Gathered Leaves

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

My plan for today had originally been to meet up with a bunch of other photographers for a wander around a midlands heritage museum. Alas though, due to the continuing hot weather, it was decided it was best to postpone until later in the summer. So, with time on my hands, I decided to drive instead to Newark where I knew there was an exhibition on featuring the work of a photographer whose work I enjoy: Paul Hart.

The Gathered Leaves exhibition is in the newly opened Vibrant Matter gallery, and details can be found here. While there were some framed prints from artists featured, the exhibition was focused on publications rather than prints – you can see where it got it’s title – and I browsed most of what were on display as well as having a nice chat with the owner, Daniel Rapley, whose work was also on display (in the shape of experimental images formed from found photographic images, creating a colourful and eyecatching display of overlaid scenes. There was a feeling of Christopher Nolan’s Inception in some images, where inverted cities loomed above foreground figures). While there were a number of photography books present, the scope was wider, and there were publications dealing with more experimental art, design, and typography.

After my visit to the gallery I wandered around Newark taking pictures of my own, finally finishing a roll of Kodak Pro Image that’s been in my Olympus XA-3 for a couple of months now, as well as starting on rolls of Portra 160 (which I’d forgotten was in my camera bag – not sure how long it’s been cooking in there. It’s a good job Portra doesn’t cost much, eh..?), Ektar (in my Yashica Mat 124 G), and some expired Ilford Delta 400 in my Olympus OM-10). I took a new camera bag with me which has space for more stuff. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing just yet…

Newark is a nice place to wander around. The architecture is pretty, with lots of charming red-brick buildings, a colourful market square, the River Trent, and the ruins of a castle (although it is currently undergoing some sort of renovation so could only really be viewed from across the river).

I also bought myself a new book from a used book seller in the market. They had a few photography books, but none that really interested me, so I bought a book on the life of Edward Seago which is full of his beautiful paintings. I first came across his work while admiring the work of fellow blogger -N- on her Ink, Yarn, and Beers blog. She’s posted about being inspired by Seago’s work on more than one occasion, and I thank her for bringing it to my attention. Go check out her blog and her lovely paintings.

Because all my pictures from Newark today were shot on film, I don’t yet have any to show, so here’s a picture from a previous visit back in 2022. I shot a very similar image today!

RETO Ultrawide & Slim & Kodak Gold 200

Taken on 18 March 2022

Digital · Photography

Still hot

July 10, 2026 fishyfisharcade5 Comments

It’s a whole degree cooler than yesterday’s 33.9°C in my home office today. That’s still over ten degrees hotter than I’d like it to be.

My expensive new fan arrived this morning, and is doing a decent job of taking the edge off the heat, but it’s not an air conditioner and there’s only so much that moving air flow can achieve, so it still feels oppressive and it’s been pretty hard to get motivated while working today.

Thankfully the temperatures are forecast to begin dropping over the weekend to a much more manageable mid-20s range (and, more importantly, overnight temps below 20°C, so there’s a chance to open the windows and flush out the hot air).

The sub-tropical climate of Madeira felt more manageable than this, mostly due to infrastructure designed to deal with it – air-con, tiled floors, window-shutters and the like, most of which go against the standard UK building methods that are designed to keep heat inside. If the summer temperatures in the UK continue to rise in future, then there is going to be a real need for change to prevent severe disruption.

But anyway, this is meant to be a photography blog, not an essay on climate change, so here’s another shot from the holiday. It’s another digital picture (although I have received four sheets of film negs back in the post today, so plenty of those to share too when I get around to it).

Being a Portugese territory, you’d expect to see plenty of Portugese flags in Madeira, but there were probably more than usual due to the World Cup tournament taking place while we were there (Madeira also being the birthplace of their famed striker, Christiano Ronaldo – there’s even a museum in Funchal dedicated to him). At this stage Portugal had not yet been knocked out…

Ricoh GRIII

Taken on 27 June 2026

Digital · Photography

Wakefield Rhubarb Festival

February 22, 2026May 1, 2026 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

My wife and I visited the Wakefield Rhubarb Festival today. It’s the first time we’ve been and it was an enjoyable few hours out.

Wakefield is one of the towns that delineate the area known as the Rhubarb Triangle*, famed for producing forced rhubarb, a method of growing the vegetable in dark sheds which encourages the plants to convert carbohydrates into glucose, forming stalks with a sweetly sour taste. Rhubarb has many uses, but is often served in sweet pies and crumbles,sometimes accompanied by other fruits. Wakefield Council holds the annual festival each February.

Fresh bundles of rhubarb on one of the stalls.

The event itself was somewhat akin to a Christmas market and I was surprised at how many stalls were present, along with various activities taking place, and local bars, cafe’s, and restaurants also laying on rhubarb themed food and drinks. We bought a number of items, including some orange and rhubarb marmalade (I’m on a bit of a marmalade voyage of discovery at present, having it with toast for breakfast several times a week), some rhubarb candles (which my wife will gift to a friend), a sausage and rhubarb focaccia (to be eaten tomorrow!), and some fresh stalks of rhubarb (some of which we ate with custard this evening).

