Photography on Bill Glover

My first digital photo

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:52:46 +0100

The view from my window - The first photo with my digital camera
May 2023, Chapel Green Lane, Bristol

When discussing first digital cameras, Rob sent me a link to his first digital photo. I had a look back and this was mine. I clearly recognised the significance of this photo because buried in the metadata of the image was the caption you see above. Taken: 2003-05-27 @ 11:42:47

On Photography

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Fri, 22 May 2026 09:40:30 +0100

A friend recently asked me about photography.

“When you go out with your camera… has there ever been a moment that stayed with you more than the photograph itself? Something you saw or felt that couldn’t really be captured, but remained with you anyway?”

Thinking about this question got me wondering about what it is that I enjoy about photography. What follows is an edited version of the answer that I gave.

Pentax 17

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 18:41:16 +0100

London - Pentax 17, Kodak Gold 200

Over the summer I picked up a Pentax 17, a new half-frame film camera. It has been an absolute delight to use.

Coming from (D)SLR cameras, the first thing that struck me was how quiet the camera is. I’m so used to the clunk of the mirror moving when taking a shot that the silence of the Pentax 17 was disconcerting. For a while I thought it was broken.

Family Cyanotype

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 19:59:00 +0000

Following on from my First Cyanotype, we tried to turn it into a family activity. When I’ve mentioned it to people, they’ve asked to see the prints, quickly followed with digging in to how we did it. This post answers both questions.

The Method

Equipment

Jacquard Cyanotype Sensitizer Set
Daler-Rowney Aquafine Smooth Hot Pressed 300gsm Watercolour & Gouache A4 Paper
A4 Acrylic Sheet Clear Perspex Sheet 3mm Thick
Paint Brushes
Protective Table Cloth
Objects to print; plants, leaves, etc.

Note: You can buy ready coated cyanotype paper. Whilst it may be more convenient, the results aren’t nearly as impressive. There is so much creativity in the coating of the sensitizer.

First Cyanotype

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:29:00 +0000

I attended a half-day Cyanotype Printing workshop at The Darkroom in London. I knew nothing about the process going into the workshop, only that the images produced were typically a deep blue.

The workshop covered:

talking through some impressive examples of existing work
mixing chemicals
coating the paper
gathering things to print
prints in the sun
prints under UV light
washing prints
use of hydrogen peroxide
staining prints to alter the colour

I love the simplicity of the cyanotype process. Despite its simplicity, there are various options for creativity. Using different types of paper, brush strokes, or quantities of chemicals can result in a wide variety of images. Additionally, your choice of objects, the depth of the blue, and staining all provide opportunty for creativity.

Creating a Photography Gallery with Hugo

hello@bill.dev (Bill) — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:11:53 +0000

Many years ago I left Instagram and stopped sharing any of my photography publicly. I would occasionally share photos privately within a WhatsApp or WeChat group, but I lost the urge to share more broadly. I considered posting here on my blog, but both the theme and the publishing process weren’t photo friendly. Over the last few months, I’ve tweaked this blog just enough to make it possible to share photos again. Inspired by Darek Key’s write up of building a photography website, this is how I enhanced my blog to share photos again.