Many thanks for the blip birthday congrats.

It brought a tear to a dry een.

Still messing about scanning old negatives.

On Christmas day 1980 I was given my first Rollieflex TLR. On the 26th December this was the first photograph I ever took with it just around the corner from where I lived in Leith. He was out with his Christmas toy as was I with mine. He is in his early fifties now,

Ilford FP4 developed in Ilfosol. 1/125th at f 8. No need for EXIF if you have a note book and a pencil. I was quite methodical back in those days. I even recorded developer dilutions, temperatures and agitation techniques. I still have all the notebooks. I used a Weston Euro Master exposure meter most of the time and it taught me more about photography than anything else. Foolishly I sold it and bought a Gossen Luna-Pro with colour temperature meter, it was super accurate even in really low light, but I never bonded with it like the Euro Master. (The Rollieflex had a meter built in but it's accuracy was suspect to flare and point highlights.)

Getting the film wound onto a plastic spiral without touching it in complete darkness, into a developing tank. Making up the developer and then slooshing it around the film. Rinse, add fixer. Sloosh. Rinse for ages. Hang the film out to dry in a fluff free environment. When dry cut it up and stick it in paper sleeves.

Relax.

Into the darkroom, on with the yellow light. Developer, water bath and fixer all in trays. Neg into the enlarger. Select the paper grade and surface (I'm going with 'lustre'), expose, one elephant two elephants three elephants.... Into the dev/water/fixer. Rinse for ages. Dry.

These days? I just push the button. Job done. Where did all the fun go?