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.
Despite my hopes and promises of doing one of these posts each month, I seem to have failed miserably when it comes to doing so – the last post in this (very occasional!) series was back in November 2022.
I did shoot another roll of expired film last summer but I was unhappy with the results and ended up converting the pictures to black and white. While they looks pretty nice after the conversion, these posts are aimed to be about keeping to the original results from the film used with a minimum of post processing. Converting to monochrome was a step too far.
No such worries with the next roll though, some 120 format Kodak Portra 400NC that expired in 2007. 2007 doesn’t feel like that long ago but it was prior to the global financial crisis and is fast approaching twenty years ago!
Portra 400NC was discontinued by Kodak in 2010, when the current range of Porta films (160, 400, and 800) was introduced. Kodaks description of 400NC was: “Offers fine grain, low contrast, and colors and skin tones that look real and natural in a variety of lighting situations.” There is a brochure online on Kodak’s website which covers the full rang of (as was) Portra films from this period. There’s a strong hint that it was aiming for the wedding photography market…
I don’t photograph weddings and, even if I did, there’s no way I’d risk a seventeen year old expired roll of unknown provenance on such a once-in-a-lifetime event. For the sort of subjects I normally photograph however, I was willing to take the risk.
Despite the limited number of shots, I decided to shoot it with my Fujica GW690 6×9 medium format camera, giving me just eight potential pictures from the roll. The first outing was to my favourite seaside haunt of Mablethorpe. Normally when I visit Mablethorpe I will wander around all day making photographs. However, this year, I took my dad along for a day out, so knew from the outset that I wouldn’t be shooting as much. In the even I only used three frames on this outing, and one of those was a misfire when the camera was in my bag! I’ve since started to avoid winding the film in the GW690 after taking a shot to prevent this expensive mistake from reoccurring. Unfortunately, the Mk I GW690 that I own doesn’t have the shutter button lock that the later models do.
So the first two shots from the roll were of beach chalets / huts that stand along the beach promenade. The weather on the day was bright, but a layer of thin high-level cloud, robbed the light of contrast. Nevertheless, for outdated film the results were pretty good.
The second batch of shots – the remaining five on the roll – were shot one misty morning at Rother Valley Country Park. While I find the park a little uninspiring due to over-familiarity, cold misty morning usually provide some nice pictures, and this occasion bore that out.
The first shot is a little dull perhaps, but the light was nice. It’s just a suburban street I walked on my way to the park. You can just make out the mist hanging over where the lake is in the middle of the shot though. There’s a line of pylons that run between the houses and the park. The towers are out of frame, but the powerlines themselves can be seen.
The next shot is one of my favourites from last year, a beautifully autumnal scene of a small maple tree, it’s leaves turning but not yet fallen, nicely separated from the background by the mist. I’m not sure if the colours are true to life, but they look gorgeous, so I’ll take that as a win.
The mist was already burning off under the gaze of the morning sunshine when I took the next picture. A simple landscape scene of the lake with the boating centre on the far bank. There’s still enough mist left to provide some pleasant atmosphere to the photo though.
I took another photo very similar to the one above which had a couple of swans in the frame, but the one above is the best, I think.
The last shot is another lone tree, but this time I shot directly into the light. It’s not as good as the other tree picture, but I do like the way the tufts of dew and cobweb covered grass are illuminated at the bottom of the frame. The lens of the GW690 shows no signs of flare, even in this challenging scene.
So, apart from a wasted shot, this was another expired film success. When I shoot old colour film I’m not really expecting accurate colours, just pleasing ones, and this delivered on that.
Overall outcome: Success!
Expiriment #5 coming soon (Yeah, I know…)…
Fujica GW690, Kodak Portra 400NC (expired 2007). Shot at 160asa and lab developed for box speed.Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
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.
I didn’t go inside this cafe on this visit to Mablethorpe, although I have on previous trips. There’s something comforting about sitting in a cafe with views out over the sea, with a hot drink, and maybe a snack as you contemplate the world outside.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Facing East North East, this vantage-point looks out across the North Sea towards Denmark which lies approximately 350 miles away.
Like many fences and railings in touristy places, the cables have been decorated with “love locks” and the odd bouquet of flowers. I wonder how many of the people who place these padlocks remain in the relationships they represent, and whether they ever come back and remove them if they don’t last? This is assuming that they can be removed of course – I suspect a good squirt of WD-40 might be needed in a lot of cases, especially where the salt air has had time to do its work, and I also wonder if love struck couples don’t just dispose of the keys anyway, another symbol of everlasting love?
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Almost a year to the day I took the last one, here’s another photo of the fire station at Mablethorpe. I think the Velvia has done this one proper justice.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
I came across this building while wandering. I’ve no idea what it was used for in the past although, as it’s in the midst of some sizeable caravan sites, it might have been a club or something similar. It’s considerably overgrown with shrubs at the front now.
The Velvia blue skies make it look kinda nice though, despite its disuse.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Steel City Snapper photography 