Tag: Fence

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Fencepost climbing frame and a new scanner

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I went for a long drive (for me, at least) today. I had the opportunity to buy an Epson V850 Pro scanner for a very good price and, rather than have it shipped, I agreed with the seller to meet up and collect in person. As he lives right down on the south coast, and I’m in Yorkshire, halfway up the country, we met at a service station in Oxfordshire, which was a little over 2 hours each way for me. I took the opportunity to listen to podcasts during the journey, and the time passed quickly as a result.

The scanner is now set up and will replace the Epson V700 I’ve used for the last few years. The V700 is still in full working order but, given the recent news that Epson may be cutting manufacture of it’s film scanners, I decided to future-proof myself with a more recent model.

I’ve already scanned a roll of 120 film this afternoon to put it through it’s paces and the results are good. One thing I’m not sure about are the film holders that come with the V850. These have anti-newton inserts to hold the film flat, which is a good thing, I thought. However, what it also means is that it’s quite easy for dust to get between the film and the inserts where it can’t be removed with an air blower, resulting in marks on the scan. I guess I could be extra cautious to remove any dust each time, but this is some extra faff I’d rather avoid (I don’t really have issues with dust when scanning with other methods). Luckily, the V700 film holders can also be used with the V850, so I think I will keep hold of those and use them instead (unless I get a particularly curly strip of negatives!).

Today’s picture was scanned on the V700 a couple of months back. A fencepost gradually being colonised by ivy. You can already see the hopeful feelers reaching out for the next piece of real estate.

Ivy-clad

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 28 December 2024

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

Digital · Photography

Beach huts

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Today was the day I picked for my annual pilgrimage to Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast. Although the weather forecast stated good weather for the location, it was drizzly, grey and even foggy for much of the 80-odd mile journey there, only brightening up after I crossed the Wolds to the coastal area. By the time I arrived it was a beautiful day with nary a cloud in the sky. Although, being a photographer, a few clouds to give the skies some interest wouldn’t have gone amiss. 🙂

Normally I tend to stay in Mablethorpe itself during these day trips, but today I set off early so that I could walk down the coastal path to Sutton-on-Sea, where I shot the picture below.

I shot four rolls of B&W film (using the GW690, so 32 shots in total), but none of those are developed or scanned yet. So in the meantime, here’s a digital photo from the outing.

Beach huts

Ricoh GR III

Taken 21 September 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Washlands when wet

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One of the interesting features about Woodhouse Washlands is how it can change noticeable when flooded. As it’s a floodplain (with a flood barrier at the northern end to boot), this is to be expected and, to be honest, it becomes somewhat challenging to navigate without getting wet and muddy in these circumstances. It does allow for different photographs to be found though. What were previously just grassy fields, now become ponds.

Reeds
Fence and flood

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 3 March 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Writer’s block

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I’ve been struggling to find things to write the past week or so. Or, in some cases, I’ve had something to write, but not the time to do so. Either way, a lot of my posts of late have been pretty short. This has happened before (and my posts are rarely particularly verbose anyway), so I expect the situation will self-correct at some point. I guess it’s just a side-effect of daily posting.

Anyway, today is not really any different, so here’s a picture of a tree for no reason at all. 🙂

The other side of the fence

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 11 February 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Fence posts and pylons

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This landscape shot, taken on a walk along the Cuckoo Way a couple of months back, turned out pretty nicely, I think. The pylons and the concrete fence posts (no actual fence though) belie the area’s industrial heritage, but that’s fine. I think the concrete posts work as well as weathered wooden ones would, and I’ve always got room in a photo for a pylon or two. 🙂

Fence posts and pylons

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 27 January 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A short post

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Sunday has become the day where I write up my thoughts on the album I’ve been listening to this week on my other blog. As those tend to be much more wordy affairs than what I post each day about photography, Sunday’s posts here are likely to be somewhat short.

I can say, even though I’ve not written how I feel about this week’s album yet (Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden), that it’s a great piece of music.

Fencepost

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 11 February 2024

4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Photography

Half a picture

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The weather yesterday was good for once. Paired with the fact that it was a Sunday and I wasn’t at work, I felt almost duty bound to make use of it and go out with a camera.

As I’ve not shot the 4×5 for a few weeks and I’m still in the “getting to know you” phase of figuring out how to use it while still trying to make interesting pictures, I got the kit together and headed out. It was late morning before I had chance to set off as my dad came over for his usual Sunday visit first thing so I decided to stay relatively local and headed out to a couple of villages and other places I’ve photographed previously, albeit not with large format.

I only shot four sheets, although, given how long it takes to shoot 4×5, I was still out for over two hours even though I shot two of the pictures walking distance apart, and the other two were at locations not that far away by car.

I had a chance to develop the photos this lunchtime (the benefits of working from home) and they all looked good apart from the picture featured today – which had a large light leak down the left third of the image. I’m not sure if one of my film holders is a bit tempremental and prone to light leaks, or if I’d not been sufficiently careful when removing or re-inserting the dark slide when taking the photograph.

Luckily for me, the image could be salvaged with a crop. The original frame has all the house in the composition, plus a garage and part of a tree down the left of the property. The crop removes that completely but still manages to leave a pretty nice picture. At least I think it does. The 4×5 format means there’s still an absolute ton of detail in the remaining part of the image too.

The wheelie-bin isn’t the most attractive thing, but cropping that out too unbalanced the picture a bit too much for my taste.

House by a railway

Chroma 4×5. Fujinon NW 135mm f/5.6 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 12 mins @ 20°

Taken 2 April 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Beyond the field

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I was drawing a blank on what to talk about today, so I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about my picture:

Across a small and verdant field,
A farmhouse stands with pride and yield,
With a fence of white tape that’s real,
Where horses roam and sometimes feel.

The fence divides the field in two,
A line that’s clear and pure in hue,
It’s a place where horses gallop through,
With grace and strength they shine anew.

The farmhouse has seen many days,
Where love and life have found their ways,
From spring’s first buds to autumn’s blaze,
The memories linger and never erase.

With windows bright and walls of stone,
The farmhouse feels like home alone,
It’s a place where peace and joy are sown,
And the heart and soul are fully grown.

So let the horses run and play,
In the field with the fence of white tape,
As the farmhouse watches from far away,
A place of beauty, serenity and grace.

A house across the field

Bronica ETRSi & Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°

Taken 5 February 2023.