Not fooling anyone…
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 February 2026
Camouflage
Tag: Power lines
Homes
Large blocks of uninteresting foreground and sky meant I felt this worked better as a panoramic crop, and it’s fared quite well considering it’s a 35mm negative. It has nice leading lines in the field and the wires, and the angle of the sun has added some lovely contrast and relief to the buildings.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
Taken on 8 February 2026
Landscape scene
Power lines cross a field, it’s crops just beginning to show, before passing a lone farmhouse. In the distance the buildings and chimney-stack of Steetley dolomite works are visible. This chimney can be seen from miles around in this part of the countryside.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
Taken on 8 February 2026
Bird on a wire
Ah, one of my old favourite subjects; power-lines marching across the landscape to destinations unknown. This one enhanced, I think, by the compression given by the telephoto lens and, most of all, by the hawk perched upon the wires.
Nikon F80 and Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
Taken on 8 February 2026
The first shot
On the day I went out and made this batch of pictures, I started in a poor frame of mind. I was feeling grumpy and a bit depressed about stuff, so most of the first part of the day just involved me driving aimlessly about, too annoyed to spot potential compositional opportunities, much less take any photos.
This was the first shot I took during the outing (it was shot just before, and just down the road from, the picture I posted yesterday), and while it didn’t completely clear my low mood, it did get me started with some photography. The first shot is often the one that unclogs the gears, and I was able to then finish off the rest of the roll (albeit only eight frames with the GW690) and even make a start on another.
I’d started out thinking I was just wasting my time, but by the time I got home I felt much better about things.
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
Forbidden lane
Unlike yesterday’s photograph, this was a location that I’d never passed before. It’s not a lane that can be traveled as, although you can’t see it in my picture, it’s blocked off with a metal gate. Looking on Google Maps, it’s possible to see where the track leads (to a farm) and that there are two other entrances to the same track. For some reason I find “mystery” roads like this interesting, or rather I like to know where they might lead (it’s very often a farm though…).
Anyhoo, despite the lack of access, it was a scene I felt would make a good photo, what with the leading lines of the track and power wires.
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
House at the end of the road
While not the first time I’ve taken a photograph on this particular road, it’s the first time I’ve photographed this particular scene.
I like the rows of power and telephone lines that run down either side, they make me reminisce on the time when most roads had rows of telegraph lines beside them, even though they were likely mostly defunct when I witnessed them.
Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 5 July 2025
Invasion
Fujica GW690 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 5 July 2025
St. Mary’s Church, Tickhill
As I wandered around Tickhill, I walked past the church: St. Marys. The building was open, so I went inside and took a few pictures.
It was quite dim inside and I didn’t have a tripod, so these were the best I could do hand-held (and leaning against things to steady myself where I could). The first shot below was with my Olympus OM-10 and is a little soft (although not too bad if you don’t look closely). The shot after is the same scene, but shot with my Yashica Mat 124G. It’s much sharper, but not as sharp as I know the camera is capable of. Both shots required wide apertures too, which reduces the depth of field.
This final shot is probably the sharpest of the batch as I was able to stand the camera on the back of the pews, but a wide aperture was still required and so the DOF is again reduced.
Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 / Yashica Mat 124G & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 22 June 2025
At Tickhill
Following directly on from yesterday’s post where I had a short wander around Oldcotes, today’s pictures are from the walk I took around Tickhill on the same day.
Tickhill is a small town in Nottinghamshire a few miles north of Oldcotes. It’s quite a pretty little place with what appears to be a busy high street (certainly without the usual array of charity shops, tattoo parlours, vape shops and the like that tend to appear where a place is struggling). I’ve driven through the place on a number of occasions, but have only stopped when we’ve been strawberry picking at a farm just to the northern edge of the town. This was the first time I’ve had a walk around the place.
Tickhill has the remains of a castle, although it’s in private ownership so you can’t see much of the place other than a few sections of the wall and it was close to there that I parked my car. Walking towards the castle led me to a millpond where an ice cream van was parked and it was in this area that I took the first of the three pictures below.
After this I set off to the east following a public footpath, taking the next three images along the route. I was getting close to the end of the roll of film and had planned on finishing the remaining frames, but then a sudden heavy rain shower made its presence felt and I had to seek shelter, at first beneath a tree, and then in a cafe on the high street.
I shot the remaining few frames in the church, along with a bunch of medium format pictures too. Those will appear here soon.
Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 22 June 2025
Steel City Snapper photography 