'3 Balls £2.50'
A photo book to raise money for The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society
Update - it's a sell out! 76 copies sold, £456 raised for NASS
The short version:
I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) a long time ago and to raise money for The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) I've had 60 copies of a book of new photos printed. It costs £6 and all of the money goes to NASS*. It's called '3 Balls £2.50' and the theme is traditional British funfairs.
The longer version:
When I was 21 years old (21 years ago!) I started to suffer from severe pain and inflammation in my joints. Intense pain for months on end coupled with limited mobility meant my life was very difficult. My GP at the time, a 'rheumatic specialist', kept telling me to rest but after 4 years of misery I sought a second opinion out of desperation. This doctor immediately spotted the signs of AS and blood tests and scans confirmed it (thankfully the other doctor has now retired). There is no cure for AS and you need to keep very active despite the pain so I did my best to cope with over-the-counter pain relief. I somehow rarely missed work and was as active as I could be in raising our son who was always very understanding about his poorly Dad, as was my wife. After several different types of medication did nothing but make me feel worse I was given the chance in 2009 to try Humira, which has changed my life completely. After 17 years of pain it's quite a revelation when your new treatment (a fortnightly injection) takes all the pain away and therefore gives you normal mobility again. I'm now approaching the fifth anniversary of feeling pretty much normal and I can only hope this continues and the medication doesn't cause me any long term problems. This new lease of life coincided with my increasing interest in photography so it seemed appropriate to try and put together a new collection of photos to try and raise money for NASS.
I'm funding the printing and postage myself so that NASS get the full amount donated (although PayPal will take 40p, what a disgrace) and hopefully some of the books will sell and raise a decent amount for them. Each book is £6 including postage and I'm using eBay's charity facility to make everything secure and easy.
If you're not in the UK please contact me to discuss postage before ordering as I can't afford to cover international postage costs myself.
If you're not in the UK please contact me to discuss postage before ordering as I can't afford to cover international postage costs myself.
The book itself is A5 landscape (210 x 148mm), has 20 pages and is printed in black and white throughout. The cover is 300gsm and the pages are 120gsm. The printed result is rather pleasing and some pictures of it and from it are below. The photography is all new and documents my visits to traditional funfairs in Kent; there are 19 photos in total.
I'm using the charity facility of eBay to make things simpler for everyone, you can pay by PayPal and I'll send your book within a couple of days of payment. The proceeds are automatically sent directly to NASS.
If you have any questions please contact me on: [email protected]
I'm using the charity facility of eBay to make things simpler for everyone, you can pay by PayPal and I'll send your book within a couple of days of payment. The proceeds are automatically sent directly to NASS.
If you have any questions please contact me on: [email protected]
Thank you so much in advance,
Tim Allen.
Photography info: Shot entirely using a Fuji X100 (2.01) at f/2.
*Sadly although eBay waive their fees, PayPal do not so 40p will be taken by them. Disgraceful as always.
*Sadly although eBay waive their fees, PayPal do not so 40p will be taken by them. Disgraceful as always.
© Tim Allen / timallenphotogram 2025. All Rights Reserved.