As soon as I saw a photograph magically appear from the front my Christmas present in 1973, a Polaroid ‘Super Swinger’ Land camera I knew photography was going to play a huge part of my life. I loved how I could capture a moment in time and stuff it in my back pocket. I soon used the 8 shots available in the pack of Polaroid 87 film, and couldn’t wait to save enough money to buy another. Taking pictures soon became an obsession. I became a regular visitor to our small local library, leaning everything I could about this fascinating subject. One book In particular described how to develop film and print your own photographs.

So I asked my parents if I could build a small darkroom in the corner of my bedroom. ( I think my Dad warmed to the idea when I promised to print his holiday snaps at cost). So with the money I’d saved from my paper round I bought equipment which had been advertised in the Exchange and Mart. I spent the following weeks blacking out windows, setting up my enlarger and developing dishes. After multiple kettles of hot water and many days of trial and error, mainly error, I finally worked out how to develop and print my own black and white photographs. Sure, It would have been far easier for me to send my films to the local chemist, but the satisfaction of mastering the process was well worth the extra cost. It wasn’t long before I set my sights on producing colour photographs. A huge step up in difficulty, but something I was determined to master.

Around this time I became interested in shooting and editing cine film and with the help of my school mates submitted a short film to Michael Rodd’s BBC ‘Screen Test’ program called ‘The Crime That Never Was’. I later completed a stop motion epic using my Sisters plaster of Paris ‘Magic Roundabout’ figures and my Brothers turntable for the opening sequence. ( well I thought it was epic )

I left school in 1977 and after a chance phone call from the schools careers advisor I managed to land myself a job in a Photographic shop in Station Road Hayes. It was sheer luck that during the interview the manager said that he remembered me buying paper and chemicals from him a few months earlier, so he knew I was genuinely interested in the subject. He was an elderly man who had worked in photography most his life, so was able to teach me many things that I was unlikely to ever find in the books I’d been reading. I spent my first week wages on bits and pieces for my new darkroom making the most of my 25% staff discount. The worst part of my job was working Saturdays, but it gave me Wednesday afternoons off, so I would grab my camera and a roll of Ilford FP4 and took pictures that I could develop that evening.

Two years later I got a job in a photo lab in Kenton, Harrow where my duties would include film developing and printing. In 1988 I joined Richie Colour, based in London as a heavy weight C and R type printer. It was a major step up for me as it was then considered to be one of the best professional labs in the country. Clients included Debenhams and Ford UK where we would work on the prototypes for their new models. I later joined their digital retouching department. I was then given extensive training in the image manipulating software Photoshop which I still use today.

In 2002 I started collecting equipment for what would later become APG Video. I began by converting my old cine films and video’s expanding to family and friends. Fast forward to 2024 and I’m still busy purchasing machines, to continuously expand our range of services. Our latest being the Film - Digital T183 Transfer Unit which uses the Blackmagic 4K Pocket Camera as the capture device. Results have been amazing. It enables us to produce vibrant colours combined with a very fine grain even in underexposed film. ( Currently available in Super 8mm only )

Cine still holds such a fascination for me, and as I check through the results from our latest capture it still gives me the same feeling as my Polaroids did all those years ago.

I am extremely grateful that I’ve been able to earn a living in photography - continuing my hobby which started some 50+ years ago.

APG Video day to day work mainly involves archiving all things analogue turning them into digital formats, enabling customers to share them with friends and family.

What type of work do we get involved in?

Digitising composer Ross Parker’s Reel to Reel Demo tapes ( which featured the songs “We’ll Meet Again”, “There’ll Always Be An England” and many more )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Parker_(songwriter)

Capturing and enhancing Sonia Freedman’s family audio cassette recordings that was used on BBC Radio ‘Desert Island Discs’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08skyk9

Slide scanning for BBC1 ‘The One Show’

Supplying photography and image manipulation for Brigid Marlin and Vernonia Main publications ( Available on Amazon )

Converting VHS tapes for Matt Bianco’s website

So if you’re starting a project and need something digitising please get in touch, we’d love to help.

Text or phone : 07880 883622 or email me on : andy@apgvideo.co.uk

I hope to hear from you soon…………………………I really must dig out my old Polaroid camera!

Andy