On my trip to Cleethorpes I made a number of pictures around the railway station. While I’m not a railway enthusiast in the sense of being interested in trains especially, I do find that the locomotives, carriages, rolling stock and the infrastructure that surrounds them makes for evocative photographs.
I like how this picture came out. It reminds me of something that might turn up in a set of old mounted slides or something, despite being a contemporary scene and being shot on colour negative film. It wouldn’t have worked anywhere near as nicely without the great light though
Olympus XA3 and Kodak Colorplus (expired 2012 and shot at 100asa)
At the end of January I took myself off for a day at the seaside town of Cleethorpes. It was a nice day with vivid blue skies and plenty of bright winter sunshine. There wasn’t much in the way of warmth however, not helped by the fact that we still had the tail-end of Storm Malik creating blustery conditions. However, this being the UK in wintertime, I was glad enough for the bright day and wore enough clothes to keep the chill at bay.
I didn’t have any particular plans for the day other than to take a bunch of photographs at an off-season seaside town. I knew that most of the attractions would be shuttered up for the winter, but that was kinda the point – to see it in the times when it isn’t full of holidaymakers and day-trippers.
I’d parked up right on the promenade. Unsurprisingly there were plenty of spaces to choose from – almost all of them in fact, and after buying a ticket I decided to head north to the end of the promenade where the beach heads on up to Grimsby. The wind was bitingly cold, but my jacket kept me warm, and I kept on my gloves unless I wanted to make a picture. Despite the fact that most things were shuttered, the big amusement arcade was open and I went in for a bit of warmth and a quick game on an old Galaga machine that I found lurking in a corner.
I had three cameras with me, which might sound like overkill, but two of them (the Olympus XA3 with which today’s photos were shot, and my digital Ricoh) are both tiny and easily pocketable. Only the OM-2n required a bag to carry it and a couple of extra lenses.
The photos in todays blog are of the small funfair on the beach. It’s not much of a funfair – just three rides – but I think it’s pretty much all that is left in terms of these sorts of things at the resort. There used to be a small theme park to the south of the town with some actual thrill rides, but that closed years ago. There were also larger rides including dodgems and a waltzer inside one of the buildings on the promenade, but I believe that it’s now an indoor market. This small cluster of beach attractions consists of a big-wheel (sans carriages at this time of year), a helter-skelter (all locked up), and a kiddies rollercoaster (missing its train, again because no children are around to ride on it in January). Despite their inactivity, they still made for colourful pictures in the bright sunshine though.
The old expired roll of Colorplus (which came with the XA3 when I bought it early last summer) has come out a treat.
Olympus XA3 and Kodak Colorplus (expired 2012 and shot at 100asa)
A photo I took on a walk around Eckington just before Christmas.
Shortly before I took this photo, a day or so prior (it might even have been the evening before) one of my sons went to a birthday party held at a cricket club that is located about half a mile up the road on the left in this picture. It was extremely foggy on the evening – pretty much a wall of blankness in front of the car as soon as the streetlights were left behind. While I love fog as a weather condition where photography is concerned, I’m definitely less inclined towards it when it comes to night driving…
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
So, it’s another quick post today. I did have some stuff I was going to write about, but my eldest came round to visit and I now don’t have time. I shall endeavour to do it tomorrow instead.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Another photo of the Derbyshire County Council complex at Matlock. There’s a very dark and moody look to the whole set, a combination, I think, of the metering on the XA3 trying to find the right exposure between scenes that consist of dark buildings and trees and much brighter foggy skies, and also my use of this roll of almost 20-years expired Tri-X Pan. Pushing the film a stop (while shooting at the 400asa box speed) to compensate for its age has also increased the contrast and grain. It’s a look I’m not unhappy with though.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
The dome in the background of this picture is part of the Derbyshire County Council buildings in Matlock. They stand on the hillside above the town centre and there is some interesting architecture present. The photos on the blog in the coming days will show more views of the place.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
The photo today shows a scene in the centre of Matlock that I snapped when we visited the Christmas market last month. I liked the way the far street rose up the hill into the distance, the wet road catching the dull light nicely. The building and the tree frame the shot, and the couple and the lamppost add some interest. At the upper left can be seen a clock tower. That was close to where we had parked our car and there will be more photos of that building to come over the next few days.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
I have to pick one of my sons up from college today, so I won’t have time to write the blog later (well, I will, but I’ll probably want to do other stuff instead :)). So today it’s a quick and somewhat random post with a picture of the back of the bowling green pavillion that featured in testerday’s post. It was the ripples on the water and the birds on the roof that caught my eye but it’s not much of a shot if I’m honest. Look at me, treating you all with such treasures! 😀
The truth is that I’ve still got most of this roll of film still to scan and am limited on shots to pick until I get on with that. The roll also seems to have some sort of marks on a lot of the frames. At first I thought they were drying marks, but they don’t really correspond to other drying marks I’ve seen. I’m now wondering if it’s something else – maybe I didn’t let the film defrost before loading it and caused condensation or something? Or perhaps it’s just an artefact of the film being almost twenty-years past it’s use-by date. Luckily I’ve been able to photoshop out the worst of it, including this photo.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Beside the Don Valley Centertainment complex – which houses a multiplex, bowling alley & arcade, kid’s play area, and a selction of restaurants – are industrial streets. This is the east-end of the city where, in it’s industial heyday, the bulk of the steel industry resided. There are still steelworks in the area, and more as you head down river towards Tinsley and Templeborough, but much of it has now become history.
I’m not sure what the building in today’s picture used to house – I’m sure my dad would know, and I’ll ask him next time I see him – but it’s now the home of a scaffolding hire and sales business.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
This small white building is situated in the small town of Eckington. It’s opposite the road that leads to Chesterfield and often catches my eye when I’m driving back from there. In the right light, it’s white painted walls really light up.
I believe the building is a church – St. Luke’s Mission Church – although I think it is closed now – it certainly has a disused air about it, and the billboard beside the path has clearly seen no messages posted for some time. Looking at the Google StreetView historical photos it looks like it might have been disused for a decade or more, although it only looks like the grounds have become more overgrown over the past few years.
Olympus XA3 & Kodak Tri-X Pan (expired 2003 – shot at box speed and pushed a stop in development). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Steel City Snapper photography 