Tramlines Fringe

August 15, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

The Tramlines festival takes place in Sheffield each summer (although it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic). The first event took place in 2009 and was a free-to-attend event for several years, although it has now become corporately run and ticketing is in place for the main festival, which is held in Hillsborough Park. The festival attracts big-name artists and is named after the city’s tram network, SuperTram.

Although a paid ticket is required for the Hillsborough event, there are a number of free entry venues scattered around the city under the moniker of Tramlines Fringe. The photos in today’s post were made at one of these events, held outside the Dorothy Pax bar at Victoria Quays.

Down by the canal
Music and dancing take place
It’s time for Tramlines

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Sheaf Quay

August 14, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I’ve been out all day today at a steam rally and after walking around the place (and the four hours of driving there and back) am pretty tired, so just a couple of quickly published photos in this post.

It’s hard to think of
A haiku when you are tired
I hope this will do

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Artist

August 13, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

This chap was sketching the straddle warehous at Victoria Quays while I walked around with my camera and he allowed me to maje a portrait of him at work.

Sketching with pencils
An image of a building
Bridging a canal

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Cruiser

August 12, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Being forced to shoot with the lens wide open (or almost – this was at f/2) when using the crop 35mm lens in order to avoid heavy vignetting means that objects are thrown into pleasing relief with the drop-off in depth of field. It’s not massively pronounced when the subject is further away, but still there, as with this photo of a cruiser moored at Victoria Quays with the straddle warehouse in the background.

Is this a cruiser?
I had to Google in case
I had got it wrong!

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

The straddle warehouse

August 11, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

At the Sheffield end of the Sheffield and Tinsley canal sits the straddle warehouse building at Victoria Quays. Now an office building, it was built around the turn of the 20th century. It’s design was due to there being insufficient space for the buildings around the edge of the canal basin, so the design supported by stilts was constructed.

Office block on stilts
Where once cargo unloaded
Now there is admin

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Swan

August 10, 2021 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

There are a number of these stone plinths beside the canal near the wharf area. I’m unsure as to their original purpose – perhaps supports for some structures no longer present or something. I’m sure canal afficionados would know.

These have each been decorated with various images of animals – the swan seen here, and also a kingfisher and horses. I’ve a couple of pictures of the horses which I thought might be nice, but there are some odd artefacts on the negatives – possibly a light leak or other camera problem (I shot those using an Olympus Superzoom 160), or maybe a developing issue (I found a bit of loose film leader in the developing tank when removing the film after washing, which I suppose might have caused a problem).

Swan by the canal
Graceful as ever it seems
But frantic beneath

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Underpass

August 9, 2021 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

I can’t hear the word “underpass” without it bringing the sound of John Foxx’s 1980 electronic classic song of the same name – although I still always have a childish urge to switch the chorus to “Underpants!” :).

I’m really happy with how this shot turned out. Again, the vignetting has added some grit to an already nicely gritty scene. I’d just walked beneath the underpass myself and was out the other side when I saw someone going the other way. So I about-turned and grabbed a picture of their silouhetted form as they reached the light at the far side of the tunnel. The 35mm lens focuses pretty slowly for some reason on the F80 so the figure isn’t totally sharp, but I don’t think it matters at all in this picture.

Figures pass below
Under the traffic above
Echoes of John Foxx

Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 July 2021

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Derelict pubs

August 8, 2021 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

I’ve posted photos of abandoned pubs on this blog on a number of occasions before. So here are a couple more. The Durham Ox and Ye Old Harrow are within a stone’s throw of each other on Cricket Inn Road and Broad Street (these are effectively the same road, but the name changes partway along its length). The Durham Ox is in a sorry state of affairs with most of its roof missing and I suspect it will not be long before it is demolished. The Ye Old Harrow, while looking somewhat rough around the edges with broken windows, boarded up doors, and graffiti, appears to have been sold and will hopefully find new life in some form.

There’s a photograph of the Durham Ok made in 1981 by John Davies, which shows the pub in different times. The city was undergoing a lot of development at that time and over the next couple of dacades as a lot of the heavy industry gradually moved on and the city became more service-led.

No-one drinking now
So many pubs are now gone
Only shells remain