Tag: Pentax P30T

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Oh flock…

fishyfisharcade4 Comments

So, my first week of Couch-to-5k has taken a dip on day three where it appears that I’ve gotten myself a calf strain. I managed to walk home ok but the pain has increased since (at least when I move around) and the range of movement has reduced. Absolutely brilliant, eh?

I’m dissapointed that I will likely now have to put the running off for a while. Not because I’ll miss the activity itself – running isn’t something I can say I love doing – but because I do want to increase my fitness and, more importantly, support my son as he runs too. I’ve no idea how long the injury will take to heal before I can run again (even assuming it is a calf-strain. I’ve not spoken to a healthcare professional about it as yet, so it might be something else), but online self-diagnosis suggests it can take up to six weeks to fully recover. Bah!

Like a cramp, it felt
as I tore my calf running
Excercise. What Fun…

At present I can’t really even consider going for a walk until it heals a little as I’m moving about like a pirate with a wooden leg at the moment. I should have stuck to walking!

Here’s a flock of birds and some power lines from a few weeks ago when I was able to move around uninjured. 🙂

Flock in flight

Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 December 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Steps into a field

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Another thin skim of snow greeted me when I awoke this morning, although it had melted a few hours later and bright blue skies appeared. Had I not been working I might have gone for a walk and made a few pictures, but that wasn’t the case. In the event, I still grabbed a couple of images later in the afternoon when I saw some of my wife’s ornaments catching the afternoon sunlight. I used the Yashica Mat with the close-up lens set. Still ten more frames to shoot though, so it may be a while before they see the light of day (well, for a second time!).

Today’s haiku:

In the USA
Georgian Democrat double
Turn the Senate blue

And to finish, another picture from the Christmas Eve walk.

Steps

Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 December 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Lockdown part III

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Well here we are again. The whole country locked down tight for the third time in less than a year (although, to be honest, the second lockdown was less severe and I didn’t really notice any difference). We’re now back to staying indoors except for essential reasons such as shopping for food / medicines; work (if you can’t do so from home); to provide care (or to escape danger); and for exercise no more than once a day (in your local area).

I gues it will mean my photography is limited once more to things at home, or opportunities I have when out for a walk. I’ve just started Couch-to-5k this week, but at this early stage it’s all I can do to keep running and making photos is the last thing on my mind on those outings. Maybe that will change as I become fitter.

I still have a pretty large archive of images that have never been featured on the blog, so I won’t run out of things to post, but I do think that I might run out of new things to post depending on when, where, and how I am able to get out with a camera. I’ll just have to see what happens, I guess.

I like this time of year for photography. Murky weather can make for very atmospheric shots, and pleasant days are blessed with low-angled sunshine. As the lockdown is set to last until mid-February at least (when the government hopes to have the four highest priority groups of people vaccinated), and probably into March, it looks like I will miss out on these conditions for the most part (or will at least need to get more creative and better inspired by my local area). As for my own vaccination, looking at the numbers of people elligible and where I sit in the priority list (basically just above all the fit and healthy young people who aren’t even included), it will probably be just before Christmas 2021 when I get my own jab!

I do hope that this summer will be less restricted than last at least though. Not because I want to sit on busy crowded beaches or visit touristy hotspots, but just to have the freedon to hop in the car and go somewhere nice for the day. I mean, I’d like that freedom any time of the year, but the summer would do for now.

Hope you are all keeping safe and healthy out there.

I’ll leave you with today’s haiku and another photo from Christmas Eve when I was able to go for walks a little further afield.

On my desk I see
Two green frogs on a keyboard
Are they musical?

Wooden stile

Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 35mm f/3.5 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 December 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Over the hill

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My two week’s leave came to an end and today marked my return to work. The last things I did before the Christmas break seem distant and yet the two weeks seem to have flown by in an instant!

Work resumed today
I now need to remember
What it is I do

Another Christmas Eve walk photo today. I saw this house / farm peeking over the growing crops in this hillside field and thought iw ould be nice picked out with the telphoto lens. The footpath through the fields was a somewhat nerve-wracking experience as it had a thin skein of surface mud that threatened to take my feet out from beneath me! I don’t thinks I would have gotten hurt, but muddy and wet would be unwelcome all the same. Luckily I managed it to the bottom intact.

