Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
I’ve photographed this scene on several occasions as it’s on the way to the local country park. Maybe one day I’ll time it when a train is passing…
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
The large, rectangular building that sits in the distance in this picture has caught my eye on more than one occasion when visiting Cleethorpes. It stands a way to the northwest and is actually in Grimsby. There’s a footpath that runs atop the sea defences which will take you to the structure. or at least I assume it will as I’ve never walked that far before. It’s one of those places that is actually a lot further away than it looks.
It’s a cold storage facility apparently, and also holds a seafood wholesaler. Both logical uses given Grimsby’s status as a fishing port – indeed it was one the home port of the largest fishing fleet in the world back in the mid 20th century before the industry fell into decline.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 28 December 2023
I was a little curious as to how the XA3 would handle this scene when I saw it. I’ve shot into the sun before, but this scene had both the sun and the bright reflection on the railway tracks to contend with.
The result was much more flare! However, despite the flare, it’s not too obtrusive I don’t think, and perhaps gives a sense of brightness that you would probably expect when witnessing something like this first hand.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 9 January 2024
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.
Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2007). Fomadon R09 1+25 5:30 mins @ 20°
Taken on 9 October 2022
The photo today is the view north from the bridge depicted in yesterday’s blog post. No trains were forthcoming (although I didn’t hang about to be fair).
Today I crossed a hurdle in my Couch to 5K running plan. After suffering my calf injury on my first attempt (on week 1, day 3) I rested the sore leg for a couple of weeks before starting afresh. My progress so far has been steady with no further injuries, and no failed attempts at any of the runs – I am running at an embarrassingly slow pace though!
This week say me reach week 5 of the plan, one which I had felt some apprehension about. Week 5 (as is week 6) is a transition week where you move from shorter runs interspersed with brisk walking, to longer runs, culminating in a full 20-minute run on the third day. A few short weeks ago the thought of running for twenty minutes straight seemed impossible – even running for 90 seconds felt like an achievement – but, gradually, as the weeks passed and my fitness and stamina improved, I began to feel more confident about it. The second run of this week was two 8-minute runs broken by a 5-minute brisk walk, so not too much of a difference, and I managed that session without any real difficulty.
So, late this morning, after my breakfast had had time to digest, I did my warm-up, got dressed in my running gear, and headed out. After the 5-minute warm-up walk I began to run at my usual slow pace, a podcast my companion for the duration. Every so often – at five, ten. fifteen and, finally, eighteen minute intervals, the Laura’s voice on the C25K app let me know my progress, finally declaring that I had finished and that I should be proud of the achievement!
And I am. I’m not quite there yet – the final goal is to be able to run for a full 30-minutes non-stop – but it feels within reach now. Just a few more weeks to go.
My legs are aching
But now it’s in a good way
Feeling fulfillment
Yashica Mat 124G & Ilford Delta 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°.
Taken on 12 February 2021
I’m tempted to start throwing in the lyrics of the Grandmaster Flash classic. 🙂
Today’s photo is one that I’ve made before, from almost exactly the same spot, using the same camera and film. Apart from the fact that I pushed this roll by a stop, the technicalities of the picture are almost identical. The only real difference is the conditions when the images where made. I’ve published the original picture before here, but will add it to this post too so they can both be easily compared.
Two pictures the same
But seperated by time
Such differences
First the new image, made a couple of weeks ago:
And the older image, made in April 2020:
Holga & Ilford HP5+ (@800). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20° – older shot made at 400asa and devved for 9mins.
Taken on 14 January 2021
Another photograph from near West Burton power station. This is a shot I’ve thought of making for quite some time and have looked at the location on Google Streetview to get an idea of the view. Unfortunately, Google uses super wide-angle lenses on it’s Streetview vehicles which makes it a little difficult to ascertaing what the view might be through a longer lens, and all I had with me on the day was my Zeiss Mess-Ikonta and Canon Sure Shot Supreme – both of which have fixed focal length lenses, with the Supreme’s 38mm being the widest.
Still, this opportunity arose mostly because this location is pretty close to North Leverton windmill, which had been my primary location for the trip, so I’ll chalk this up to a first attempt and will hopefully get out there again at some point to have another attempt, probably with a zoom lens to afford me some additional flexibility.
All things considered though, I like this quite a lot. My original thought was to have the cooling towers fully visible, but their hidden, but looming presence works well.
Canon Sure Shot Supreme & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7 mins 45 secs @ 22.5°.
Taken on 25 July 2020
Steel City Snapper photography 