Both of my parents had cameras, albeit very simple ones, and my mother had a drawer-full of snapshots which we used to look through from time to time (I've still got most of them!). I was always fascinated by the way the negatives matched up to the prints - this was back in the fifties when roll-film was the order of the day and each negative was cut individually.
I could never equate this semi-rigid 'plasticky' negative with the start of the roll of film that you put into the camera which was sort of cartridge paper, red on the back and matt black on the inner-side (whereabouts inside this interminable film-leader, which ran all around the back of the camera, did those eight precious rectangles fit!!)
It wasn't until years later, after first purchasing a Kodak Instamatic to keep me happy wherever I went, that a friend, who developed his own films, enlightened me as to how straightforward the whole 'magic' process actually was!
Full of enthusiasm, I purchased my own SLR, eventually adding a 400mm lens which in turn re-awakened my interest in birds and this led me to form new friendships, etc., etc., - I often wonder what would have happened had my mate not have showed me his camera (a Zenit 'C' model)...
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