I always wonder if “squashes” is the correct terminoligy for this type of vegetable? There are pumpkins in there too, plus some marrows, and some weird swan-like things that I don’t know what they are, but I guess they are all types of squash? Please correct me if I am wrong about this important subject. 🙂
The flash fired on my first attempt at photographing this scene so I took a second picture. The version with flash looks much better though.
Whitely Woods is an area of woodland alongside the River Porter in Sheffield. I have a vague but fond memory of walking here with my nan when I was young. She bought me a small fishing net on a cane and I caught small fish – probably minnows, or perhaps baby fish of some species, but all given the group name ot “tiddlers” – in the dams further downstream in Endcliffe Park.
This is the millpond that feeds the waterwheel at Shepherd’s Wheel museum.
It’s not an area I’ve ventured back to all that many times – most of them have been in the lasrt few years as somewhere to go with a camera. On this occasion I’d taken a walk with my wife – mainly because I was testing out my ankle after my fracture, but also because it was a pleasant way to pass an hour or two (with the benefit of finding somewhere nice to get a bite to eat).
I took this one because the tree looked like it had a frowning face. An Ent, perhaps?
All three pictures here were made during the part of the walk in Whitely woods on the way to and from Shepherds Wheel.
Close to the bottom of Whitely Woods. At the end of the path before you reach the houses there is a road. The path through Endcliffe Park continues the journey towards town.
Shepherd Wheel is a working museum in the Porter Valley in Sheffield. It’s one of the earliest surviving water-powered grinding workshops in the area. The earliest reference to the wheel is from the 14th century.
The wheel still powers a variety of machinery in the workshop where caraftspeople can be seen putting them to use. It’s fascinating to see the ingenuity of the design, with numerous pieces of machinery powered by a complex series of shafts, cogs, gears, and belts.
I had my Sure Shot Z135 on me when we ventured inside and while this is a capable point-and-shoot (with a flash), I wanted to try and get a picture in natural light. The actual machinery was probably going to be a step to far for the f/3.5 maximum aperture of the camera, but I was able to take this image of some old pots and pans in the light of a window. I’m quite pleased that it came out nice and sharp, and that the film has captured detail in both the highlights and shadows.
Today’s picture is one of those occasions where I looked at an everyday scene and thought, “there’s a photograph“. It was taken from the rooftop level of a multistorey car-park and when I glances over the side there was something about the arrangement of buildings that just looked right. Part of it was due to the light (although I remember having to stand and wait a few minutes for a cloud to pass in front of the sun before it looked just as I wanted it to). Part of it is the different geometric patterns and textures on each of the buildings. I also like the way the road briefly appears at bottom left before vanishing amongst the architecture. It’s also a somewhat empty picture, with no signs of human foot or road traffic to be seen.
This was the first photograph I took after breaking my ankle. It was shot just over two weeks after the accident during my first real trip beyond the house. We’d gone out to visit the Chinese supermarket to re-stock on instant noodles (which I’ve taken a fondness to over the last couple of months, and which the Chinese supermarket has a bewildering selction from which to choose) and so I took the Yashicamat with me on the chance that I might make a photograph or two. In the end I shot the whole roll during the hour or so we were out. I don’t think it’s the best roll I’ve ever shot but it was good to scratch the photographic itch.
The photo below was intended to be a picture of the building itself but, as I framed up the shot, the lady appeared in the doorway at just the right time.
I’ve spent the entire day watching the funeral of the Queen today (well, apart from watching the latest episode of House of the Dragon while eating my breakfast. I guess that was about a queen too, although tonally, it was somewhat darker…).
As I spoke about a few days ago, I’m far from a royal watcher, but I felt that this was a truly historic event and one I ought to watch for that reason even if for no other. There were two funeral services broadcast – the state funeral at Wesminster Abbey, attended by heads of state and other guests, and the smaller (but only by comparison) service at Windsor Castle where, among other things, the Queen’s crown, along with the orb and sceptre, were formally taken from her to be presented to King Charles when his coronation takes place. While there will be a final private service for family this evening, where the Queen will be buried beside her late husband, it maked the final public appearance of her coffin and felt like the final closure of the past week-or-so’s events.
The funeral marks the end of this period of official national mourning and means that things should begin to return to normality again from tomorrow, although I expect that it will be a fading out rather than a sudden halt to all the discussion about the events.
Today’s picture has nothing whatsoever to do with the funeral of the Queen, but I always post a picture, so this is a completely unrelated image of a man walking past some attractive street art in Manchester.
Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
An ominously final sounding title for my blog today but, fear not, it’s just referring to the two pictures posted here today specifically. As I’ve posted about a few times, I broke my ankle about six weeks ago while on a day trip to Manchester. The two pictures here are related to the incident.
This first image is the last shot I took before the accident. It was made while I walked down the road towards the art gallery where, not too long after, I would fracture my fibula as I exited the building.
The second picture was taken later, after my journey home, and after several hours in the accident and emergency department of the local hopital, After finally leaving the building I sat on a bench outside and waited for my wife to collect me in the car. The sun had set and blue hour had kicked in. Hospital buildings such as these were not my first choice for subject matter for this roll of film but I had little other option given my injury would allow small chance of going out to shoot more for a while. So it seemed worthwhile to finish the roll so I could at least get it developed.
Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Today was my annual visit to the seaside town of Mablethorpe. It’s been a long day, I’ve only just got home, and I’m tired, so this will be a short post. The pictures I took at Mablethorpe will appear in due course once they’ve been developed and scanned (and I’ve worked through my backlog of other shots).
So, for today, here’s another picture of another of those upright pianos that can be found at railway stations around the country.
Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
A couple of photos from Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Just street scenes, but I thought they made for interesting subjects with plenty to look at. It would have been nice if I hadn’t broken my ankle on this day – not just because of the pain and incapacitation it caused, but also because I think I could have easily shot another roll of film had I had the rest of the day and, as I’m very happy with the way this single roll turned out, I expect I might have been similarly pleased with any more I might have made.
Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
After a considerable period of “staying in” while I recovered from my broken ankle, I’ve now returned to “going out” once more. Not to bars, but out with my camera and, in the mornings, for a walk as I gradually build back up to running again, so today’s picture felt slightly apt.
I’ve had a stressful few days as I prepared to interview for a job today. It’s a similar role to the one I do already but at a more senior grade. While I already carry out a number of the tasks that it will involve, I will also have to pick up additional responsibilities and new challenges if I am successful. While I know I have the ability to do the jog – indeed I’m very confident I do – I’m less confident of my abilities when it comes to interviews. While I don’t think it went too badly, you never can tell with these things, so I’ve spent a lot of the day re-playing things over in my head, second-guessing what I said, and berating myself for all the times I used the word “we” instead of “I”. I now have to wait for the outcome . Fingers crossed that the things I did well have outshone any where I might have slipped up.
Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
