Up on the roof

September 21, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Today’s picture is one of those occasions where I looked at an everyday scene and thought, “there’s a photograph“. It was taken from the rooftop level of a multistorey car-park and when I glances over the side there was something about the arrangement of buildings that just looked right. Part of it was due to the light (although I remember having to stand and wait a few minutes for a cloud to pass in front of the sun before it looked just as I wanted it to). Part of it is the different geometric patterns and textures on each of the buildings. I also like the way the road briefly appears at bottom left before vanishing amongst the architecture. It’s also a somewhat empty picture, with no signs of human foot or road traffic to be seen.

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 27 August 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

More photos from the steam rally

August 9, 2022August 11, 2022 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

Rather than upload these one-per-day, as I usually do, I thought I’d lump them together in a single post. All were shot with my Yashicamat 124G on Shanghai GP3 film – I like this film a lot. It can occasionally suffer from production problems (I’ve had the backing bleed through on some shots I once took), but it’s quite low cost and produces really nice results.

First, a few pictures of vintage vehicles. The Ford Popular in the second image can also be seen here in colour.

Then a couple of miniature traction engines (and their owners)…

And finally, a trio of full size traction engines…

Yashicamat 124G & Shangha GP3. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 24°.

Taken on 25 June 2022

35mm · Film photography · Photography

The Garrett Undertype Lorry

August 6, 2022 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

As I’ve stated before on the blog, I’m not an expert when it comes to motorised vehicles, so I can’t provide a huge amount of information on the lorry pictured here today. It was built by Richard Garrett & Sons out of Leiston in Suffolk, and this particular model would have been made possibly quite early in the 20th century, but perhaps a little later in the 1920s.

The thing I’ve learnt today is that an undertype lorry has the engine under the chassis, which had the advantage of allowing a more enclosed cab. Overtype lorries look more akin to a traction engine, with the engine sitting over the chassis, usually in front of the drivers position. This resulted in longer vehicles for the same carrying capacity.

Yashicamat 124G & Shangha GP3. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 24°.

Taken on 25 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Traction engines

July 8, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

If there’s one thing that there are a lot of at a steam rally, it’s traction engines. Sure there are vintage vehicles of all types also on display, but I think it’s probably these coal-fired mechanical marvels that draw the crowds more than anything.

Yashicamat 124 G & Kodak Ektar. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 25 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Red Mercedes

July 7, 2022 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

I think that the car featured in the photographs today is a Mercedes Benz 190 SL. I have worked this out by my usual detective pathway of looking at pictures online until I find one that appears t match. This means that I could be wrong about the model – sometimes there are subtle differences only apparent to an enthusiast (something which I am not). But, while not a car enthusiast, I do think they can make fine subjects for a picture of two, as usually becomes apparent around this time each year when I visit vintage rallies on the hunt for such things and subsequently flood my blog with the results.

Yashicamat 124 G & Kodak Ektar. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 25 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Frenchie the caravan

July 6, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

The annual Sheffield Steam Rally returned this summer after a two-year gap due to the pandemic, so I headed out to take some photos. I was blessed with some nice weather that really suited this roll of Kodak Ektar I shot with my Yashicamat 124G.

As well as the traction engines, vintage cars, tractors, motorbikes etc., there were a few old caravans on display too. I have a bit of a fondness for caravans as they bring back happy memories of staying in my grandparent’s caravan several times each year when I was younger. Their caravan was much larger than the one in today’s photograph – a six-berth – whereas the one here was (if I remember correctly) a three berth model. The caravans in the picture are also “tourers” that can be towed from place to place by a family car, whereas my grandparent’s was a static caravan that remained on the site permanently. Given their small size, seeing how beds are somehow conjured almost from thin air by converting seating and other parts of the interior fittings is quite impressive.

The pastel colours of the caravan on this sunny day really work well with the Ektar, I think.

Yashicamat 124 G & Kodak Ektar. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 25 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Gallopers

July 5, 2022 fishyfisharcade3 Comments

Three horses on a carousel. I’m very happy with the colours I got when scanning this roll of Ektar. It’s the first time I’ve shot this film in a while and, based on the images I got, I hope to shoot more.

I’m less happy with the Fuji Velvia 100 that I’m attempting to scan this eveneing however. Despite having satisfactory results with this film scanned on my Plustek in the past, tonight the scans are a disappointment. Compared with the actual transparencies, the scans look dull and underexposed in comparison. I normally have a good success rate scanning 35mm E6 transparencies using this method, but something is off-kilter.

I usually use Vuescan when scanning slide film, but am resorting to Silverfast this time to see if I can get something I prefer using that method instead. Fingers crossed…

Yashicamat 124 G & Kodak Ektar. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 25 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Weather-worn groyne

July 4, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I wonder what this wooden groyne looked like when brand new? And when it actually was brand new? It would be interesting to know how many years of being pounded by waves, pebbles, and sand it took to reduce it to this somewhat broken-toothed appearance.

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 20 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A man on a bench looks out to sea

July 3, 2022 fishyfisharcade5 Comments

I like this photo. It has a clean, minimal feel to it. The sky is clear of cloud (bar a couple of barely discenible whisps) and the lines of the horizon, fence, and bench add an element of structure. The man sits slightly off-centre, adding a small sense of discord to the picture.

I wonder what the man was thinking about as he sat there, looking out across the North Sea? When I see picture that I have taken such as this, I sometime wonder if I should have spent more time taking in the view myself, rather than trying to photograph it. I sometimes feel that I’m spending too much time trying to capture a moment to be enjoyed later when the reality is right there in front of me. But the camera, it draws me…

Yashicamat 124G & Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 20 June 2022

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Beach steps

July 2, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

At Hornsea, where the wooden groynes meet the sea wall, concrete steps have been placed to allow people to bypass the wooden structures. The sun was bright and contrasty by the time I made these pictures and, as I had a roll of Fuji Acros in the camera at this point, I thought that these steps might make for decent subjects.