Everywhere you looked, people had stalks of purchased rhubarb protruding from bags and backpacks.

As well as the stalls, there were a number of other events taking place during the event (which ran from Friday until today), including live music, arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, various performers in rhubarb costumes, and no less than three different morris dancing groups (or sides, as I believe they are known) .

*the legal definition of the Rhubarb Triangle is apparently as follows…

“from Ackworth Moor Top north along the A628 to Featherstone and Pontefract. Then on to the A656 through Castleford. It then goes west along the A63 past Garforth and West Garforth. Head north passing Whitkirk, Manston and on towards the A6120 by Scholes. Follow the A6120 west, round to pass Farsley which then leads south west via the A647 onto the A6177. Pass Dudley Hill to pick up the M606 south. At junction 26 take the M62 south to junction 25 head east along A644 toward Dewsbury, passing Mirfield, to pick up the A638 towards Wakefield. At Wakefield take the A638 south to Ackworth Moor top.”^[

Ricoh GRIII

Taken on 22 February 2026

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 6)

November 23, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

And so we reach the final set of pictures from my trip to Spurn Point.

The first three pictures are of the lifeboatmen’s (lifeboatpersons?) houses that were visible in my picture from the top of the lighthouse in yesterday’s post. They were built in 1975 and replaced the original cottages that dated to 1819. There are now no lifeboat crews based at Spurn with the service being covered from Grimsby and the new inshore lifeboat station at Cleethorpes.

And then a final set of pictures featuring the lighthouse. The first shot is probably my favourite of the whole trip. The Ultramax has produced some subtle but nice colours. The window at the top of the lighthouse is tinted and opens into the upper floor of the building (below the light) where there is a display on view.

So that’s the final post in this set. Spurn (and the Holderness coast) is somewhere I’d wanted to visit for a long time, and it’s somewhere I’d like to return to. There are lots more pictures to be had. Maybe I’ll get another chance next year.

Olympus 35 RC and Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 5)

November 22, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

On to the final set of black and white photos I made at Spurn Point. Following directly on from yesterday the first two images are of the views from the top of the lighthouse. It’s not possible to go outside and you have to stand on the platform where the light itself once stood in order to see out of the windows properly, but the views are good. I actually quite like the effect of the “leading” on the glass.

This first shot is the view looking back up the spit towards the Holderness coast (where the land disappears off the left middle edge of the frame). You can see the road, plus the sandy eastern beach, and the tidal mud flats to the west.

Looking the other way (roughly south east) gives a view of the tip of the point with the Humber estuary and the Lincolnshire coat beyond. The road is clearly visible as it makes it’s way to the former lifeboatmen’s houses. The sea traffic tower stands in the middle of the scene, and one of the Humber sea forts can be found at upper right.

Looking to the west give a view of the old lighthouse with its water tank cap. Some people were digging for bait on the mudflats and their electric bike can be seen.

After descending the steep steps of the lighthouse (not easy with a heavy backpack and a tripod!), I treated myself to an ice-cream and then set of towards the tip of the point, first following the road towards the sea traffic tower..

Beyond the tower the land gives way to dunes and a series of sandy footpaths. There are numerous ex-military buildings in various states of repair in this area.

As I reached the beach at the end of the point I turned round and took this photo looking back the way I’d come.

The beach at the end of the point shows clear signs of the tidal forces that come into play when the water is high, the sand sculpted into channels and craters. The fisherman who I’#’d earlier seen digging bait can also be seen putting it to use.

And the final shot from this roll shows a freighter heading up the estuary past the end of the point. This is a relatively small vessel and much larger ships pass through this channel.

The final set of Spurn Point photos to come tomorrow, this time in exciting colour! 🙂

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 4)

November 21, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Other than a couple of electric bikes, the only mode of vehicular transport I saw while walking to the end of Spurn Point was this Unimog all-terrain truck, which carries passengers from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust centre to the lighthouse.. It has to traverse the soft sands of the beach at the neck of the point until it can rejoin the remaining road that hasn’t been washed away by the sea. Here it is heading back north.

There are a number of trails leading from the beach, up over the dunes, and to the road. This one looks a little overgrown.

After crossing the road I stuck to the western side of the spit which is mostly flat, grassy terrain with a scattering of gorse and some bird-watching shelters overlooking the tidal mud flats of the estuary.

Given the length of the walk to the end of the point, it’s good to see a bench along the way. My telephoto lens has compressed the distance a little and it’s further to the lighthouse from the bench than it might appear in this shot.

Also present are the reamains of some WW2-era tank traps.

IAs I got closer to the lighthouse I made a number of photographs.

More to come tomorrow, including views from the top of the lighthouse!

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 3)

November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Switching cameras and film for the next bunch of photos from this trip…

You can just see the north sea in the shot, but I took this one because I liked the weather-vane goat.

