Month: December 2023

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Campervan coffee and Secret Santa

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I received my gift from this year’s Emulsive Secret Santa exchange today.

Normally this would remain a surprise for Christmas day, but this year when I opened the package, instead of a wrapped pressie being contained inside, the gifts were there in plain sight (along with a note apologising for the packaging 🙂 ), so I know exactly what my Santa has gifted to me.

This year I received a couple of rolls of film, one a short roll of unknown 400asa colour film in 135 format, the other a roll of Fomapan 400 in 120 format. Also tucked away in the box though was a camera, an Ilford Sporti. At first glance I thought that this was going to be a 35mm camera, but I was pleased to discover that it’s actually a zone-focus, fixed shutter medium format camera. It’s quite a basic camera in terms of features – more Holga than Hasselblad, but it feels solid (it was made in Germany) and, if it’s akin to a Holga in terms of it’s use then that’s no bad thing as I really enjoy the sort of simplicity which that brings sometimes.

I’ll provide more thoughts (and, who knows, maybe even a review) when I get chance to put it to good use.

Another picture for the Leeds set today. Who can resist a VW camper, eh?

VW

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 14 October 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A couple of colourful buildings

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Another couple of pictures from Leeds, linked by the theme of brightly coloured buildings. Or, in the case of both, brightly coloured reflections or coverings.

The orangey red tones in the windows of the first building are actually reflections of the bright orange netting covering the second, so they’re linked by proximity too (and, I think, they are consecutive frames on the roll of film).

It was my first day of Christmas leave today, and I spent it doing some Christmas shopping (I think I’m all done now), and then a trip to the cinema to watch Godzilla Minus One, which was really good. Considering it was made on a relative shoestring budget of, IIRC, $12 million, it looks outstandingly good. I found out when I got home that there’s a special black-and-white version being released in Japan which has been carefully put together (rather than just being de-saturated) which also looks awesome. You can see the trailer for that here.

Tomorrow, depending on the weather, I’ll either be wrapping presents and maybe developing a roll of film, or possibly heading out to make more photos somewhere. I also need to visit my dad, so maybe that as well.

Modern architecture
Orange aglow

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 14 October 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Two views of the River Aire (and losing people online)

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Both of the images in today’s post were taken from the David Oluwale Bridge in the centre of Leeds. The first looks eastwards and downstream, the second westwards with Bridgewater Place dominating the skyline (I wrote more about that here).

Today was my last day of work before Christmas, and I now have a week-and-a-half of (I hope) leisure time, which is nice. I just need to put work stuff out of my mind – there’s a lot of stuff waiting my attention in the New Year – but I can hopefully manage to do that just fine.

Despite my breaking up for Christmas today, the morning started off with some sad news when I discovered that one of the people on an online forum I frequent has passed away. He died a couple of weeks ago, but the folks on the forum have only just found out. I met him in person earlier this year when we had a big forum get-together and he was a nice guy, outgoing and fun, so while I didn’t really know him well, or even share a lot of comments on the forum, it’s a bit of a shock to think of him being gone.

It made me wonder about how many people will just disappear from their online lives without notice when they die. Online connections are not always replicated offline and so there’s probably not a route to communicate someone’s passing to all the places they might frequent. Maybe we should think, before it’s too late, about leaving word for our loved ones to inform our digital connections when we depart this mortal coil.

Yellow boat on the Aire
The River Aire and Bridgewater Place

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 14 October 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

What I saw on departure

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The pictures coming over the next week or so are a continuation of the pictures I made on a day trip to Leeds back in October. I’ve already posted a bunch of images from this trip, starting with this post from 27 November, but those were black and white photographs shot with my Olympus OM-1N on Ilford FP4+. The set that I’m going to post are all taken with my Canon Sure Shot Z135 compact and, in a first for me, shot on Kodak Ultramax. I’ll let you know my thoughts on the film and my results as I post more images.

The view from my seat as I waited for my train to depart for Leeds.

