35mm · Film photography · Photography

That’s torn it

I’ll post one of my weird photos today that I like a lot but which I expect many people will just wonder what on Earth I was thinking when I fired the shutter…

It’s just an advertising hoarding. One with a torn advertisement. I don’t drive past this often, but have done so on a handful of occasions recently and each time I passed it caught my eye. Usually this indicates that I ought to make a photograph.

I’m not really sure what drew me to it, although it was the faded, half-torn Colonel Sanders that first caught my attention. I also like the way that the badly faded KFC advert is peeling away to reveal a still fresh-looking advert for (I think) Sky Sports beneath, where it emerges butterfly-like from it’s pale cocoon, still daubed with the remnants of paste, almost like the man is yelling the remains of the paper away. I like how the splash of blue in the otherwise overcast sky is mirrored by the blue on the billboard. I like the cluster of poppies giving a splatter of red to the dusty edge of the car-park besides which the billboard stands.

I like it.

That's torn it

Canon Sure Shot Telemax & Kodak Colorplus.

Taken on 28 June 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Pandemic scenes #10

A slightly larger selection of photographs today made up of most of my remaining pandemic-related pictures. I have a few others, but I’m not sure if they’re worth posting or not.

As retail opens up and the lockdown measures ease, there might be opportunities to make more photographs relating to the situation (and if the whole thing goes belly-up, there might be a whole bunch of new lockdown pictures too!), but for now this is the last of what I have to show.

The photos were made over three seperate outings, using two different cameras (and film stocks). The first three follow on directly from the trig point images I posted yesterday, being made on the same walk. The first shows the KFC restaurant at the local retail park. This place would normally be full of cars at the time I walked past, but on this day is was completely deserted. I think it may have re-opened for drive-through sales now but on this day it was shut. The McDonald’s to the right of the image was similarly closed (although it was part way through renovation as the lockdown took effect, so won’t reopen until that is complete anyway). There’s a Pizza Hut off the edge of the frame to the left too, but that was also closed. Probably good for people’s cardiovascular systems though.

Empty at the chicken place

After walking past the KFC I dropped down to the shopping mall to get some items from Sainsbury’s. The usual socially-distanced queue was in effect and took me past these signs on the store window close to the entrance. The rightmost sign is for the Big Night In, a television special made by the BBC where the majority of the performances came from the act’s own homes. You can just make out the ghostly reflections of other socially-distanced shoppers in the window too.

Pandemic scenes - Please queue here

Walking home I passed by a local pub restaurant, closed up since before the lockdown started. Like many similar venues, the noticeboard features a thank you message to NHS and other key workers.

Pandemic scenes - Thank you

This next photo was taken from practically the same spot as the second picture in this sequence, but on a different day. It shows the supermarket’s promotion of technology to make it easier for people to avoid contact with others while in the store.

Pandemic scenes - Stop the spread

And finally, this is one of the children’s play areas at Rother Valley Country Park, the gates taped up, warning notices applied, and fastened shut with plastic cable ties.

Pandemic scenes - No dogs, no children, no-one

Shots 1-3. Canon Sure Shot Telemax & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 25 April 2020

Shots 4-5. Pentax P30T, Rikenon 50mm f/2 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 29 April & 2 May 2020