Chalet shops

January 8, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

The Mablethorpe Carnival took place on the day of my visit, although I somehow managed to miss pretty much all of it. I arrived quite early and then took a walk down the seafront to the neighbouring town of Sutton-on-Sea. I’m not sure if this resulted in my missing the actual parade, but I saw nothing of it on my return, despite walking into the town centre for my usual fish and chips from Monty’s. Thinking about it, the carnival might have been the reason for the coastguard helicopter activity that I spoke of in yesterday’s post. Perhaps there was a demonstration of the coastguard and lifeboat responses for the visitors.

Today’s picture shows a series of chalets acting as shops selling various goods. This was probably about as much of the actual carnival events that I saw!

Something good that happened today…

While I had to contend with some potentially worrying news at work (although maybe I’m reading too much into it), I did manage to clear a few more things from my lengthy to-do list, which I’ll take as positives. I’ve also lost a little weight since yesterday. While this is nothing to get too excited about, it was nice to see as I’ve put on quite a few pounds over Christmas. We still have quite a few Christmas goodies to get through before the diet begins in earnest though. At least I weigh less than I did this time last year, so I already have a head start towards reaching my goal.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mablethorpe lifeboat station (and a gift from my Secret Santa)

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Another of the Plus-X shots (I shot two rolls of it during the visit to Mablethorpe, although, using the GW690, that only gave me sixteen frames). This is the lifeboat station at Mablethorpe. Later in the day the boat was put out to sea and a coastguard helicopter landed on the beach before circling along the shoreline. I thought it was some sort of display taking place but then got the sense that it might be an actual emergency. The seafront was lined with people watching the scene unfold. It happened just before I left to set off home and I didn’t find out any more.

Something good that happened today…

My Emulsive Secret Santa gift arrived! It came all the way from Hong Kong, so didn’t arrive quite in time for Christmas. I also had to pay a customs charge and VAT on the package before it could be delivered. It was all worthwhile though as I got a very generous gift comprising of a lovely notebook, five rolls of film, and a Kodak Ektar H35N half-frame camera! I’m very much looking forward to using these. It arrived neatly packed with each item individually wrapped, and with a cute Christmas card featuring a picture of some festive wonton and pak-choi. I feel blessed to have received such a nice gift, so thank you to my Secret Santa. 🙂

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Churros, ice cream, and bouncy slides

January 6, 2025January 6, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I’ve been very happy with the photos I’ve taken with this expired (in 2008) Kodak Plus-X. I bought it several years ago, five rolls in a pro-pack, and stored it in the freezer. Being conscious that it’s a stock that’s no longer available, it was another film in my stash that I was saving for “special occasions”, but I’m fighting against that urge to store such film for occasions that never seem to arise and instead just shoot the stuff.

Plus-X is quite nice, but I’d probably get a very similar look by using Ilford FP4+, so while I now have none of it left, it’s not something that I will miss too much.

Something good that happened today…

Today was my first day back at work, which I wasn’t looking forward to after a couple of week’s off over Christmas, coupled with the loss of a number of colleagues who all left the business at the end of December. The good thing is that it hasn’t been a bad day at all. I took the advice that you should try to ease yourself back into work gently, and spent the day catching up on emails, and also pulling together a to do list. The list got up to about fifteen items, some small and easy to achieve, others that will require more work, and a couple that are projects that I’d like to kick off. I managed to clear a number of the low-hanging items from the list, so I finished the day with a sense that I had achieved something.

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mablethorpe fish & chips

January 5, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I’ve definitely posted pictures of this fish & chip / ice cream shop in Mablethorpe before, but I don’t think any shot on the Fujica GW690, and definitely not on expired Kodak Plus-X.

It stands on a small promontory so is very apparent on the otherwise straight Mablethorpe shoreline. I’m not sure when it was built, but it’s been there as long as I remember, so I expect sometime in the 1960s, or maybe even earlier.

Something good that happened today…

I finally got around to resetting my old PC, which has been sat on my office floor since early 2024 when I bought my son’s PC as a replacement. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it now it’s reset, but the fresh install of Windows means it is now actually useable again and doesn’t take nearly ten minutes to boot!

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mablethorpe High Street

January 4, 2025January 4, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Jumping back to last September again with today’s pictures, taken on my regular trip to Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire.

I guess they’re both pretty mundane “record” shots, but I like the way the GW690 has rendered the scenes with tons of detail.

The first picture is looking west towards the sea. When I used to visit Mablethorpe as a child the view would include a helter-skelter and big-wheel looming over the buildings at the end of the street from their location in the fun-fair. The big-wheel went ages ago, although a replacement helter-skelter did remain for quite a while longer. There are some old postcards of the town from the 1970s on this blog that show both rides still in situ. There’s also a postcard with a very similar view to my second photo of the view west along High Street from the pullover beside the fun-fair at the edge of the beach. I often think it would be nice to be able to step back in time to revisit the town as I remember it as a child. I wonder if the reality would hold up to my memories? I think it probably would, but who knows?

More pictures from Mablethorpe to come in the next few days.

Something good that happened today…

We did the top-to-bottom clean of the house today. I don’t enjoy doing the cleaning up, but knowing we don’t have to do it again (aside from the usual vacuuming etc.) for a few weeks is a nice feeling.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Something good

January 3, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I was reading an online post today from someone who suffers from anxiety, and how they used journalling as a means to help deal with it. One of the things they found useful was to list a number of good things that had happened during the day, and to also set some goals for the following day.

