. Pictures taken on X-ray film (digitally photographed and inverted for social media).

The engine running this morning was the ex GWR Large Prairie 4110 2-6-2T4110. It was built at the Swindon Works in 1936 and withdrawn from service in 1965. ( info. From The East Somerset Railway website)

Testing my DIY X-Ray 5x4” roll film (8 frames) in the Kodak 4b at #chepstowcastle - some slippage to resolve.

A 5x4 inch, “pocket” Kodak in rough condition. I’ve replaced a few bits from smaller 3A like the front standard clamp and with some cleaning it is working fine! A test shot in the garden on x Ray film - no light leaks :)

Sunflower at its best ;) Full plate XRay film negative taken in 1920s Sanderson plate camera with 30cm Waterhouse stop lens on f8 for One second. #largeformatphotography #sunflower come and see my work 30&31 August Lytes Carey manor craft market

Captured this whilst looking for meteors. My camera was set pointing upwards taking a series of 13s exposures with a gap of 5s between each.

It’s a “Moondog” - seen because we have a very bright moon and the “right” type of clouds.

Ian Musgrave says on
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-secrets-of-moondogs
“Moondogs are seen most often in the winter when ice crystals may be present in the atmosphere. But they can appear anytime of the year when hexagon-shaped ice crystals might be high in the sky, or also when thin cirrus or cirrostratus clouds are just right. What happens is that the ice crystals or clouds refract the moonlight, creating blobs or arcs of light to the left and right of the Moon, or sometimes just on one side.
Also, the Moon usually needs to be full or nearly full, along with being low in the sky for the effect to be produced. The angular separation of the light blobs from the Moon is usually 22 degrees.
Sometimes, a full halo of light around the Moon will also appear in conjunction with the Moondogs; other times smaller arcs of light will be part of the effect, but often Moondogs appear without any other effects.
Moondogs can appear colorful like a Sundog or ‘shine’ with a light similar to the Moon.”

#astronomy #moondog #astrophotography #meteorology

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Contact Me

oldparson@me.com

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Contact Me