Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Seaside food and drink

There’s something alluring about seaside architecture, I find. It’s unusual to find similarly styled buildings that you find occupied by seaside cafes or beach-front chippies further inland, except maybe in some public parks and gardens.

In a lot of cases these places feel a little run down (although not always) which can add some extra attraction to them as photographic subject matter. In this case the opportunistic weeds and peeling paintwork.

Waffles, donuts, and whippy ice cream
By the beach cafe

Yashica Mat 124G and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 11 October 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mablethorpe fish & chips

I’ve definitely posted pictures of this fish & chip / ice cream shop in Mablethorpe before, but I don’t think any shot on the Fujica GW690, and definitely not on expired Kodak Plus-X.

It stands on a small promontory so is very apparent on the otherwise straight Mablethorpe shoreline. I’m not sure when it was built, but it’s been there as long as I remember, so I expect sometime in the 1960s, or maybe even earlier.

Something good that happened today…

I finally got around to resetting my old PC, which has been sat on my office floor since early 2024 when I bought my son’s PC as a replacement. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it now it’s reset, but the fresh install of Windows means it is now actually useable again and doesn’t take nearly ten minutes to boot!

Seaside food

Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°

Taken on 21 September 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Fish & chips

This is where my wife and I got some lunch when we visited Scarborough at the end of July. We’ve always used another chippy on past visits – the Lifeboat Chippy – further down this road at the bottom of the hill as they do very nice fish and chips, but as we were already halfway up the hill when lunchtime arrived, and as we were walking in the opposite direction to the other shop, we decided to give this one a go. We didn’t have any chips as we’d had breakfast sandwiches earlier at the start of the journey and were still feeling a little full, so both of us opted for fish only. The fish was pretty good and I managed to eat it without being attacked by gulls!

Olympus Trip 35 & Kodak Colorplus. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 28 July 2022.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Papa’s revisited

Papa’s has been featured on the blog before, back in 2019. It’s one of those subjects that presents itself as a great photo opportunity, with lots of detail and interest, set against the backdrop of the beach and sea beyond. I had fish and chips the day I visited when making the previous post. I had fish and chips again on this occasion, but it was much colder this time around so instead of eating them on the pier, I walked back to my car parked a short distance away on the promenade and ate them while I sat and looked out at the incoming tide.

There is something comforting about eating in the car like this. It reminds me of when, as a child, we would sometimes drive to a place named Sandilands not far from Mablethorpe in my grandparent’s car. My grandma would always stay in the car, but grandad would come down on the beach with us (us being some variant of my sister, my cousins, and myself) where we would collect the big white pebbles that were scattered around, and which my grandad placed on the ground around the base of their caravan as decoration. When it got cold, we would go back to the car and eat snacks and watch as the sea came in.

Papa's
Papa's
Papa's

Olympus OM-2N, Zuiko Auto-S 0mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 12mins @ 20°. / Olympus XA3 and Kodak Colorplus (expired 2012 and shot at 100asa)

Taken on 31 January 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Seaside treats

The Mermaid cafe sits on the small promentory on Mablethorpe’s prmenade, just to the north of the Pullover – the main access point to the beach at the end of High Street. The cafe has been there as long as I can remember, although I can’t recall if it’s been known as The Mermaid all that time. It stands adjacent to a small crazy golf course (which can be seen to the right of the photo). The course is now pirate themed, but I remeber it in its slightly ramshackle and homemade guise from when I was younger, with obstacles that looked like they had been built in some inventive creator’s garden shed. It was great fun.

Games of mini golf
The sound of waves and seas breeze
Acompanied play

Seaside treats

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Lomography Xpro Chrome 100 (expired 2012)

Taken on 16 September 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Painting (a part of) the town red

It was mid-morning when I took this photograph and the fish and chip shop had not yet opened for business (although there was a man off shot to the right who appeared to be making preparations to do so). Prior to opening some maintenance was taking place, giving rise to the gloriously saturated red doors in the image. These reds, along with the morning light (and subsequent shadows) and the lone painter busy at work, are what attacted me to make the photograph.

FILM - Painting the town red

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 400.

Taken on 13 September 2019