35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
After developing some film this morning and then an afternoon spent putting the Christmas decorations up (a little earlier than usual this year) I’m ready to veg out (in the festive living room:)) and so am just going to bung up a load of photos from a visit to the Peak District a few weeks ago for today’s post.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 4 November 2022
This picture was made on the same outing where I shot autumnal scenes on a roll of Velvia 50. There was no way that Velvia would have worked for this shot though and I didn’t even attempt it with the F80, instead firing off a frame with my XA3 loaded with some much more amenable Ilford Delta 400.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 4 November 2022
The bridge that carries the A619 Baslow Road across the River Wye at Bakewell can be quite frustrating to photograph. It’s an attractive structure but, due to it carrying traffic on one of the main routes into and through the town, along with the popularity of the place as a tourist trap, it can be difficult to catch a moment where some vehicle isn’t raising it’s distracting head above the top of the walls. I’ve nearly managed to avoid it in the picture published here today. But not quite. If you look carefully there’s a van peeping into view. Not a bad picture though and I have almost the exact same composition to come in a future post, but this time on 6×45 and in colour.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 November 2022
A few weeks ago my wife an I visited some local garden centres to see if they had their Christmas sections in place (they did, of course, it was late October – practically the big day already!). While wandering around the displays in one I spotted this festive T-Rex and the terrified snowman quaking in the background. The snowman was literally shivering – some mechanism causing it’s movement – and it amusingly reminded of the words spoken by Alan Grant in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex escapes its paddock.
I’m quite surprised the picture turned out ok – it wasn’t well lit in there and I have no control over the XA3’s shutter speed or aperture.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 31 October 2022
I’ve been away for a few days and scheduled a bunch of posts to auto-publish. Unfortunately I didn’t draft one for today, when I’ve just arrived home exhausted! So a very quick post today with a bit of street photography (the people that can be seen to the left of the frame are part of the march that I’ve posted images from over the past few days).
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 October 2022
At the end of the Enough is Enough march, the protestors and speakers gathered in front of the City Hall.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 October 2022
The people protesting the cost of living crisis for the Enough is Enough demonstration marched through the town centre. The march attracted a lot of attention and made quite a lot of noise but was a peaceful event.
Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 3200 (shot at 800asa and pulled in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 October 2022
Signs, banners, and even messages on clothes were prominently displayed by many protestors during the Enough is Enough march. Here are a few examples…
Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 3200 (shot at 800asa and pulled in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 October 2022
On Saturday 1 October 2022 a number of demonstrations and marches were held in towns and cities across the UK in protest of the cost of living crisis engulfing the country. This was further driven by the disastrous “mini budget” that had been delivered by the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng which effectively benefited the wealthiest in society.
Such was the impact of this budget – causing grave consternation in financial markets, impacting the value of the Pound and pushing inflation into double-digits, as well as losing support amongst their own government, party, opposition parties, and the general public – that the Chancellor and Prime Minister were both forced to resign, making Liz Truss the shortest serving PM in UK history, lasting just seven weeks in the post.
I thought it would be good to document the local march, so headed into town with my Olympus OM-1N and XA3 cameras in tow. I’ll split the pictures over the next few days. This first set shows people meeting at the starting point for the march.
I loaded a roll of Delta 3200 into the OM-1N, but overexposed it a couple of stops by shooting it at 800asa and then pulled it in development (mostly because I didn’t have any HP5+ to hand, or I would have shot that at 800asa and pushed it a stop instead). I think the Delta looks quite good shot this way, and I’d probably do the same again if I don’t need the extra couple of stops of light.
Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 3200 (shot at 800asa and pulled in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°
Taken on 1 October 2022
The Tinsley viaduct has been a feature of Sheffield since 1968, carrying the M1 motorway across the Don Vally to the east of the city. It was unusual at the time for being one of the first two level road bridges of its kind. Until 2008 the viaduct had a fellow landmark in the shape of the two cooling towers of Blackburn Meadows power station. The power station remains, albeit in a new form, but the towers were demolished – to much local consternation from people who didn’t want to lose a landmark that indicated they were almost back home following a journey, and which was felt to be an intrinsic part of the city’s identity. The twin cooling towers can still be found on items of Sheffield memorabilia despite the fact they are no longer in existence.
To the west of the viaduct – towards Sheffield – would have been the site of much heavy industry when it opened but the most noticeable feature now is probably the large Meadowhall shopping mall.
Fujica GW690 & Fujicolor Pro 400H. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 22 October 2022.
