The first thing to tell you is that “Squonk” has been my pseudonym since the late 1980s. My real name is Chris Tweed, and I live in Leicestershire, right in the middle of England.

Photography has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. Both my dad and my aunt were very keen photographers and had their own darkroom at home back in the 1950s. My dad went on to work in the camera trade. Consequently, cameras were always around while I was growing up.

I shot and still own many film cameras, but it was only with the advent of digital photography that I felt able to experiment and become more creative with my photography. I love film photography and still own several film cameras, but the financial cost of film and processing is prohibitive for me.

I had some digital ‘point and shoot’ cameras, and then around 2005, I bought my first DSLR, a Canon EOS 20D. A 40D and a 6D followed the 20D before I fell in love with Fujifilm cameras.

My Fujifilm experience started with the first X100. I loved the analogue controls, with a proper aperture ring, an almost silent leaf shutter, and an integrated ND filter. I wanted a camera with good image quality, manual controls and a good lens that was more portable than the bigger, heavier DSLRs, especially for hiking trips. After telling myself for a while that I didn’t need another system camera, I invested in the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and have mainly been shooting with Fuji cameras ever since. I still own my Canon equipment; I can’t bring myself to part with cameras (it’s a personality flaw) but I rarely use them.