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…
There are several entrances to Rother Valley Country Park, most of them for pedestrians only – this one included. Car owners are not left out however, although they do have to pay to enter if they visit in their vehicle, and during the warmer months hundreds of them will fill up the car parks and line the far side of the lake.
This entry is just off the Trans Pennine Trail and is a reminder of the parks prior industrial heritiage, passing under a disused railway bridge that used to carry part of the rail network which transported coal from the colliery that used to cover much of the area.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 9mins @ 20°.
The chimneys of this waste recycling plant struck me as looking a little like the eyes of a crab peeking up above the treeline. Hopefully it doesn’t have similarly sized claws…
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 9mins @ 20°.
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°.
I had the opportunity to go out yesterday and today to do some photography, but mostly failed to do so. Part of this might be one of those dips in inspiration that seems to afflict photographers from time to time, and it was this which meant that, as the weekend approached, I was unable to decide just where to go.
This was compounded, perhaps fatally so, by the fact that I’d got set in my head that I was going to use my large format camera, which I haven’t used in over a year! While I love the images I can get on 4×5 film, I’m also put off the process somewhat by the effort required.
Not only is it an expensive process in terms of film (especially if I shoot colour!), but perhaps more tellingly, in my time. Each shot takes a lot of preparation to get right and because of this, I might only come back with a handful of pictures which then puts a lot of pressure on me to try and make sure they’re all worth the effort. Sometimes I think about the work I need to put in and just think “Nah! I can’t be bothered…“.
Another factor is that, if the weather is nice, then the weekend will draw others to places I might want to photograph. While this is fine – I have no ownership of these places, and everyone else has as much right to enjoy them as me, it can lead to frustration if my perfectly composed shot keeps getting disturbed as others enter the frame (usually in the short window when the light is perfect). If I’m shooting smaller formats then it’s easier to avoid this as I can work much faster and have a greater chance of taking a picture quickly when opportunity arises.
I did go out briefly yesterday morning, with an intent to photograph a local cemetery, but with a detour to get some urban landscape scenes for a photo comp I’m taking part in. Luckily, I also took my pocketable Olympus XA3 with me, and used that to take these pictures, as it really wasn’t worth the effort of setting up the 4×5, but the large format camera would serve me well at the next destination, or so I thought. But when I got there, the place was closed. A sign on the gates said it would be closed for two days (the previous two days, not the day I was there!) and it wasn’t possible to gain access. After this I though about maybe going somewhere else, but a thick bank of cloud had moved in, the light was lost, and I decided to cut my losses and go home and do something else.
I planned to go out this morning too, the weather forecast had looked promising with a mix of sunshine and clouds, but I woke to a pure blue sky devoid of any interest, and by the time some clouds began to show their fluffy faces late in the morning, the sun was high, the light was harsh, and any desire to photograph had left me.
Obviously, as soon as I’m back at work tomorrow and unable to go out with a camera, the weather will no doubt be perfect and I’ll be abuzz with inspiration again. Sigh…
Here’s a picture of Steetley dolomite works, taken on a day where I felt a lot more inspired.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
It wasn’t the best sky for photography on the day I took this. While it was a blue sky, rather than grey, which at least meant there was some contrast to be had, I still dislike empty skies most of the time, and being shot on black and white film, there wasn’t even any colour to be seen.
I think blank skies can work if you’re looking for negative space in a picture, or – if shooting colour – as a contrast to other subjects, but otherwise they can be a lot of nothing taking up a lot of the frame. This is made worse by the fact that I sometimes get banding artifacts when scanning images, which are especially noticeable in such scenes.
I’d much rather have some clouds to break things up and add interest.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
Steel City Snapper photography 