Steven Barber

I first picked up a camera when I was 7-years old after my Grandad passed away and my brother and I were each given £20 from his estate. With such a large sum of money I was able to buy an Agfa 35mm camera and a roll of Ilford film. That was 1977 and my passion for photography was born. 10 years later I became a staff photographer with The Westmorland Gazette newspaper in Kendal, rising to the position of picture editor a few years later. This is a selection of black and white images spanning 25 years. Many were shot in my spare time on my trusty Leica M6 with a 35mm lens, the others on various Nikon cameras and lenses ranging from the FM2, F3 and F4. These days I use Canon Digital cameras but I find myself hankering back to the simple days of fixed prime lenses and fast maximum apertures. I now use a 35mm f1.4 wide angle and an 85mm f1.2 telephoto for most of my work. If my bank account would allow it, I would more than likely buy a Leica M9 but I recently Panasonic GF1 as my everyday Camera and I'm loving using it. I have one lens on it, the 20mm pancake lens which is the equivelent to a 40mm on a FF camera. I hope you enjoy my pictures and I would love to hear any comments you may have.