The view before departure

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 14 October 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Autumn trees

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I was going to say that this post features the last of this year’s crop of autumnal pictures, but I have a few more on a roll of 35mm Kodak Gold still to be uploaded, so there will still be a few more to share (although I expect it will be after Christmas before that happens, unless I move them up the schedule).

The two pictures here were taken near the village of Barlow in Derbyshire, not too far from Chesterfield. I’ve driven past the lone tree pm a few occasions and noticed that it has a handy public footpath running through the field beside it. Whit it was the main reason I got out of the car with my camera, I think I prefer the first shot of the woodland, which has a nice selection of autumnal tones against the slightly hazy blue sky. The lone tree is ok, but I think there is a better photograph to be had.

I’ve managed to shoot (almost) a couple of rolls of 120 Ilford HP5+ this weekend during an overnight trip to York with my wife to visit the Christmas market. I’m not sure how they will turn out – I rarely make my best pictures when I’m out with someone else, and always feel like I’m rushing or missing things. I’ll hopefully get a chance to develop them soon though, so we shall see…

The edge of autumn
Lone tree in a field

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC / Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 25 November 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Church and willows

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A few miles south from the Herdings Twin Towers that I posted about yesterday lies St. Peter’s church at Greenhill. The church was built in 1964/65, so is a relatively modern structure. It’s slightly squat spire always has an air of a witches’ hat, I think.

The early morning light was casting a beautiful glow onto the willow trees that grow beside the church. I don’t think my photograph does proper justice to the light.

St. Peter's Church, Greenhill
St. Peter's Church, Greenhill-2

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 25 November 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Herdings Twin Towers

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This pair of residential towers are a Sheffield landmark. Not particularly because of the way they look, but their location at the top of the Herdings district means they are widely visible from across the city and can be seen from many miles away, particularly from the east.

They were built in 1959 and there were originally three towers named Leighton, Morland and Raeburn and were referred to as The Three Sisters, but Raeburn was demolished in 1996 when it was deemed unsafe following the discovery of a fault in the ground where it stood. The remaining two towers were renamed as Queen Anne Court and Queen Elizabeth Court and are now sometimes known as the Herdings Twin Towers.

I’ve driven past them at sunrise before and always thought they would make for a nice picture, so a few weeks back I decided to go and make one. The light was nice on the day, but I’d have preferred a bit of cloud to break up the blue sky. The image is also vey slightly soft despite me using a tripod. An excuse to re-visit the location at some point, I think.

Herdings Twin Towers

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 25 November 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

On Remembrance Day

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I took this picture on my way home from my autumn walk in the Peak District (which I ‘ve posted about over the past three days). I was driving through Coal Aston, a district that sits about halfway between Sheffield and Chesterfield, and saw how the morning sun was illuminating the front of this church and making vivid the colours of the Remembrance Day poppy displays.

Primitive Methodist church, Coal Aston

I found a place just down the road where I could park and then walked back to take the photograph from across the street. The lady in the purple jacket walked through the scene as I was focusing the camera, and then stopped to look at the bus timetable at the bus stop, so I got a human element in the picture, which is nice.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 11 November 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Scenes from an autumn walk part 3

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I wasn’t going to include these pictures as part of this sequence of autumn walk posts but, given they were shot on the same outing and also depict autumnal conditions, it seemed a bit silly not to.

These were among the first pictures from a roll of Kodak Portra 160 and were shot in Padley Gorge, which is right next to the Longshaw Estate where the earlier photos were taken.

Gritstone oak leaf

They’re not the best pictures I’ve made at this location, but they’re not horrible either, and I do like the one with the leaf on the boulder quite a lot.

Cascade

Getting down to the side of Burbage Brook which runs through the gorge can be tricky. The sides are steep and laced with slippery roots, unstable topsoil, and a large volume of rocks – some slippery with moss, some unstable underfoot. Without care, it would be quite easy to gain an injury, potentially a serious one. Beside the brook is where the best photos are to be had though.

By Burbage Brook

Still, I managed my descent safely – something made simpler when I spotted another photographer taking a much easier route. Even better, I was able to escape again afterwards!

On the edge in autumn

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE / Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 11 November 2023.