Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
A very quick post today as I have to go on a Zoom call in (checks watch…) 4 minutes! So, literally just a couple of sentences and a photo of Bedgreave Mill.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 20mins @ 20°.
Taken on 22 November 2020
I was struck by just how much growth has occured in this small marshy area since the last time I walked through during the summer. Back then the area had been landscaped to produce a number of small ponds from the previous patch of marshy reedbeds. It was mostly bare earth with some patches of reeds. Now it is in full growth – so much so that it was a little difficult to spot the path that I’d followed previously. Hopefully it will be a haven for wildlife, especially amphibians.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 20mins @ 20°.
Taken on 22 November 2020
This is the signal box at Beighton Station, not far from where I live. Although it’s named Beighton Station, no station has been present since the 1950s when passenger services ceased. There have been recent rumblings about building a new terminal suitable for tram-train services however.
The signal-box is currently scheduled for demolition in 2021, much to the displeasure of locals who see it as a landmark, and there are campaigns looking to try and save it.
More photos of the signal box can be found in my blog posts here, here, here, and here.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008).
Taken on 8 November 2020
In direct continuation from yesterday’s post, the four images today were made while crossing Renishaw golf course. The golf course borders the farmland where yesterday’s photographs were made, the two areas split by the River Rother, and a metal-framed footbridge spans it’s flow.
The golf course was, as you might expect, shrouded in the same fog as the farmland. As golf courses have been closed due to the lockdown, no-one was playing – although fog might not be the best conditions for golf anyway I suppose, pandemic or not – and the course was empty of all but the occasionl individuals and small groups out walking in the murk. If you look carefully, you might be able to see some of them in the trees at the other side of the fairway.
As I followed the footpath through the course I noticed these neat rows of fallen leaves, presumably raked by the groundskeeper.
My final shot beore leaving the golf course was this signpost.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008).
Taken on 7 November 2020
More misty morning photographs. All made on the same day (and walk) as the black and white images I’ve posted over the past few days, but this time on a roll of expired Fuji Superia 100. I probably wouldn’t shoot colour film in these conditions as they can tend to feel bereft of colour, but it was all I had to hand after finishing the HP5+. Anyway, although there’s a muted quality to them, there’s still plenty of colour there – especially green.
While the blank grey of the foggy skies is somewhat bland, it’s also very atmospheric. It captures the stillness of these conditions. Quiet that is only broken by the occasional caw of a crow and your footsteps across the ground.
It’s quite easy to imagine that I was in the middle of the countryside, such is the adeptness of fog when it comes to removing distance and detail. In reality I was just a stone’s throw from Renishaw golf course and, beyond that, the town of Eckington. There are plenty of fields and signs of the countryside here, but in reality it’s just a few minutes from busy roads, supermarkets, and local industries. You could easily imagine being out on some lonely heath though.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008).
Taken on 7 November 2020
I hope nobody is getting bored of mist yet? There are still more to come – some of them in colour! 🙂
I think the lone tussock of grass in this helps the shot a lot. It would still have had a pleasant abstract nature without, but it being there in the foreground anchors the image.
Apologies for the somewhat short posts this week. I’ve had some other things to keep me occupied so not enough time unfortunately.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°.
Taken on 7 November 2020
A companion shot to yesterdays trees in the mist. You can see that same copse of trees on the other side of the footbridge, but this shot was made before the ones posted yesterday. I collapsed the tripod down to get the low point of view.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°.
Taken on 7 November 2020
I’ve undoubtedly said this before on here somewhere, but I’ll say it again: Fog and mist are a gift to photography. The diffused light; the sense of calm; the way they hide and obscure distracting detail; and – most of all – the sheer atmosphere (quite literally) that they bring to bear is a wonderful thing to behold.
I do admit to saying this as someone for whom fog and mist are relatively uncommon – at least at the times I’m usually out of bed! I can fully understand the “grass is always greener” sentiment that this bears, and that for those who live in places with regular foggy conditions that this might all be a bit business-as-usual. But for me, well, I love these conditions.
So, when I saw the weather forecast showing this day as having fog, I was up early and out with my camera. I went somewhere I’ve been a number of times before – a walk that takes me across the River Rother, through a copse of trees (it’s probably a plantation as the tress – Poplars I think – are in somewhat orderly rows), and then either up to the Trans-Pennine Trail, or looping alongside the river, then down to Renishaw golf-course, and back around to the starting point.
I’ve photographed these trees on a number of occasions and know that the look their best in a veil of mist. It’s not a large area and on clear days it’s easy to find a distracting background element creeping into the frame. In fog, however, the trees feel like they go on forever.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°.
Taken on 7 November 2020
The River Rother on a foggy autumn morning a few weeks ago.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+ (@1600). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 13mins @ 20°.
Taken on 7 November 2020
I got up early on the day that I made this photograph as I was hoping that there would be some mist. Across the road that runs in front of this Aldi supermarket (to the right of this scene) there is a meadow. The near half consists of an area where livestock graze sometimes – I’ve seen both cows and sheep in there when I’ve passed by. The fields border Renishaw golf course, and the River Rother forms a second boundary line, beyond which is further farm land where the ground begins to rise out of the valley.
When there is low-lying mist here at sunrise, it can look very beautiful (even if there is a line of pylons in the distance). Alas, on this morning, the hoped-for mist had let me down. Not wanting to return home completely empty-handed, I decided to make a picture of the Aldi. It’s not the most glamourous of scenes, but it has it’s own commercial charm. Plus, the pastel shades in the pre-sunrise sky behind the store were a treat.
I took three shots of the scene, which is unusual for me. I rarely bracket my exposures, preferring to try and maximise the number of unique images I can get from a roll of film. However, given the fussy nature of Velvia 50 when it comes to exposure and my slightly limiting (for this scene) incident meter, I decided to use a few frames to ensure a good chance of a decent result. It was a good decision as the first two images were very underexposed. This third one could have done with a bit more light in the foreground too, but I think it just about gets by with what it has.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujichrome Velvia 50.
Taken on 22 October 2020
Steel City Snapper photography 