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 VRon Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
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…
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°.
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.
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.
Charity by Damien Hirst
Charity is based on the Scope charity collection boxes that used to be common on British streets. It features a young girl wearing a calliper and cradling a teddy bear. It has a donate box asking people to ‘please give generously’. Hirst’s interpretation questions outdated ways of depicting disability and seeking charity. (taken from the YSP website)
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.
Two Large Forms by Henry Moore
The colossal sculpture is impressive in both scale and composition, appearing very different from every angle and continuing the theme of points that almost meet, which appears in much of Moore’s work. (taken from the YSP website)
I’d originally intended to get the whole sculpture in frame when I took this shot, but I liked how the child gave a sense of scale to the piece, so moved the viewpoint.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
More pictures from my Yorkshire Sculpture Park visit. Again, I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.
Wall Dale Cubed – Sean Scully Made for YSP, Wall Dale Cubed uses 1000 tonnes of Yorkshire stone from a local quarry and was constructed over many weeks. Importantly to the artist, this colossal work is built in the same way throughout, which connects to ancient stone walls in Ireland, so that ‘when looking at the outside of the block, one can feel the inside without being able to see it’. (taken from the YSP website)
Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir by Kimsooja Kimsooja developed this elegant and towering conical sculpture in collaboration with scientists at Cornell University. The nanopolymer in which its panels are covered enhances the refractive qualities of light, giving an iridescent effect similar to that which occurs naturally on the wings of a butterfly or a beetle’s shell. It is responsive to changing light conditions and brought to life by sunlight on its surface. (taken from the YSP website)
The structure apparently has a mirrored floor which make it look like it pierces the earth below, although I didn’t walk close enough to it to see this aspect.
Peter’s Fold by Andy Goldsworthy
In Britain, folds have been made for hundreds of years as animal pens and Goldsworthy has developed the traditional fold to make contemporary sculptures. Peter’s Fold was built using drystone techniques by master wallers who have worked with the artist for many years. The Yorkshire sandstone was sourced from Hillhouse Edge Quarry in nearby Holmfirth. It is built around a common lime tree with distinctive epicormic growth, which occurs when dormant buds beneath the bark become active. (taken from the YSP website)
I decided to take the picture from a low vantage point on the grass. Unfortunately, due to the way TLR cameras work, I didn’t spot a stray blade of grass in front of the taking lens which resulted in a blurred smudge on the image. I’ve attempted to remove this and not done too bad a job (although you can probably see the joins if you look closely…)
Tree Stump by The Tree
This isn’t an actual artwork, but this lone tree stump surrounded by daffodils looked pretty photogenic, so here it is, in amongst it’s more famous fellow park residents.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
Back in April I took a trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The venue features indoor gallery spaces, but also a significant landscaped outdoor park dating to the 18th century. Throughout the park are an large array of sculpture and artworks of varying styles, types, designs, and sizes.
On this visit I took my trusty Yashica Mat 124G and a (potentially less trustworthy) roll of expired Kodak Tmax 100 film that had been sat in the freezer for several years. As you can see, there was no need to worry about the condition of the film, which has produced lovely results.
I shot the whole roll at the park and will post the pictures over the next few days. I’ve added a little information about the artworks below each picture, but you can find out more at the park’s website.
Djinn – Bharti Kher
This huge, 5-metre tall bronze sculpture is very striking. It forms part of a series titled Intermediaries that take South Indian golu dolls as their starting point. These small, colourful clay figurines that are displayed in homes as part of the Navaratri festival depict gods and goddesses, animals and people.
Riace Figures – Elizabeth Frink
There are three of these figures gathered together, titled Riace II, III, & IV (although only two of them feature in my picture – I don’t know which ones).
The Riace figures are inspired by the 5th century BCE bronze sculptures that were rediscovered in the sea off the coast of the Riace region of Italy in 1972. Frink said ‘the original figures are very beautiful, but also very sinister, and that is what they are supposed to be’.
Buddha – Niki de Saint Phalle
The black and white picture, while pleasing, doesn’t really do justice to the bold colours that make up the mosaic surfaces of the figure.
Sitting – Sophie Ryder
Known as the Lady Hare – which Ryder describes a companion for the Minotaur – the work combines a female body with the head of a hare, a mystical creature in folklore.
Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 7 minutes @ 20°
Steel City Snapper photography 