Here is some background information to this site https://www.ian-partridge.com
You may be searching for a new Weston lightmeter or information about preservation and viewing of cine film, or wish to have old family cine films transfered into a viewable digital format like DVD. I have assembled this site to be informative about the necessity for film preservation, and also about the transfer and digital video copying of cine films.
I am empassioned by film, especially old British films which are now sadly neglected and unseen. I believe that film is a window to our past that resonates still. I believe the photographic medium, over the last one hundred and fifty years, has shaped the present as we perceive it, and live it, day to day.
The first films I projected were 'Cathy Come Home' and the Polish animated cartoon, 'Pozor' (Attention) when pressed into operating the empty projection box by an audience of 800 striking students. From then on I have projected many hundreds of films.
It was antique watch and clock repairing to the trade for no money over years until eyesight changed and I stuck with clocks. Supplemented my income with photography and articles about the clocks I restored but did not own.
Documentary editing at home in Colchester 1978
I always used Weston lightmeters since an Art
student and independent film maker in the 1970's. I used to repair film and
editing equipment too. I ran the local film society so I got to handle classic
film prints and more appreciate the art of cinematography which I was
able to complete a local documentary and Arts Council film with my old
tutor at Art School, Bruce Killeen. This is how I dropped my Euro-master onto concrete when transporting an Arriflex on my bicycle rack. Easy to
repair as I was doing watch work at the time and of course the cell was
good as the meter was forty-six years younger than they all are today.
I
was selling antique clocks on the internet and in those early days when
digital cameras were beyond my means I was photographing with medium
format Ektachrome transparencies that I scanned. This way my
photography was outstanding at the time. I used to include an
animated gif of each clock pendulum swinging on the web pages that was
not replicated by anyone over the years I was selling. I first sold a
Weston Euromaster in 2001 and got £100 which was so encouraging I
invested in new cells from Megatron of Tottenham and restored a number
of meters in anticipation. I sold only six meters over the next nine years ! However by 2010, the frequency had increased and I soon tried to
order more cells. Of course, Megatron had only just ceased trading and
making the new cells.
The demand for my restored Weston photographic light meters has
picked up very gradually. I had no time for clock repairs
because of demand for my restored 'new' Weston meters and meter repairs. Also this
website has hundreds of visits each day. Occasionaly someone will buy a Weston lightmeter or contact me for cine restoration work.
I cannot
think of a time when I have worked so hard just to live, at an age
when most people are retired. I must be paying back for my indolent past!
Ian Partridge
www.ian-partridge.com ~ Web page content photography and design ~ Copyright © 2009 ~ 2024 Ian Partridge.