Tag: Ilford HP5+

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The Major Oak

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The Major Oak is a large and ancient oak tree which resides in Sherwood Forest. It is thought to be in the region of eight-hundred to eleven-hundred years old. It’s trunk is eleven metres in circumference, and it is estimated to weigh twenty-three tonnes. It is named after Major Hayman Rooke (1723-1806), who carried out a survey of trees in the area in 1790.

The tree is perhaps most famous due to its association with Robin Hood who, along with his band of Merry Men, was said to shelter beneath the tree and occasionally hide inside its trunk.

In its old age, not that differently to people, the tree requires some additional support to keep it from taking a fall, and the boughs are supported in multiple places by supports that were first installed in the 1970s, and with chains at the crown of the tree that were placed in the early 20th century.

The tree is quite a tourist attraction and is around fifteen minute’s walk from the Sherwood Forest visitor centre. While the tree itself is fenced off to prevent damage, there are tables and benches in an adjacent clearing where people can sit and admire it. I was there quite early in the day and didn’t see many people apart for the odd dog walker and jogger, but I was quietly amused whe and ice cream van pulled up from one of the service tracks. I guess the tree is a good place to do business even if you’re not an outlaw!

The Major Oak

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 23 September 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Dark vs light

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I was quite please with this picture of West Burton power station. I like the framing, and I’m a fan of industrial subjects in photographs, but most of all – thanks to the position of the clouds when I took the shot – I like the way that some of the cooling towers and some are light, like some massive game of chess or something.

Dark vs light

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 2 September 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Old truck. Older carriage.

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I’ve posted a picture of this ice cream truck before, that picture shot with my large format camera on the same day I took this photo, but the carriage in the second shot was only photographed with my Bronica ETRSi.

Waterside Ice Cream

I don’t have a clue which type of carriage it is – I did look online, but backed out of the rabbit-hole of potential sunk time before I lost hours to detective work. It’s difficult to know just how old it might be. It could date back to when such things were a primary mode of transport, or it could also be a more recent vehicle, used for displays or special occasions or something, which has been left to decay. Whatever the case, it was interesting to see it there, albeit behind a metal fence that adds little to the picture.

Fixer-upper

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE or Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC, and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 28 August 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Beside the Humber Estuary

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Beside the Humber Bridge on the southern bank of the Humber Estuary, there is a car park for visitors. The bank of the estuary here has several benches where visitors can sit and enjoy the scenery, whether that be the spectacle of the suspension bridge, or just the water passing by on its way to the North Sea.

Watching the world go by
Suspension

There is also a cafe, The Viking Way Cafe Bar, so named because it stands at the northern end of The Viking Way, a 147-mile hiking trail running from Oakham in Rutland, to the Humber Bridge. As there is evidence that the Vikings excercised control and influence over the lands through which the trail passes, particularly the Lincolnshire Wolds, so the way got its name.

The Viking Way Cafe Bar

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE or Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC, and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 28 August 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Around the edge of the city centre

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Often I will eke out multiple blog posts from each roll of film I shoot. At present, however, I have approaching two-hundred pictures that I’ve mostly either not scanned, or uploaded to Flickr yet, so I guess I have enoungh leeway to chuck our a batch of them all at once every now and then.

These shots are all from the same walk around the edge of town (shot on the day I used the roll of Portra 400 from which I’ve recently shared images of the Cholera Monument and other stuff). There’s no particular theme, although I guess it forms a snapshot of the sort of stuff that tends to catch my eye in an environment like this when I walk around with a camera.

Abandoned trolley
Old and new structures
In passing
Plastic plant on a widowsill
Set the juice loose
Give Way
Park Hill

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE or Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC, and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 6 August 2023.

4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Photography

Return to North Leverton Windmill

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As I wrote about yesterday, I visited North Leverton Windmill back at the start of the month. I shot five frames in total at the location, three of which are posted here today. The other two were both out of focus to some extent, which I put down to a combination of being in a meadow with slightly springy ground, and also because I was using a 90mm lens that I’ve got on loan at present. It’s a nice lens, but it’s huge compared to my 135mm, and the aperture locking switch is a little stiffer than my Fujinon, meaning there’s a risk of me moving the camera when operating it. I’m not sure if that was the cause here, but it’s something I need to take care with.

It was a hot day and there were few clouds in the sky most of the time I was at the site, although a few blobs of fluffy cumulus had started to appear when I took the two pictures of the windmill.

The people who look after the windmill were curious about my old-fashioned looking camera and asked lots of questions. The mill still produces flour, and is apparently the oldest windmill in the country to have seen continuous operation (it was built in 1813). They were even kind enough to set the sails in motion (even though that kinda made it more difficult to get pictures, it was great to see), and also to move the cars from the front of the mill (which you can see in the first shot), which was very nice of them.

Windmill
A house by a windmill
North Leverton windmill

Chamonix 045N-1. Fujinon NW 135mm f/5.6 (second shot: Linhof Super Angulon 5.6/90 on Fomapan 100) & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 2 September 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A hot day?

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When this is published, I will be on my way home from a day-trip to London to see an Evelyn Hofer exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery (and, if I’ve had time, a nosey around The National Portrait Gallery).

At the time I’m writing this (Friday evening) I must confess that the 32°C temperature that has been forecast for London on the day is not filling me with glee!

Anyway, apropos of nothing, here’s a random picture from back in 2016 that I took with the first Medium Format camera I owned – a Lubitel 166 Universal TLR. It wasn’t the best camera to use, but it could produce nice pictures nontheless.

FILM - My first roll of medium format-10

Lubitel 166 Universal & Ilford HP5+. Lab developed.

Taken 2016.