No photography stuff for me today. I have a roll of film to develop but I couldn’t be bothered with faffing around with that (or rather, all the getting stuff out, and then having to wash it all and put it away again afterwards). The weather has been overcast, although with some definition in the cloud cover, but after walking around Leeds taking pictures yesterday I didn’t feel the need to go out agin today. Yesterday’s trip left me with a full roll of HP5+ (the one I have to develop) and also some Provia 100 to be sent off to the lab (fingers crossed as it’s an expired roll).
So instead, after my dad came over to visit, I spent the day watching TV and YouTube. Sometimes it maked me feel a bit guilty that I didn’t use my free time more productively, but at the same time sometimes a day vegging on the sofa is a productive use of time in terms of re-charging your batteries.
A friend of mine once said the following: “When I say I’m doing nothing, that doesn’t mean I’m free. It means I’m busy doing nothing.“. Sometimes doing nothing is what you need.
Here’s a random photo of a house. Not mine, and not the one I’ve been vegging out in.
Bronica ETRSi & Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°
Behind the fence and trees flows the River Don. Across the river stands New Testament Church of God (formerly Holy Trinity Church). The chimney and large brick building to the left of the frame is Aizlewood’s Mill, which I wrote about the other day.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujifilm Pro 400H. Lab developed. Home scanned and and converted using Negative Lab Pro.
It’s very rare that I make prints of my photographs. Occasionally, I’ll get a bunch of cheap mini prints of random shots as they can be nice things to put in gifts, and I had a print made of a picture my cousin liked for her to hang on her wall, but rarely do I make a print for myself.
I might get a print of the picture posted here today though. It’s not a perfect image and probably not something anyone would buy commercially, but I like the photo – it’s evocative and also, because I was there when it was made, personal. It’s mine. It would be a nice thing to look at when I’m at work, I think, maybe even moreso when the dark winter days kick in proper.
Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Pro 160NS. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
As I mentioned in my last, somewhay concise, post, I suffered an injury yesterday. A broken ankle to be precise.
It was the first of five days leave I have from work (or seven including the weekend) and I’d taken a trip to Manchester with my wife and her sister. They were off to see a show while I planned to just wander around the city taking pictures. And all was going to plan for several hours. I visited Real Camera to have a browse (and ended up buying a couple of rolls of expired slide film, because, of course, I really need more film to add to the already packed drawer that I’ve commandeered in the freezer), had some passport photos made in the old-style analogue photo booth in the Fred Aldous store (not for my actual passport, but just because I could. The photos are now stuck on the side of the fridge along with loads on Instap pictures). I treat myself to a nice burger and fries for my lunch and, of course, I took pictures. I had a couple of cameras on me – my Olympus 35 RC loaded with one of my two remaining rolls of Portra 800, and my Canon Z135 compact containing some Ilford HP5+.
After wandering around for a few hours I decided to visit the art gallery an it was when I left the gallery that disaster struck. Just outside the main entrance, down a short flight of steps, there were some benches in the shade of the building. Thinking it would be nice to take the weight off for a few minutes I headed down and, as I stepped down the bottom step my right foot twisted awkwardly beneath me with a distinctive snappining sound.
I had an immediate sickening sense of dread and planted myself straight on the bench to take the weight off my legs. There was no actual pain as such, just an odd, numb tingling sensation, the sort you get if you bang your elbow, so I decided to stand up and see how bad it was. Luckily I was able to bear weight and, after messaging my wife to tell her what had happened and that I was taking an ealier train home, I set off limping back to the railway station. Walking was awkward but not especially painful and I managed to get to the station without issue. Unfortunately the next train was cancelled so I had to wait around for over half-an-hour for the next train, which I rather not have had to do, but I guess that’s life (and my luck).
When I got back to Sheffield I took a taxi from the station to the Accident & Emergency department where I spent around four hours waithing for x-rays and to speak with the nurse about the prognosis. I managed to buy myself an actual analog newspaper from the station before getting the taxi as I suspected I might be in the hospital for a while and my phone battery wouldn’t last out. It was a good decision and I read the paper front-to-back while I waited to be seen by various people.
The x-rays showed I had broken a fragment of bone from the bottom of my fibula. While this is painful, I was told that it would have been worse had the break occurred further up the bone close to where the tibula meets the bones of my foot as it would likley have restricted my mobility more severerly and would take longer to heal. The injury I have should be healed within four-to-six weeks, and I was given a large plastic “walking boot” to wear if I need to go out. Thankfully, there is little to no pain while I’m at rest, and I was able to sleep perfectly well last night. The ankle feels sore while I walk about, but again not too bad, and I can move it around quite freely, so I guess I should count my lucky stars that it wasn’t worse than it is.
I think my main upset is that it’s kinda ruined my days off – I had things planned that I’m now unable to do because, while I need to use the ankle to encourage it to heal, this probably doesn’t stretch to full days out on my feet. I also can’t drive for a while, so I’m at the mercy of the goodwill of others if I want to go somewhere. My planned trips out into the Peak district this week, and to Lincoln Steam Rally the following weekend (the first time it has been on in three years) have fallen by the wayside, so I’m frustrated that the opportunity to photograph heather while it’s in bloom, or see the vintage vehicles at the rally will now have to wait another year. There are worse things in life though, so maybe I’ll just count my blessings and enjoy the next fews days away from work by watching TV, reading books, and playing videogames with the spare time I’ve got. At least I have a good excuse for avoiding chores!
