Gaia sleeps

September 23, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

At this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, one of the gardens featured a giant wooden sculpture of the goddess, Gaia, or Mother Nature and she’s often known. The sculpture featured flowing willow‑branch hair which was crafted by the aptly named artist, Tom Hare, while her leaf‑crowned face and shoulders were carved from a fallen mature tree by sculptor Tim Wood.

And now the entire artwork has been transported north to Sheffield where it will permanently reside in the middle of the Park Hill Flats complex. So, on a visit to the town centre a few weeks ago, I decided to take a detour and go have a look.

Thanks to the hot dry conditions we’ve endured this summer, some of the surrounding grass was a dry yellow, although Gaia herself was somewhat aptly surrounded by lush green growth. There were quite a few people visiting the sculpture, including some who appeared to be part of a guided tour!

The figure is part wood, and part dry stone wall, with her torso meticulously carved with intricate swirling designs.

Up close, she makes for an interesting, if very large, portrait subject.

I took a whole slew of pictures on both film and digital, but these black and white Acros II shots are my favourites, I think.

I’ve been past her again since this first visit and took more pictures, she’s a subject that will reward the photographer, I think.

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fujifilm Acros II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 15 August 2026.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Gathered Leaves

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

My plan for today had originally been to meet up with a bunch of other photographers for a wander around a midlands heritage museum. Alas though, due to the continuing hot weather, it was decided it was best to postpone until later in the summer. So, with time on my hands, I decided to drive instead to Newark where I knew there was an exhibition on featuring the work of a photographer whose work I enjoy: Paul Hart.

The Gathered Leaves exhibition is in the newly opened Vibrant Matter gallery, and details can be found here. While there were some framed prints from artists featured, the exhibition was focused on publications rather than prints – you can see where it got it’s title – and I browsed most of what were on display as well as having a nice chat with the owner, Daniel Rapley, whose work was also on display (in the shape of experimental images formed from found photographic images, creating a colourful and eyecatching display of overlaid scenes. There was a feeling of Christopher Nolan’s Inception in some images, where inverted cities loomed above foreground figures). While there were a number of photography books present, the scope was wider, and there were publications dealing with more experimental art, design, and typography.

After my visit to the gallery I wandered around Newark taking pictures of my own, finally finishing a roll of Kodak Pro Image that’s been in my Olympus XA-3 for a couple of months now, as well as starting on rolls of Portra 160 (which I’d forgotten was in my camera bag – not sure how long it’s been cooking in there. It’s a good job Portra doesn’t cost much, eh..?), Ektar (in my Yashica Mat 124 G), and some expired Ilford Delta 400 in my Olympus OM-10). I took a new camera bag with me which has space for more stuff. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing just yet…

Newark is a nice place to wander around. The architecture is pretty, with lots of charming red-brick buildings, a colourful market square, the River Trent, and the ruins of a castle (although it is currently undergoing some sort of renovation so could only really be viewed from across the river).

I also bought myself a new book from a used book seller in the market. They had a few photography books, but none that really interested me, so I bought a book on the life of Edward Seago which is full of his beautiful paintings. I first came across his work while admiring the work of fellow blogger -N- on her Ink, Yarn, and Beers blog. She’s posted about being inspired by Seago’s work on more than one occasion, and I thank her for bringing it to my attention. Go check out her blog and her lovely paintings.

Because all my pictures from Newark today were shot on film, I don’t yet have any to show, so here’s a picture from a previous visit back in 2022. I shot a very similar image today!

RETO Ultrawide & Slim & Kodak Gold 200

Taken on 18 March 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Little boat cropped

June 7, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I’m going to continue to post pictures from my Scarborough trip, but I’m moving onto some black and white photographs now.

These are shots from the two rolls of Ilford Type 517 film I shot on the day which suffered severe light leaks (which I originally posted about here). Not being one to waste anything, especially two rolls of film(!), I’ve managed to rescue quite a lot of the frames through the use of cropping (although there were also several full frames that somehow escaped the light leaks altogether). So, while not the compositions I originally intended and framed in the viewfinder, I think I’ve still managed to get pictures that work pretty well.