Just over the rise

Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 December 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A horse of course

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I decided to go for a walk on Christmas Eve. I’d received some gifted Pentax (and Pentax mount) cameras a few weeks previously but, sadly, all of them has some fault or other that has dissuaded me from using them so far – The Pentax ME Super looked to be in best condition, but has an annoying issue where the mirror will lock up sometimes, necessitating a firm slap on the base with my hand to get it to return. It also needs new light seals and I haven’ had the inclination to fiddle about cutting and fitting new pieces of foam yet.

The cameras came with a bunch of Pentax K-mount lenses though, so I decided I would try them out on my P30T. On this occasion I took three of them with me: an SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7; An SMC Pentax 35mm f/3,5, and; a Takumar-F Zoom 70-200mm f/4-5.6.

I shot a number of photos with all three lenses while out (although the zoom probably got more use than the others) and I’ll be posting some of the resulting images here over the next few days. Today though, a couple of frames from the start of the roll where a horse kindly provided its services as a model.

The walk ended on a festive note when a few flakes of snow began to fall. None of them settled, and none fell on Christmas day (although we got a dollop a few days later), but it felt good nontheless.

Before the images though, today’s haiku. Hopefully it speaks for itself as to what I did today…

I need to get fit
My first Couch to Five K run
My knees are aching

And now the horse. 🙂

Horsey
Where they live

Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 December 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Fence in the lake

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I’ve often wondered what the purpose is (if any) of this short section of fence that extends a few feet into the lake. There’s a gap on the shore (with the remains of a latch where a gate presumably once stood) so it serves no purpose in preventing passage. I guess it could be a holdover from before the lake was there (when it used to be a quarry) and was never removed when it was filled with water and the country park developed.

Whatever the case, it makes a nice subject for the occasional photograph.

Water's edge

Pentax P30T, Rikenon 50mm f/2 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 2 May 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Old weathered bench

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There are a number of these benches dotted aroung the edge of the lakes at Rother Valley Country park. I’m unsure as to when they were installed, but they certainly look like they’ve seen their share of the elements. The park is almost 40 years old now, but I’m not sure if the benches have been there all that time.

Weathered wooden bench

I’ve photographed them before on previous occasions. The shot below was originally posted on here back in 2017.

FILM - Experiments with a cheap plastic camera-2

First picture: Pentax P30T, Rikenon 50mm f/2 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 2 May 2020

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Pandemic scenes #10

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A slightly larger selection of photographs today made up of most of my remaining pandemic-related pictures. I have a few others, but I’m not sure if they’re worth posting or not.

As retail opens up and the lockdown measures ease, there might be opportunities to make more photographs relating to the situation (and if the whole thing goes belly-up, there might be a whole bunch of new lockdown pictures too!), but for now this is the last of what I have to show.

The photos were made over three seperate outings, using two different cameras (and film stocks). The first three follow on directly from the trig point images I posted yesterday, being made on the same walk. The first shows the KFC restaurant at the local retail park. This place would normally be full of cars at the time I walked past, but on this day is was completely deserted. I think it may have re-opened for drive-through sales now but on this day it was shut. The McDonald’s to the right of the image was similarly closed (although it was part way through renovation as the lockdown took effect, so won’t reopen until that is complete anyway). There’s a Pizza Hut off the edge of the frame to the left too, but that was also closed. Probably good for people’s cardiovascular systems though.

Empty at the chicken place

After walking past the KFC I dropped down to the shopping mall to get some items from Sainsbury’s. The usual socially-distanced queue was in effect and took me past these signs on the store window close to the entrance. The rightmost sign is for the Big Night In, a television special made by the BBC where the majority of the performances came from the act’s own homes. You can just make out the ghostly reflections of other socially-distanced shoppers in the window too.

Pandemic scenes - Please queue here

Walking home I passed by a local pub restaurant, closed up since before the lockdown started. Like many similar venues, the noticeboard features a thank you message to NHS and other key workers.

Pandemic scenes - Thank you

This next photo was taken from practically the same spot as the second picture in this sequence, but on a different day. It shows the supermarket’s promotion of technology to make it easier for people to avoid contact with others while in the store.

Pandemic scenes - Stop the spread

And finally, this is one of the children’s play areas at Rother Valley Country Park, the gates taped up, warning notices applied, and fastened shut with plastic cable ties.

Pandemic scenes - No dogs, no children, no-one

Shots 1-3. Canon Sure Shot Telemax & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 25 April 2020

Shots 4-5. Pentax P30T, Rikenon 50mm f/2 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 29 April & 2 May 2020