A trip to Spurn Point (part 5)

November 22, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

On to the final set of black and white photos I made at Spurn Point. Following directly on from yesterday the first two images are of the views from the top of the lighthouse. It’s not possible to go outside and you have to stand on the platform where the light itself once stood in order to see out of the windows properly, but the views are good. I actually quite like the effect of the “leading” on the glass.

This first shot is the view looking back up the spit towards the Holderness coast (where the land disappears off the left middle edge of the frame). You can see the road, plus the sandy eastern beach, and the tidal mud flats to the west.

Looking the other way (roughly south east) gives a view of the tip of the point with the Humber estuary and the Lincolnshire coat beyond. The road is clearly visible as it makes it’s way to the former lifeboatmen’s houses. The sea traffic tower stands in the middle of the scene, and one of the Humber sea forts can be found at upper right.

Looking to the west give a view of the old lighthouse with its water tank cap. Some people were digging for bait on the mudflats and their electric bike can be seen.

After descending the steep steps of the lighthouse (not easy with a heavy backpack and a tripod!), I treated myself to an ice-cream and then set of towards the tip of the point, first following the road towards the sea traffic tower..

Beyond the tower the land gives way to dunes and a series of sandy footpaths. There are numerous ex-military buildings in various states of repair in this area.

As I reached the beach at the end of the point I turned round and took this photo looking back the way I’d come.

The beach at the end of the point shows clear signs of the tidal forces that come into play when the water is high, the sand sculpted into channels and craters. The fisherman who I’#’d earlier seen digging bait can also be seen putting it to use.

And the final shot from this roll shows a freighter heading up the estuary past the end of the point. This is a relatively small vessel and much larger ships pass through this channel.

The final set of Spurn Point photos to come tomorrow, this time in exciting colour! 🙂

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 4)

November 21, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Other than a couple of electric bikes, the only mode of vehicular transport I saw while walking to the end of Spurn Point was this Unimog all-terrain truck, which carries passengers from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust centre to the lighthouse.. It has to traverse the soft sands of the beach at the neck of the point until it can rejoin the remaining road that hasn’t been washed away by the sea. Here it is heading back north.

There are a number of trails leading from the beach, up over the dunes, and to the road. This one looks a little overgrown.

After crossing the road I stuck to the western side of the spit which is mostly flat, grassy terrain with a scattering of gorse and some bird-watching shelters overlooking the tidal mud flats of the estuary.

Given the length of the walk to the end of the point, it’s good to see a bench along the way. My telephoto lens has compressed the distance a little and it’s further to the lighthouse from the bench than it might appear in this shot.

Also present are the reamains of some WW2-era tank traps.

IAs I got closer to the lighthouse I made a number of photographs.

More to come tomorrow, including views from the top of the lighthouse!

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 3)

November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Switching cameras and film for the next bunch of photos from this trip…

You can just see the north sea in the shot, but I took this one because I liked the weather-vane goat.

A view north from the top of Spurn with rough conditions (although they didn’t seem so bad further down the point). The “promontory” jutting out to sea is actually the remnants or concrete wartime structures that have fallen as the cliffs recede due to coastal erosion.

A few miles out to sea stands a large offshore wind farm, something that has become a common sight from the North Sea coastline.

I wasn’t the only photographer on Spurn Point that day…

I wonder how much time has passed since this section of brick wall fell into the sea? I’m quite impressed at how well it is maintaining its structural integrity. Perhaps it will become a large and intricately patterned pebble some day.

More groyne remnants…

And another view of the remains of man’s efforts to hold back the tides…

Among the other debris, there were a number of lobster pots washed up on shore (or shortly about to)…

There are lots of pieces of chalk scattered across the seaward beaches of Spurn Point. These have most likely been transported south from the exposed chalk cliffs at Flamborough, almost fifty miles up the coast (although the entire Holderness coast is under laid with a bedrock of Cretaceous chalk, this is mostly covered by glacial till).

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Classics on The Moor 2025 (B&W)

November 9, 2025 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

As happens most years, I went into town on the day of the annual Classics on the Moor car show in Sheffield city centre. I took my Yashica Mat 124G with me and shot a couple of rolls of film, one black and white, the other colour. Here are the black and white images.

The same owners and cars are often present at the event, so some of these cars will have undoubtedly featured on the blog before. The little Fiat 500 certainly has.

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 17 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The view from Castle Hill

November 8, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 16 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

On Castle Hill

November 7, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Castle Hill overlooks the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield and has served as a settlement for more than 4,000 years. The remains of ancient hill forts can be found there, but the most striking feature now is Victoria Tower, a considerably more recent addition, dating back a mere 126 years to when it was opened in commemoration of the then-queen having sat on the British throne for 60 years.

The tower is 106 feet tall and you can climb to the top (or near to the top) for a small fee. There are a number of landings with seats at various levels of the tower for the weary climber to regain their breath. The bottom picture was taken from one of these, with the distant (and considerably taller, at 1,047 feet) Emley Moor television transmitter visible through the window.

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 16 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Around Dean Clough mill

November 2, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Another batch of pictures from Halifax, including at least one more that mimics one of Bill Brandt’s compositions from almost a hundred years previously. While the usage of this area has changed, much of the architecture remains the same as it would have been way back then.

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°. (except the final image, which was shot on Ilford XP2 Super and lab developed)

Taken on 16 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

An homage to Bill Brandt

November 1, 2025 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

Back in the early 1930s, German-born photographer Bill Brandt moved to the UK and began to document British society. Part of this work took place in the norther English town of Halifax, and included a photograph of a cobbled snicket (a narrow alleyway) which has become quite famous. Brandt’s version, which can be seen in this article was photographed in 1937, when the mills and factories were still in full industrial operation (indeed, you can see a small cloud of smoke at the top of Brandt’s picture from a chimney obscured by the top of the mill building).

The buildings in the area still exist today, although their occupancy has moved from industry (one of the world’s largest carpet factories at the time) to hotels, offices, and leisure spaces.

Brandt’s snicket still exists too, and has undoubtedly been photographed by many other photographers since, so while I was there, I made my own version. The snicket has a lot more weeds these days!

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 16 August 2025

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A random Mablethorpe lightbulb

September 30, 2023September 30, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I thought I’d drop an old picture into the blog today. While it really could have been shot anywhere, it was Mablethorpe where the picture was taken – it was a display in a shop window. I’ve posted it here because today was my annual pilgrimage to the town

Normally I would have a bunch of photos from the day but, this time – in a break from tradition – I didn’t make the trip alone, I took my dad along too, and as a result I didn’t have the same opportunities for picture making. Also, while the weather on the drive out there was lovely, such that I loaded some old Portra 400 NC into my camera, five minutes after leaving the car-park a hazy sheet of cloud formed, blocking a lot of the light, meaning colour film really wasn’t the right choice. In the end I only took a couple of pictures (with my GW690). To add insult, I think the camera shutter accidentally got fired while it was in my bag, meaning I’m going to get just seven shots from the roll at most…).

While photographically it was a bust, it was really nice to make the trip with my dad – he hasn’t been to Mablethorpe for about forty years – so I’m not disappointed to have made so few pictures. To be honest, because I try to go every year, I’ve got pictures of pretty much everything already anyway. Sometimes several of the same scene! My dad also paid for our fish and chip dinner bought, as is tradition, from Monty’s, a nice treat for the designated driver. 🙂

Anyway, depending on how the two shots I made turn out, they’ll probably make an appearance here at some later date.