So I said to David Attenborough...

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Sunny Frimley
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Bill Palmer
Well, not quite.

But I was on the BBC this morning, on the BBC Surrey Breakfast Show. The podcast is here: 22/11/2016, Breakfast on BBC Surrey - BBC Surrey (I don't know if it will work outside the UK). To save you listening to all three hours(!) fast-forward to 2:40 and take it from there for about 9 minutes. I was invited in to talk about my book, but it turned into a more general chat about travel photography. Good fun though, and I'm a broadcaster now ;)
 
Very nice. A sensible exchange about modern photography. I had forgotten about "push here, dummy". I've often looked at the Trip available through Etsy and had talked myself out of that. Hopefully you won't cost me money. What were the sensible camera and the old camera about which you were talking.
 
Don't go for the ones on Etsy. They are stupid prices. I did literally buy mine in a charity shop for a few quid. I've cleaned it up and pimped it with a new light seal kit and blue leather skins from Aki Ashai and a generic chrome thumbrest from Amazon. I've also fitted a step up ring so I can use a sensible lens hood and cap. As long as the optics are fungus-free and the meter works (the test is to try to release the shutter with your hand across the lens - it should NOT fire) they just keep going.
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I also had my Leica II and Fuji X-Pro2 with me - that was the "sensible" and "old" cameras referred to. It was all a bit rushed, TBH, and they only asked one question that I expected - the one about my favourite place - otherwise it was all improvised!
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I've never seen any Trips in the US. Online is my only possibility. Most of the Etsy ones has been cleaned and re-skinned and were from the UK for about $75 USD.
 
Don't go for the ones on Etsy. They are stupid prices. I did literally buy mine in a charity shop for a few quid. I've cleaned it up and pimped it with a new light seal kit and blue leather skins from Aki Ashai and a generic chrome thumbrest from Amazon. I've also fitted a step up ring so I can use a sensible lens hood and cap. As long as the optics are fungus-free and the meter works (the test is to try to release the shutter with your hand across the lens - it should NOT fire) they just keep going.
View attachment 121260

I also had my Leica II and Fuji X-Pro2 with me - that was the "sensible" and "old" cameras referred to. It was all a bit rushed, TBH, and they only asked one question that I expected - the one about my favourite place - otherwise it was all improvised!View attachment 121261

I think another pretty neat camera of the same genre is the Canonet QL17. Small package, fixed f/1.7 lens.

cql171.jpg


Heard a great interview with Attenborough in which they had called him something like "the great whisperer." Well, he said, when you're sitting just yards from a mountain gorilla, you don't say, in a loud voice: THERE'S A REALLY BIG GORILLA OVER THERE!

Congrats on the interview! I will listen later.

Cheers, Jock
 
Entertaining stuff Bill, and also a nice change to hear radio presenters who didn't seem like total idiots.
I've looked many times at Trip Man and similar stuff on eBay but the rigmarole of getting film developed these days puts me off.

I was quite impressed by the hosts. I'd provided some links and stuff beforehand and they had clearly read them. I was led into the studio with about 3 minutes to go while they took a feed for the weather. It was all very professional, welcome, sit there, speak into the mic, bit of chit-chat, then straight on air. I've only ever done an OB interview before but I could get used to this ;)

As to the hassle factor of getting film developed, I think it depends what you use and where you live. Boots still do it in a number of towns and there is still Snappy Snaps, and mail order like Ilford and Peak. Problem now is that you are at the mercy of the throughput they have as to how fresh the chemicals are. That said, I work in the City a lot these days and see a lot - and I mean a lot - of tourists carrying film cameras...
 
Nice interview. Having done a few with BBC Radio Ulster in the past I think a lot of local radio people are much more competent and professional than the big names. It's working fine here in the Philippines.
 
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