I had one of those situation where I had just a few shots remaining on a roll to be used. I generally prefer to finish an entire roll on the occasions where I’m taking lots of pictures, but sometimes it doesn’t happen, and I’m not the sort of person who likes to waste frames on subjects I don’t find interesting just for the convenience of using up the film.
So on this frosty morning I went out to shoot the four remaining frames (three of which can be seen below). The first two are at Ulley Reservoir, where the cold weather had formed a thin skein of ice on the water’s surface, and the third is at Penny Hill Wind Farm, which lies a mile or so up the hill.
Officially, these were my first shots of 2026, albeit not on a new roll of film.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
The village of Sheldon stands a short distance from Magpie Mine. It’s a pretty and picturesque place, although these days slightly blighted by the number of cars parked on the streets, I think. But that’s progress, and the inhabitants have a need for transport.
Pictured below are the village pub, The Cock and Pullet, the village hall, a nativity scene including two tyre snowmen (it was just after Christmas when these pictures were taken), some cottages, and a wreath on the church gate.
Sheldon has a curious tale in its history. In 1601 a duck was seen by a local resident to fly into a hollow tree and not to come out again. It gained the name from then on as the Duck Tree. Some three hundred years later when the tree was felled and sawn into planks, each plank contained the life-sized outline of a duck. The wood was reputedly used to make a mantelpiece for Greatbach Hall in Ashford.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
The last of the Magpie Mine pictures, and one I took as I headed towards the nearby village of Sheldon, a way marker showing the path on which I’d just traveled, and the one I was about to take.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Although, I think those building might not be a farm and actually house holiday rentals… But it looks like a farm, what with all the fields and animals and whatnot.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Right at the limit of the 28-300mm Tamron lens I was using.
I bought this lens as a good walkabout lens. It’s compact, quite light, has a good range of focal lengths, and the vibration reduction means handholding it is very easy. Unfortunately, despite the reviews, I found it to be a bit soft, particularly at the edges of the frame.
I wondered about putting up with it for the convenience but, after some umming and aahing, decided that image quality was important to me and so traded it in against a used Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 VR lens. This lens is considerably less convenient in a number of ways (weight and size, certainly), but I’m hoping it will live up to its reputation for being very sharp. If I pair it with my cheap, but very good 28-80mm lens, then I still have most of the focal length range (it was quite rare for me to go beyond 200mm with the Tamron).
I’m hoping to finish off a roll shot with the 70-200mm this weekend, and am keen to see the results.
Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
And so we reach the final set of pictures from my trip to Spurn Point.
The first three pictures are of the lifeboatmen’s (lifeboatpersons?) houses that were visible in my picture from the top of the lighthouse in yesterday’s post. They were built in 1975 and replaced the original cottages that dated to 1819. There are now no lifeboat crews based at Spurn with the service being covered from Grimsby and the new inshore lifeboat station at Cleethorpes.
And then a final set of pictures featuring the lighthouse. The first shot is probably my favourite of the whole trip. The Ultramax has produced some subtle but nice colours. The window at the top of the lighthouse is tinted and opens into the upper floor of the building (below the light) where there is a display on view.
So that’s the final post in this set. Spurn (and the Holderness coast) is somewhere I’d wanted to visit for a long time, and it’s somewhere I’d like to return to. There are lots more pictures to be had. Maybe I’ll get another chance next year.
Olympus 35 RC and Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
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°.
