Monochrome wildflowers

May 26, 2020 fishyfisharcade6 Comments

Back to work today after four days off. No photography stuff today other than a bit of scanning.

The coronavirus situation in the country continues to apall with the shameless incompetence and double-standards at play in our so-called government. Apologies for mistakes are not a sign of weakness, they are a sign of strength. Respect is earned by those who accept and learn from their errors, not by those who obfuscate and pass the blame, no matter whether I support their broader views or not.

I wonder how long deceit, failure to accept responsibility and lack of accountability can last until something has to give? Sadly, I suspect a long time. There’s a tribalism in politics that has grown in recent years where groups of people hitch their allegiance to one wagon or another and refuse to get off, no matter the road it takes. It’s a terrible “us and them” situation that fosters the worst in people. I despair of it.

Anyway, this is a photography blog, not some political rant, so here’re some flowers.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 7 May 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Multiple exposure

May 25, 2020 fishyfisharcade4 Comments

A few weeks back I wrote a post about how I’d messed up with my Bronica and made an accidental multiple-exposure (it really doesn’t feel that long ago – I could have sworn I wrote the post a week back at most!). Anyway, the gist of it was that I’d accidentally switched the multiple-exposure lever on instead of the mirror lock-up when taking a long exposure. This resulted in me unknowingly making several exposures on the same frame of HP5+.

I had low hopes for the result and expected it to be a complete write-off. However, it isn’t… Surprisingly, the photograph has turned out interesting (in an obviously imperfect way).

The main subject is the signal box in the village that I’ve photographed on a number of occasions before. However, the other shots have resulted it being overlaid with foliage and cobwebs. It now looks oddly reminiscent (to me, at least) of something you’d find in Stephen King’s story, The Mist, where a secret government experiment opens up a rift to another dimension. From it flows a mysterious mist and within it are…things.

Anyhoo, here’s the photo in question.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 6 May 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A quarter pint of cola

May 24, 2020 fishyfisharcade4 Comments

Do you ever have those times where the creative urge just strikes? Times where you need to make a photograph even though you can’t go out and there’s nothing much to photograph indoors but your eye catches something and you just think “Yeah, that’s a picture.“? Well, today’s photograph is from one of those times.

I’m not sure whether I was just in a trigger happy creative flush, but something made me get the shot. The subject is a half-full glass of (flat) cola sat on the cabinet where my printer sits (and which has some books and other gubbins perched atop it too). The glass has been through the dishwasher on multiple occasions, and it shows. What was once clear is now permanently etched by the washing process, leaving a finery of scratches across its surface. I think it was these bright marks highlighted against the darkness of the beverage that made me think there was a photograph waiting to come out.

The Bronica and the 75mm Zenzanon have made for a sharp image and the Fomapan 100 (this is the first roll of this emulsion I’ve home developed in the DD-X I use) has produced lovely tones. It’s probably not a photo that anyone would ever want on their wall, but I’m quite struck by it for some reason. Mundane for the win once again.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 27 April 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

New toy. Faulty toy?

May 15, 2020June 24, 2020 fishyfisharcade5 Comments

I posted briefly about the Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/2 camera I bought recently, and my concerns that the lens might not be correctly aligned. Well it looks like my fears were correct.

I processed the roll of HP5+ yesterday that I’d shot with the camera the previous day and all the photographs show noticeable soft focus on the left side of the frames. It’s perhaps not noticeable here, but it’s quite apparent if you look at them at a larger size. This isn’t nit-picky pixel-peeping type concerns either, unfortunately. While the slightly askew angle of the lens is very minimal (although enough for me to notice straight away) it’s enough to mean that the results are unsatisfactory. Being the owner of another Zeiss Mess-Ikonta (albeit a 6×6 model), I know thet these cameras are capable of very sharp results across the frame, so having one that fails in this regard isn’t any good to me.

Having looked online though, I’ve seen a number of pages detailing the fact that it’s best to wind the film on after opening the camera. Apparently this action can cause a vacuum that lifts the film away from the plane of focus, so it’s better to open the camera and then wind on the film as you can guarantee it will be taut that way. Whether this is a factor in my results or not (I wound on before opening the camera), I’m not sure, but I’ll probably try another roll using this method to see if it makes any difference. Otherwise, I’ll have to return it for a refund.

The shots below are from the initial roll I shot. The photo of the pylons gives the best indication of the problem as the grass at the bottom of the frame, and the legs of the pylon are equally distant from the camera, so should be of a uniform sharpness across the frame. The grass at the left side is clearly softly focused, as are the leftmost legs of the pylon.

