From the late 1960s to the 1980s I lived and worked near Cambridge. I had a studio and workshop in Huntingdon and taught classes to students in photography and photo technical work. This was both black and white and colour, including wonderful Cibachrome.

I have diplomas from the Central Texas College to teach American Service people photography to degree standard and made many friends from the USAF reconnaissance base that was at Alconbury.

I was asked by the Senate House in Cambridge University to “attempt” to do a formal portrait of the “Registrary” of Cambridge. The registrary is position unique to the university, it is the person who officially is in charge of all matters and finally awards all degrees. At the time, 1982, the registrary was Roderick Ewen Macpherson He was due to retire the following year and normally would have sat for a painting as all had done before since 1506.

However Macpherson was a very private man and refused to sit for a painting. He said he would consider a photograph, but, so far, had refused to allow anyone to do this. He agreed to meet me and we sat and chatted for hours. Basically he was very private person and had a low opinion of photographers and “artists”. I got him talking about himself and his love of the University, I listened and let him be the “art director”. He wanted a picture of himself reading the statutes, but with the green sward of the lawns of Trinity college (where he was a student many years before) visible through his office window.

This was a technical challenge, it meant using a Sinar studio camera from ceiling level so the lawns could be seen through the window, but using camera movements so that he was “seen” at waist level and not distorted. With a big step ladder and only reflectors for light I managed it- he was pleased and a varnished colour print of mine is now alongside paintings by Holbien and Reynolds in the refractory. I cheated a bit and presented the fully framed print to the University, but concealed in the back there is a better black and white photo and a short hand written explanation of what I did. I really liked the man.

I also got the job of doing the formal portraits of the Chancellor and all the recipients of the Honours Degrees presented by Cambridge.

This was a difficult job as these are all well known people, Princes Archbishops an others, so security is severe. I was also on a very tight schedule as the formal portraits are done after the long ceremony (In Latin) and just before a boozy lunch – so they are all very keen to get the annoying photographer out of the way and get to the Gin and Tonics

Worse still, the photos had to be in the Senate House, which has massive windows on both sides of the long narrow room and as it was a bright sunny day, I need masses of strobe lighting to balance the large assembly of people for the group photo As individual portraits were needed, I worked with three cameras, the main was a 5×4 inch Sinar, with both colour negative and Ektachrome – so plate holder changing had to be very quick – I also grabbed Hasselblad shots as back up – getting a group of people, especially hungry and grumpy ones, to look at the camera and smile at the same time is difficult

I had a cunning plan, I set up the Sinar shot, but pretended to take it hand held with the 6x6cm as I pressed the button, nothing happened because I had the synch lead plugged into the Sinar. So I said “Oh Shit” – that got their attention; most smiled at my embarrassment, but they all looked directly at me – I then tripped the Sinar and got the shot I wanted.

It went well and they asked me to do the job the next year.

I was often in the colleges and met some of the fascinating people who lived there. Photography is not allowed in some of the buildings and on one occasion a “don” arrested me when I was photographing a clown by Trinity library.

In this photo you can see at the far end of the corridor a dark shape. this was Piero Sraffa who was a don at Cambridge. He fled from Italy in the 1930s and had lived and lectured in Cambridge, never have ever left the confines of the University grounds for over 50 years. He became a good friend and we went to take tea with him in his rooms.

The clown Twiwhizz also became a friend, she taught me a fire eating act and ise a well loved teacher and film maker in Canada.