This wheelie-bin for hire advertisement caught my eye (from £35 a day), the bin perched atop a small Ford Ka van, The cones also got my attention, as did the sign afixed to the lamppost which, on first glance, I thought was advertising a flypast but which, upon closer inspection, is actually advertising an RAF Association meeting. There were teas, coffee, and cake involved, which sounds nice. Note also, the “God save the king” attribution at the bottom, this photograph having been taken the day before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
It’s a photograph of what might be considered a mundane scene, but these things often catch my eye. I find them interesting and I think it’s valuable to record such things, probably moreso than pretty landscapes.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Fukichrome Velvia 50 (expired 2011). Lab developed & home scanned.
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.
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.
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.
The corringham windmill is, let’s face it, not a windmill any longer. Originally built in the early 19th century it functioned as a working mill for around a hundred years, ceasing operation in 1908. It attained Grade II listing status in 1985 and in 1993 was converted to an owl house. It has looked pretty much like it does in the picture below for as long as I have known it, and I’ve passed it on many an occasion.
It sits just to the east of the village of Corringham in Lincolnshire, standing close to the A631 road which runs between Gainsborough and Market Rasen (indeed, it runs all the way from the east end of Sheffield, passing through Wickersley, Maltby, Tickhill, and Bawtry before it reaches Gainsborough) and was one of the stretches of road I would travel when visiting Mablethorpe with my grandparents when I was younger. It’s still the route I take when I visit Mablethorpe now – it feels a bit like a pilgrimage of some sort where I follow the route my grandad drove, even though there are alternate routes that are faster.
The windmill at Corringham was one of many landmarks on the journey to Mablethorpe and it fills me with happiness, nostalgia and a touch of melancholy when I see it appear alongside the road. It’s a part of a beloved journey, one that evokes wonderful memories, but also a little sadness that my grandparents are no longer here. I don’t think I ever took the trips to Mablethorpe with my grandparents for granted, but I sometimes wish I could tell them just how much they meant to me.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
A few weeks ago I decided to walk to the nearby country park and was greeted by the never-disappointing sight of early morning mist on the surface of the lake.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
This singular football goal stands on the north beach at Mablethorpe. I think the sand and blue skies are a nice contrast and make for a nice photo. I decided to use if for my competition entry for the “cloudscapes” theme.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned, & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Strange times are upon us. Queen Elizabeth II, monarch of the United Kingdom for the last seven decades, passed away yesterday afternoon. It’s a truly historic moment, I think. Not only has she been our longest serving monarch but, because of the length of her reign, she has been a fixture in the lives of so many people for their entire existence, her face on our coins, banknotes, stamps and countless souvenirs and items of popular culture. The Queen’s Speech has been a Christmas Day fixture on the television (and before it, the radio) for what seems forever. Yes, there will be those who remember the years before she became queen, but I expect that for the majority she has always been queen.
I’m not a monarchist particularly, but I’m not a hardcore republican either. I’ve generally avoided any sort of fascination or fixation on the lives of The Queen and other members of the royal family except where it became unavoidable, whether due to scandal, tragedy, royal occasions such as births and weddings, jubilee’s and, of course, deaths. Nontheless, despite my relative uninterest, her death has still left me with a feeling of sadness. I think it’s the way it demonstrates the passing of time, that nothing lasts forever, and – despite the monumentous impact of this occasion – that as the years pass, so even this will become just another section in the history books. It reminds me of my own mortality, the loss of my own loved ones, and the fact that one day I will no longer be here either.
It’s something that happens whenever someone who has had an impact on my life passes away – musicians, authors and actors are probably the obvious examples – a sad knowlege that they are gone and that they won’t be making or doing any of those things you like any more. All you’ll have is what is already there and the memories you made. In those cases though, outside of fan circles, the news tends to die down and – for those who didn’t share a connection – may go unnoticed altogether. There is little chance of escaping the death of The Queen though. All the main TV channels and radio stations are broadcasting almost nothing but the ongoing news of the situation. Radio has become sombre in it’s choice of music. Even the commercial and smaller channels are paying their respects is a variety of ways, with pictures and messages of condolence in abundance. Even outside there are signs and reminders. Electronic billboards – the sort that normally advertise movies, or McDonalds burgers – are now all showing a picture of The Queen. I passed four in close succession today. As each passed, so another would appear in the distance.
And now Queen Elizabeth II is no more, we have a king again in the shape of Charles III. It will be interesting to see how this next era of our history unfolds, although, as before, I will likely view it from a distance and, given current events, it may well be overshadowed by greater concerns. What is certain however, is that he will not reign for anything like as long as his mother did.
I searched through my archive for a relevant picture, but all I could find was the photo below featuring a bobblehead Queen (and Mr Bean).
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Ilford HP5+.
Steel City Snapper photography 