Tag: Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Pride in the city

fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Over the course of the summer Sheffield has been visited by lions. Lots of lions. A whole pride of them. 300 lions, to be acurate.

Thankfully these are not escapees from a nearby zoo, but are part of a sculpture project organised to benefit the local children’s hospital, and the third such project in a decade (the first was The Herd of Sheffield, featuring elephants back in 2016, then we were visited by The Bears of Sheffield in 2021). This time we have The Pride of Yorkshire, featuring the aformentioned Lions.

In each of the three events, all the sculptures are each individually decorated and there are trails to be followed to discover them (all of them, should you be dedicated enough!). When they conclude, all the animals are auctioned off, raising money for the hospital charity. While the elephants and bears are not stood in public places any longer, it’s still quite easy to find many of them dotted around the city in their new adopted homes provided by the auction bidders, so it’s not unusual to see one stood in a shop, or atop the roof of a factory or something.

Here’s one of the lionesses stood in Tudor Square, but there are Lions and cubs to be found too. I’ve not photographed many of them (I had an idea about doing a project, but never got around to it), but another may appear on here at some point…

Urban pride

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fujifilm Acros II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 15 August 2026.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Take the weight off

fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

One of a small cluster of chairs in the open park area at Park Hill Flats. I’ve photographed these chairs at least a couple of times before – there’s something about their stark wiriness and colours (not that you can see that here) that catches my eye each time.

This is the first time I’ve noticed that they’re actually staked to the ground though. I guess they’ve always been that way, and it makes sense given their placement in a public location, but sometimes you look and don’t see sometimes.

Your comfort assured

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fujifilm Acros II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 15 August 2026.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Gaia sleeps

fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

At this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, one of the gardens featured a giant wooden sculpture of the goddess, Gaia, or Mother Nature and she’s often known. The sculpture featured flowing willow‑branch hair which was crafted by the aptly named artist, Tom Hare, while her leaf‑crowned face and shoulders were carved from a fallen mature tree by sculptor Tim Wood.

And now the entire artwork has been transported north to Sheffield where it will permanently reside in the middle of the Park Hill Flats complex. So, on a visit to the town centre a few weeks ago, I decided to take a detour and go have a look.

Thanks to the hot dry conditions we’ve endured this summer, some of the surrounding grass was a dry yellow, although Gaia herself was somewhat aptly surrounded by lush green growth. There were quite a few people visiting the sculpture, including some who appeared to be part of a guided tour!

Gaia afar
Gaia visited

The figure is part wood, and part dry stone wall, with her torso meticulously carved with intricate swirling designs.

Gaia in repose
Gaia sleeps

Up close, she makes for an interesting, if very large, portrait subject.

Gaia rests
Gaia portrait

I took a whole slew of pictures on both film and digital, but these black and white Acros II shots are my favourites, I think.

I’ve been past her again since this first visit and took more pictures, she’s a subject that will reward the photographer, I think.

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fujifilm Acros II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 15 August 2026.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Park Hill abstract

fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

This forms part of the Park Hill Flats complex in Sheffield, a 1960s monument to brutalist architecture. The other side of one of these bridges once bore a piece of graffiti that read “I love you will U marry me?” which over time became part of the city’s cultural identity and you could buy mugs, t-shirts, and other memorabilia featuring the slogan. It even has its own Wikipedia page. When the flats were acquired for redevelopment, the developer, Urban Splash kept the graffiti and gave it a neon overlay.

Sadly, despite the hopeful message, it’s quite a sad tale.

Anyway, that’s on the other side of the bridge. This side is graffiti free.

Streetlight abstract

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fujifilm Acros II. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 15 August 2026.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A new view of pylons (and other things)

fishyfisharcade2 Comments

A few weeks ago I bought another new (to me) lens – a Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR. It was bought as a walkabout lens to use with my Nikon F80, and also the Nikon D810 DSLR that I bought to scan negatives, but which I will probably do some actual photography with as well. I believe that the lens was the kit lens for Nikon’s pro line of DSLRs and, from the reviews I read, appeared to be well regarded and sharp.

Othe than the Reto Ultrawide and Slim camera I have, it’s the widest focal length lens I own, and it’s surprising the ammount of difference between 24mm and 28mm (the widest focal length I otherwise have at my disposal), and I’ve made use of this wider angle on a good few occasions now. It does distort noticeably at the wide end though, and not in a way that’s easily rectified (on film shots, at least), but with a bit or perseverance it can be done well enough for my needs.

It’s also not a small lens and is a little unbalanced on my F80, which is quite small for an SLR, but I can put up with this due to the convenience it brings. The 24-120mm focal length is plenty good enough for most of my needs (I can bring along the 70-200mm lens if I need more reach), and it is sharp – far more so than the Tamron 28-300mm I had for a while.

It’s also a VR lens which makes it even more useful thanks to the F80’s ability to make use of the image stabilisation. It means I’m able to handhold it at pretty slow shutter speeds and still avoid camera shake.

I’ve shot a few rolls of film using it so far, and the ones I’ve developed and scanned all look good, so I’m pretty happy with it.

And what better subject for a new lens than some pylons. 😀

Pylon departures

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (shot at 200asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 28 July 2026.