The Garden Shed Ch. 10

All persons engaged in sexual activity in this story, are over 18 years of age.

This story took place in the 1970s in the United Kingdom when the 'World Wide Web' or Internet as it is known today, was barely an infant and not available to private individuals. As for mobile phones, they were only at an experimental stage. This meant that knowledge of sex was gleaned mostly by chats with 'experienced' friends or looking at adult magazines aka Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler and so on.

Boys and girls were nowhere near as mature or knowledgeable about sex at age 18 compared to many of today's 14 or 15 year olds, thanks mainly to the multitude of internet 'information' that can now be accessed by anyone that can type 'sex' into a search engine.

All of this is to set the scene for you, to make you aware that in the 1970s, unlike the present, many boys and girls at age 18 were considerably naïve when it came to real sexual encounters.

Obviously, if you have read the previous chapters you will be more in tune with the characters.

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I don't think have I have mentioned this before, but when I was in the last couple of years at school, I took up an interest in photography and was a keen member of the school Photographic Club. I had been given a decent second-hand camera for a birthday present and had become quite proficient in taking good photographs. The club often set subjects for the members to interpret in their photos and once you had taken the photos you wanted, you were able to use their well-equipped darkroom to process the rolls of film (no digital equipment then of course) and make prints, but only of course in black and white. Unfortunately, it seemed to be an all-male group, although there was nothing to stop girls joining, they just didn't. I even asked my sister Sue if she would like to come with me on a few occasions, but she said that she could see all she wanted to see with her eyes, and wasn't interested in messing around with chemicals in the dark.

There were regular contests and open 'criticism evenings', that were good natured and enabled you to put up a photo for the others to look at and get back constructive criticism, that hopefully would help you to gain knowledge and experience in the art. So, after a time, I became quite proficient in not only taking photos, but also in making prints, using various techniques to bring out the best from the negatives.

Unfortunately, when I left school to go to college to study engineering, I lost access to the darkroom facilities at the school. Yes, I could still take photos, but half of the pleasure was making the prints myself.

I had considered setting up a darkroom in my shed, but I didn't have enough money for the various bits of equipment, like for instance, an enlarger, that I would need. College was free in those days, but it still meant that I was only earning a bit of money from odd jobs during the holidays, and at weekends. Our parents worked hard and earned enough to pay all the bills but weren't rich.

My sister in her job as a trainee hairdresser, and now just recently also training in beauty products, was only on trainee wages. She was happy to have left school and was learning all she could about hair, nails, and stuff in a practical way, so fortunately she didn't begrudge me going to college to study.

I had offered to give up the thoughts of college and find a job, but our parents wouldn't hear of it. So, although I had mentioned it a few times in passing, I didn't really think I would be able to set up my own darkroom anytime soon. That was how I came to be spending part of my time in my shed, looking at photos in the men's magazines I secreted away there, rather than taking many photos.

As the college year progressed, I got used to the routine and studying on a different level to school, but I did miss the photography, as it was something completely different, that I could get absorbed in for a while.

Sue and I had had a lot of fun during the year, but gradually summer gave way to autumn, and then winter arrived. The weeks flew by and suddenly it was almost Christmas.

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I managed to save a little from my occasional jobs, and also a bit by walking to college if the weather was good, to save on bus fares, to be able to buy a few presents for Mom and Dad and of course Sue. They weren't huge things, but we didn't usually go in for large presents, so I thought they would be fine.

We had always kept up the tradition of putting presents under the Christmas tree and then opening them together on Christmas morning. I was surprised and mystified on Christmas Eve, to see a very large cardboard box appear under the tree with 'Ben' written on it. Although we weren't really allowed to touch them before Christmas Day, temptation overcame me, and I felt its weight; it was quite heavy. I wondered what on earth it could be, or whether it was my sister playing a prank, as she had done once, by having a very big box and a very small box inside it. It would be just like her.

On Christmas Day, everyone opened their presents before me, leaving only the one big box which was for me.

"We all got together to get you this," Mom said, "so it's a joint present."