Likewise, the mesh sides of the footbridge in the following shot. The right side mesh is sharply defined, the left side much less so.

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/2 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 @ 9mins.

Taken on 13 May 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Over the fields

May 14, 2020 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Have I posted a photo of some power-lines recently? I’m pretty sure I must have – because I post pictures of them all the time!

Well here’s another one – this is the FINAL pre-lockdown photo I took, the last frame on the roll.

It’s the same field where I took the shots I posted here, back in November of last year.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008).

Taken on 22 March 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

All Saint’s Chapel again

May 13, 2020 fishyfisharcade8 Comments

A few photos today of All Saint’s Chapel in Steetley. I posted about this place once before, about a year ago, when I came upon it by chance while out for a walk – I’d parked my car in the nearby village of Shireoaks and took a long, looping ramble along public footpaths in the area and the chapel happened to be along the way.

I had an email today that my Yashica Mat is serviced and should be back with me shortly. I’m hoping that the viewfinder will be cleaner and that the slight haze in the taking lens will be gone (or at least reduced). It’s a nice camera to use and it produces lovely photographs, and I’m looking forward to using it again.

I also went out for a walk this morning with a new (to me) Zeiss Mess-Ikonta folding camera that I’ve bought. This one is another uncoupled rangefinder model, but 6×9 rather than 6×6. I have some slight concern that the lens isn’t completely parallel with the film plane when the camera is opened and that it might cause some distortion or soft focus in the photographs. It’s pretty slight though, so it might be me fretting over nothing and I guess I’ll find out when I develop the photos. Nothing exciting on the roll, I don’t think, just a few snapshot (in as much as you can take snapshots with an uncoupled rangefinder) of stuff I saw during my walk, but they should highlight any problems with the camera if they exist.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008).

Taken on 22 March 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Expired Film Day 2020 – I won a prize!

May 12, 2020 fishyfisharcade10 Comments

Back in mid-March I posted about my entry into this year’s Expired Film Day competition. I’d entered three images shot on a roll of Kodacolor Gold dated 1989. All three photographs had been made during my visit to Magpie Mine.

A couple of days ago I was alerted to the fact that one of my photos had won in one of the categories – the Lab Rat’s Choice award! I’m not sure that I’ll be able to use my prize as it’s a free dev & scan of a roll of film. In itself this is a nice prize, but as Old School Photo Lab (who kindly provided the prize) are based in New Hampshire, USA, and I’m in Yorkshire, UK, the cost of mailing a roll of film for development will likely outweigh the benefit of taking them up on their kind offer.

Whether I manage to claim a prize or not, I’m nevertheless flattered to have had my photo win in one of the categories.

By way of connecting todays photo to the words in the post, here’s a picture taken of the same location, on the same day as my winning entry. This one shot on a different camera and film though.

Yashica Mat 124G & Fomapan 100.

Taken on 16 March 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

To edit, or not to edit? To photograph, or not to photograph?

May 11, 2020May 11, 2020 fishyfisharcade6 Comments

Another photograph I made on my final pre-lockdown roll of film today. It’s a photo I like a lot, but it’s one that, from an aesthetic perspective at least, could probably do with some editing. I’m talking primarily about the twigs at the left of the frame and the light stalks of grass at bottom-right, but also possibly the modern turbine (although I do like the juxtaposition, I’m not so keen on the placement of the old and new structures). I don’t mind removing distractions from my photos – although I never add anything in – but I’m also conscious to not completely change the reality of what was observed. Based on this, the twigs and grass are probably fair game, but I feel the wind-turbine is maybe a bridge too far.

Ideally, I would try to avoid distractions such as the twigs when taking the shot, but this particular composition has a very limited vantage point and reaching over to move the twigs would likely involve a fall or a nasty laceration from the barbed wire atop the fence through which I made the picture. Perhaps I’ll try again one day though.

In other news, our government in the UK has announced some loosening of the lockdown measures that will come into force this Wednesday. The key one for me as a photographer is that it is now allowed to drive to an outdoor location for the purpose of leisure as long as social distancing is observed. Although there was no mention of photography specifically, sunbathing and picnics (albeit only with members of your household) were both given as examples, so I’m pretty confident that photography would be ok.

While I like the fact that I can now venture further afield for purposes other than exercise or essential shopping, I’m not convinced that this is a good idea where reducing infection rates from the coronavirus is concerned. While I’m quite happy to just go for a walk around some agricultural land where I’m unlikely to encounter any other people (or can easily distance myself if I do), I fear that it will give free licence to masses of people who will now see it as ok to travel to the seaside, to beauty spots, and to other “honeypot” locations, meaning that these places will become potential hotspots for the virus to spread. Even if everyone maintains a two-metre distance, there will still be the need to use toilets and other facilities where there will be multiple opportunities frof conamination.