A view north from the top of Spurn with rough conditions (although they didn’t seem so bad further down the point). The “promontory” jutting out to sea is actually the remnants or concrete wartime structures that have fallen as the cliffs recede due to coastal erosion.

A few miles out to sea stands a large offshore wind farm, something that has become a common sight from the North Sea coastline.

I wasn’t the only photographer on Spurn Point that day…

I wonder how much time has passed since this section of brick wall fell into the sea? I’m quite impressed at how well it is maintaining its structural integrity. Perhaps it will become a large and intricately patterned pebble some day.

More groyne remnants…

And another view of the remains of man’s efforts to hold back the tides…

Among the other debris, there were a number of lobster pots washed up on shore (or shortly about to)…

There are lots of pieces of chalk scattered across the seaward beaches of Spurn Point. These have most likely been transported south from the exposed chalk cliffs at Flamborough, almost fifty miles up the coast (although the entire Holderness coast is under laid with a bedrock of Cretaceous chalk, this is mostly covered by glacial till).

Nikon F80, Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Fujifilm Acros. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 2)

November 19, 2025 fishyfisharcade4 Comments

Today’s shots were also taken with my GW690, although on a different roll of film: Some Kentmere 400. Unlike the Fomapan 400, there were no defect on this roll, plus I avoided any potential bromide drag by using standard development with regular inversions. I’ve shot a couple of rolls of Kentmere 400 now and both times I’ve found it gives quite bright results and I have to drop the highlights a little. Not sure if it’s a feature of the film, or the way I’m developing it.

The first four shots were taken around the tip of Spurn Point showing the beach and dunes beside the estuary opening. In the shot of the dunes you can just make out an old sea fort dating back to the first world war in the distance. There are two forts: Bull Sand fort, and Haile Sand fort. I think the one in the picture is the former. The structure in the fourth shot is the sea traffic monitoring station. I’m not sure if it’s still manned at all, but the radar is active and the tubular antenna at the top of the building was constantly rotating.

The next four shots are of groynes and other sea defences, or what remains of them at least. These are no longer maintained, with the land now left to natural forces. You can see the battering that the man made defences have taken from the tides. I particularly like the final shot where pebbles have been jammed between the boards of a groyne by the force of waves and resulted in what reminds me of some sort of aquatic abacus.

Fujica GW690 & Kentmere 400. Ilfotec DD-X 10.5mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 August 2025

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

A trip to Spurn Point (part 1)

November 18, 2025November 18, 2025 fishyfisharcade5 Comments

Spurn Point is a location I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. It’s a spit of land that extends from the Holderness coast in Yorkshire into the mouth of the Humber estuary. It is a slender piece of land three miles in length, widening at it’s southern tip, but being less than 50 metres wide at it’s narrowest point.

At times during its recorded history, storm tides have breached the neck, cutting off the tip and forming an island. The last breach was, I believe, back in 2013 which destroyed the single road to the tip making it passable only by foot or all-terrain vehicles (such as a Unimog truck that ferries tourists to the lighthouse and back).

The Holderness coast, and Spurn, are subject to significant coastal erosion (spurn being the beneficiary of the material eroded from further up the coast) and this has affected the geography of the location over time with various settlements lost to the sea in past centuries.

Spurn has been used for a number of purposes over it’s history, including coastal defence, lifeboat station, and the location of lighthouses and traffic control for shipping passing in and out of the Humber. It is now owned and managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and attracts a large number of visitors keen to experience the creatures, particularly birds, that make their homes there.

There are two lighthouses still standing on Spurn, both now decommissioned – Smeaton’s high light, and Walker’s low light. The Walkers lighthouse stands in the mud flats to the west of the strip of land, it’s light aparatur removed and replaced by a water tank. Smeatons light stand on the land of the spit and is open to tourists, and you can climb the narrow staircase to where the light was once installed. Other noteable structures include the lifeboat crew houses, which are also empty, the tall shipping control tower with its still active radar, the old lifeboat jetty, and various structures remaining from wartime.

I made pictures with three cameras across four rolls of film, so I’m going to split them into batches. This first set were shot with my Fujica GW690 (Texas Leica) on Fomapan 400. Sadly, the pictures were affected with a defect giving a lot of white speckles on the final images. This was also compounded by bromide drag when I developed them, although I’ve Photoshopped the worst of this away. Despite these setbacks, they still have a certain charm to them, I think.

Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Rodinal 1+100. 1 hour semi-stand development.

Taken on 24 August 2025

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Blanes beach boats

August 18, 2025 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

I thought I’d go alliterative with the title of today’s post. 🙂

Two pictures taken close together and as consecutive frames of boats on the beach at Blanes (those six words, and indeed the title of the post, make for tricky tongue-twisters. As does the phrase “tricky tongue-twisters” for that matter!)

The first picture was the second one I shot, and my favourite of the two by far, and managed to find its way into Flickr’s Explore section when I posted it. The colours are nice and it reminds me of the French flag (although blue, white, and red stripes are used in a multitude of other national flags too).

The second shot is nice too, but lacks the vivid colours of the first and loses some impact as a result.