Kodak H35N & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 2 February 2025
Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
Kodak H35N & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Taken on 2 February 2025
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
At the Sheffield end of the Sheffield and Tinsley canal sits the straddle warehouse building at Victoria Quays. Now an office building, it was built around the turn of the 20th century. It’s design was due to there being insufficient space for the buildings around the edge of the canal basin, so the design supported by stilts was constructed.
Office block on stilts
Where once cargo unloaded
Now there is admin
Nikon F80, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 July 2021