Donkey arrivals

December 18, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Donkey rides have been a staple of British seaside resorts going back a few hundred years and it would be commonplace to see a small herd of them, bedecked with saddles, bridles, and often their name on a nose strap, giving rides up and down the beach to children.

I think they are a little less commonplace now as greater emphasis on animal welfare has been introduced, and the owners of donkeys used for rides need to be licensed and inspected to ensure that the wellbeing of the animals is properly maintained. There has also probably been a change in public attitudes, with more people seeing the practice as cruel and it being challenged by animal welfare organisations.

I remember as a child seeing the donkey being led through the town centre to the beach where the rides could be had, their hooves making that familiar clip-clopping sound as they walked, but they are now brought in an animal transporter, though possibly because they are no longer stabled within walking distance.

Here are a couple disembarking before beginning their day’s work.

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Seaside food and drink

December 17, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

There’s something alluring about seaside architecture, I find. It’s unusual to find similarly styled buildings that you find occupied by seaside cafes or beach-front chippies further inland, except maybe in some public parks and gardens.

In a lot of cases these places feel a little run down (although not always) which can add some extra attraction to them as photographic subject matter. In this case the opportunistic weeds and peeling paintwork.

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Skate park

December 16, 2025 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

This is a feature of Mablethorpe that didn’t exist when I used to visit as a child. It stands on a patch of open grass that leads up to the pirate-themed crazy golf course (which used to be an Arnold Palmer Putting Course, and for which I still have a never-to-be-redeemed voucher for a free play that I got after getting a hole-in-one on the final obstacle many years ago). I didn’t walk up to the course, but having seen this YouTube video, it appears that this may also now be closed. But fear not, there’s another pirate-themed course, just at the bottom of the slope (possibly owned by the same people).

Anyway, I digress. The skate park was devoid of skaters when I took this shot, but I liked the slightly confrontational look of the foreground ramp facing down the others.

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mablethorpe north beach

December 15, 2025 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Fernlea

December 14, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Fernlea garden centre has been doing business in the village of Maltby-le-Marsh near Mablethorpe for as a long as I can remember. I have a vague memory of my grandparents buying some plants from there one time when I was a kid – the caravan site where their caravan was berthed was in the same village (and still is, although considerably changed from how it was when I used to visit).

Each year when I visit Mablethorpe I drive through the village and see the garden centre. Unlike the caravan site, it seems remarkably unchanged (in my memory at least) from all those years ago, and whenever I go past I have a slight worry that it will no longer be there and another little piece of my life’s history will have gone. It hasn’t happened yet, thankfully, but this year when I drove past I decided to stop and take a couple of pictures so that, in the event that it ever disappears, I’ll still have a picture to remember it.

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Sometimes it goes wrong…

December 13, 2025 fishyfisharcade6 Comments

These pictures are from the same roll of Fuji Pro 400H as this pictures I posted yesterday. Unlike those, the light leaks on these were unrecoverable (by my level of skill, at least, although I suspect anyone else’s too).

I think the problem was caused by keeping the roll of film in the camera for two long. I shot a single frame when I visited Hull back in August but, because the film advance wheel fell off thew camera after that shot, it meant that I wasn’t able to shoot any more frames that day and only got around to shooting more in September, before finishing the final four frames in October when I went on my annual day-trip to Mablethorpe.

I shot all those during the journey, three in Gainsborough, and the final picture in Legbourne, and it’s the first of the Gainsborough pictures, and the Legbourne picture shown below.

It was after taking the picture in Lebourne and removing the roll of film from the camera that I became aware that I had a “fat” roll, the film and backing paper wrapped much more loosely around the spindle than required, meaning that light was able to get to the film when I opened the camera back. I put the roll somewhere dark as quickly as possible but not matter how fast I might move, it’s still slower than the speed of light, so the damage was done.

It’s a shame these two photos were damaged in this way as I think they would have been good pictures (I’ve since returned to Gainsborough and re-taken the first, but the weather conditions were different and the plume of steam wasn’t there, so I don’t think it will be as good). Still, despite the obvious issues, I still liked the results enough to post them on my Flickr account. I think the first one could make a pretty decent album cover!

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Fujifilm Pro 400H. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 6)

November 23, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

And so we reach the final set of pictures from my trip to Spurn Point.

The first three pictures are of the lifeboatmen’s (lifeboatpersons?) houses that were visible in my picture from the top of the lighthouse in yesterday’s post. They were built in 1975 and replaced the original cottages that dated to 1819. There are now no lifeboat crews based at Spurn with the service being covered from Grimsby and the new inshore lifeboat station at Cleethorpes.