I suffer from anxiety sometimes. Mostly it’s focused on a particular issue and goes away when that thing has been resolved, but I do tend to worry about things in general too. This doesn’t tend to give me the same physical and mental symptoms as actual anxiety, but is more of a constant low-level awareness of things that might be (but not necessarily, will be) a problem. Sometimes this can lead to catastrophizing and imagining extreme outcomes from often innocuous things, such as someone’s tone of voice, or something I overhear. I’ve gotten better at recognizing these situations, and I can usually talk myself out of this behaviour, knowing that the thoughts are unrealistic and ungrounded.

Knowing this, I’m going to make an effort to look out for the good things each day, and make a note of them when they happen. I think that setting my weird mind looking out for good things will be a much better use of energy than imagining what might be bad. I’ll try to list some of them here each day.

Something good that happened today…

I took down the Christmas decorations. This is something I don’t enjoy very much and which always makes me feel a little bit sad that Christmas is over for another year, so it might seem weird that I’m using it as “something good”. But the fact is that, despite my sadness that I’ve had to take them down (not that I would leave them up indefinitely or anything), I don’t actually feel too bad about it. I think I was more worried about being sad, than actually sad, and I feel fine now.

I also had our two cats helping me which was kind of annoying, but also nice. A balance between the frustration that they were constantly getting in the way, and the delight at seeing them sitting in every single box they could find (usually just as I was about to put something inside it!), which made me smile and laugh.

Today’s pictures are the last of the batch I took when I visited King’s Lynn back at the start of autumn (I know I say this a lot, but time really is flying by quickly as I get older!). This cottage forms part of the border of the grounds of St. Nicholas’ Chapel, a church dating back to the 11th century.

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD & Ilford Delta 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10 mins 30 secs @ 20°

Taken on 19 September 2024

Digital · Photography

Unstrung

January 2, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I managed to shoot another roll of film through my Yashica Mat 124G today – that’s four rolls in less than a week (and this one is officially my first of 2025). After a relatively sparse couple of months in terms of taking pictures, I hope I can get back into some sort of regularity again as the new year kicks in.

So, more film stuff coming, but another digital picture today (mainly because I’m tired after a day of shooting film!).

Ricoh GR III

Taken on 20 December 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Shelters

January 1, 2025January 1, 2025 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

The first post of another new year. I’ve now posted daily for six full years!

For once, it’s some photos that’re relatively fresh, having been made less than a week ago at time of typing.

We had misty weather across large parts of the UK in the days following Christmas, so I made an effort to go out and take advantage of the atmospheric conditions. I probably missed the best of the mist on this particular day as I didn’t venture out until the afternoon, but there is still enough of it around to add a little to the pictures.

These shelters spring up every now and again in the trees close to the Trans Pennine Trail. I’ve never seen anyone building them and I don’t know who makes them or if they serve any particular purpose – there’s the remnants of a small camp fire in front of the second one, so I guess somebody spent at least a little time there, but they don’t look like they will give that much protection from the elements.

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 26 December 2024

35mm · 4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Twelve favourite photos from 2024

December 31, 2024December 31, 2024 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Somehow, another year has concluded. I feel that I’m spinning closer and closer to whatever is at the centre of everything, each orbit feeling shorter than the last. At this rate, I expect a year to feel like five minutes before too long!

So as the year comes to a close I’ll pick my annual selection of favourite pictures, one from each month. very subjective as usual, and as always I could have picked one of several from some months. The pickings have become much slimmer over the past couple of months though, mostly due to other matters being on my mind and not shooting as much. December’s entry (given I’m keeping this selection film-based) is one I’ve only shot since Christmas, and only developed and scanned today. I expect this one may be usurped as I have a couple more rolls yet to scan (and one roll of colour from Barcelona to send off for processing) which may contain a preferred picture. We shall see.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I seem to have gone for a bit of a bridge theme for this selection. 🙂

I’ll end this bit by wishing you all a very happy New Year and wish good things for us all in 2025. Have a good one!

January

Yashicamat 124G
Kodak Tri-X (@800asa)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

February

Olympus XA3
Ilford HP5+ (@800asa)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

March

Olympus XA3
Ilford HP5+ (@800asa)
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

April

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16
Kodak Tri-X
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

May

Olympus Trip 35
Fomapan 100
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

June

Yashica Mat 124G
Fujifilm Pro 400H
Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.

July

Fujica GW690
Kodak Ektar
Lab developed.
Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

August

Olympus OM-10
G-Zuiko AUTO-S 35mm f/2.8
Ilford FP4+
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 @ 20° 10mins

September

Fujica GW690
Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa)
Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

October

Yashica Mat 124G
Kodak Portra 400
Lab developed
Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro

November

Nikon F80
Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD
Kodak Ultramax
Lab Developed
Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro

December

Yashica Mat 124G
Kodak Tri-X
Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

So that’s another year’s round-up. And now I begin anew with a bunch of fresh pictures in 2025!

Digital · Photography

By the skin of my teeth

December 30, 2024 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

Although we booked our pre-Christmas trip to Barcelona several months ago, it was only a week before we were due to depart that I realised that my passport was close to its expiry. Checking the entry requirements for Spain I became pretty concerned when I realised my passport needed a minimum of three months until expiry from the date we returned home. Looking into this further on the Spanish consulate website, I got the slightly more specific “90 days, minimum” figure.

Thankfully, my passport just squeaked through the requirements, but there were definite nervous moments when going through border control where I wondered if they might refuse my entry and put me on a plane back home!

I’ve now sent off for a new passport so at least I’ll not have to worry about this again for the next decade!