Decaying leaves

January 23, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

This is one of those posts where I present my entry for whatever theme the monthly photo contest I take part in has selected. This month the theme is “Decay”.

I was starting to think that I might not get anything to enter – my output has been somewhat low over the past month or so – but on Friday, knowing I had a few frames remaining on this roll of Delta 400, I decided to get out the little mini-studio thing I have. It’s basically a collapsible lightbox into which you can put small objects to photograph them. It has a set of LED lights built in which provide plenty of illumination, plus a set of foam sheets in a variety of colours to use as backdrops.

It’s not very sturdy, but it didn’t cost very much either and I’ve found it to be useful within its limitations. It works better when I use a macro lens and a smaller subject as the edges of the backdrops can start to creep into the frame – as happened with this picture as the close-up lens I used on the Yashicamat doesn’t allow me to get too close and resulted in my cropping in to remove the “behind the magic” rubbish at the top, bottom, and sides.

It worked well enough for me to photograph this bunch of maple leaves that I picked up in the back garden.

Yashicamat 124G with close-up lens #1 & Ilford Delta 400 . Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 20 January 2023.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Green energy

January 10, 2023January 10, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Two of the turbines making up part of Penny Hill Wind Farm lit up by the bright Christmas Eve sunshine.

Clear blue skies meant that this was always going to be somewhat minimal, with a lot of negative space. I took some effort to get just a thin strip of the roadside hedge into the bottom of the frame to ground the picture a little.

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

Taken on 24 December 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Across the fields

January 9, 2023January 10, 2023 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

Two sets of power lines en-route to the large substation at Canklow meadows a few miles away.

I liked the contrast between the organised and regular structures of the pylons and the organic shapes of the two trees flanking them on the horizon.

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

Taken on 24 December 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Trunks

January 7, 2023January 10, 2023 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Another photo from my Christmas eve outing. I saw this scene as I drove past in my car but, due to the roads being narrow with no place to stop or turn around, I had to do a loop of several miles to bring me back to the same location so I could park up and go make the picture.

I think it might have worked well had I been able to face the trees head on, but there was limited space and my shadow would enter the scene if I positioned myself in certain places, so this was what I got.

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

Taken on 24 December 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Low arches or high water?

January 6, 2023January 10, 2023 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

Another photgraph taken at Ulley Reservoir on Christmas Eve. It was the first time I’d ever taken this road around the edge of the water and so I’ve never seen this viewpoint of the bridge where it crosses this part of the reservoir. I’m not sure if the water level was particularly high, or if those arches are designed to leave such little space beneath the roadway. No-one is going to be taking a boat under them, that’s for sure!

Again, due to my tripod-plate mishap, this was another picture shot at a lowere shutter speed and wider aperture than I’d have liked.

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

Taken on 24 December 2022.

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Across Ulley reservoir

January 5, 2023January 10, 2023 fishyfisharcade1 Comment

The only real photography I did in December (apart from the odd snap here and there) took place on Christmas Eve. The weather was bright and clear and I wanted to run a roll of film through my Yashicamat 124G which I had taken the lens off the week before in an attempt to remove some haze. The haze was between inside the rear lens element and I couldn’t remove it unfortunately, although I otherwise gave it all a good clean. This outing was to see if the camera was still working and hadn’t been destroyed by my meddling.

I went out with good intentions, taking a tripod and cable release with me in case I needed to shoot in lower light locations. What I forgot to do was to afix the quick-release plate on the bottom of the camera before I left the house, rendering the tripod useless. As a result I had to make quite a few shots on the roll at wider apertures or with slower shutter speeds than I would have liked. This was annoying as I wanted to make sure my attempted repair hadn’t affected the cameras focusing in some way, and any hint of softness due to camera shake or shallow depth of field would make this troublesome.

I think a few shots on the roll suffer in this way. Not terribly, but if I zoom right in I can see some softness. Other shots are plenty sharp however, so I guess the repair was successful (insofar as me not having broken the camera, at least – the haze is still present).

The shot shown here today is one from the roll and shows a view across Ulley Reservoir with a tower on the far shore – I presume this is used as part of the boating activities that make use of the lake.

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

Taken on 24 December 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Bush and building

December 17, 2022 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

Another photo taken outside The Hepworth gallery in Wakefield. I think this one is definitely my favourite from the roll. The use of a shallow depth of field was deliberate to throw the building out of focus but still keep its presence in the frame.

I had the chance to go out with a camera today (well, I was Christmas shopping, but had the Trip 35 in my pocket). Sadly, the beautiful – if very cold – frosty weather also came to an end today, being replaced bith grey overcast skies and rain. So I took not a single picture. Sigh.

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ (@800asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 5 November 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The weekend is thisaway

December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Another working week draws to a close. I’ve managed to complete something I’ve been involved with at work over the past couple of months, which is nice. While there are some bits still to do they won’t be required until after the Christmas break. My usual situation is that I end up working right up to the final hours before my Christmas leave kicks in but this year, hopefully, I might have a slightly more relaxed time next week and maybe get into the Christmas spirit a bit more than I currently am.

Today’s photos are a couple more from my trip to The Hepworth. Some more signs of the veil flare are apparent in the picture of the stairs, but it’s manageable. My lens spanner arrived yesterday evening and while I’ve not attempted the repair to remove the lens haze yet, I was able to confirm that the taking lens seems to come out easily enough, which is a good sign.

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ (@800asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 5 November 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Inside The Hepworth with lens haze

December 15, 2022 fishyfisharcade4 Comments

I visited The Hepworth back at the start of November to see the Hannah Starkey: In Real Life exhibition that was (and, at the time I write this, still is) present in the gallery. The exhibition was good – Hannah Starkey isn’t a photographer I’ve followed particularly – much of her work takes the form of staged portraits designed to depict candid scenes of women going about their lives – but I always tend to find such exhibitions interesting and inspiring, even if the work is not something that would be my first choice of style. Seeing the huge prints in the gallery environment was a great experience.

I took my Yashicamat 124G with me on the visit in the event I might find some things to photograph while I was there, and the posts for the coming days will feature some of the results. Today’s two pictures were made inside The Hepworth gallery, though not in the confines of the Starkey exhibition.

I’ve noticed over the past year or so that my Yashica tends to flare in certain conditions – a diffuse veil flare that reduces contrast, turning deep blacks to greys. Closer inspection of the taking lens reveals that there is haze present, so I need to try and get that fixed. I’ve looked online and it appears to be a reasonably simple job to remove and clean the taking lens, although not without risk of my cack-handedly breaking the camera in some way. To this end I’ve bought a lens spanner and will attempt to effect a repair this weekend. Wish me luck!

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ (@800asa). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 5 November 2022.

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Fire escape and veil flare

October 29, 2022October 29, 2022 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

I’ve walked around the Kelham Island area of Sheffield on numerous occasions and posted many photos of it on my blog. Despit this, I’d never walked through the Little Kelham section before. This section is a mixture of modern housing and gentrified industrial buildings, such as the one in today picture. It’s an area that will benefit from futher visits to see what other photo opportunites await.

This picture was shot with my Yashicamat 124G, which I think may have some haze forming on the taking lens as I’ve noticed on a few occasions that images suffer from veil flare and a loss of contrast towards the centre of the image. Oddly, it’s an inconsistent effect though, sometimes not appearing at all, even in compositions where I might expect it to, so maybe it’s not haze at all? I’ve had a quote for a CLA, but it’s quite expensive, although still much less than a replacement camera, so I think I will need to bite the bullet and get it done at some point. It’s one of my most used cameras so worth the TLC.