And then a final set of pictures featuring the lighthouse. The first shot is probably my favourite of the whole trip. The Ultramax has produced some subtle but nice colours. The window at the top of the lighthouse is tinted and opens into the upper floor of the building (below the light) where there is a display on view.

So that’s the final post in this set. Spurn (and the Holderness coast) is somewhere I’d wanted to visit for a long time, and it’s somewhere I’d like to return to. There are lots more pictures to be had. Maybe I’ll get another chance next year.

Olympus 35 RC and Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 5)

November 22, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

On to the final set of black and white photos I made at Spurn Point. Following directly on from yesterday the first two images are of the views from the top of the lighthouse. It’s not possible to go outside and you have to stand on the platform where the light itself once stood in order to see out of the windows properly, but the views are good. I actually quite like the effect of the “leading” on the glass.

This first shot is the view looking back up the spit towards the Holderness coast (where the land disappears off the left middle edge of the frame). You can see the road, plus the sandy eastern beach, and the tidal mud flats to the west.

Looking the other way (roughly south east) gives a view of the tip of the point with the Humber estuary and the Lincolnshire coat beyond. The road is clearly visible as it makes it’s way to the former lifeboatmen’s houses. The sea traffic tower stands in the middle of the scene, and one of the Humber sea forts can be found at upper right.

Looking to the west give a view of the old lighthouse with its water tank cap. Some people were digging for bait on the mudflats and their electric bike can be seen.

After descending the steep steps of the lighthouse (not easy with a heavy backpack and a tripod!), I treated myself to an ice-cream and then set of towards the tip of the point, first following the road towards the sea traffic tower..

Beyond the tower the land gives way to dunes and a series of sandy footpaths. There are numerous ex-military buildings in various states of repair in this area.

As I reached the beach at the end of the point I turned round and took this photo looking back the way I’d come.

The beach at the end of the point shows clear signs of the tidal forces that come into play when the water is high, the sand sculpted into channels and craters. The fisherman who I’#’d earlier seen digging bait can also be seen putting it to use.

And the final shot from this roll shows a freighter heading up the estuary past the end of the point. This is a relatively small vessel and much larger ships pass through this channel.

The final set of Spurn Point photos to come tomorrow, this time in exciting colour! 🙂

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 4)

November 21, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Other than a couple of electric bikes, the only mode of vehicular transport I saw while walking to the end of Spurn Point was this Unimog all-terrain truck, which carries passengers from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust centre to the lighthouse.. It has to traverse the soft sands of the beach at the neck of the point until it can rejoin the remaining road that hasn’t been washed away by the sea. Here it is heading back north.

There are a number of trails leading from the beach, up over the dunes, and to the road. This one looks a little overgrown.

After crossing the road I stuck to the western side of the spit which is mostly flat, grassy terrain with a scattering of gorse and some bird-watching shelters overlooking the tidal mud flats of the estuary.

Given the length of the walk to the end of the point, it’s good to see a bench along the way. My telephoto lens has compressed the distance a little and it’s further to the lighthouse from the bench than it might appear in this shot.

Also present are the reamains of some WW2-era tank traps.

IAs I got closer to the lighthouse I made a number of photographs.

More to come tomorrow, including views from the top of the lighthouse!

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 3)

November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Switching cameras and film for the next bunch of photos from this trip…

You can just see the north sea in the shot, but I took this one because I liked the weather-vane goat.

A view north from the top of Spurn with rough conditions (although they didn’t seem so bad further down the point). The “promontory” jutting out to sea is actually the remnants or concrete wartime structures that have fallen as the cliffs recede due to coastal erosion.

A few miles out to sea stands a large offshore wind farm, something that has become a common sight from the North Sea coastline.

I wasn’t the only photographer on Spurn Point that day…

I wonder how much time has passed since this section of brick wall fell into the sea? I’m quite impressed at how well it is maintaining its structural integrity. Perhaps it will become a large and intricately patterned pebble some day.

More groyne remnants…

And another view of the remains of man’s efforts to hold back the tides…

Among the other debris, there were a number of lobster pots washed up on shore (or shortly about to)…

There are lots of pieces of chalk scattered across the seaward beaches of Spurn Point. These have most likely been transported south from the exposed chalk cliffs at Flamborough, almost fifty miles up the coast (although the entire Holderness coast is under laid with a bedrock of Cretaceous chalk, this is mostly covered by glacial till).