They were all watching me, and I could sense the anticipation in the room. It was sure to be a prank, I thought. Perhaps something is going to jump out, or it will go 'bang' or something, I wouldn't put anything past Sue.

I started to open it gingerly, nothing went bang, and it wasn't a prank.

What I did find, was a complete darkroom kit, enlarger, lenses, trays, photopaper, chemicals etc. I could see it wasn't brand new, but it looked really well looked after.

"Wow," I exclaimed, "thank you, but it's too much, it's far more than I expected, it must have cost a fortune and I know we can't really afford it."

"We are glad you like it," Mom stated, "it was Sue's idea really. You can see it's not brand new, but the husband of one of Sue's customers, who does wedding photography, was upgrading all his processing equipment to do colour, and was selling his current setup as one package. He said it is all there and in good condition, but I am sure you will sort it out."

"I heard you talk about it a few times, so when this came up, I thought it would make a good present," Sue added, her eyes shining, and a big grin on her face seeing how well the surprise had worked..

"Yess,.. yes," I stuttered, "it's brilliant, thank you," I said again, and went round kissing everyone. "I wonder if I can set it up in my shed?"

"I think it will be too cold down there," Mom said.

"It might be, and I would have to try to make it lightproof somehow." I agreed.

"But we had an idea..."

"We thought...," Dad unusually intervened, "that you could set it up in the loft. There is plenty of headroom and a lightweight, narrow, ladder that drops down when you open the hatch. Your Mom hates it and won't go up it and I'm not that keen, so you can have the space to yourself. There is power, light, a water tank and it is fully insulated, and has a floor. When you pull the ladder up from above, the hatch closes, so I think it will be lightproof. You can have a bucket for the waste chemicals and bring it down here to empty it. What do you think?"

"I don't know what to say," I said, utterly lost for words at how they had thought about it all for me. "It sounds perfect, I'll have a look and clean it up a bit as soon as I can. Wow, thank you all."

We were all on Christmas break for about another week, so over the next few days, I spent a lot of time in the loft, cleaning, getting rid of the dust, cobwebs, and bits of accumulated clutter. Then piece by piece, through the small hatch, I carried up the wood and installed a small work bench, a few shelves, and took up there a couple of fold-up camp chairs and cushions that we never use.

When I had finished, there was still quite a lot of space and everything fitted in well. I was incredibly pleased and keen to start taking some photos, so that I could try it all out.

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"Come on Sue, look a bit more cheerful." I said, as I tried to focus my camera on Sue's frowning face.

"It's cold standing out here on a freezing morning in the middle of winter, couldn't you take photos of something else instead." Sue complained.

I had persuaded her to stand out in the garden, wrapped up in her warmest coat, and pose for me, just to get a few photos to process in my new darkroom setup. But it wasn't going well.

"There isn't much about at the moment Sue, there are no flowers, and the trees are bare, you are the most beautiful thing I've seen today." I smarmed.

"Flattery like that will get you nowhere Mister," she retorted, but grinned, and at last I took several shots.

"Pretend it's warm and you are enjoying the garden," I suggested.

"What, with my breath freezing in white clouds every time I breath out," she said, "this isn't how I envisaged spending my break from work," the grin gone now.

"Please, just a few more," I pleaded, "then you can go inside and warm up."

"Oh, ok, " she sighed, just a couple more then, and put her hand on her hip, turned and looked over her shoulder, at me, pouting like I had seen girls do in the magazines.

"Oh, that's good, you are a natural." I complimented her. Then in a whisper, only she could hear, "and sooo sexy."

That got a smile out of her, and she did another couple of poses before I decided I had enough to be going on with.

"Thanks Sue, you have been great, I'll show you how they come out when I have printed them. Do you want to go inside and have a warm drink now?"

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask," she said, walking quickly back to the house.

I followed her in and thought that I would probably have time to develop the negatives before lunch and they would be dry by the afternoon. I could then try making some prints and test out my new darkroom setup.

