June 2010: An Adventure Through France

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In the summer of 2010 I went on an adventure. With no available companions and very little funding I made a decision to set off alone from South Wales in order to, wander Normandy during the annual D-Day memorial services, spectate the awe of the world famous Le Mans 24hr endurance race and then to Southern France where I would bask in the glitz and glamour that is Monaco.

Preparations began around May time, in my home town of Newport, South Wales. As a student at Coventry University on summer break, that would not conclude until early October, I had a lot of free time ahead. The idea of working for the entirety of the following three months was not an option. I had to think of things to do. I had landed a job for the summer, an employee for an events company as a barman, starting in July. I would be working at some of the biggest music festivals in the UK. That seemed like a good idea, funds were required and this work should be fun, getting paid to go to festivals was a no brainer! This meant my chance to get away would be June or September. I chose June as it was soonest and I really needed a break!

I like France, it was cheap to get to, there were obvious things happening at that time of year and I had friends living there. Aware that the anniversary of D-Day was coming up and that I had always wanted to visit, Normandy was a good starting point. It was also reasonably cheap to spectate and camp at Le Mans and it lasted a week. So I guessed that it would be a bit of fun. After speaking with and arranging to visit, Mr 'T' (a friend who had lived with me for a while in Newport a few years before, who was studying in Rennes) and the Ladyr (a close friend who had spent that year in Coventry, but returned to Aix-en-Provence) before and after Le Mans I had a plan. Tickets for Le Mans and outbound/inbound travel were booked and I was all set to go.

Then I had an idea. Why not take up Photography?

I had no previous experience other than that of using a range of mobile phones, and as a reminder, very little funds available. I realised very quickly that a Digital SLR camera was out of the question. However, in a back street second hand boutique in Newport I found a Zenit 11 with a few lenses and a carry bag. It was priced up at £40 for everything. Was this a good camera? How do I use it? Is it worth the money? What did I know?! On the underside of the camera body, it said “Made in the U.S.S.R.” a Soviet camera hey? I'll take it!

Like a child at Christmas I left the shop clutching my new toy with a warm smile, though it soon dawned on me that I had no idea how to use it, or if it worked! I also had no idea what the numbers on the lenses and camera body meant, but I did know it needed Film.

After a trip to boots for 35mm film I searched the market book store for any kind of second hand cheap book on the basics of photography. I found a pocket guide for 95p.

I thought it be a good idea to try the camera out before setting off on my travels, to see if it worked. Well, the first film was a disaster, nothing came out! This only inflated my worries that the camera was broken and I was also annoyed at how I had wasted the £4 odd on the film. I tried again, this time with results. I was confident, happy that I could use it, so with a few days remaining before I was due to leave, I made my final preparations.

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