Another of the Plus-X shots (I shot two rolls of it during the visit to Mablethorpe, although, using the GW690, that only gave me sixteen frames). This is the lifeboat station at Mablethorpe. Later in the day the boat was put out to sea and a coastguard helicopter landed on the beach before circling along the shoreline. I thought it was some sort of display taking place but then got the sense that it might be an actual emergency. The seafront was lined with people watching the scene unfold. It happened just before I left to set off home and I didn’t find out any more.
Something good that happened today…
My Emulsive Secret Santa gift arrived! It came all the way from Hong Kong, so didn’t arrive quite in time for Christmas. I also had to pay a customs charge and VAT on the package before it could be delivered. It was all worthwhile though as I got a very generous gift comprising of a lovely notebook, five rolls of film, and a Kodak Ektar H35N half-frame camera! I’m very much looking forward to using these. It arrived neatly packed with each item individually wrapped, and with a cute Christmas card featuring a picture of some festive wonton and pak-choi. I feel blessed to have received such a nice gift, so thank you to my Secret Santa. 🙂
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
I’ve been very happy with the photos I’ve taken with this expired (in 2008) Kodak Plus-X. I bought it several years ago, five rolls in a pro-pack, and stored it in the freezer. Being conscious that it’s a stock that’s no longer available, it was another film in my stash that I was saving for “special occasions”, but I’m fighting against that urge to store such film for occasions that never seem to arise and instead just shoot the stuff.
Plus-X is quite nice, but I’d probably get a very similar look by using Ilford FP4+, so while I now have none of it left, it’s not something that I will miss too much.
Something good that happened today…
Today was my first day back at work, which I wasn’t looking forward to after a couple of week’s off over Christmas, coupled with the loss of a number of colleagues who all left the business at the end of December. The good thing is that it hasn’t been a bad day at all. I took the advice that you should try to ease yourself back into work gently, and spent the day catching up on emails, and also pulling together a to do list. The list got up to about fifteen items, some small and easy to achieve, others that will require more work, and a couple that are projects that I’d like to kick off. I managed to clear a number of the low-hanging items from the list, so I finished the day with a sense that I had achieved something.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
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!
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
Jumping back to last September again with today’s pictures, taken on my regular trip to Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire.
I guess they’re both pretty mundane “record” shots, but I like the way the GW690 has rendered the scenes with tons of detail.
The first picture is looking west towards the sea. When I used to visit Mablethorpe as a child the view would include a helter-skelter and big-wheel looming over the buildings at the end of the street from their location in the fun-fair. The big-wheel went ages ago, although a replacement helter-skelter did remain for quite a while longer. There are some old postcards of the town from the 1970s on this blog that show both rides still in situ. There’s also a postcard with a very similar view to my second photo of the view west along High Street from the pullover beside the fun-fair at the edge of the beach. I often think it would be nice to be able to step back in time to revisit the town as I remember it as a child. I wonder if the reality would hold up to my memories? I think it probably would, but who knows?
More pictures from Mablethorpe to come in the next few days.
Something good that happened today…
We did the top-to-bottom clean of the house today. I don’t enjoy doing the cleaning up, but knowing we don’t have to do it again (aside from the usual vacuuming etc.) for a few weeks is a nice feeling.
This big boat of an Oldsmobile made for a pretty nice picture. I think the touch of corrosion on the bonnet (hood) adds to it.
I think that this is a Cutlass, but please correct me if I’m wrong.
EDIT: The owner of the car has discovered my blog post and contacted me to let me know that the car is actually an Oldsmobile Ninety Eight, which was the flagship model. I did speak with him on the day I took the picture and he told me that the corrosion on the bonnet was on his list of things to sort out, and he’s re-confirmed that, along with a few stats on the vehicle, namely that it has a 425 cubic inch engine, which means it is a 7000cc V8 engine. Around town it manages 8MPG, and 13.7MPG on the motorway.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°.
I don’t often photograph cars from the side, usually because there’s always something else in the way or the lens isn’t wide enough to fit it all in. But I had the chance to do so with this Austin 7 (which I think is a Ruby Saloon from 1936).
I’ve just managed to squeeze it into the frame (and I’d normally leave a little more space) but I think the shape of the car lends itself to this tight framing.
I like the way the guy is framed through the window. You can also see me in a reflected selfie. 🙂
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°.
I’ve been suffering from insomnia for the past few days. My natural tendency towards anxiety has been triggered by the news of my son’s apprenticeship not being converted into a full time role.
I’ve suffered from insomnia in the past, that time triggered by anxiety too. I don’t have any difficulty falling asleep – in fact I could probably close my eyes and drift off from the early evening onward – and while I am asleep, it is undisturbed. The problem tends to come about in the middle of the night, usually because I need to get up to use the toilet. Once I get back into bed, I find it very difficult to get back to sleep. I’ll try for a while, starting by just closing my eyes and hoping I’ll drop off, but then I’ll feel the need to fidget. Each change of position will feel good, but after awhile I’ll have the urge to move again. After a couple of rounds of this I might try some breathing exercises, or some mental equivalents of counting sheep, but sooner or later it will become apparent that my efforts are futile and I will resort to reading my Kindle.
Reading is sometimes enough to get me back to sleep again, but not always, and sometimes I end up just lying there in the dark, eyes closed, hoping for unconsciousness to return. I try to avoid looking at the clock as I think this is counter-productive and makes things worse, but the downside of that is that I don’t know whether it’s 1:30am with a good chance that I will get back to sleep for a few hours, or it’s 6:00am and I have less than an hour until my alarm goes off.
I think sometimes I fall back asleep without realising it. This is more noticeable at the weekend where I have the chance to sleep in. I’ll be awake in darkness and the next time I open my eyes it will be light, proving that I had slept. It’s more difficult to tell on work days though, when it is still dark when the alarm goes off.
I figure I must be getting at least a few good hours of sleep as otherwise I would be a complete wreck during the daytime. As it is I’m still able to function at work and complete other tasks around the place, so I guess I can’t be awake all night, even though it sometimes feels that way.
I expect that the insomnia will subside once I have a better idea of my son’s next steps, but at the moment we’re giving him a little space and letting him keep us informed, as this is what he’s requested. Hopefully he will fill us in later in the week and we can get on with supporting and encouraging him and his plans and just being there for him. For now though, even though I’m confident of his ability to find another good role somewhere, the uncertainty of what is happening keeps me awake thanks to my frustrating anxiety brain. I wish I could mute the part of my mind that does the over-thinking.
Here’s another shot of the AMC Rambler.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°.
Steel City Snapper photography 