Rain again

An earlier snap on a sunny day. Roy, posing on request.

Surveying the moor from the trig point.

We had plans yesterday. Only it rained. So we changed our plans, took a little walk up over towards the peat bank and the Lochens. I took the Agfa Record 6x9 camera to finish off a roll of film. Here are some snaps.

A little bit of texture

A walk on the beach always makes me take out a camera a capture the many textures you find there. I think I shall be in the darkroom printing some of these!

Shiant Snaps

House Island on The Shiants

Tom Nicholson, Shiants owner - looking to make sure we[the visitors] down't damage the rocks by falling down the cliff.

Shiant House Interior

I mentioned a few days ago that we had been out to the Shiants with the island Book Trust. Well, I have just developed the first film.
I just love these snaps

Bin to the beach for a change

Wif the 1950s Ilford Sporti and some HP5 film.

I have any number of fancy cameras as well as a cupboard full of dodgy ones but somehow this little gem of a camera made for Ilford by Dacora just does it for me. Not sure why, perhaps its the lack of controls on the thing that prevents me from messing things up or maybe it frees me up to compose shots better. Or maybe it the lens - some simple thingy by the looks of it - that gives a lovely soft image we se here. Or maybe its just me that thinks the images are great!

I control things like exposure with the section of 'sunny' [about f16] or 'cloudy' [f11] and sereptitious use of coloured filters held in front of the lens. That would be a deep red with HP5 in sunny conditions and yellow when its cloudy and the same film. Focus is easy - 'portrait', 'group' or 'landscape' on a screw focus thing.

Now the other day....

Eve and I took off on our bicycles down Uig way. No we didn't cycle all the way as i am not quite up to that these days but we took the bikes in the auto mobile and cycled around the area. We had lovely weather too - unlike the gale that is raging outside as I write.

Anyway, we came across this scene @ Carnish - probably the best placed washing this side of Havana. And the house it belongs to is for sale at a cool £190,000

Shiants

Just back from a fine trip to the Shiannts with the island Book trust. Many thanks for a fine trip - especially to the RIB driver Charles Engebret who steered up safely through heavy seas on the way home.
Snaps to follow soon.

Double trouble

A double exposure on the Ilford Sporti.

Getting the peats in

On the way to the peat bank by a Lochen

Mr Tractor backing up to peat bank on a 1963 Massey Ferguson

The loading is done so time to pose

A few neg scans from the Zeiss Super Ikonta A [1930s] from last weekend when we took the peats in. Donald The Tractor did the honours [many, many thanks - such a nice chap too], Ahmed plus Eve & I.

X-ray vision

Or not as the case may be.
if you see me wandering around the village with the heap of old junk that passes for a camera - all covered in a black cloth, be not afraid. It will be my modified FKD Russian plate camera [see bottom snap] and dark-cloth. With an old Dallmeyer projection lens and barn-door shutters, this is just the tool to shoot old x-ray film. Film for this size of camera can be expensive but x-ray - when you can get it, is not.
The top image is of my dear Eve at home last night. The image has been printed onto watercolour paper coated in light-sensitive emulsion - Vandyke process. Nice

A couple of North Tolsta Peat Cutters

Fine fellows both of them - delivering a few feed bags to put some peat in for ease of carrying home. Mostly the peats come back on the trailer of an ancient Massey Ferguson tractor. Most of the peats are cut and many are in - including our own now neatly stacked in the local stylee - or something akin to the local style but without the finesse or style, local or otherwise. But we try!

Kate VanDyke

VanDyke print on Bockingford watercolour paper from injet neg taken from film scan.
I like it. Not the easiest of alternative proceses fromyears past but well worth the effort as the tones are just lovely

Locals

Mr Batty is El Presidente of the local camera club on the island and fine a Rhubarb grower. Originally from Yorkshire Mr Batty has been here in the village for a long time now. I must say i enjoy my coffee mornings with him.

Ahmed is virtually a local these days although from hailing from Turkey. Without Ahmed and his pal Donald the tractor, our peats would still be residing on the moor. Now, if you want some marble flooring, this is the man to see as he has a few tonnes of it to shift!

Waiting to weave

wet-print. In development

Working on it;
A bit lighter than I wanted. Other prints are better but not dry. See my Flickr for another print - but one that toned well.

Messing again

I have a vision of a series of prints I would like to make in the darkroom. The subject matter will come but the printing I envisage being something like this - created in PS from a neg made in the trusty IlfordSporti. What do you think?

A new little Gem

Eve tending the veg plot

A few weeks ago a little parcel arrived from the States with a little old camera inside. I'd won it in an online competition with this image. Anyway, the new camera is a gem - a Super Ikonta A from around 1950. So loaded with some GP3 B&W film I shot in the continuing lovely weather we are having.

Donald and Mandy

A grand chap in the village I have got to know. Has a lovely dog too .

New images

I've taken the Hasseblad and KOWA out on the Moor yesterday with top island model Kate to shoot a roll or two of film.
Here the peats are cut - traditionally by the men but often turned to aid drying and lifted and carried by the women who carry on their everyday tasks as they go.
Things have changed a little.......

A bendy lens

I've been playing with a self-modified lens recently. I use an old medium format kiev lens fixed to a 35mm slr with gaffer tape and some old bellows. Great fun although exposure issues prevail.
Here's an early one from this series.

Andrew Sanderson - Master printer

Some time ago I spent a great day with Andrew Sanderson in his darkrooms in Holmfirth trying to get my head around the nuances of B&W printing. I learnt a lot - mainly because the man has such a subtle eye but producing the same emotional response that Mr Sanderson seems to be able to coax out of a neg is difficult - I am still learning.
Anyway, have a look at Andrew Sanderson's web-site for inspiration. the paper negs are particulary fantastic I think.