Another shot from Mablethorpe. This one is The Lookout Cafe which sits on the promenade overlooking the sandy beach and the North Sea beyond.
Something good that happened today…
Nothing major stands out in terms of good things today. I had a relatively pleasant day at work where I got a few things done and cleared off my (continually increasing) to-do list, so I guess I’ll take that. It would be lovely if some wonderful good thing happened every day, but I guess that there will be always be days where it’s a little more difficult to find something that warrants a mention.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
The Mablethorpe Carnival took place on the day of my visit, although I somehow managed to miss pretty much all of it. I arrived quite early and then took a walk down the seafront to the neighbouring town of Sutton-on-Sea. I’m not sure if this resulted in my missing the actual parade, but I saw nothing of it on my return, despite walking into the town centre for my usual fish and chips from Monty’s. Thinking about it, the carnival might have been the reason for the coastguard helicopter activity that I spoke of in yesterday’s post. Perhaps there was a demonstration of the coastguard and lifeboat responses for the visitors.
Today’s picture shows a series of chalets acting as shops selling various goods. This was probably about as much of the actual carnival events that I saw!
Something good that happened today…
While I had to contend with some potentially worrying news at work (although maybe I’m reading too much into it), I did manage to clear a few more things from my lengthy to-do list, which I’ll take as positives. I’ve also lost a little weight since yesterday. While this is nothing to get too excited about, it was nice to see as I’ve put on quite a few pounds over Christmas. We still have quite a few Christmas goodies to get through before the diet begins in earnest though. At least I weigh less than I did this time last year, so I already have a head start towards reaching my goal.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
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.
The first post of another new year. I’ve now posted daily for six full years!
For once, it’s some photos that’re relatively fresh, having been made less than a week ago at time of typing.
We had misty weather across large parts of the UK in the days following Christmas, so I made an effort to go out and take advantage of the atmospheric conditions. I probably missed the best of the mist on this particular day as I didn’t venture out until the afternoon, but there is still enough of it around to add a little to the pictures.
These shelters spring up every now and again in the trees close to the Trans Pennine Trail. I’ve never seen anyone building them and I don’t know who makes them or if they serve any particular purpose – there’s the remnants of a small camp fire in front of the second one, so I guess somebody spent at least a little time there, but they don’t look like they will give that much protection from the elements.
Somehow, another year has concluded. I feel that I’m spinning closer and closer to whatever is at the centre of everything, each orbit feeling shorter than the last. At this rate, I expect a year to feel like five minutes before too long!
So as the year comes to a close I’ll pick my annual selection of favourite pictures, one from each month. very subjective as usual, and as always I could have picked one of several from some months. The pickings have become much slimmer over the past couple of months though, mostly due to other matters being on my mind and not shooting as much. December’s entry (given I’m keeping this selection film-based) is one I’ve only shot since Christmas, and only developed and scanned today. I expect this one may be usurped as I have a couple more rolls yet to scan (and one roll of colour from Barcelona to send off for processing) which may contain a preferred picture. We shall see.
One thing I’ve noticed is that I seem to have gone for a bit of a bridge theme for this selection. 🙂
I’ll end this bit by wishing you all a very happy New Year and wish good things for us all in 2025. Have a good one!
I heard some very good news today. My son, who a few weeks ago was told he wouldn’t have a job at the end of his apprenticeship, was today informed that he had been successful in his interview for another job that he attended last week. It’s in the same field as his apprenticeship, so he will be able to put his experience to good use and further develop his career. I’m so very proud and happy for him.
This is a very nice thing to happen just before Christmas. 🙂
My son isn’t called “Lynn” but the picture seemed a good fit for the post.
Steel City Snapper photography 