Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
The chap was painting pa picture of the buildings at the canal wharf when I wandered the area with my camera. We were both taking advantage of the lovely light to make our images and I stood and chatted with him awhile before asking if he would mind me making a photograph or two.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008). Grain2Pixel conversion.
Taken on 17 September 2020
When I bought my OM-2n a couple of months ago it came with a Tamron Adaptall lens – a 35-70mm zoom if I remember correctly. The lens was in very nice condition but produced noteably softer results than my Olympus Zuiko lenses, so I sold it on. As I already have an OM-1 I have a small collection of Zuiko glass that I can use with the OM-2n already.
I did notice, however, that my F.Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens had developed a bit of looseness in the aperture ring. I don’t think it affects the funtionality, but the firm clicks when it rotates has become gentle bumps. So I decided, if I could find one at a decent price, to buy another.
I ended up with a Zuiko (note the lack of F.) Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 in great condition and at a low price. The lens is in the 5,XXX,XXX serial number range with “made in Japan” on the front ring. Apparently these are amongst the sharpest of the numerous variants of this lens that Olympus produced – not that any of them are optical slouches. While I’ve not done any like-for-like tests against my other version (and am unlikely to), this lens is very sharp.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008). Grain2Pixel conversion.
Taken on 17 September 2020
I’ve photographed this same vehicle before, but is seems to have suffered some slight damage to the grille in the intervening period. It’s still a lovely looking truck though.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008). Grain2Pixel conversion.
Taken on 17 September 2020
When I spotted the couple in the distance when I framed this shot, I knew they would be out of focus because I’d set a wide aperture to give the giant ice-cream cone some seperation from the rest of the scene, but liked how they would fill a gap in the frame.
What I didn’t really notice – partly due to making sure I had focus on the ice-cream, but also because I had to be quick as I was in a queue and about to be served my own, normal-sized ice-cream – was that the man’s top was the same shade of pink as the “strawberry” swirl in the foreground cone, and his female companion’s top a similar colour to the blue flavour (whatever that might be). A nice little piece of synchronicity. 🙂
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008). Grain2Pixel conversion.
Taken on 11 September 2020
Another photo from my trip to Mablethorpe in September – a trip which is now over a full month in the past! Where does the time go?
I’ve already posted a couple of shots I made in one of the arcades, and this photograph here was made in the same place, but this one shot with my OM-2n on Superia 100. Although I had a fast f/1.8 lens attached, even at f/1.8 the shutter speeds were hopelessly slow according to the camera’s meter.
So I decided to make an ICM shot. I closed down the aperture until I got a 1-second shutter speed and then made the photo, panning to the left during the exposure. The bright neon of the Looney Tunes characters resulted in something a little like the effect produced by front-curtain sync when using a flash.
I’ve made Intentional Camera Movements before, but with a digital camera as they’re far more cost effective when it comes to making mistakes, so I’m very pleased with how this film exposure came out given it was the one attempt I made.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008). Grain2Pixel conversion.
Taken on 11 September 2020
Another set of beach-chalet photos today, this time in black and white. Cery few of these were occupied on the day of my visit, which is not surprising given we are now into autumn (it was mid-september when these shots were taken). There were a few people still making use of them though, including a chap sat enjoying the sea air with three of his dogs – some picture of them to come shortly.
I have vague memories of us hiring one of the chalets (one of the ones with windows) when I was a young boy – possibly my parents and my grandparents were present on that occasion, although the recollection is vague.
While the structures are pretty basic in design, they had power and water, so it was possible to make cups of tea and other refreshments, as well as being a useful shelter from the elements (whether hot sun or, this being the UK, pouring rain!) and somewhere to store the accutrements of a day at the beach without having to lug it around everywhere all day. They also had a set of curtains, so you had the luxury of being able to change out of wet, sandy swimming costumes and into dry, clean clothes without the risky maneouvering that would be required when attempting to do the same thing on the beach wrapped in just a towel!
They can look a little grim when photographed in monochrome in cloudy conditions, but when they’re all occupied by familys enjoying the warm sunshine in the height of the summer, they have a certain British charm. It always amazes me just how much chalets and beach huts can cost at some of the more up-market resorts around the country, where they can be priced at tens-of-thousands of pounds to buy outright!
Olympus OM-2n, G-Zuiko AUTO-W 28mm f/3.5 & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 11 September 2020
On the promanade above the beach at Mablethorpe sits this odd little structure. It houses a camera obscura. It has never been open when I’ve visited, unfortunately.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 11 September 2020
The past few years that I have visited Mablethorpe in September, the funfair has been closed. Whether this is because the customers who would partake of the larger rides are all back in school by this time, or maybe they only open at the weekends – this year I visited on a Friday whereas it’s been midweek most other times. Or perhaps, in this pandemic year, they are staying open for longer, seeking to eke out whatever income they can following a summer season that will have been heavily affected by the lockdown at its beginning, and then – to some extent at least – smaller numbers of visitors than usual (although it will be interesting to see if the loss of foreign trips has resulted in larget numbers of tourists, perhaps balancing things a little). Whatever the case, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the businesses and workers who rely on the summer season at resorts around the country who will have seen their incomes affected. I hope they are able to survive.
Today’s photos were made in the still-open funfair. There were few other visitors to be seen, although it was still early in the day.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 11 September 2020
Given Fuji Velvia’s penchant for rich saturated colours, I couldn’t help photographing a couple of red pillar boxes with it.
Scanning this Velvia 100 took a bit of trial and error to get the colours and tones correct. My initial attempts resulted in slightly flat looking images, lacking in that brightness that you see when viewing a transparency in natuaral light, so I had to create a Lightroom preset to make the necessary adjustments required. Even then, however, the scans still had a very warm cast to them. A little research revealed that scanned Velvia 100 is sometimes nicknamed Redvia due to the red tones in the shadows. It might be possible to remove this in Lightroom, but I found it easier to set up an action in Photoshop to use a curves layer to drop the shadows in the red channel. They look much closer to the original transparencies now, but retain those saturated tones that the film is known for.
I’ve been really pleased with the results from this roll (and the fact that the OM-2n’s meter has proven itself to be dependable even when metering for something as finicky as slide film). I hope the other four rolls I have will be just as satisfying.
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fujichrome Velvia 100.
Taken on 2 August 2020
After yesterday’s photo of the old Bennett’s shop front, here’s a picture of another shop just a few doors down on The Wicker, this one still in full health though. I’m not sure when the Sheffield Space Centre first moved to these premises, but it was sometime in the 80s as I recall.
I would visit regularly, browsing their wonderful stock, and buying copies of American horror movie magazines like Fangoria or special effects stuff like Cinefex. For a while a harboured a vague dream of becoming a special effects makeup artist in the vein of Tom Savini of Rick Baker or something. I went to work in an office instead…
I particularly like the Batman social distancing poster in the window. 🙂
Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8 & Fujichrome Velvia 100.
Taken on 2 August 2020
Steel City Snapper photography 