35mm · Film photography · Photography

An autumn morning in Boston Spa

A photo that’s around 18-months old now at the time of posting. It was taken at Boston Spa in North Yorkshire. They have a camera fair there several times a year, and I’d decided to visit. The morning was lovely and crispy, as the best autumn mornings are, and the light was lovely. This was my first (and so far only) roll of slide film, although that will change when I get around to shooting the roll of Ektachrome that is waiting patiently in the fridge.

FILM - An autumn morning in Boston Spa

Nikon F70, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5 – 5.6 AF-D & Agfa CT Precisa.

Taken on 15 October 2017

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Freemason’s lodge

I noticed this building when in Wakefield recently. The symbol in the decorative pediment identifies it as a freemason’s lodge and it has attractive features as a building. A tilt-shift lens would be very useful for shots such as these but, alas, I don’t have one (nor can I justify the expense either), so the picture is stuck with the converging verticals.

I’m presuming that a staircase runs from the left to the right of the upper floor to account for the different sized windows,

FILM - Freemason's lodge

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 & Arista Edu 200.

Taken on 30 March 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Sorrento mixer

Here’s a splash of colour to break up the black and white stuff. I’m currently in the process of re-scanning last year’s holiday photos with my newly acquired Plustek 35mm scanner. I was really disappointed with the original scans that I made on the V550 – no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get the colours in the Ektar negatives to look right. They all has strange colour casts that I could never fix to my satisfaction.

I’m not sure if the Plustek and Silverfast are giving me accurate Ektar colours (I don’t have any lab scans to compare to), but they’re a quantum leap ahead of my earlier efforts and I’m really happy with them now.

FILM - Mixer

Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 & Kodak Ektar.

Taken on 22 August 2018

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Farm

Today’s photo was taken on the same walk last week where I photographed the cows in yesterday’s blog post. This shot of the farm was taken before I got to the cows though.

I’ve passed this farm a number of times, but never stopped to see if it offered any photo opportunities. Turns out it does – I took about five photographs during this session, and there are doubtless a few more to be had – even just standing on the road that passes it.

I’m not sure if the farm is still occupied. It’s surrounded by fields that are clearly still being worked, but the farm building themselves had a decidedly quiet air about them. Maybe I just passed at a quiet time though.

FILM - Farm

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 & Arista Edu 200.

Taken on 31 March 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Cows

I went for a walk last Sunday, with no plan in mind other than to follow a public footpath on a map. This is something I like to do and aim to do more this year – I basically look for a public footpath on an Ordnance Survey map and then follow it. Hopefully I’ll find a few nice photos on the way and, if I don’t, it’s still exercise.

The path I followed last Sunday went around a small grass airstrip that I had no idea was even there before spotting it on the map. The map seemed to indicate that there was passage across the strip, but the reality was that it was bordered by electric fencing, the reason for this precaution probably being the subjects of today’s photograph.

I’m slightly wary of cows after reading of a number of injuries and even deaths caused by these normally peaceful creatures (although, in most cases the victim had a dog with them at the time, which is likely the reason the cows became hostile). I also became trapped in a field as darkness fell by a sizeable herd not too long ago when they wandered to graze right next to the only point of exit while I was taking a photograph elsewhere in the meadow.

Whatever my fears though, unfounded or not, this group were content to munch on the grass as I passed them by at a safe distance.

FILM - Cows

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 & Arista Edu 200.

Taken on 31 March 2019