Finally, finally, the Fallas, the photos

I bought my first camera about 40 years ago. It took a roll of film with 24 or 36 shots available. I was very careful when I took a photograph. There was no 'delete' function in those days. Once you'd taken the photo you were stuck with it, although you wouldn't know if it was any good until you'd either dropped it into the chemist for processing or sent it to the developers in a pre-paid envelope. (I never did get into processing my own photos). 10 days later 24 or 36 prints would be ready (25 or 37 if you were really lucky) and you'd finally see whether you'd 'caught' Bob Wilson saving that penalty at Highbury, or whether the steward had walked in front of you at just the wrong moment. (I got Wilson's upper body, diving to parry the shot, but his legs were sadly obscured by the steward's thick coat).

Cost was also a huge consideration in those days (for me). I couldn't afford to 'blast off' a whole roll and then discover (2 weeks later) that it was all rubbish. No, I had to be very careful, very selective, which often meant waiting a long time to finish the roll before I could even get it developed. Many times I peered at my prints and tried desperately to remember what it was I'd taken.

When I got older (and slightly richer) I might take 5 or 6 rolls of 36 on a long holiday. Once home again, I often sent them off for processing at 4 or 5 day intervals, giving us a nice little 'show' every few nights (I'd moved onto 'slides' by then and had invested in a projector and a screen). A couple of hundred photos. It was pushing the boat out a bit. Little did I know...

At this year's Fallas, I took nearly a thousand shots. Photography's a very different game nowadays. But while I can take (practially) as many photos as I like, it's sometimes two or three weeks before I get round to downloading them and looking at them all.

Which is why this 'retrospective' of Fallas 2012 is a little late. Apologies. But I hope you enjoy the snaps anyway.

The End.

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