Or, maybe “acorn” is a closer analog to the shape of this trimmed bush in the grounds of St.Winifred’s church.
Yashica Mat 124G and Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 January 2026
Like a giant bushy egg
Tag: Nottinghamshire
One gate, two views
Two shots of the same gate here, one looking straight on with the gate framed by a tree and a distant house peeking over the top. The second from a more oblique angle, showing the roof of the nearby St. Winifred’s church (more of that to come…)
Yashica Mat 124G and Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 January 2026
Askham and bromide drag
These two pictures were taken on the same mini-road trip as the ones I shot in Eaton (such as this). I’d finished the roll of Kentmere 100 and switched to Fomapan 400 at this point. I took three photos at the village of Askham, and then shot the rest on a later outing (yet to feature on the blog).
Sadly, after developing and scanning the pictures I was presented with disappointing results.
Firstly, the images all displayed fine white speckles of the sort I’ve encountered before with Fomapan films. They are probably unnoticeable when viewing the images here on the blog, but are scattered liberally across the entire results – far too many for me to remove with Photoshop (I would need the patience of a saint!).
Secondly. despite using the same semi-stand technique used previously (and successfully) on another roll of Fomapan 400, this roll showed very noticeable signs of bromide drag. I’ve been able to mitigate the worst of this with Photoshop, but it’s still faintly visible in both these pictures if you look carefully (it was much worse before editing). I’m not sure what caused it on this occasion when there was no sign of it at all the last time, but I may take some additional precautions the next time I semi-stand Fomapan (an additional inversion or two at 15 minute intervals, perhaps…).
Despite all this, I do still like the pictures, especially the way the clouds are rendered.
Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Rodinal 1+100. 1 hour semi-stand development.
Taken on 2 August 2025
A barn(?) and a phonebox
I think this building is a barn, but my understanding of farm architecture is limited. It stands in the small village of Eaton, right beside the main road through the settlement. A phone box stands in front of it, although it’s now been converted into a mini-library. I missed the focus on the phone box shot slightly (the point of focus ended up on the planet just behind it – I love the photos I can achieve with the GW690, but it’s rangefinder patch is not the easiest to see), which I’m a bit miffed about.
Fujica GW690 & Kentmere 100 (@400) Rodinal 1 hour semi-stand development. 1+100 in 500ml of water, with a couple of extra ml of developer added.
Taken on 2 August 2025
Down the Idle
This picture was shot from atop the bridge seen in yesterday’s post. You can also see the same flock of sheep that appeared the day before that. This is my favourite shot from this roll.
Fujica GW690 & Kentmere 100 (@400) Rodinal 1 hour semi-stand development. 1+100 in 500ml of water, with a couple of extra ml of developer added.
Taken on 2 August 2025
Bridge across the Idle
This brick-built bridge crosses the River Idle to the west of the village of Eaton in Nottinghamshire. It’s quite a pleasant scene and there is a bench in the spot upon which a couple were sat before I took my photo. It would be a nice place to sit with a book.
Fujica GW690 & Kentmere 100 (@400) Rodinal 1 hour semi-stand development. 1+100 in 500ml of water, with a couple of extra ml of developer added.
Taken on 2 August 2025
Approaching sheep
I had to work fast to get the sheep in shot before they became obscured by the gate. As soon as they saw me they began to bleat and make an approach. Perhaps I look like a farmer. Or maybe they’re used to passersby giving them treats. I had no sheep snacks upon me, alas.
Fujica GW690 & Kentmere 100 (@400) Rodinal 1 hour semi-stand development. 1+100 in 500ml of water, with a couple of extra ml of developer added.
Taken on 2 August 2025
Emergence
This house was just down the road from the irrigation hose in the shot I posted yesterday. I liked how it rose from behind the hedge. I have quite a few shots of scenes like this that are slowly spiraling around the germ of a project idea.
Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 5 July 2025
Irrigation
I spotted this irrigation hose through a gap in the roadside hedge as I drove past. Something about the way the light fell upon the reel made me feel it might be worth photographing, so I turned around, found somewhere to park, and walked back to get the image. There’s a slight, but easy to miss, juxtaposition between the crops in this foreground field, and the solar farm just visible in the middle of the frame.
Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 5 July 2025
A pink house in black and white
I shot this whole roll of Ilford HP5+ while driving randomly around the countryside. I’d love to do a proper roadtrip where I just set of and explore the country but, alas, it’s not something I have the time or resources to do at present. Maybe when I retire at some point I’ll get more of an opportunity.
But even without an extended trip, it’s still possible to just head out into the unknown, taking random roads with no particular destination in mind, and just stopping and photographing things that catch my eye. Both photos from the last couple of posts were made in this way, as was today’s picture.
The house pictured is painted a pastel pink but I had black and white film loaded, so you’ll have to take my word for it, and it was a combination of the colour, plus the house standing solitary on a bend in a country road (not a quiet country road, but not racing with traffic either at the time I was there) that caught my attention.
I drove past the house and saw a place to park a short distance further on, so stopped and walked back along the verge to take my picture. As I got closer, I noticed a solitary woman just across the road from the house and said hello when I got closer. She was stewarding some sort of fun-run event that was taking place in the area and we chatted for a few minutes as I explained why I’d suddenly appeared from nowhere to take a photograph.
I’m posting these shots out of order for some reason, and this was the penultimate picture from the roll (the final phote being the one of the pylons I posted yesterday. The day before that was the first shot of the roll.)
Another random picture to come tomorrow…
Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 5 July 2025
Steel City Snapper photography 