I occasionaly drive one of my sons to work and the route takes us past an out-of-town industrial development. At this time of year, the light on the buildings in this area can be lovely and I’ve shot a few rolls of film down there recently to try and take advantage. As well as the existing buildings, a number of new structures are under construction, including the one in the blog today. The last time I drove past it a few days ago it looked considerably different to view presented here as most of the walls have now been fitted to the frame.
I didn’t go inside this cafe on this visit to Mablethorpe, although I have on previous trips. There’s something comforting about sitting in a cafe with views out over the sea, with a hot drink, and maybe a snack as you contemplate the world outside.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Facing East North East, this vantage-point looks out across the North Sea towards Denmark which lies approximately 350 miles away.
Like many fences and railings in touristy places, the cables have been decorated with “love locks” and the odd bouquet of flowers. I wonder how many of the people who place these padlocks remain in the relationships they represent, and whether they ever come back and remove them if they don’t last? This is assuming that they can be removed of course – I suspect a good squirt of WD-40 might be needed in a lot of cases, especially where the salt air has had time to do its work, and I also wonder if love struck couples don’t just dispose of the keys anyway, another symbol of everlasting love?
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Almost a year to the day I took the last one, here’s another photo of the fire station at Mablethorpe. I think the Velvia has done this one proper justice.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
I came across this building while wandering. I’ve no idea what it was used for in the past although, as it’s in the midst of some sizeable caravan sites, it might have been a club or something similar. It’s considerably overgrown with shrubs at the front now.
The Velvia blue skies make it look kinda nice though, despite its disuse.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
It wouldn’t be a trip to the seaside without a photo of some chalets or beach huts. Well, perhaps it would for non-photographers, but for me they’re almost an obligation to photograph when I see them, especially as I don’t visit the coast all that often.
This expired Velvia 50 has really done it’s work on that blue sky, hasn’t it?
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
This wheelie-bin for hire advertisement caught my eye (from £35 a day), the bin perched atop a small Ford Ka van, The cones also got my attention, as did the sign afixed to the lamppost which, on first glance, I thought was advertising a flypast but which, upon closer inspection, is actually advertising an RAF Association meeting. There were teas, coffee, and cake involved, which sounds nice. Note also, the “God save the king” attribution at the bottom, this photograph having been taken the day before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
It’s a photograph of what might be considered a mundane scene, but these things often catch my eye. I find them interesting and I think it’s valuable to record such things, probably moreso than pretty landscapes.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Today’s pictures were taken as I wandered around the funfair at Mablethorpe. It was early in the day and, while the gates were open, none of the rides or other attractions were operating and it was only myself and the attraction owners and operators in the place. The guy in charge of the dodgems was giving instructions to the young men who were helping him prepare the cars, telling them to make sure there was no sand on them before polishing the paintwork as they would leave scratches.
I had a full free hour this lunchtime, so I decided to deevelop a roll of film I shot at the weekend. I did a couple of things for the first time as part of the process. The first was to use Fomadon R09 developer, which I’ve not used before. It’s apparently just Rodinal (in fact, the only reason I bought it is because Rodinal was out of stock), albeit the original recipe and not the one currently produced by Adox, which I believe has a longer shelf life. When I poured out the used developer from the tank I was quite surprised to see that it was a vivid purple colour – like blackcurrant juice! I’m not sure if this was caused by the R09, or the expired Tmax 100 I was developing, although I suspect the former.
The second new thing I did as part of the process was to use a salad spinner to remove the excess liquid from the negatives before hanging them to dry. I’ve always had a problem with water marks on my negatives (I live in a hard water area), even if I use distilled water for washing, plus a wetting agent. I tried a squeegee for a while which worked well, but then it scratched a strip of negatives so I’ve not used it since. I tend to use the inside of my fingers to squeegee the strips instead, but I still end up with water and then drying marks most of the time. I’ve seen salad spinners mentioned before as a good way to remove excess water and the negs certailnly came out with much less liquid on them – just a few small, pin-prick sized droplets. I’ve yet to scan them, so the proof will be in the pudding, but I’m hopeful that this might be the way forward.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
It’s that time of the year when my blog becomes awash with photographs from Mablethorpe, taken on my annual visit (pilgimage 🙂 ). I think I shot three-and-a-half rolls this year, these are from the half-roll (Kodak Portra 160), but I have shots from a full roll of 135 Velvia 50, and one roll each of Fuji Pro 160NS and Kodak Plus-X in 120 still to come.
I’ve made further attempts to scan the dusty negatives that I posted about my frustration with yesterday. I’ve carefully cleaned all the strips with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and microfibre cloths. The negatives that I thought I’d damaged yesterday also cleaned up better on this attempt and are thankfully not marred by permanent streaks as I had feared. There is still a considerable amount of dust present, but much less than before (at least from the ones I’ve tried scanning so far). There is also at least one neg with a scratch that I’ve introduced. But they look better.
I’m still going to put the pieces in place to develop colour film myself though. Maybe not immediately, but hopefully before too long.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