I’m not sure if, given my concerns, that my going out for photography – even to a place that is likely going to be deserted – makes me a hypocrite?

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008).

Taken on 22 March 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The last of the pre-lockdown photos

May 10, 2020May 10, 2020 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

I scanned my final roll of pre-lockdown negatives a couple of days ago – a roll of expired Kodak Plus-X shot with my Yashica Mat 124G. They were all taken the day before lockdown was introduced in the UK, and I managed to get them developed by my local lab on the actual day of the lockdown (it wasn’t announced until the evening). All the subsequent rolls I’ve shot have been developed at home (as of this weekend I’ve now self-developed five rolls).

I’d strongly suspected that the lockdown would be coming and so had taken the opportunity to drive out and get some photos before movement was restricted. Concious of the fact that there was a growing pandemic, I nonetheless chose an area where I was cofident that there would be few (if any) other people around.

The outing also marked the last time I’ve used my tripod oustside of my house or garden. While I’ve taken plenty of photographs since the lockdown began, I feel that carrying a tripod on outings that are supposedly for exercise would be breaking the spirit of the thing. Consequently all photos taken while out exercising have been handheld shots that I could take quickly and safely – literally a case of: spot a composition; lift the camera to my eye; click the shutter; and done. All in the space of a few seconds. There are many more photos that would be possible with a tripod, but they will have to wait.

On the day that this roll was shot though, I had my tripod with me. What I neglected to bring, however, was a cable release! Thus I learnt on the spot how the Yashica Mat’s self-timer function worked. Quite well as it turned out – all the shots where I used it are perfectly sharp and correctly exposed.

Today’s picture is of a cluster of teazels framed against some background fields. I’ll publish more from this fianl pre-lockdown roll in the coming days.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008).

Taken on 22 March 2020

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Musings on the pandemic and lockdown and celebrating VE day

May 9, 2020 fishyfisharcade4 Comments

This week I heard that my aunt’s father died from Covid-19 infection. He was resident in a care home where ten more people including a member of staff have died after contracting the virus. There are apparently over a dozen others in the same facility showing signs of infection. Because of lockdown restrictions, his family were unable to visit other than to look in from a window, and so he had no direct contact with his loved ones when he passed away. The funeral will have restriction on attendance, and there can be no church service. They are obviously heartbroken. What would already have been a very difficult experience is made all the more terrible by the conditions in which it has taken place.

He was a WWII veteran, having fought through Western Europe from D-Day until he was injured by enemy fire in Holland, wherupon he returned home to recover. Now he has died during the current pandemic.

As the lockdown in the UK has been in place for over six weeks, and as the incubation period of the infection is up to fourteen days, this means that he has become infected since the lockdown began. At some point, most likely unknowingly, someone has come into contact with a contaminated surface or an infected person and had brought the virus into the care home where it has spread amongst the residents and staff. This fact illustrates why social distancing and proper hygiene is so important if we are to get the situation under control. The high number of deaths due to Covid-19 in UK care-homes is a tragedy.

Earlier this week, government sources gave hints that there would likely be a lifting of some of the lockdown measures announced this weekend, and some hints were given as to what these might be. The mainstream press had a field day. Headlines were written in a way that all but implied that the lockdown would be coming to an end. This, along with the VE Day holiday seems to have resulted in a considerable number of people suddenly relaxing their commitment to the lockdown rules to hold street parties. While many of these street parties were clearly described as being held in such a way as to maintain social distancing rules, it has become quickly apparent that this fell through in many cases with people mingling together like the virus has gone away. I’ve seen footage online of people having group singalongs and even a whole street of residents performing the conga. While they did appear to be two metres apart, I’m not sure this constitutes a necessary activity, even if it was 75-years since the war ended.

My fear is that we will now see a spike in infections in the coming weeks, just as things were starting to get a little better. I can only hope that more WWII veterans (and indeed anyone else) does not become infected or killed by this virus as a consequence of people’s desire to get out and celebrate. It will be a terribly irony if further survivors of WWII lose their lives as a result of people celebrating the end of it.

I don’t really have a picture to illustrate the words in my post, so here’s another from my pre-pandemic outing to Magpie Mine.

Stay safe everyone.

Yashica Mat 124G & Fomapan 100.

Taken on 16 March 2020