Last Photographs by Edwin Smith

Stubble burning in Suffolk, 1970

This subject would have have been close to both Edwin's and Olive's hearts as both were dedicated 'environmentalists' before the term was even invented. Now banned in the UK, stubble-burning as a means of clearing fields post-harvest was endemic in the 70s and 80s and caused massive amounts of air pollution. Badly managed fires occasionally spread to adjoining land and in some cases property was destroyed.

The film was Kodak Verichrome Pan 120 and had sat in the camera since the day this picture was taken all those years ago. I phoned Kodak Ltd and sought their advice on development. I was advised to use increased amounts of anti-foggant in a standard D-76 formulation - and hope for the best! The latent images survived and were surprisingly clear, although the base fog level on the film had increased enormously.