Another photo from back in the wintertime – there’s even some snow on the ground! Again, it’s from the roll of Colorplus shot with the Sure Shot Supreme. I’m not sure when this caravan last took an outing, but it looks like it’s slowly being claimed by the undergrowth.
My second zine was sent off to the printers last night ready for the next round of the zine-swap I’m participating in. There are fifteen people involved this time so I might have to scratch for coins to find the postage! 🙂
Lonely caravan Nestled in the foliage Thoughts of holidays
An impromptu image for today’s post. A few weeks ago when the local signalbox was being demolished, my wife and I walked down to see what was going on – it would have been the last day the box was standing and I wanted to get some farewell photos in case I wasn’t able to withness its removal the following day. On the way there I glanced upwards and saw this forlorn strand of bunting hanging from some lights, probably left over from the last local community fun-day which takes place in the summer (but which didn’t happen last year due to Covid, and which similarly won’t take place this year either). I liked the way it looked against the blue sky and high-altitude clouds.
Dangling from above Lone triangle of colour A Fun-day remnant
I’ll be stepping back in time a few months for the next batch of blog posts as they’re all shots from a roll of Kodak Colorplus that was in tha camera I’ve been carrying in my coat pocket. Often these rolls are spread out over a few weeks or months before I complete them and get them developed.
Today’s photo was from a walk along the Trans Pennine Trail back in February. I shot a couple of rolls of black and white film with the Yashica Mat on that same day AND finished some Fuji C200 that was in the Sure Shot Supreme. The roll of colorplus was loaded after the C200 but took a while longer to be used up.
On the edge of town Industry in the landscape New Topographics
I crunched through the dry, brown heather to get this cluster of rocks in the right place to frame this landscape photo of the moors looking over to Higger Tor, which can be seen in the distance at centre-left. It was approaching lunchtime when I made this picture – long after the golden-hour had passed – but there’s something to be said for capturing images at this time of day. It’s often the time and light when people are out and about and so depicts scenes as many of us will usually see them
Tumbled and jumbled Boulders litter the landscape On Peak District moors
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160.
A blossom laden tree and stone built house make for an attractive scene. Although 6×4.5 is pretty small where medium format film sizes are concerned, I’m always happy with the quality of the photographs produced by the Bronica ETRSi.
Blossom on the trees Soon to fall in white cascades Herald of summer
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160.
This is the track that leads to Bolehills Quarry. On the left, just beyond the tree, you can see a stockpile of abandoned millstones. Presumably this is where they were stored before being transported elsewhere, and here they remain since the market fell away, gathering coats of moss and lichen and providing something nice to look at as you pass by.
Abandoned millstones Lining the route to Bolehills In the spring sunshine
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160.
Bolehills Quarry, up above Padley Gorge, is carpeted with lush grass and beautiful silver birch trees. It’s a location that likely suits pretty much any type of conditions. The trees cast stark shadows in bright light and look mysterious in mist. These two shots were made around 9-10am while the sun was still striking long shadows.
I scanned these using EpsonScan, which is not something I normally do with colour photos as I’ve been less than successful at getting nice colours from the results in the past. This time though, I think it’s worked very well. Maybe not perfect – I doubt I’ll ever be sure a colour scan is “perfect” – but still a result I’m very happy with.
The Bolehills birch trees White trunks cast shadows on green In the morning sun
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160.
The film photography competition I partake in each month has “Accurate” as its theme this month and my entry is the following shot of my Silva compass sat atop an Ordnance Survey map. It was a pretty rushed shot if I’m honest. I shot two frames and the whole exercise took less than five minutes including digging the map out of a cupboard. Of the two photos, I like this one the best.
Although I favour Ilford HP5+ over Tri-X – especially now that the latter costs almost twice as much! – I had a roll of Tri-X Pan in my OM-2n so that had to serve the purpose. The film is almost 20-years expired and I shoot it at 200asa (I have a few rolls of it still) and it produces decent results. In this case I think the greater contrast from the Kodak film has resulted in a better photo than I might have had from HP5+.
The biggest downside with the film is how much it curls when developed and dried. It coils up like a spring AND has a longitudinal curl as well. This makes it pretty difficult to get into the negative holder for my scanner – it’s easier to get my cat into his box for visits to the vets!
A map of contours Like my roll of Tri-X Pan Twisting and curving
This is the A6187 road at Hathersage Booths, before curving and descending into Hathersage itself. It has a wonderful overview of the Hope Valley stretching into the distance with Mam Tor (the “Shivering Mountain”) just coming into view as part of the distant peaks. Mam Tor translates as “Mother Hill” and is so named because one side of it is prone to frequent landslides. The resultant debris has given birth to a number of smaller hills on the lower slopes.
Into Hope Valley A beautiful view to see During the descent
