Tag: Sheffield and Tinsley Canal

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Well, why not… Photographing the same scene over and over

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I often put my car in a car-park beside Victoria Quays when I go for a walk around town. It’s slightly inconvenient for the town centre, being further away from the shops etc., but has the considerable benefit of being much cheaper than the car-parks that are more central.

One of the exits from the car-park takes you right to the canal-basin and remaining wharf buildings (now all home to modern offices and other businesses) and there is always a fleet of canal boats moored there, many of which make for nice pictures. Likewise, the straddle wharf and other warehouses are also nicely photogenic. As a result I’ve taken many pictures at this location, often of the same subjects (especially the aforementioned straddle wharf).

Two canal boats

It’s not the only location that receives this regular photographic attention. The Kelham Island area of Sheffield has featured on the blog on numerous occasions, and constant readers will know that I take a trip to my favourite seaside town, Mablethorpe, every autumn.

Rosie

While I enjoy visiting and photographing these places, I do tend to notice that I photograph the same things over and over again, even though there are undoubtedly countless other subjects and compositions to be had. I wonder if people see these pictures and think, “Oh, it’s that thing again…”?

But conditions can change and shine a whole new light (both figuratively and literally) on these subjects. Different times of day, different weather, different seasons, all can make for new ways of seeing things, I feel, and so I’ll no doubt be here with yet more pictures of the Straddle Wharf, the Mablethorpe Rock shop, and the chimney-stack at Kelham Island heritage museum.

At the wharf

Olympus OM-10, Zuiko Auto-S 35mm f/2.8 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 3 May 2025

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Wharf buildings

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The canal basin at Victoria Quays is another place I’ve photographed on multiple occasions. This is because 1) There are many interesting subjects to photograph, and 2) It’s right beside a car park with cheap rates that I often use if I’m exploring this part of town.

There are probably other pictures of these buildings on my blog already, but these are two new(ish) ones, which turned out nicely.

Grain warehouse
Wharf

Yashica Mat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 for 8 minutes @ 20°

Taken on 2 February 2025

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Four canal bridges in Attercliffe

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I posted some other photos of bridges spanning the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal recently – those shot with my Zeiss medium format folding camera. The ones here were shot on the same day with my Olympus XA3 along the same stretch of water in Attercliffe, Sheffield.

Sheffield and Tinsley Canal bridges #1

I think I said in the earlier post that this is now a pleasant stretch of the can to walk along. It has a high embankment on both sides which shields it from what is otherwise quite an industrial part of the city. The spring foliage also brings a pleasantly arboreal feel to the place.

Sheffield and Tinsley Canal bridges #2
Sheffield and Tinsley Canal bridges #3

When I was much younger the canal was horribly polluted. I remember crossing it on the bus route that took me into the city centre and the water was a vivid orange colour, presumably due to pollutants from the steel industry in the area. Now the water is clear and sustains fish and other wildlife.

Sheffield and Tinsley Canal bridges #4

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+ (@800asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 7 April 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Canal boat with a new lens

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I bought myself a new (used) lens for my Bronica ETRSi in July – the Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC. While I had 75mm and 50mm lenses for the camera, I was missing something that gives a bit more reach. The 150mm is around a 90mm full-frame equivalent I think, so a short telephoto and probably decent for portraits (should I ever make any!).

I was slightly wary about the MC designation, which places it as an earlier model, the same as my 50mm f/2.8. The 50mm is decent, but doesn’t feel as sharp as my 75mm, and I wondered if the 150mm would be similar. However, online reviews suggested this was no the case, and the few pictures I’ve made with it certainly look sharp enough. I got quite a good deal on the lens which, although the aperture ring is a little stiff, is otherwise in really nice condition.

The picture today was one of the first I shot with the lens (I had hoped it would have arrived in time for my trip to Ingoldmells and Skegness, but it came on the same day while I was out).

Red and blue on the canal

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC, and Kodak Portra 400. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro

Taken 6 August 2023.

4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Photography

Rushing it

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After yesterday’s post where I spoke about missing the focus slightly on a 4×5 large format photo, despite not rushing, here is a picture where I did exxactly the same thing, although this time I was rushing.

When I say rushing, that’s relative. You can’t really rush a picture with a field camera in the same way you can with 35mm or medium format (or, I guess, large format press cameras to an extent). There is still a lot of setting up to do before you get to the nitty gritty of finessing the focus etc.

At the time I took this picture there was no-one in the frame and my intent was to photograph the building, with the canoes and the front of tha canal boat. However, I was concious that there was a sizeable group of young people along with an instructor who was prepping them for going in the canoes. As I was setting up the shot, I heard him say something along the lines of “Right, follow me.” and the group headed towards my field of view.

I didn’t really want a big crowd of kids in the shot, so took this picture quickly when just two people were in the frame (one obscured by the other) and, because I was rushing, I didn’t check focus properly. The centre of the frame (horizontally) is fine, but the sharpness drop steadily towards the top of the building. Again, had this been reversed so that the lower part of the frame was softer, it wouldn’t have mattered because that’s just water and distorted reflections.

To make matters worse, the group of people then proceeded to walk right through the frame, exiting to the right, meaning I could have waited and got a better shot anyway!

Sheaf Quay

Chamonix 045N-1. Fujinon NW 135mm f/5.6 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 15mins 45secs @ 20°

Taken 8 July 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Ode to a highwayman

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On a wall beside the canal towpath, not far from Victoria Quays, is painted this piece of artwork. I though it would make a good photograph, but didn’t know what it represented.

Googling the words revealed them to be part of a folk song about a highwayman named Spence Broughton. In February 1791 Broughton, and his accomplice John Oxley, robbed the Sheffield to Rotherham mail coach as it travelled across Attercliffe Common. Suposedly the only item of value they were able to get away with was a French bill of exchange with a value of £123, which they had difficulty in attempting to fence. Oxley was later arrested for his part in another robbery and, fearing for his freedom, in October of that year Broughton sought help from another criminal, Thomas Shaw, in London. Unfortunately for Broughton, he was recognised and arrested by the police and Oxley and Shaw both gave testimony against him, although Oxley was later able to break loose and make his escape.

Spence Broughton was found guilty in York assizes and sentenced to be hanged. The following April, after the execution, the body of Broughton was transported back to the scene of the crime on Attercliffe Common and placed in a gibbet. This attracted large crowds – supposedly 40,000 people – and the landlord of the nearby Arrow pub claimed that he was able to make a fortune from the passing trade. Broughton’s boy was to ramain in the gibbet for the next 36 years!

Nearby Broughton Lane is alleged to be named after the criminal, although this is disputed by historians.

It’s fascinating what a walk along the canal can reveal.

Poetry crow

Olympus XA-3 & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins 20°.

Taken on 27 March 2022