VINCE ROOKER ARPS,DPAGB (Published Mar 2001)
Vince's interest in photography started, during W.W.2 when his father handed over the family Box Brownie, negatives and a packet of P.O.P. (printing out paper) to keep Vince out of his hair while he polished the local Fire Engine between the visitations of the Luftwaffe over Sheffield.
Vince's first job, in the Meteorological Office, soon led to his first "real" camera, a Purma Special. Small, square (127 film) negative with three shutter speeds controlled by a pendulum in the camera (the angle of the camera determined the speed) provided much amusement, and a lot of variable density negatives printed with little success in the station dark room. Many of the prints were enhanced by colouring with dyes, he still has a book of Velox papers which dissolve to provide coloured water, which is his current method of spotting colour prints.
Demobilisation after defending King and Country in the R.A.F. on National Service saw an Ilford Advocate replace the Purma, and his first foray into photographic clubs, was a works camera club in Sheffield. Vince was now employed in a chemical laboratory, and getting chemical qualifications in the local Tech, led obviously to various home brews and toners before standardising on M&B Promicrol, which he used until it's demise in the mid-eighties. In the early sixties, tired of the fixed 35mm lens on the Advocate, and realising it's limits with portraiture, a change to a Periflex 2 with the facility to use a 90mm Elmar lens was done. Another novelty, this camera had two viewfinders, one to compose the picture when pressing the shutter, and a second which let you focus through a periscope in the light path. Pressing the release moved it out of the way with a resounding clunk, but the focal plane shutter had a 1/500 sec speed so camera shake could usually be avoided.
1966 saw a missionary visit to the North East, but who converted who he is not sure. He is still here! Vince joined Morpeth Camera Club, traded in the Periflex for an S1a Pentax with 55 mm and 105 mm Takumar lenses and started entering the club competitions.
The mid-seventies saw the beginning of his partnership with Joan, and they were married in 1979 by which time she had also caught the bug and joined Morpeth with Vince.
Encouraged by Tommy Bates, what a fine photographer he was, Vince joined the Royal Photographic Society and got a Licentiateship in 1978 with 20"x16" monochrome prints, those were the days! An Applied Associateship followed in 1981 for architectural work with an M.P.P. 5X4 loaned by Tommy, a camera which was later bought by Vince and only recently swopped for a Nikon Coolscan during 1998.
Vince was a founder member of the Images Group, such groups were unheard of in those days, and it caused arguments in the Federation which make those related to digital imaging pale into insignificance.
35mm work was then done with a Pentax K1000 the lenses shared between Vince and Joan, and in 1982 a Mamiya C330 outfit was added, a camera still being used today after a hard life in the business started due to redundancy in 1983. One of a pair used professionally, he has documented over 15,000 exposures on this, yes it does rattle, it works by courtesy of masking tape, and cannot be described as "Mint", but still gives the goods when called on.
Competitions and Exhibitions have always featured in Vince's career, Vince's greatest highlight was when three of them, Joan, Len Roberts and himself, won the Corder Trophy for Morpeth Photographic Club. Sadly Vince has never won an individual Federation trophy, despite numerous seconds, thirds, H.C.s etc perhaps this year?
The NCPF Executive was joined as Northern Area Representative in 1973 and he seems to have been a regular in that exhaulted body most of the time since that date. "You only get 21 years for murder, I must be doing something wrong". Thinks Vince! The majority of his work these days seems to be done by one of a pair of Nikons 801 and F70, usually in colour slides, although the C330 is brought out to do serious, or architectural mono. Over the years, he has covered most subjects, in all mediums, and can be compared to a Photographic Sparrow - hopping from subject to subject, depending on what is in front of his camera. Like many amateurs, Vince now uses a computer, and has done so for two and a half years, and sees no problem accepting it as a logical advance on the photographic process; his current results approach photographic quality; particularly in colour, and these can only get better.
Vince likes to see pictures of all kinds and thinks that you have to see other peoples' work as often as possible, particularly on the walls of various galleries, if you are to advance your own expertise. What is left for the future photographically? Vince would love to get a winner from the film in the camera at the present time. Like David Bailey, he is convinced that the best picture made by him is currently in the camera.
60 years looking at the world through a viewfinder? To Vince it feels like a few weeks. Photography has been an abiding passion during this time, and Vince believes that he could fill another 60 years for sure.
Editor