One of the interesting things about the area around Dean Clough Mill in Halifax is the way that the inner city road system crosses the deep valley. Look one way and there are Victorian factory buildings and smokestacks, look the other and concrete flyovers criss-cross the sky like something out of a Judge Dredd story.
In places they contrast, such as in the first three images below – in fact the first picture is actually an alternate view of the famous snicket photographed by Bill Brandt, which I posted about a few days ago.
It’s a very interesting location to make photographs.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford XP2 Super. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Many pubs have shelters for their customers who choose to sit or stand outside the premises with their drinks, often in the form of gazebos or large umbrellas. The Hop Monkey in Halifax has taken things to a whole new level though, placing a shelter over the entire pub…
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford XP2 Super. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
As the Hot Chip song goes, “Over and over and over and over. Like a monkey with a miniature cymbal. The joy of repetition really is in you.“, so it seems that I photograph the same things over and over too. The flyover at the southern end of Woodhouse Washlands is one such subject. It is an interesting subject, I think, and I don’t think I’ve exhausted it yet, but I wonder if there is a limit on how many times I can photograph it before the repetition becomes too much?
The weather was bright and sunny, if somewhat cold, this morning, so I took advantage and headed out for a walk. As I often do, I picked a public footpath on a map and then planned a circular route. Today’s hike started and ended at Aston, a village on the eastern outskirts of Sheffield – a few miles from where I live. It took me through mostly agricultural land with views of Penny Hill wind-farm before heading over to the nearby M1 motorway, crossing the road via a bridge, before heading south and then west back to where I began.
The skies were blue and cloudless, and the light was bright. A few clouds would have been welcomed, but I’m not going to complain – it’s better than a blank slab of grey stratus. I managed to finish off two partially shot rolls of film – some Delta 100 in my OM-2n, and some Colorplus in the Sure Shot Supreme. As per usual, these will land on the blog at some point when I get them developed and scanned, but I have photos from three other rolls currently scanned and unpublished to come before then.
Today’s photo is another from the flyover not far from where I live. I’ve published a few photos of this structure before, including some from underneath like this one. On this occasion I really liked the diagonal shadows cast on the concrete supports.
I’ve mentioned being cornered by a herd of cows close to this location before and yesterday it seems someone was careless and left the gates to the fields open. A video appeared on Facebook showing cows on the road on top of the flyover narrowly avoiding being run over by a police-car last night! Thankfully I don’t think anyone or anycow was injured. I drove over the flyover on my way to Aston this morning and the cows were all down below in the field where they belong.
Adventurous cows Once up on the flyover Caused a commotion
Today’s post contains another of those photos that I am drawn to, but which other people probably think is rubbish.
So, if have to try and say what I like about it, it’ll probably be down to several factors: The contrast that the orange filter has given to the scene, particulalrly the clouds. The lead-in line of the fence, plus the tree framing the edge of the shot. The gate. The distant viaduct and pylon. And finally the car, which adds a hint of mystery.
If I have a complaint, it’s that I wish the top of the pylon hadn’t intersected with the bridge. I’m sure I framed it otherwise, but maybe I wobbled upon pressing the shutter.
Anyway, I like it.
Everyday scene But something is attractive And catches my eye
Back when I got my GW690 it arrived with a roll of Velvia 50 already loaded with a single frame shot by the previous owner. Keen to try out my new camera I hurried out on the first opportunity and shot the remaining seven shots on the roll. They were all disappointing.
Velvia is a beautiful film, but you need to treat it properly. Rushing about on a slightly overcast winter day is not the best way to get quality results. It showed, and I wasn’t happy with what I had made. My next few rolls through the camera were black and white, I took greater care with what I was doing, and the camera started to show me what it was capable of.
The disappointing Velvia photos went in my negatives (or in this case, positives!) binder to be quietly forgotten.
Yesterday, because I’ve just bought some more expired Velvia (and Sensia) reversal film, I was looking through my older E6 images and came across the GW690 set. While I still think most of them are disappointing, one of them looked like it might have some potential, so I decided to see if I could breathe some life into it, and the result is presented here today.
It’s not the best photo, but it has a nice early winter morning feel about it and I like the light on the grass and the hazy sky. I’m not one-hundred percent sure about the yellow sunlight on the bridge supports, but it was catching a warm early morning glow so perhaps they’re not too far off the mark. Anyway, here it is for you to make up your own minds. Was it worth the effort do you think?
Don’t rush with slide film Treat it with care or you’ll risk Fujichrome failure
A couple of photographs serving as a direct follow on from yesterday’s pictures of the flyover – the first taken when I was stood almost beneath it, the second featuring it as a subject.
I wasn’t sure the second would work as it was shot with the sun directly in frame. While there’s a little flaring, the Telemax’s lens has coped admirably though.
Nothing much to say about my photos today – some more shots of the road viaduct that I’ve posted other pictures of recently.
I’ve mostly been glued to CNN for this week for obvious reasons and today has been a good day. I don’t know exactly what the future will bring, but it feels like a corner has been turned. For me, and I think for many, it is a happy day.
Plus it was foggy this morning, and I got to go out and make photos in it. Bonus!
Steel City Snapper photography 