Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
It wouldn’t be a trip to the seaside without a photo of some chalets or beach huts. Well, perhaps it would for non-photographers, but for me they’re almost an obligation to photograph when I see them, especially as I don’t visit the coast all that often.
This expired Velvia 50 has really done it’s work on that blue sky, hasn’t it?
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
Taken on 17 September 2022
Whenever I see pictures like this, Escape (The Piña Colada Song) springs to mind.
If you like piña coladas
And gettin’ caught in the rain
If you’re not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you like makin’ love at midnight
In the dunes on the cape
Then I’m the love that you’ve looked for
Write to me and escape
A colleague I used to work with told me he always sang it as “In the dunes in a cape“. 🙂
Yashicamat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 6mins @ 20°
Taken on 27 August 2022
I posted a series of photos of lifeguard huts on the blog a while ago. Here’s another to add to the set (it’s the hut at Mablethorpe, which I’ve photographed on several occasions now – including another picture shot on the day this one was taken).
Yashicamat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 6mins @ 20°
Taken on 27 August 2022
Despite owning a perfectly good bicycle, this man has taken it upon himself to build a horse. As I took this picture I had a brief moment where I wondered what would happen if it had suddenly sprung into life like something from a Harry Potter movie or something. It doesn’t have a saddle, so I expect riding it would have caused a degree of chafing.
Yashicamat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 6mins @ 20°
Taken on 27 August 2022
Only two donkeys out giving rides on the day I took this picture. The guy in charge looks a bit chilly from his stance.
Yashicamat 124G & Kodak Plus-X (expired 2008). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 6mins @ 20°
Taken on 27 August 2022
Today’s pictures were taken as I wandered around the funfair at Mablethorpe. It was early in the day and, while the gates were open, none of the rides or other attractions were operating and it was only myself and the attraction owners and operators in the place. The guy in charge of the dodgems was giving instructions to the young men who were helping him prepare the cars, telling them to make sure there was no sand on them before polishing the paintwork as they would leave scratches.
I had a full free hour this lunchtime, so I decided to deevelop a roll of film I shot at the weekend. I did a couple of things for the first time as part of the process. The first was to use Fomadon R09 developer, which I’ve not used before. It’s apparently just Rodinal (in fact, the only reason I bought it is because Rodinal was out of stock), albeit the original recipe and not the one currently produced by Adox, which I believe has a longer shelf life. When I poured out the used developer from the tank I was quite surprised to see that it was a vivid purple colour – like blackcurrant juice! I’m not sure if this was caused by the R09, or the expired Tmax 100 I was developing, although I suspect the former.
The second new thing I did as part of the process was to use a salad spinner to remove the excess liquid from the negatives before hanging them to dry. I’ve always had a problem with water marks on my negatives (I live in a hard water area), even if I use distilled water for washing, plus a wetting agent. I tried a squeegee for a while which worked well, but then it scratched a strip of negatives so I’ve not used it since. I tend to use the inside of my fingers to squeegee the strips instead, but I still end up with water and then drying marks most of the time. I’ve seen salad spinners mentioned before as a good way to remove excess water and the negs certailnly came out with much less liquid on them – just a few small, pin-prick sized droplets. I’ve yet to scan them, so the proof will be in the pudding, but I’m hopeful that this might be the way forward.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 17 September 2022
A couple of people and a couple of dogs walking south down Mablethorpe beach.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 17 September 2022
It’s that time of the year when my blog becomes awash with photographs from Mablethorpe, taken on my annual visit (pilgimage 🙂 ). I think I shot three-and-a-half rolls this year, these are from the half-roll (Kodak Portra 160), but I have shots from a full roll of 135 Velvia 50, and one roll each of Fuji Pro 160NS and Kodak Plus-X in 120 still to come.
I’ve made further attempts to scan the dusty negatives that I posted about my frustration with yesterday. I’ve carefully cleaned all the strips with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and microfibre cloths. The negatives that I thought I’d damaged yesterday also cleaned up better on this attempt and are thankfully not marred by permanent streaks as I had feared. There is still a considerable amount of dust present, but much less than before (at least from the ones I’ve tried scanning so far). There is also at least one neg with a scratch that I’ve introduced. But they look better.
I’m still going to put the pieces in place to develop colour film myself though. Maybe not immediately, but hopefully before too long.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 17 September 2022
More scanning tonight, and yet more dust woes. Suffice to say I won’t be using the same place again for my colour developing. I’m frankly quite disheartened at the thought that some probably quite nice pictures are looking not so nice due to this, or will require an undue amount of dust spotting in Photoshop – a mind-numbing task. I tried cleaning the first couple of negatives with some IPA which did remove quite a lot of the dust, but also seems to have added some faint streaks which may, or may not, be permanent. Not good.
I’m going to have to bit the bullet and start developing my own colour film, aren’t I? In the meantime, I’m going to have to find somewhere else and incur postage costs.
The shot below was from the same lab, and while still dusty in comparison with the lab I used to use (which has now closed), it’s nothing like as bad as the roll I’ve started to scan tonight. It still took quite some time to dust spot though.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 17 September 2022
It’s very rare that I make prints of my photographs. Occasionally, I’ll get a bunch of cheap mini prints of random shots as they can be nice things to put in gifts, and I had a print made of a picture my cousin liked for her to hang on her wall, but rarely do I make a print for myself.
I might get a print of the picture posted here today though. It’s not a perfect image and probably not something anyone would buy commercially, but I like the photo – it’s evocative and also, because I was there when it was made, personal. It’s mine. It would be a nice thing to look at when I’m at work, I think, maybe even moreso when the dark winter days kick in proper.
Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Pro 160NS. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 17 September 2022
Steel City Snapper photography 