Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
Another random street shot from London. To try and increase hits to my blog I’ve included some sex. 🙂
I think it said “Sexy” something or other, perhaps “food”, or “deals” or something, but where’s the cheap fun in that, eh?
Olympus OM-1, F.Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford HP5+ (@1600).
Taken on 19 February 2020
A trio of shots taken after getting off the tube at Farrindon Street last week.
You know what they say about checking your frame to make sure (amongst other things) that people don’t have objects sticking out of their heads? Well guess who ignored that…
The guy in the body-warmer in the middle distance looks like he’s staring right at me, but upon closer glance he’s actually looking off to his right.
Olympus OM-1, F.Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford HP5+ (@1600).
Taken on 19 February 2020
I shot a roll of HP5+ during a trip to London recently. I knew that my only opportunity for photography would be during the journey from the station to my meeting (and back again) and, as a chunk of this would be on the London Underground, I knew that I’d need a fairly high ASA film to cope with the low light if I took any photos there.
My options were to either use some Kodak Tmax P3200, Ilford Delta 3200, or to push a slower film. As HP5+ is my favourite film anyway, and knowing that it reacts well to push-processing (after all, the canister has 1600asa as one of the choices for processing), I decided to got with the Ilford classic.
I was slightly concerned about the metering on my OM-1 – while the camera has had a voltage conversion carried out so that it can meter correctly with 1.55v batteries, the only cells I have are alkaline, and those tend to lose voltage over their lifespan, throwing the metering gradually out of whack (unlike silver-oxide cells, which keep their voltage constant until they die all at once). Still, HP5+ is a very forgiving film, so I decided to take my chances.
As it turned out I needn’t have been concerned – all the shots (apart from one that was slightly bright and had some shake – probably as a result of a dodgy camera operator!) were nicely exposed and look great. I’ll be posting a selection in the coming days, but for now here’s a guy choosing songs on a jukebox at the station.
Olympus OM-1, F.Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 & Ilford HP5+ (@1600).
Taken on 19 February 2020
Sometimes an accident works out for the best. Had I not inadvertently switched the camera to the No Flash / Bulb setting (instead of just No Flash), this would have been a standard street shot of a chap with a walking stick on a rainy pavement. As it is I’ve got a wonderfully impressionist version instead. While I don’t have my intended shot to compare, I suspect that this would be the one I’d prefer given a choice.
Pentax Espio 140M & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 15 February 2020
On my wander around town on a very wet Saturday morning last weekend I took a number of photos of people sat on buses. The damp weather meant the windows were fogged with condensation making the passengers within dimly rendered – dependant to a greater or lesser effect on whether they’d wiped the glass clear with their hands or not.
These photos are hardly original – I own a copy of Nick Turpin’s lovely book “On the Night Bus” for instance, which does this sort of thing with far greater aplomb and dedication than my half-hour or so spent. And well before Turpin’s work was made, there were other photographers doing much the same – Saul Leiter being a great example.
Nevertheless, most photographic endeavours these days is likely to involve walking in the footsteps of others to some degree, so I don’t feel any shame in my lack of originality – rather that I took their work as inspiration and made some photographs that I like on an otherwise inclement day for taking pictures.
I was using autofocus for all these shots, and it was clearly something of a challenge for the camera. The first shot is a complete miss on all levels (although I was moving at the time I took that one) and the others seem to focus on the window, or perhaps just beyond. Whatever the case, the effect is very nice, rendering the subjects as indistinct apparitions with features hidden by a fog of moisture.
I’ve said it before on here, but once again – bad weather is very often a good time to make photographs. Next time I get similar conditions and a change to get out with a camera, I think I’ll try to make more of these.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF-D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 15 February 2020
I think, when I took this picture, I’d intended for there to be some seperation between the two figures. However, as I was using the waist-level finder on the camera when I took this (hey, it’s still a novelty, ok? 🙂 ) I didn’t quite manage it. Nonetheless I quite like the way that it looks like their faces are touching in the shot. The light was gorgeous too – gotta make the most of a sunny day in the wintertime!
Canon Sure Shot Ace & Ilford Delta 400.
Taken on 8 February 2020
I’m pretty happy with the way this photo turned out. I noticed the shaft of sunlight in the underpass and decided to wait for a figure to pass through it. I used the Sure Shot Ace’s waist-level finder so I’m very pleased that I managed to time it so the figures are illuminated by the sunshine, but their heads are in shade and framed against the sunlit wall at the far end.
Canon Sure Shot Ace & Ilford Delta 400.
Taken on 8 February 2020
This is a photo I’d forgotten I’d taken until I scanned the negatives. I think it was the sunlit buildings reflected in the glass that attracted me and I completely missed the stain on the ledge at the time. I’m not sure why, but I don’t think the photo would work half as well without the stain.
Canon Sure Shot Ace & Ilford Delta 400.
Taken on 8 February 2020
Another couple of photographs from the Sure Shot Ace – the top and bottom of a block of flats close to the city centre.
I started scanning this roll yesterday and, after a couple of strips, I was a little disappointed – a lot of the images looked distinctly soft. While the camera is otherwise basic, the remote trigger and – especially – the waist-level finder are useful and unusual features for a camera of this type, so for it to have a poor lens would be a disappointment.
However, to my pleasure, after scanning another couple of strips the results from those frames are much sharper. I’m thinking that the earlier results were down to user error or my overloading the AF system by shooting into the light (the camera flares badly if this is done, at least from the few shots I took in this way).
I don’t think it’s quite as sharp as the other Sure Shot models I’ve used, but it’s not bad and I will certainly be using it again.
Canon Sure Shot Ace & Ilford Delta 400.
Taken on 8 February 2020
A street shot from the first roll I’ve put through the Canon Sure Shot Ace that I picked up recently. It’s a curious camera – a very basic point and shoot, but with the addition of a waist-level finder AND a detachable shutter remote. I may do a review at some point when I’ve figured it out a bit.
Canon Sure Shot Ace & Ilford Delta 400.
Taken on 8 February 2020
