Steve Knight
Halstead, Essex
I was born in south-west London and grew up next to Mortlake level crossing on the SR Windsor lines. I had no option but to become a train nut! A family move to Basingstoke in 1966 allowed me to witness the dying days of SR steam, including being on the platform at Basingstoke for the last run by Elder Dempster Lines. My mum was friends with the Deputy Station Master’s wife!
Sadly, I was only six at the time and did not yet have a camera.
My first pictures were taken at Birmingham New Street during the last runs of the Westerns back to Paddington. I have photographs of Western Ranger and Western Empress from that period, taken on a humble Instamatic 126.
I quickly learned that I needed a better camera and having hardly any cash as an impoverished student, bought a second-hand Zenith E when I went to college in Birmingham. It was, naturally, terrible, but it taught me a great deal about exposure control and metering, as everything was manual.
As soon as funds allowed, I upgraded to a Nikon FG-20 and acquired a zoom lens as well. By this point, I had lost touch with railway photography and spent most of the 1980s photographing aircraft instead. I moved from the Nikon to an EOS 1000FN, which travelled all around the world with me, including to Poland and South America, where I was able to get up close to working steam locomotives.
When I moved to digital photography, first with a Nikon Coolpix (while still keeping the SLR) and then with an EOS 10D and later a 20D DSLR, I eventually upgraded to a 70D about five years ago. In 2022, I made the big switch to mirrorless with a Sony Alpha 7C and a Sigma converter ring to accept my Canon L-series lenses. It was a revelation—I only wish I had done it sooner.
Now retired, I divide my photographic time between railways, aircraft and wildlife. I’ve invested in Sony G-series lenses, principally the 200–600mm with a 1.4x teleconverter. For trains, I usually use the Sony FE 24–105mm lens.
In addition to 1Z10, I am a member of both the Railway Photographic Circle and the Railway Photography Society, both of which encourage and critique members’ work through circulating print portfolios. With alumni such as David Gibson, Colin Boocock, Michael Rhodes, David Pearce and Chris Burton, the standards are high, and it certainly keeps me on my toes!
