A selection of shots taken inside Leeds Kirkgate Market.
These are from the same roll of Kodak Elite Chrome 200 that I will be writing an “Expiriment” post about soon (honest!).
Kirkgate Market is the largest covered market in Europe with over 800 stalls. The ornate hall at the front of the market (where these pictures were taken) is particularly nice.
Something good that happened today…
Last year I visited the doctor because I’d noticed a mark on my arm that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t causing me any discomfort, but it was new, and as such I thought I’d best get it checked out. This led to a couple of referrals to a clinic where the lesion was photographed and the pictures sent away to be checked. The outcome from the second of these referrals was a letter informing me to make an appointment with my GP for treatment. No mention of what the issue might be was included in the letter, so I had some concern that it may be some type of skin cancer or something.
I visited the GP today and was told that they believe the mark to be an actinic (or “solar”) keratosis – effectively damage to the skin caused by exposure to the sun over time. While I’m not one for sunbathing (I actively avoid it!) my arms are often uncovered when the weather is warm and, as such, probably get more sunshine than any other part of my body, so this diagnosis is perhaps not a surprise.
Solar keratoses are non-malignant and do no real harm, although there is some chance that they can develop into skin cancer over time (though, thankfully, a less serious and treatable form). I now have to pick up some ointment from the chemist tomorrow and apply that for the next three months before returning to the doctor’s later in the year to check it is still ok.
So, while I’d rather the keratosis not be there, the knowledge of what it is and that it’s probably not something to worry about, is today’s good news.
Olympus OM-10 & G.Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 on Kodak Elite Chrome 200 (expired 2004) . Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
One of the occasional pictures I post that I’ve used as an entry in the annual film photography competition I’ve taken part in for the past few years. The theme for this one was Games of Chance, and the shot was an emergency backup for another picture that didn’t work out as expected.
Something good that happened today…
I usually restrict the cats to downstairs when I’m working alone at home as they tend to make a nuisance of themselves. Today I decided to give them a chance.
They made nuisances of themselves.
Nonetheless it was nice to have them around. I might do it more often – maybe I’ll bring their beds upstairs so they can sleep in my office while I work.
There’s something distinctive about the architecture in British seaside towns, particularly those that came to prominence in the Victorian and Edwardian periods – rows of grand villas abound.
As the traditional British seaside holiday declined (mostly due to the availability of low cost trips to continental Europe – where guaranteed hot sunny weather replaced the risk of a week in the rain, potentially trapped in a caravan, or a hostile Bed & Breakfast), so a lot of the beautiful and traditional buildings have similarly fallen into disrepair. Without the tourism, the money to run and maintain such places was lost. The building in the centre rear of today’s picture has become home to both pigeons and gulls, but with no sign of human occupancy (or window glass, for that matter). It’s a shame that these places are not in use, but I don’t think a lot of UK resorts currently attract the people who could afford to renovate such properties back to glory. Perhaps in time they will.
It’s odd to think that, if you could uproot these buildings to somewhere in central London, they would probably be worth millions.
Things seem to be picking up in my job this week. I’ve gone from being in the midst of a quiet patch to having several pieces of work fall at my feet. In part this is due to three members of our team leaving – one of whom I’ve known about for awhile, but the other two have come as a bit of a surprise – and I’ve been asked to pick up work they have been, or are currently involved with. This is a good thing – I’d much rather be busy than pushing papers around my desk (although I’ve mostly been using the quiet period to do training), but I’m a little uncertain as to what is required at this stage. I guess I’ll find out soon enough though.
When I was younger I was a prolific reader. During my late teens and early twenties I would devour novels, often getting through two or three in a week. I wouldn’t make any claims to being well read as a result of this – my preference was for horror and thrillers, and few of the titles I chose made it onto literary picks (although they did make it to the best seller lists quite often). Over time, with my job, my wife, and my children, as well as other interests competing for my time, I became slower at completing books (although I still read regularly). The internet, and more specifically, the ability to consume it on portable devices was the thing that hit my reading the hardest though. Even with the convenience of a Kindle, the amount of books I read fell through the floor. I was probably reading four books a year at most.
