Early photographic interest re-surfaces in Ohakune

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 4, 26 June 1984, Page 4

Early photographic interest re-surfaces in Ohakune

Solart Photo Ltd is located at 27 Tainui Street, Ohakune and is owned and operated by Mr Errol Vincent, formerly of Gisborne. Before Errol Vincent started operating his photography lab, he taught Maths at Ruapehu College. That was in 1972 and now, in 1984, Errol Vincent 's sole profession is photography. He said that his father was in photography during the war and young Errol used to help him out in the darkroom. That started his initial interest in photography, he said. So far Errol has covered about 80 weddings in the area. He has also held several exhibitions both locally and elsewhere ... the Pne which was on display in Ohakune last week will be exhibited in Auckland. He processes film, not only for the Waimarino Bulletin, but also has agreements with Kapai Bookstore, Dry Cleaners at Raetihi and Stationers at Waiouru. The name Solart comes from Errol himself. The sun or sol, produces light and is therefore transformed into art. He also said that 'sol' could also stand for solo-

artist referring to the fact that he does all the processing on his own. Errol's wife Ann who teaches at the Ohakune Primary School is currently at Auckland Teacher's College working in special education. They have four children, Paul, 19, Nicholas and Jo Anne, 16-year old twins and Marc, 1 1 . He said he decided to start his own lab at a time when he ran a second-hand shop in Ohakune. He worked with photography at this time, but had all colour prints sent away. A whole roll of wedding pictures were lost, and Errol felt so badly about it, that he started his own lab to ensure that it would never happen again. For a small processing lab, the equipment is quite sophisticated. He uses a Durst printer. But before going into the printer he carefully views each and every negative. He frequently makes three prints of each

shot at various settings and sends them through the processor made by Kreonite. Once the exposed paper has been transported through the chemicals in the processor, and all of the work is complete, the customer receives the prints. Of the three, the customer receives the best one. Errol Vincent specialises in giving top quality prints. He said that he "can't compete with the big guys," but that he tries to get the photograph as natural looking as possible. For artistic effect, the photographer is more than welcome to help get* the photo the way he wants it. Aside from creating marvellous prints through various scientific techniques, Errol Vincent also frames photographs and canvases as well. Because of his desire for specialisation and quality, Errol Vincent is looking towards handling only 35mm colour-negative film.

Mark

Russell