35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
The building covered in netting is the old post office building in Malaga. Apparently Enno Haar wasn’t there though. I have no idea who Enno Haar is.
I liked the building as a subject for a picture, but I think the framing with the traffic lights makes the shot.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 21 August 2023.
This oversized “Rubik’s Cube” is a feature of the Pompidou Gallery in Malaga. It’s quite a striking sight from without, and I expect that it’s equally interesting to look at from within (the gallery is below this paved area, although I didn’t go inside).
The structure above ground is hollow, but you can see people walking past on the opposite side to where you stand, filtered by various colours of glass.
The first shot visualises why polarising filters on wider-angled lenses can have an adverse effect – the sky changing from a deep to light shade of blue as the polarisation effect changes across the scene.
The second picture, shot through the cube, has an almost cross-processed look. To be honest I’m not sure if it’s an accurate representation of what I photographed, or if it’s one of those wildcard images that Negative Lab Pro goes a bit crazy with. I like it though.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 21 August 2023.
This photo is one of those examples where I focused on one thing, while completely missing something else that was right before my eyes.
The thing I took a picture of was the street art, with the narrow street vanishing into the distance with a lone figure approaching. I spotted the wooden pole with the cables and thought it framed the scene nicely.
What I didn’t notice at all until I scanned the negative what what was affixed to the pole – namely a pair of divers flippers, what might be some stuffed leggings, and a sign which reads “Si el pais se hunde estamos preparados” which translates to the English phrase “If the country sinks we are prepared“. I like it when I spot these little hidden surprises in photographs (although maybe I should more time seeing, rather than just looking when I’m composing a photograph).
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 21 August 2023.
Want to see how that roll of film renders the colour red? Why not photograph a Coca-Cola sign then?*
* or a British post box. Or maybe a fire-engine.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 21 August 2023.
I feel like I’ve been posting pictures from my trip to Malaga for aaages, especially give the holiday was almost three months ago now. I still have a full roll of un-posted images too, although I won’t be posting all of them and will try to bundle some together, as with today’s post showing another selection of streets that I photographed while wandering the city in the heat of the afternoon.
As well as getting a bunch of pictures on these walks, I also benefitted from treating myself to gelato, which was a nice little reward for venturing out in the mid-afternoon heat. 🙂
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 21 August 2023.
A massive failure this afternoon. 😦
I took a half day off work as I knew the weather was nice for once, and it was one of the only chances I had to try and photograph some autumn colour. So after lunch I headed out to Padley Gorge in the Peak District with the Chamonix large format camera and a bunch of film with the intent of shooting some of the Kodak Ektar that I have, and which I had four sheets loaded in film holders.
I found a nice scene with a backlit oak tree, so set everything up, carefully checked my focus and the camera settings and then took the shot. I then headed a little further down the gorge to try and find the next one. By this time, the light was low enough that a lot of the area was already in shadow, so I looked to photograph a clump of autumnal leaves on a sapling which were illuminated in a shaft of sunlight. It was a slightly tricky shot to focus, requiring some tilt to get everything sharp. After setting up the shot and feeling relatively confident about the sharpness, I went to meter the scene and then noticed with dismay that my meter was set to ISO400. This meant the first shot was two stops underexposed. This was very frustrating and, to be honest, set the ball rolling for the rest of the afternoon’s disappointment.
As I’d already wasted one expensive sheet of colour film I was now even more conscious of the need to not waste any of the remaining three sheets on sub-par images, especially given the fact I’d have to send them away for developing at notable cost, so I binned the shot of the leaves and decided to move elsewhere for something better. I was now in the wrong frame of mind though – everything I considered seemed like it wasn’t worth the effort (or cost) – and so I set up and then dismissed several shots while the sun sank lower in the sky. Eventually (and now in a pretty bad mood) I just said to myself “f**k it” and packed everything away and came home.
I was seething in the car all the way back because a) the weather and light was beautiful and I had been unable to take advantage of something I rarely get the chance to, and b) I wasted an afternoon’s off work for the privilege. I saw several beautifully lit scenes on the way home which, had I had a smaller format camera with me, I could have photographed, but I just had to drive past them all.
The weather looks good again tomorrow, and I’m going to have another attempt at capturing autumn colour, but I’ll be taking some medium format gear this time to make sure I actually capture something on film. I expect the same locations will be much busier tomorrow, unfortunately.
Anyone else have “one of those days”?
The pictures shared today are a few older digital shots from previous visits to the same area. You can see why I’m disappointed to come away empty handed….
A couple of namesakes which, while close, are not directly adjacent to one another. I’m making the assumption that they’re named after the author of Don Quixote.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 20 August 2023.
I’m sat here wondering what to write for today’s blog post and I’m just drawing a blank. I spent some time staring at my Flickr stream to see if anything caught my eye that I might write about. A couple did, but the things I’d like to write would take longer than I have time for this evening, so those might wait until another day.
So, in lieu of just posting a picture and writing nothing at all (which I do do on occasion), I’m posting a couple of pictures of cafes, one of which seems to be doing better than the other. The worse-off cafe makes for a better picture though.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 20 August 2023.
I’m not sure why, but the scans from this roll of Portra 400 are extremely grainy. The film wasn’t underexposed, and I’ve done nothing unusual in my scanning process, so I’m uncertain as to the cause. I wonder if the high heat might have had an effect? Or maybe the airport scanners (although I’ve had no issues with taking Portra 400 through an airport in the past)
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 20 August 2023.
Perhaps not a beautiful place, but the colours of the algae and stains on the concrete bed of this river channel in Malaga, made for an interesting picture.
I was curious as to why the river, The Gudalmedina, looks like this where it flows practically beside the beautiful old town of the city, and the reason is largely down to a devastating flood that occurred in 1907 which resulted in water levels several metres higher than normal, and the loss of lives and property.
Through the 20th century a variety of systems such as dams, dykes, and re-planting of trees were implemented to prevent a reoccurrence of the flooding. However, it became apparent later in the century that these were still not sufficient to protect the city and a new reservoir was constructed to help prevent further floods and also to provide drinking water.
As a result of this, the river channel through the city is dry much of the time and has become something of an eyesore. Although there have been plans to develop the channel into a more attractive site, these have not come to fruition (although there is evidence of trees planted on the left-hand bank in my photograph).
I found a video on Youtube that gives more information on the history of the river and why it became what it is today.
The video was uploaded in March 2023, so I guess some activities to improve the site must have taken place since then, and while I was taking my picture I noticed a refuse truck removing rubbish from the river bed.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 20 August 2023.
Steel City Snapper photography 