Father's Day

This is my da, Ollie. He died of cancer seventeen years ago, on my 26th birthday, but I still miss him on Father's Day, his birthday, Christmas, and most other days in between. He's the reason I first started taking pictures - he was a keen amateur photographer, and I remember 'helping' him in his darkroom when I was about six, counting 'elephants one, elephants two' to time the exposure of his black and white prints. I took this portrait on a glorious summer fishing trip on his boat, using his ancient Zenit SLR which he'd given me and which I still have.

He would have made a wonderful blipper.