Tag: Rangefinder

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Building something new and unfamiliar

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There always seems to be construction taking place in Sheffield, much of it seemingly either extensions to the university, or accommodation for the students. I don’t know what the subject of today’s photograph will be (and it might not be anything to do with the university at all), but it wll change the skyline and feel of the place in some new and previously un-experinced way.

Yesterday, when returning to my car after a rail journey, I looked down one road only to realise that another new building had now changed the look of the street completely. Where once the road curved away with low-rise buildings and a view of the sky, now these low-rises have a much larger and taller building rearing up behind them. I think it will make for an interesting picture, especially in its current partially-constructed state, so I will try and get down there with my camera soon,

This same feeling of change, where much travelled routes now feel strangely unfamilliar, is becoming much more commonplace. I wonder if this is just because of the pace of change, or perhaps the fact thatt I’m getting older and the new is becoming overlaid upon my memories of the old?

Whatever the case, this sunny day picture shot on Portra 800 (over-exposed a stop to 400asa) looks rather nice. The bright sunny conditions could have something (probably a lot) to do with this, but I much prefer how the film looks in these conditions than how it performed shot at box speed on an overcast day.

There's always something going up

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Portra 800 (shot at 400asa). Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 10 August 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Open spaces in urban places

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Walking through Birmingham a couple of months ago, I passed through this open space on the way to my destination. The modern tower rearing up above the treeline was quite striking, I thought, so I made the picture. It’s got several layers to it: the foreground grass, the people, the trees, and then the rising architecture beyond, which I though looked interesting.

Open urban spaces

Olympus 35 RC & Ilford FP4+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°.

Taken on 18 May 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A big white house

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I’m kinda eking out some of these Kodak Gold photos at present. This is not because I’ve run low on stuff to publish, but because most of the shots I’ve processed recently have been from a visit to a steam rally and I figured I might as well pop those on the blog all at once rather than via my usual drip-feed approach, so those should be up here tomorrow.

In the meantime though, heres a picture of a big white house looking resplendent in the summer sunshine.

White house

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 20 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

I’ll shoot what he shot

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While I was in Hornsea a few weeks back I noticed this man photographing something on the other side of the seawall. To be fair, I knew exactly what he was photographing – the waves crashing against the defences – but I wanted in on this sweet ocean action so, after taking a quick candid, I waited my turn and then made my own picture.

The guy in the photo looked like he had a telephoto attached to his camera, which probably benefited the scene when compared with the fixed 42mm glass on my Olympus 35RC, but the best camera (and lens!) is the one you have with you, right?

Shooting a man shooting the sea
What the man saw

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 20 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

All Saint’s Chapel at Steetley

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This small Norman chapel at Steetley, not far from Worksop (although it falls under the parish of Whitwell), is a place I’ve photographed before. I found the place by accident one day while out on a hike, and it was a pleasant surprise to find such a nice building when I wasn’t expecting to. I had a few frames left on this roll of Kodak Gold film and decided to re-visit the chapel to use them up.

All Saints Chapel

The building dates back to the 12th century and has seen its share of history, from the Great Plague, when the population served by the chapel was completely wiped out causing the building to fall into disrepair, the roof collapsing in the process. It was the scene of a skirmish during the English Civil War during the 17th century, and apparently there are still musket-ball holes visible in the masonry (although I didn’t spot these).

All Saints Chapel - outside the apse

The fortunes of the chapel lifted when the coal industry rose in the 19th century, the restoration of the chapel being completed in 1880.

All Saints Chapel roof

The door to the chapel was unlocked when I visited on this occasion and I was able to explore inside. Unfortunately 200ASA film is not the best choice for the interior of a dimly lit chapel, and the slightly faint patch on the rangefinder of my Olympus 35RC didn’t help the situation, but I was still able to take this rather nice picture of the sunlight pouting through one of the stained-glass windows. I’m very happy with this photo.

Heavenly light

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 9 July 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Picture framing

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This quaint old building sits in the Attercliffe district of Sheffield and is the home of a picture framing business. In a past life it used to be a post office, something perhaps hinted at by the post box that still stands in front. I’ve photographed it before using black and white film, but these colour shots are much nicer.

This whole area used to be a busy shopping area with all manner of businesses catering to the local populace – which, back in the mid 20th century lived in row after row of terraced houses, many of them employed in the thriving steel industry or other trades that made up a huge part of the city’s economy back then.There are still shops and businesses there now, but it is massively changed and is a shadow of the way it once was, with much of the original population gone.

While much of the housing that once stood in the area close to this shop has now been demolished, a lot still remains not too far away and now provides homes to many of the migrants who settled in the city in the latter half of the last century. Shops still abound in the area where the housing stands, albeit many of them of new, different, and more multicultural varieties to what stood there before.

Momento
Framed

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 29 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Flags and bunting

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Something I’ve noticed when taking photos this summer are the number of places flying flags or draped in strings of bunting. While the reason for this is not hard to fathom – it was the royal jubilee just a couple of months ago – it’s still quite striking how much of it is still there in abundance. Perhaps people have decided they don’t want to spend the effort required to take it back down or, probably more likely, that it just looks nice and they want to see it for as long as they can. It certainly makes for prettier pictures.

Here is a row of decorated shops in the Yorkshire seaside town of Hornsea.

A row of shops

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 20 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Down Chambers Lane

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This quaint little street is actually a feature of Hornsea Museum, a place I only came across as I was leaving the town after my visit. The museum looked nice in the afternoon light though, so I pulled the car over into a parking space and grabbed a couple of pictures. I think I missed focus slightly on the second shot, but you probably can’t tell at the size it’s published here.

Chambers Lane
In the breeze

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 20 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Water works

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Never one to shy away from seeking out the most beautiful of locations, I present today a photograph of a water works in Hornsea. I really don’t care about the subject matter though, to be honest. The fact that the building here is functional and mundane doesn’t distract from the nice way it shows the light, it’s orange bricks contrasting against the flower-speckled grass, and the cornflower blue of the sky above. The couple walking their dog adds some scale and a dash of interest to the scene.

So, it may just be a water works, but it’s also a nice picture, at least in the eyes of this beholder.

Water treatment

Olympus 35 RC & Kodak Gold 200. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 20 June 2022