Musicians are getting younger and younger!
Yashica Mat 124G and Kentmere 400. Ilfotec DD-X 10.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
Little Rock
Tag: Sheffield
Bulk-rolled Rother Valley swans
The first of these two pictures featured in my favourite shots of 2025 post, but the second hasn’t been shown before.
As mentioned yesterday, these shots are taken from a short roll loaded from my recently acquired bulk loader. I chose Fomapan 400, in a shorter 17m roll for this first time out, mostly because it’s pretty cheap compared with something like HP5+ and wouldn’t be a bankruptcy risk if I somehow messed things up but, also, partially because I’m curious about trying different development methods with Fomapan 400 – a film which I often find to be underexposed or very contrasty when I’ve shot it a box speed before but which gave me some good results when I tried semi-stand development with some 120 reel film.
I tried the semi-stand approach on two occasions with the 120 variant, the first time with great results, but with the second giving me some noticeable bromide drag. I’m unsure why the results were different as I used the same methodology on both occasions, but they were.
For this roll of 35mm Foma 400 I used 1-hour semi-stand again (in Rodinal 1+100), but instead of 30secs of inversions at the start, plus a single inversion at 30 minutes, this time I gave the tank a single, gentle inversion at the 15, 30, and 45 minute marks. For this roll, at least, there are no signs of bromide drag, so I’ll try the same method on my next attempt.
The results are very grainy, but I expected this and it’s not something I mind – it adds some grit to the images – but the tonality is good (though this might also be partly due to shooting it at 320asa instead of the 400asa box speed) without the heavy contrast I’ve seen in the past when using regular development in Ilfotec DD-X.
But, anyway, the first roll of self-loaded film was mostly a success (it did come off the spool at the end, requiring me to remove it from the camera in a changing bag) and I have another, longer roll waiting to be shot in my F80. I’m looking forward to the results from that too.
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Fomapan 400 (@320asa). Semi-stand in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour @ 20°.
Taken on 20 December 2025
Botanical gardens entrance
The last of this batch of pictures of the Botanical Gardens and, indeed, the last of the shots from the test of the Minolta X-300.
I’ve used it again since when testing a short roll of film (another test) that I loaded in the bulk loader that I was very kindly given by fellow blogger, Andy (see his site here). I’ll maybe post some of those soon, although one of them was used for my December picture in my 12 favourite photos of 2025 post.
I’ve since loaded another, full, roll (although I’m not quite sure how many usable frames it will have – I’m hoping for 36 though!)
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
Inside the pavillions
Following up from yesterday’s pictures of the pavillions in Sheffield’s botanical gardens, here are a few pictures I took within. Warm and humid greenhouses are not the most condusive places to use metal and glass cameras that have been brought inside from the cold, but after a bit of acclimatisation all was good to make some photographs.
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
Sheffield botanical gardens
Sheffield’s botanical gardens was opened in 1836, attracting over twelve-thousand visitors. One of the main features of the nineteen acre site are the three glass pavilions (or conservatories) which house a range of international flora not otherwise found in the local area. The three domed pavilions are connected by ridge-and-furrow sections which also contain a variety of plants, shrubs, and trees.
They make for an attractive location and are very photogenic, I think.
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
Botanical gardens lodge
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
The fountain in the botanical gardens
There were a few groups of people milling around the area when I went to take this picture. While it was impossible to avoid getting anyone in the shot at all (at least during the time I was willing to wait), I quite like the couple walking away from the shot in this case. They’re unobtrusive and nicely framed between the layers of the fountain.
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
A tree, a bench, and a leaf
The bench to the right of the tree in the first photograph is where I found the leaf in the second picture.
There’s also a second bench in the scene, but it’s hiding behind the tree-trunk and had an old lady sat upon it.
Minolta X-300 & Minolta 50mm f/1.7 MD on Ilford Type-517. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 14.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 25 October 2025
Weston Park museum and bandstand (now in full colour!)
I posted some pictures the museum and bandstand a few weeks back, but those shots were in black and white and shot on my Fujica STX-1. But I also took some medium format colour pictures of the same scenes (though different compositions) with my 1950s Zeiss folder. So here they are.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Fujifilm Pro 400H. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 6 September 2025
Sheffield theatres
Fujica STX-1 & X-Fujinon 50mm f/1.9 FM on Agfa APX 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10.5mins @ 20°.
Taken on 12 September 2025
Steel City Snapper photography 