I got interested in photography in 1946 at the age of 15, taking pictures of cars using a pinhole camera made out of a shoebox. The cars had to be stationary as the exposures were about 2 minutes. My interest declined as studies, and a wife and children, took up most of my time. Although I always owned a camera it was used mainly for family pictures. My interest was renewed later in life when retirement was looming and I had more time on my hands.

I joined the Wakefield Camera Club around 1991 and benefited greatly from the talks and competitions and also from the knowledge and expertise of other members. I was competition secretary for ten years until this year (2005) also Club President for three years until handing over to the present holder Danny Gartside. After retirement in 1995 I did a City and Guilds photography course covering black and white processing, landscapes, buildings, portraits, macro photography and colour in photography. I learned a lot from the course and I think my photography benefited from it.

I have always admired wild flowers but had difficulty identifying them, but through the influence of the several naturalists in the club and admiring their photographs I started photographing wild flowers and learned how to identify them. This is now my main interest although I also like taking landscapes and other subjects. The two pictures have both been accepted in the past by the Yorkshire Photographic Union for inclusion in their annual exhibition. The subjects are unusual in that they are both parasitical.

The Cladonia lives on moss in clean air habitats. Although it looks like a Martian landscape, the ‘pixy cups’ are only about one centimetre high.

The Thistle Broomrape, as it’s name implies, lives on the roots of thistle plants.