The shot below didn’t have any light leaks, but there was some sort of uneven development or film problem going on that made the sky somewhat blotchy, so this is a quite significant crop from the original portrait orientation 35mm frame (although, even when cropped, it’s still over 4,000 pixels on the long edge). It’s smaller than a half-frame negative and the grain is quite prominent as a result, but it think it still works.

Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.

Taken on 14 March 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Seaside gallery

June 6, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Minolta X-300, Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 14 March 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Enjoying your visit?

April 27, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Shot in Sheffield’s Millennium Galleries on the day I visited the Taylor Wessing Portrait Exhibition.

Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 21 February 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Not every ship leads to freedom

April 26, 2026April 27, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

This was taken very quickly as I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn’t take the time to read what each of these balls was about (although I would assume the slave trade in this case). I don’t think the woman in the background was a nun, but she very much looks like one given the shallow depth of field and the nature of her dress.

I like the photo a lot, but it’s marred (as was much of the roll) by bad scratches. I suspect these are my own fault as I think I might have used the bulk-loader incorrectly and forgotten to open the gate when winding it into the canister, dragging the emulsion across the light trap in the process. Hey, you live and learn, I guess…

Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 21 February 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Sometimes a test is best

April 21, 2026 fishyfisharcade10 Comments

This shot was one from a short roll of Fomapan 400 that I bulk-rolled to test that my camera wasn’t faulty – the previous roll had revealed a piece of fluff on every frame which I needed to painstakingly clone out of every shot! Thankfully the offending fiber must have been dislodged when I took the roll out of the camera, and this test roll showed no sign of it.

But, despite just going for a quick walk to fire off a few test shots, I managed to get several I really like, including this lovely picture of an elderly couple walking down the Trans Pennine Trail.

I think it pays to shoot with a sense of purpose, even when running a test.

Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 February 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Camouflage

April 20, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Not fooling anyone…

Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 February 2026

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Sheffield Covid memorial

July 25, 2025July 25, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

This memorial was unveiled in 2023 to recognise those who lost their lives, or went above-and-beyond to help others, during the Covid pandemic. The designer of the memorial, Geoge King, described it as follows:

“When we thought about Covid and how the pandemic affected so many people, the willow tree idea was powerful to us. A willow has a strong trunk which symbolises how people worked together to create the strength that was needed at such a difficult time. It is also a flexible and resilient tree, whilst also being delicate. When a storm hits, the tree bends with it. Its long branches sweep all the way to the ground and when it rains the droplets fall all the way down the branches like tears to the ground. When you stand underneath a willow tree you feel embraced and protected.”

Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 3 May 2025

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A day at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (part 3)

July 19, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

The final batch of pictures from my Yorkshire Sculpture Park visit. As previously, I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.

**Seated Figure by Sean Henry**

Sean Henry makes detailed and life-like sculptures of anonymous figures, often in casual poses and deep in thought. They are usually based on members of the public or actors, and scaled either up or down, so they are never actually life sized. *Seated Figure* is a monumental 3 metres tall. The artist uses clay to model his works in the studio, before they are cast in bronze. (taken from the YSP website)

This piece can be seen from miles and has a commanding position looking out across the landscape from the top of a hill.

The charity boxes that inspired this piece were a common sight when I was younger, although not with the additional flourish added by Hirst, which features the collection box pried open by a crowbar. I was amused and happy to note that crows had taken up residence within the open collection box and were carrying nesting material in there as I watched.

**The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst**

Damien Hirst’s The Virgin Mother stands at 10 metres tall and is the tallest sculpture at YSP. A powerful presence in the landscape, it is partly inspired by the historic sculpture *Little Dancer of Fourteen Years*(c.1881), by Edgar Degas. Hirst deliberately makes the materials look different than they are, for example *The Virgin Mother* is bronze painted to look like plastic. (taken from the YSP website)

This is a striking piece of sculpture and my picture doesn’t really give a sense of scale, with a full grown adult barely reaching the figure’s calves. It’s also slightly disturbing with the figure appearing intact from her left profile, only to reveal tissues, muscles, bone, and a fetus in her womb. Where her left hand crosses the demarcation between outside and inside, the fingers are severed.