By Elvin Carl Croker

“THEY laughed at me when I showed them the camera,” is what James Hopkinson said when asked about his first day working in the Botanical Gardens as a photographer.
With close to 40 years under his belt, James Hopkinson has made the Botanical Gardens his second home and intends to continue his trade for the rest of his life. He arrives at the gardens for 09:0hrs every day and leaves at sunset. “It’s just like a normal job,” he says.

Hopkinson said it all began with an offer made to him by a young lady he calls “a church sister”.
“There was a sister who I knew; she had a small Concord Camera- a manual, film camera. She had wanted to sell it [so] she came and ask me if I wanted a camera to buy. I said yes, it’s not a bad idea but I have no money,” he said.
The 63-year-old said he was never encouraged by anyone to be a photographer, and it was only after the opportunity popped up to purchase the camera that he got the idea.
“I had no idea of how to shoot a picture and I had never shot a picture in all my life. I was a shoemaker in D’Andrade Street, Newtown at that time,” he said, with a slight smile.

But he was met by another hurdle because he had no money to purchase the camera which cost GY$800.
“I said, ‘Sis, I don’t have any money, but I can credit the camera from you and during the course of the week I will pay you,” Hopkinson said.

He related that following his promise, she accepted and a deal was struck.
“When she handed me the camera, I said to myself, ‘I never shoot a picture; I don’t know how to start taking a picture with this camera.’ But, with the inspiration from God, I took the camera and came into the gardens to start what has now become my profession,” the photographer related.

Hopkinson, who was a cobbler before his new-found profession, said he purchased a pack of film from the Acme Store on Regent Street, then got a pen, a book and a bag and went into the gardens.

“When I entered the gardens, I saw three professional photographers with bigger cameras and when I took out my camera from the bag, the guys began to laugh at me because they said I come to do camera work and couldn’t even fix the film into the camera. But they were using these big professional cameras,” he said.

He added that the photographers helped him by showing him how to fix and shoot the camera.
He stated that over time and with help from the other photographers, he learned to like the profession, and soon after decided to put aside his other work because photography was making more money.

“ I kept my promise and paid off for the camera the same week because at that time, it was $140 for a photograph and a person would take five to six pictures at a time, and I had no expense, just my meals and a small rent,” he said.
Hopkinson said that in those days, he would shoot about half a roll of film which is about 20 photos per day and take it to Pressy or Acme to wash. The waiting time for washing the photos was three days to a week.

Today, Hopkinson can still be seen plying his trade in the gardens but his situation has changed drastically from his first day. He now has a family of five children and many grandchildren. Additionally, he now uses a professional digital camera, charges $500 per photo and his customers don’t have to wait a week but receives it right away, since he prints his own photos on spot.