Sheffield cholera monument

September 24, 2023 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

Despite having lived in the city for five decades, I’d never visited the cholera monument in Sheffield until the day I made these pictures. I’ve seen the monument on many occasions, it sits on an elevated piece of land next to a small wooded area named Clay Woods just a few minutes walk from Midland Station, and is visble from many parts of the city, and on this day I decided I’d finally take a closer look.

The monument was erected in 1835 to memorialize those who lost their lives in the cholera epidemic that struck the city three years previously. Over four hundred people lost their lives and the majority of them were buried in nearby grounds.

The memorial was partly destroyed by a hurricane(!) in 1839, and has been struck by lightning on a number of occasions, including having it’s top section removed completely following a strike in 1990, and was only completely restored in 2006.

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

Canal boats

July 23, 2023 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

Here are the results of the other two sheets of 4×5 film I shot at Victoria Quays the other week.

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

Taken 8 July 2023.

4x5 Large Format · Film photography · Photography

Victoria Quays

July 21, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I’ve photographed the straddle wharf at Victoria Quays on many occasions, but this is the first on 4×5 large format.

I still need to learn more patience with the format as, although this is a picture I’m happy with, there’s still a little softness in the upper part of the image where the front-standard must have had a slight bit of tilt in play. It only affects the roofs of the buildings and the upper branches of the tree, and everything through the middle of the scene is sharp from edge to edge. It would have been preferable had the tilt been reversed and the softeness had affected the water, where it would have had little noticeable effect. The soft focus is only really noticeable at magnification and I doubt you can see it in the smaller res version published here.

I didn’t rush this picture (I have one that I did to show in the next day or so though, so don’t worry, you’re not missing out!), but I also didn’t spend enough time fine tuning the focus. I think I might consider buying a more powerful loupe – the 4x magnification model I have is very good, but perhaps a 6x would better ensure I don’t miss the detail?

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

A church and a chapel

July 20, 2023 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

A mere stones throw from one another, here are Cemetery Road Baptist Church and Lansdowne Chapel.

I’ve noticed that, in certain shots – and particularly when pointing the camera upwards – the blue skies in my pictures take on a deepr, almost petrol-blue tonality. While the sky does tend to be a deeper blue when you look towards the vertical, I’m not sure that explains this change in tonality that I sometimes get. I could probably fiddle with the colours during the edit, but I quite like the richness of it.

Canon Sure Shot Supreme & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 20 May 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Underpass(es) and a dropped camera

July 17, 2023July 17, 2023 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

Or perhaps it’s “underpi”? 😉

Anyway, whatever the plural (and I expect there isn’t a collective noun), here are three photographs of underpasses. They’re all fairly close to one another – in fact, the latter two photos are in the same structure.

They felt like a good trio of pictures to publish together.

This whole roll of film had a sense of suspense about it. I took my Canon Sure Shot Supreme on an outing a couple of months back and decided to carry it in its case using the built-in belt strap. This was very convenient right up to the point where the strap came unglued and the camera fell onto a concrete floor (still inside the case, thankfully). The camera’s plastic shell became slightly misaligned and had to be popped back into shape, an a few little chips of plastic broke of around the shutter button. I was concerned about light leaks (so I filled the chip holes with a bit of black silicone), and also some sort of major damage to the mechanism or electronics. However, when I finished shooting to roll a few weeks later and got the negatives back they were all perfectly fine. So I still have a working Supreme, albeit now with a few battle scars.

Canon Sure Shot Supreme & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 20 May 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

A place passed on a walk

July 15, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

One of my primary means of taking photos is to just go for a walk somewhere promising and see what pictures present themselves. Even ordinary looking areas can usually turn up a wealth of subjects, particularly if the lighting or weather is agreeable for what you are seeking to achieve.

This is a photo (as, indeed, are most of the pictures I’ll be posting over the next few days) that was made this way. Just a place I walked past that looked like it would make a nice picture.

Canon Sure Shot Supreme & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 20 May 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Sunny day street art

July 14, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

On the wall of the Porter Cottage pub, this piece of street art looked great in the sunshine helped, I think, by the black brickwork.

I’m glad that this week has finished. I had two days out of the office, but the other three days felt like five day’s had been squeezed into them. I expect to be busy again next week, but at least I have no travel planned (thopugh maybe a day off on the Friday if I can squeeze it in…). Maybe I’ll be able to write more on the blog.

Canon Sure Shot Supreme & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken 20 May 2023.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Green door

July 12, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

A third day of little more than just a picture, I’m afraid. I’m so busy with work right not that I just don’t have the time or energy to think about writing anything. Hopefuly things will improve come the weekend.