I had tested the loft, 'my darkroom' as I now called it, for light leakage, by standing up there in the dark for thirty minutes, just looking around. However, I hadn't yet developed any films up there. I knew that the negatives had to be loaded into the light proof container for processing in total darkness, by touch only, as they are extremely light sensitive and even any dim light could ruin them. If they came out ok, it would confirm my visual inspection.

I loaded them ok, something I had perfected with an old roll of film until I could do it in total darkness. Once loaded, I was able to switch on the light and carry out the actual processing with the chemicals.

All went well; I extracted the finished negatives which looked as I expected them to and hung them up to dry. It seemed that as long as the hatch was pulled up tight and secured, it was totally light tight. I also noticed that with all the insulation under the roof and under the floor, not only was it pleasantly warm, but I could only just about hear the normal household noises from the rest of the house. It was like my shed, but almost soundproof, and no one could easily access it once the ladder was pulled up and the hatch secured.

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About mid-afternoon, I climbed up the ladder again and put the now dry negatives into the enlarger. I was very pleased with some of the results of Sue's 'modelling' and printed a half dozen of the better ones onto A4 sheets of photo paper.

During our evening meal, I passed them around to Mom, Dad, and of course Sue.

"Hmmmm, these are not bad at all," Mom said, scrutinising each one carefully.

"Yes, you seem to be making good use of your Christmas present," Dad said, passing them to Sue. "Perhaps you should take some of your mom sometime, it's been a while since she had any taken."

"Err, yes, maybe," I replied, without much enthusiasm.

"Aren't I a good enough model?" Mom said, tongue in cheek.

"Ummm, yes, of course, I just meant, some people don't like having their photo taken, that was all," I mumbled, starting to blush.

Mom knew she had put me on the spot, I think that's where Sue gets her wicked sense of humour from.

"I think they're great," Sue commented, looking at each one in turn. "Maybe it was worth getting a bit cold for," she added.

I was pleased that my first batch had come out well and people could see that it wasn't a wasted present.

"Could you do me a favour Ben?" Sue asked, still perusing the photos.

I put another fork-full of potato in my mouth, "I will if I can."

"Ben, what have I told you about eating and speaking," Mom chimed in.

She never lets up; she seems to see everything.

Sue caught my eye and smirked.

"Sorry," I said, once I had swallowed, "what did you want me to do," I directed at Sue.

"At work, I keep a little camera, it's not a posh one like yours, but I use it to take photos of some of my client's hair styles or nails, when I have done something a bit different. I am making a sort of portfolio of my work."

"Where do I come into this?"

"Well normally I take the films to the chemist to be developed, but they just print what's on the film, so I have no control of how it looks. I wondered if you would do a film for me and perhaps make them look more professional. It would be interesting to see how you do it as well."

"I thought you weren't interested in 'messing with chemicals in the dark'," I quoted her, from the days when I had asked her to come to the Photographic Club.

"These days I like to broaden my knowledge about all sorts of things," she said, with a straight face, that almost had me choking in my dinner.

She saw the effect it had on me and of course, smirked.

"Ummm, yes, then of course I can do that for you, whenever you have a film ready," I replied, aware of Mom's eyes on me.

"Oh, didn't I mention, I brought my camera home with me, the film has just run out," she said, smiling innocently.

"I am sure your brother will help you and show you what's what," Mom said, "won't you Ben?"

"Yea, sure," I said, trying not to choke again or look at Sue, "we'll arrange something, maybe tomorrow?"

"Great, thanks Ben, you're a star," she said, smugly.

After dinner, we were washing up the dishes together as usual and our parents were in the living room.

"You nearly made me choke on my dinner there with your innuendos," I whispered to Sue, hearing the TV blaring out in the living room.

"Did I," she said innocently, putting another plate into the hot water to wash.

"You know you did. You need to be careful what you say, I know Dad takes no interest, but Mom is quick to pick up on things, you take too many risks."

"Oh, you worry too much," she said, nonchalantly.

"Really," I retorted, moving quickly behind her, and pushing my crotch against her bottom, while I reached round and grabbed a breast in each hand and pulled her against me.

She squealed with surprise.

