Images by David Monkhouse, Associate of the Royal Photographic Society

I cannot remember a time when I have not taken photographs.

From those early days, even before becoming a teenager, owning and using a camera has always been a big part of my life. Beginning with a Kodak Brownie 127 and later, a Kodak Instamatic I progressed to a Japanese single lens reflex Komaflex S. From that humble start and on the 30th March 1974, I purchased my first Leica, a well-used IIIc manufactured in Germany in 1947. This was eventually traded in for a more up to date M3, still made by Leica which was later exchanged for an M6. At the same time and throwing caution to the wind I traded in a 50mm close-focusing Summicron and a 135mm Elmarit and purchased two new lenses. After reading Theo Kisselbach’s “Das Leica-Buch” I chose a 35mm Summicron and a 90mm Elmarit since in his opinion, a lightweight outfit comprising a camera and these two focal lengths would cover every pictorial opportunity on a round the world trip. With the digital age firmly established the M6 was joined by an M8 which was subsequently traded in for an M9P. In May 2017 the M9P was exchanged for an M10. Being part of the Leica system, both lenses bought for the M6 can still be used with the M10 however at the same time as purchasing the M10 the 35mm Summicron was exchanged for the latest aspheric version. Interestingly the M10 is still manufactured in the town of Wetzlar as was my first Leica, the IIIc. In May 2020 a Leica Q2 was purchased to supplement the M10. I use Capture One and Adobe Photoshop CC to process the images in my digital darkroom. On the 25th of November 2021 I became an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society. I've always lived in Derbyshire hence "the county of Derbyshire" and since it is literally on my doorstep, "an English garden" is also a gallery item.

So, please enjoy the county of Derbyshire, an English garden throughout the seasons and the other galleries as they are added.