Although photography was not my profession, it has formed a major interest and a big part of my adult life. Even with a high profile and demanding occupation I always needed another interest - photography gave me the time and space to recharge the batteries. It is uncanny how the stresses and strains of my working life were often reflected in my interpretation of the landscape. By profession, I am a materials scientist with a career that culminated in the award of Fellow of the Institute of Materials (FIM). This scientific background meant that I was able to cope comfortably with the technical aspects of photography. In the 1960s it was a very technical hobby. There was a need to know about exposure, the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, focal length, depth of field, hyperlocal distance - then beyond that, types of film and film speed, developers and development times and finally different types and grades of paper. My biggest challenge were the artistic aspects as I had no training. My only asset was that I knew when a picture was ‘right’, when it had a good composition and when the print had good tonal values and good quality. Beyond that I had a good understanding and knowledge of the landscape having cycled and travelled extensively in my younger years.