"What's going on in there?" Mom shouted.

"See, I told you, ears like a bat," I whispered in her ear.

"It's ok Mom, just Ben being an idiot and tickling me when I have plates in my hand." she shouted back.

"Well don't you break anything, or there will be trouble," she replied from the living room, and then there was silence.

By now, I had resumed my position alongside her and was drying the last of the dishes.

"If you give me your camera, I will develop the film by myself tomorrow morning, there's nothing to see 'cos it has to be done in total darkness, then in the afternoon, it should be dry, and we can see what you have taken. Is that ok?"

"Yea, that's great, thanks Ben," she said, turning and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hmmm, what was that for?"

"For being a good brother," she said, smiling, and having finished the dishes, left, and went up to her room.

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The next morning as promised, I developed her film and hung it up to dry. It had some images on it, so I knew we would have something to work with after lunch.

As Mom and Dad were still on Christmas break from work, we all had a light lunch together.

"How did my film come out?" Sue asked.

"I haven't looked at what's on the film," I said, glancing at Mom, and making sure I wasn't eating as I spoke, "but there is something on it, so we can take a look after lunch if you still want to."

"Oh yea, great, as soon as we have finished lunch then," she said.

"I'll be interested to see what styles you have been doing at work," Mom said, "but I'll have to wait until you bring the photos down, you won't catch me going up that rickety ladder," she added, firmly.

"Yes, sure," Sue said, "I hope they come out alright."

The conversation drifted on between Mom and Sue as we ate our lunch. Dad was seemingly thinking his own thoughts and said little and I concentrated on eating, tuning out 'perms', 'colouring', 'blow-dries', 'combing out' and all that stuff they were discussing.

As soon as we had all finished, Sue collected the empty plates.

"I'll do those if you want to get on with your photos," Mom said, getting up.

"Ok, thanks Mom. Shall we go and see what your cameras skills are like then?" I said, turning to Sue.

"Yea, I am looking forward to seeing how you do it." she replied.

We went up the main stairs and I pulled on the short rope that opened the hatch to the loft and allowed the steep, narrow ladder to descend. Without hesitation, Sue climbed up first.

As I watched her tight bottom wiggle as she climbed up, I thought it was a pity she was wearing jeans and not one of her normal short skirts, otherwise the view would have been even better.

"Wow, this is a neat setup you have here, and plenty of room too," she exclaimed, as she stepped into the loft and found the light switch.

I followed her up and then pulled up the ladder and closed the hatch.

"Hey, it's so quiet too," she added.

"Yea, it's all the insulation Dad put up years ago, it deadens the sound too."

"Is this my film?" she asked, moving over to where I had hung it to dry.

"Yes, but don't touch it, we don't want fingerprints on them."

"Oh ok," she said, pulling her hand back.

Over the next few minutes, I explained what we had to do to make some prints from her film and showed her how we would do it. She was very close to me, and as she leaned over I could feel one of her pert breasts pressing against my back. She moved slightly, and I felt the pressure of it rubbing me through my clothes which made my soft cock become a little harder. I am not sure if she was doing it deliberately, but it was nice feeling part of her touching me.

She didn't do anything else and to be fair, she did seem interested. After turning the main light off and switching on the dull red one, I showed her by making a few prints. I then moved over and let her do it herself. This time I stood close behind her in the warm dim light and let my semi-erect cock press against her occasionally, but she didn't comment.

She quickly got the hang of using the enlarger and was fascinated to see the pictures gradually appear on the photo-paper in the developing dish. Once they had been in the 'fixer' and been washed, we hung them up around the room to dry.

"That was more interesting than I thought," Sue said, as we sat on comfy cushions in the old camping chairs I had brought up.

"It looks like you're not a bad photographer either," I said, glancing round at all the photos.

"Not bad for a cheap camera anyway," she grinned.

We were quiet for a moment, each of us just glancing round at the photos and the room.

"Ben, you know those photos in the magazines you have in your shed?" she said suddenly.

"Errr, yes."

"Did you ever think you would like to have been the photographer for photos like that?"