Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 28 June 2026.
Swimming at sea or swimming on land
Hanging out by the sea
Another couple of pictures which I felt worked well as a pair. Different evenings but a similar vibe to both of them, I think.
Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 23 & 28 June 2026.
Hotels by the sea
There’s a definite similarity to these two pictures, I think, in the placement of the hotels, and also the sea and horizon. Perhaps I should look out for similar scenes in future and collect them together.
Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 28 June 2026.
Elephants
How could I resist taking a picture of these two? They’re practically posing. And if you look at them the right way, their tusks look like smiles. 🙂
Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 28 June 2026.
From inside and out
Olympus Trip 35 & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 23 June 2026.
At Damflask
A mini-break from the Madeira pictures today. More of them still to come though.
I went for a walk around Damflask reservoir this morning. It sits to the north-west of Sheffield and is the lowest of four reservoirs that sit in the same valley system (the others being Agden, Dale Dyke, and Strines). I’ve visited Damflask on multiple occasions, particularly when I was a lot younger, and more recently driving past it when visiting the villages of High and Low Bradfield. Today was the first time I’ve ever walked around the entire thing though.
I was there to shoot film primarily, and I’ve got a bunch of shots to be developed, but I also had a second agenda, namely to test out some neutral density grad filters. I’ve had a set of Cokin filters for years but only used them on a very small number of occasions, probably due to the faff of having to attach them, but recently I’ve been thinking that they might be helpful with film photography – particularly if I’m shooting something with a tighter exposure latitude, such as slide film.
However, I didn’t want to waste film on experiments, so I took along a digital camera as well. Any mistakes with that would cost me nothing more than a bit of time. So into my camera bag with my Nikon F80 went my old Lumix GX7 micro-four-thirds camera with a 12-60mm lens (24-120mm full frame equivalent). This was the first time I’ve used the camera in around six years.
I only took a few shots with the GX7, most of which are nothing to write home about, but the one shot where I used the grad filter (a 2-stop soft grad, I think) came out nicely, as did another picture without the filter, both of which you can see in today’s post (the first with the filter).
I took very similar shots with my F80 (which was sporting an actual 24-70mm lens, so the focal lengths will mostly match up) and it will be interesting to see how they compare. These didn’t have the benefit of any filters.
But the experiment worked ok. I like how the grad filter added mood to the sky and I’ll give it a run with a film camera when the need arises. If I get good results, I might invest in a more expensive set.
Panasonic Lumix GX7 & Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph.
Taken on 22 August 2026
Câmara de Lobos
The photos in today’s post are from a trip I took to the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos near Funchal. I took the bus which dropped me off about a quarter of a mile from the village, leaving a walk past a power station and then along a scenic coastal path overloking the Atlantic, and then views of the village and the coastline to the west.
The large sea cliff you can see in this first shot is Cabo Girão, the highest promontory in Europe at 580 metres. Where it peaks in the middle of the frame is a glass bottomed viewing platform should you feel the need for excitement.
Before reaching the village proper there are a few rocky areas that can be accessed, including thsi one containing a swimming pool. There was a lifeguard present, but no-one was swimming at this point.
The harbour was filled with small colourful boats. I also noticed a wooden frame on the rocky shore with things hanging from it, which I thought might be clothes.
There was a festival due to take place in the village and the whole place was decorated with colourful bunting and displays. Upon closer inspection it became apparent that most of these were made of recycled materials such as plastic bottles and plastic sheeting. It looked very nice.
Looking out into the habour from the village, I could just make out a banner strung across reading “Festas de Sao Pedro”. I’m sure this looked far more impressive after dark.
The harbour wall was also home to a small lighthouse.
The village also had a number of colourful narrow streets which were good to explore and photograph.
One of the streets was decorated by suspended umbrellas, providing both colour and shade.
I photographed a couple of cars too. One of the island’s distinctive yellow taxis, and a Beetle. I always seem to photograph VW Beetle’s when I see them.
Past the harbour and the lighthouse a road led to a beach with the looming cliffs beyond. The beach was not sandy however, instead being composed of large grey pebbles which didn’t look like they would be comfortable to lay on (although some people were!).
After a pleasant morning wandering around the place, I set off back for the bus. Before leaving the village I had to satisfy my curiosity about the wooden frame I’d seen earlier. It seems it was also part of the decorations for the festival, with jackets of recycled plastic hung from it.
The swimming pool also now had visitors…
Nikon F70, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 27 June 2026.
Abstract entrance
I took this shot in the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos, a few miles to the west of Funchal. I liked the subtle colours, plus the shapes made by the structure, the light, and the angled shadows.
I have a bunch more pictures from the same location which I’ll post soon.
Nikon F70, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF-D & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro
Taken 27 June 2026.
Wheels
A window display consisting of a series of rotating wheels made up of tubes of makeup, or maybe skin-care products caught my eye in Funchal, both in terms of the colourful display, but also the way the chequered pavement was reflected in the glass.
Ricoh GR III
Taken on 24 June 2026
Swans and a waterfall
Another digital shot dropped into the mix.
This was taken in the beautiful Monte Palace gardens on the mountainside above Funchal. There will be more pictures to come from this location which I shot with my trusty Olympus Trip 35, but I’m currently wrestling with a daunting backlog of images, so it might be a while…
Ricoh GR III
Taken on 15 August 2026
Steel City Snapper photography 