Tag: Bridlington

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A bike on the prom

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There’s something about a bicycle, especially one propped against a fence, that seems to attract my eye. I don’t think I’m alone in this, and there are countless photographs of bicycles, both ridden and riderless to be found. I wonder if anyone has put down in words why they are a popular subject?

My own theory is that they make for a pleasing combination of geometric forms, a combination of circles, triangles and other polygonal shapes. They also make for interesting subject matter whether seen in full, or as detail – a wheel, a saddle, a chain for instance – and different points of view give even more variety – from the side, from the front, from above.

And once other factors are added to the mix there’s an almost limitless variety of pictures to be found. Every change of light, of type, of surroundings brings more into play.

The shot below is pretty simple. A bike leaning on a fence with the North Sea behind. I like the contrast of the dark bike against the bright railings. I also like the little incidental details caught by the shutter – the couple in the sea, the distant boat, and the kite that has fluttered into the edge of the frame.

Seaside bike

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

Taken on 2 August 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Written in sand

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The beach at Bridlington is backed by a sea wall along the stretch in front of the town north of the harbour area. This means there’s a good vantage point for looking down upon the sand and seeing the activities of the people enjoying the seaside, including writing messages in the smooth wet sand.

Despite my own spelling often being atrocious (albeit usually due to my inaccurate keystrokes, rather than an inability to spell), I seem to be quite good at seeing other peoples typos, such as the ones present in the first two pictures shared today. To be fair to the authors, it’s a lot easier to spot them from up on the promenade, than it probably is a beach level.

The third shot is spelt accurately, although it’s missing an apostrophe in “mums” and the spacing leaves a little to be desired. It’s not lacking in impact though, and I wonder what “mum” thought about the message?

😀

Beach writing
Beach writing-2
Beach writing-3

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

Taken on 2 August 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Bridlington beach

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Back to black and white again. The coming series of posts will be photographs I made during a day trip to Bridlington with my wife back at the start of August.

This shot seems quite grainy for FP4+, but I do like the light and the expansiveness of the beach, with the coast curving around to the distant promontory of Flamborough Head.

Beach scene

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

Taken on 2 August 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Beach and harbour

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I was going to move onto a different set of photos from today but I’ve had a strange day where I’ve been feeling tired, listless, and unable to focus on stuff, which is not a particularly nice sensation. So I’ll hopefully find time to post something more meaningful tomorrow.

But here are the last couple of pictures I’ll post from the Bridlington trip.

Bridlington beach and promenade
A place to live for harbour views

Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-Zoom 75-150mm f/4 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 17 June 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Lone track

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It’s turned very warm and humid here over the past 24 hours and I’m not in a mind to write much for the blog today (and I have a videogame that has my attention calling out for me to play! 🙂 ).

This single track railway line heads north from Bridlington, passing through Bempton, Hunmanby and Filey, before joining the line to Scarborough at Seamer. I have a fond memory of Seamer despite never having stepperd foot in the place. When I was young we would visit my godmother (who was one of my mum’s childhood friends) who owned a Bed & Breakfast at Filey, and stay there for a summer holiday. I can’t remember how many times we did this, but at least a couple of times, and maybe more.

I haven’t heard anything of my godmother for a very long time, or her three daughters, but seeing Seamer on a map or signpost reminds me of these holidays as it’s where the train would split off the Scarborough line to Filey.

There’s a hint of Stephen King’s story, The Body (made into the movie Stand By Me) about this picture, I think.

Lone track

Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-Zoom 75-150mm f/4 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 17 June 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Gypsey Race

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I didn’t give a lot of thought to this vessel when I photographed it – I just thought it might make for an interesting picture. However, a quick search on the internet turned up some interesting information.

The ship here, the dredger Gypsey Race, was built in 2017 and is currently under the auspices of Bridlington Harbour Commission. The name most likely derives from a chalk stream of the same name which enters the sea in Bridlington harbour. It’s a winterbourne stream, meaning it remains dry during the summer months. One of the villages through which it runs, Boynton, has an annual rubber duck race where hundreds of plastic waterfowl are launched into the water to raise money for the local village hall. The word Gypsey in the name of the stream apparently denotes a watercourse that spends parts of its course beneath ground.

The current Gypsey Race is not the first of it’s name though, and an earlier vessel existed. This one was built in 1940 for Southend-on-Sea County Borough and went under the name Prittlewell and was likely used to keep the channels around the Thames forts clear during World War II. She was later renamed the Essex Queen in 1971 and then acquired by Bridlington Harbour Commision in 1977 where she was renamed as Gypsey Race and modernised. From the mid 80s she was used for dredging Bridlington Harbour and other locations along the east coast. She was broken up in 2010.

Dredger

Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-Zoom 75-150mm f/4 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 17 June 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Bridlington boats

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A selection of boats seen in Bridlington harbour. Most of the images were shot with with my Zuiko 75-150mm zoom and I notice a definite difference in quality when compared with the Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 lens I also used the same day. They’re not awful by any means, and it’s perhaps not fair to compare a telephoto zoom with a prime lens for visual fidelity, but there is a difference nonetheless.

Caught in a web
Pleasure boats

H20
Harbour
Onward Star II and Sophie Dawn

Olympus OM-1N, Zuiko Auto-Zoom 75-150mm f/4 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 17 June 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Scanning woes

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I’ve been tearing my hair out (not that I have much) for the last couple of days trying to scan some Kodak Ektar which, for some reason, doesn’t look right despite me scanning it the same way as ever. I’ve now resorted to re-scanning some older Ektar negs that I know worked fine before to see it it’s just this new roll with a problem – and it appears it is.

In a way this is a relief as at least I know there’s not some issue with my scanner or my scanning configuration, but it does mean that something has gone awry somewhere else. My first thought is that I might have underexposed the film somehow – I did shoot a roll of 400asa film before this one, so it’s possible that I failed to change the ISO setting on the light meter before shifting to the 100asa Ektar, but I’m not sure if there’s two stops of difference to be seen. I’ll have to investigate further I guess…

Anyway, here’s a picture that has nothing to do with any of that stuff whatsoever.

Beach train

Olympus OM-1N, G-Zuiko Auto-W 35mm f/2.8 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 17 June 2023.