I’ve got four full rolls of 35mm film that I’ve yet to upload (or, in some cases, scan), including the roll of Porta 800 from yesterday that I almost finished in Manchester (but ended up using the last two frames photographing some hospital buildings while waiting for my wife to pick me up). So I should be able to feed the blog until I’m back on my feet at least.
Finally, today’s picture of a chair in a shady spot under a tree looks like just the place for a chap with the busted ankle. Maybe with a cold beverage. If only this were my back garden and not in a churchyard several miles away, eh? 🙂
I like this photo. It has a clean, minimal feel to it. The sky is clear of cloud (bar a couple of barely discenible whisps) and the lines of the horizon, fence, and bench add an element of structure. The man sits slightly off-centre, adding a small sense of discord to the picture.
I wonder what the man was thinking about as he sat there, looking out across the North Sea? When I see picture that I have taken such as this, I sometime wonder if I should have spent more time taking in the view myself, rather than trying to photograph it. I sometimes feel that I’m spending too much time trying to capture a moment to be enjoyed later when the reality is right there in front of me. But the camera, it draws me…
Here’s another photo from my foggy morning walk just before Christmas. The tree in today’s photo will likely feature again tomorrow or the day after as also go a long shot of it – I’m still stretching out the posting of images from this roll of film until I get one of my other rolls developed. Thankfully my fresh bottle of DD-X arrived today so I might get one of them sorted out tomorrow.
Yashica Mat 124G & Shanghai GP3. Lab developed in Xtol.
It’s been a busy day today and I’ve only just managed to upload the photo in this post to Flickr a few minutes ago. I need to get myself a shower now, so this is a short one I’m afraid.
Yashica Mat 124G & Shanghai GP3. Lab developed in Xtol.
I liked the look of this house as I walked past. I’m not sure that it’s used as a residential property as it’s in the bounds of Clumber Park, a National Trust property, so it may be used for administrative purposes.
The building is enclosed by a tall fence so my view was limited, but as I approached the gate began to open to let a van make its exit, so I quickly grabbed this shot. I’m a little disapointed that the white van at the rear of the building is in shot – if I’d taken a step to the left I’d have avoided it’s inclusion.
The photo (and most of the others on this roll) were made back in early November on the same day that I shot the roll of Ortho Plus from which I’ve already shared picture. It was about a week before we lost Stan, so this roll has sat undeveloped in my office for tha last few weeks. Normally I’d develop it myself, but I wasn’t in the mood so took it to my local lab instead and paid for the privilege of someone else doing it for me.
Yashica Mat 124G & Ilford HP5+. Lab developed in Xtol.
The day that this picture was made left me a little disappointed when I awoke. We’d had some bright days with sunshine and clouds in abundance just prior to this but, as usual, I was otherwise engaged and unable to fo make photographs. So, when I say the grey, murky skies I almost took the decision to stay indoors and find something else to do. In the end though, I have myself a gentle mental kicking, pulled on my walking boots, and headed out the house. As it turned out, the flat skies also held some mist – not thick by any means, but enough to add a nice, soft layer of atmosphere to the surroundings.
While the lockdown has restricted me from travelling very far, I decided to make the effort to take a long walk to Shirebrook Valley, which is maybe 2-3 miles from home as the crow flies, but longer when following the routes that us ground-dwellers need to tread. The valley is a wooded area with a brook running through the bottom. While I’ve passed it close-by on countless occasions – the bypsss that leads to the city centre skirts its edge – I’ve only visited on foot once in recent times, and walked across it from one side to the other on occasions when I was a lot younger – it was part of the route if we ever walked to or from my grandparent’s house instead of travelling by car.
This lack of previous exploration meant that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found, with some interesting photgraphic opportunities presenting themselves – particularly a whole series of fallen trees down beside the brook in one area – and definitely a place I plan on revisiting when chance and – particularly – conditions favour it.
The image featured today looks down towards the southern edge of the woodland. Although not really apparent, the busy bypass I mentioned is hidden amongst the misty trees at the top of this shot.
Just a feint light mist Adding mystery to things And pleasing the eye
I know that some people do “fence Friday” where they publish pictures of fences on, as you might have guessed, Fridays. It’s not something I’ve really felt inclined to do, although I think I was member of a couple of Flickr groups for such themes in the past. Anyway, limited to my blog, and probably for today only, it’s “fence Saturday”. 🙂
The fence in the picture is atop the bridge that I shared a photo of yesterday. It’s a fairly new fence that I think was installed not long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I’ve wondered if there were plans to expand the network of footpaths in this area, with the top of the brige included. I suppose it could just be a health-and-safety thing though.
Wooden fence atop A brick-built bridge from times past Perhaps a new route?
Steel City Snapper photography 