Tag: Pylons

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A new view of pylons (and other things)

fishyfisharcade2 Comments

A few weeks ago I bought another new (to me) lens – a Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR. It was bought as a walkabout lens to use with my Nikon F80, and also the Nikon D810 DSLR that I bought to scan negatives, but which I will probably do some actual photography with as well. I believe that the lens was the kit lens for Nikon’s pro line of DSLRs and, from the reviews I read, appeared to be well regarded and sharp.

Othe than the Reto Ultrawide and Slim camera I have, it’s the widest focal length lens I own, and it’s surprising the ammount of difference between 24mm and 28mm (the widest focal length I otherwise have at my disposal), and I’ve made use of this wider angle on a good few occasions now. It does distort noticeably at the wide end though, and not in a way that’s easily rectified (on film shots, at least), but with a bit or perseverance it can be done well enough for my needs.

It’s also not a small lens and is a little unbalanced on my F80, which is quite small for an SLR, but I can put up with this due to the convenience it brings. The 24-120mm focal length is plenty good enough for most of my needs (I can bring along the 70-200mm lens if I need more reach), and it is sharp – far more so than the Tamron 28-300mm I had for a while.

It’s also a VR lens which makes it even more useful thanks to the F80’s ability to make use of the image stabilisation. It means I’m able to handhold it at pretty slow shutter speeds and still avoid camera shake.

I’ve shot a few rolls of film using it so far, and the ones I’ve developed and scanned all look good, so I’m pretty happy with it.

And what better subject for a new lens than some pylons. 😀

Pylon departures

Nikon F80 & Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR on Fomapan 400 (shot at 200asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken 28 July 2026.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Ploughed and littered

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The field in today’s picture had been freshly ploughed (although this corner at the edge is more churned, I think). The rich brown of the turned soil contrasted nicely with the scattered orange fallen leaves that littered the surface. I don’t think the shot would have worked without the pylons.

If you want to see what the field might look like as springtime arrives, I have a shot from the same location here.

Something good that happened today…

I went to the cinema to see Captain America: Brave New World after work today. I’ve been steering clear of any reviews and opinions as much as possible (although I had seen a few people mention that these weren’t favourable) because I wanted to form my own opinions without being swayed by others. I sometime wish for the simpler times where the entire world didn’t feel the need to be seemingly harshly critical of almost everything.

I enjoyed the film. It’s not the best MCU movie, but it’s far from the worst, and I had a solid couple of hours of solid entertainment, which is all I really want from this sort of film.

Freshly ploughed

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed, home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 26 october 2024

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Fence posts and pylons

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This landscape shot, taken on a walk along the Cuckoo Way a couple of months back, turned out pretty nicely, I think. The pylons and the concrete fence posts (no actual fence though) belie the area’s industrial heritage, but that’s fine. I think the concrete posts work as well as weathered wooden ones would, and I’ve always got room in a photo for a pylon or two. 🙂

Fence posts and pylons

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 27 January 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Dark vs light

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I was quite please with this picture of West Burton power station. I like the framing, and I’m a fan of industrial subjects in photographs, but most of all – thanks to the position of the clouds when I took the shot – I like the way that some of the cooling towers and some are light, like some massive game of chess or something.

Dark vs light

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE and Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken 2 September 2023.

4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Photography

Dead tree and pylons

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Another large format shot. And another with faults, this time some out of focus elements in the middle right of the frame. I’m not sure whether this might not just be a gust of wind blowing the power lines and trees about though. I’ve had similar issues with other shots however, including some I’ve just developed, so it could well be something else causing it. More (time consuming and tedious) trial and error work will no doubt be required. So far I have to say that it’s the promise of large format that is keeping me going rather than the actual process – 35mm and medium format are sooo much less faff!

Still, the problem in this picture is barely noticeable unless you start pixel peeping, and otherwise I like the picture. Maybe I should give myself a break. I used a yellow filter here which has really given the skies some nice contrast.

Dead tree and pylons

Chamonix 045N-1. Fujinon NW 135mm f/5.6 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken 1 August 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Experiments in multiple exposure

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A week or two back I posted the image that I entered into October’s film photo competition. Before shooting that image (and before I even realised I could make multiple-exposure photos with my Nikon F80) I shot a roll of expired Tmax 100 with my Holga (which I definitely knew could handle multiple exposures!). None of the images from that roll were as appealing as my final entry, but there were a few interesting pictures nonetheless. Here are some from the roll.

Experiments in multiple-exposure
Experiments in multiple-exposure-2
Experiments in multiple-exposure-3
Experiments in multiple-exposure-4
Experiments in multiple-exposure-5
Experiments in multiple-exposure-6

Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2007). Fomadon R09 1+25 5:30 mins @ 20°

Taken on 9 October 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Southerly transmission

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A photo from the archive today, made a couple of years ago back when we were under the first covid lockdown here in the UK. I’m pretty sure I’ve not posted this image before – I searched for the camera, film, and the words “pylon” and “power lines” and nothing showed up, so finger’s crossed.

I was going to post another shot from the curly expired Tri-X, but it was another frame with the odd marks and, given the nature of the scene, I couldn’t photoshop them out to my satisfaction so decided against uploading it.

Southerly transmission

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 & Fomapan 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8 mins @ 20°.

Taken on 27 April 2020