I’ve made efforts to rectify this recently, and my rate has increased a little, although I still need to make greater effort to favour a book over wasting time online. I almost always read in bed before I sleep but, as I’m often tired, it’s not unusual for me to read only a few pages before I nod off, so I really need to fit my reading into a time of the day when I’m more alert. Obviously, it also helps to have a book that is engaging. And that’s what I’ve had the pleasure of this week.
A few months ago, while browsing in Blackwell’s bookshop in Sheffield I spotted a book on the display table near the entrance. It had a yellow cover featuring a black and white photo of a pretty girl in a Smiths t-shirt. It was titled The Stirrings: Coming of Age in Northern Time and written by Catherine Taylor. It also had a wealth of recommendations from various reviewers on the front, but it was that evocative sub-title that caught my attention, I think.
Picking the book up, I read the precis:
This is a story about one young woman coming of age, and about the place and time that shaped her: the North of England in the 1970s and 80s. About the scorching summer of 1976 – the last Catherine Taylor would spend with both her parents in their home in Sheffield. About the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer whose haunting presence in Catherine’s childhood was matched only by the aching absence of her own father. About a country thrown into disarray by the nuclear threat and the Miners’ Strike, just as Catherine’s adolescent body was invaded by a debilitating illness. About 1989’s ‘Second Summer of Love’, a time of sexual awakening for Catherine, and the unforeseen consequences that followed it. About a tragic accident, and how the insidious dangers facing women would became increasingly apparent as Catherine crossed into to adulthood.
Seeing that the book, a memoir, was not only set (at least in part) in my home city, but that it also closely shared it’s place in time with my own coming of age, I added it to my list of books I’d like to read (in this case, by taking a photo of it on the display – I do this a lot in bookshops so I don’t forget about something interesting).
Not long afterwards, in early September, I spotted the Kindle edition for sale and snapped it up. It then joined a few dozen other books that I’ve added to my Kindle library in a growing “pile of shame” of books that I’ve bough but struggle to find the time to read. I tend to pick books at random from this selection, but after finishing another book, decided to bring this one to the top of the pile. I’m glad I did.
This is the first book in a long time that I’ve finished in the space of less than a week. It’s not a long book, sure, at 223 pages, but from the very first page I was hooked, and as well as actually sitting down to read for hours at a time, I’d also read a few pages whenever I had a spare few minutes. The sense of time and place was palpable and the book is beautifully written, telling the story of Catherine’s journey from childhood to adulthood, through the ups and downs, the adventures and the tragedies (it’s truly heartbreaking in places), all described with a wonderful honesty. Because of the Sheffield connection there are places and things and memories that were part of my youth too, albeit seen through my own particular lens of experience.
I’ve read many books that I’ve enjoyed, but it’s rare that I find one that makes me feel the way this one has. It’s a beautiful work and I now feel sad that not only have I finished it, but also because I have a sense of loss for the times described, a “forever young” nostalgia for a past that can’t be revisited other than in memory. I’m glad it had the power to move me.
…
As this is ostensibly a photography blog, I guess I should also say that I went out and made some photographs today. This isn’t an unusual thing, although it being midweek perhaps is, but I had a day off work and decided to head out into the Peak District to shoot three sheets of 4×5 large format Kodak Ektar that have been sat in film holders for a long time. As usual, the weather forecast was an outright lie, and the mixture of sunshine and cloud was actually just cloud without sunshine. This robbed me of some glowing autumnal colours but, making the best of what I had, it did make for soft light in the woodland area I visited.
Although I did shoot one sheet of Ektar late last year (still in one of the holders I used today!) I’ve not actually processed any C41 large format film before, so I now have to find a lab that I can send it to. I hope some of the shots are worthwhile as it certainly ain’t going to be cheap – probably the best part of £30 for four sheets! Wish me luck!
Today’s picture is apropos on nothing, really, but I find it evocative and, given what I’ve written about The Stirrings, I felt it was a good fit.
I had a worrying occurrence this morning when my PC suddenly stopped detecting my storage drive. It’s back up and running now – I think it might have been a loose connection and after opening the case and pushing the plugs into their sockets with my fingertips, it’s been working ok since. While my stuff is backed up, it’s prompted me to take on some extra assurance in the shape of additional backup processes. It’ll cost me more, but worth it for the peace of mind.
Steel City Snapper photography 