Channelling Ravilious

Look, I look at images - I mean proper images on film and everything. I like images - especially those that move me, like this one does. Yes, go and have a look. I'll wait.

te dum te dum

Ok? Nice isn't it? Mine is not a patch on that image of Mr Ravilous'. But I can't help referencing it on the occasional day the sun shines, I'm among some trees - as I was yesterday with Toots - and have a camera to hand. A Soviet camera but a camera all the same.

te dum te dum te dum

I just knew you would go back and look at more James Ravilious' images. They are so very wonderful. My fav photographer to be honest. I would need another lens to take images like that though - and possibly another camera and some talent perhaps.

But getting back to my pale imitation of that snap, do you like it? Proper photogs call is Contre-Jour. When I say 'proper' I mean French or pretentious photographers - of which I am obviously one. Pretentious that is, not French.

Cargo carrying motorised vehicle involved in stopping incident

There you are. Told you. That's the sort of thing that happens here. A heavily laden lorry of the truck persuasion stops. Puts a ladder up and all. Life Eh?

I tell the rest of the story there.

It's not here

Did you guess it's not here? I mean, trees and warmth. Dry day and all that.

Fraid it is lashing down here. The wind has abated though thank goodness and the quietness is lovely. Reminds me of this stroll down a quiet lane in Asturias a few weeks back. The leaves were waggling quietly, the birdies coughing and the air ripped up by a noisy quad as it rushed up the hill. Well, you have to have a quad!

Stroll

I went for a little stroll with the Croation man from Croatia. I think he liked the place - especially Harris.

And the beaches

Builders

I found 'my' builders. On their way from another job in the village to the shoppe for sweeties. Hopefully, we'll get to see them again before the end of the year to finish the house wrapping. Actually, I just like seeing them around

William

Of course it's William. Looks like him - well, if you squint a bit with a hand over one eye sort of thing anyway. I think Mrs Holden would recognise him.

I took the snap with a Franka folder and a 6x6 with RPX25 film. Set the thing to f32 and pointed it threateningly at the man for a few seconds. This is that.

I wasn't going to post this snap but a few scraggy little black sheeps gave me the eye this morning. We were down on a local beach braving the howling wind, breathing the air - that sort of thing - when the sheeps noticed us. Came rushing at us as if they were going to leap onto the beach from their cliff-side perches. We panicked a bit to be perfectly fair. Trotted back up from the beach glancing worriedly over our shoulders to see the little dark beasties weren't following us home. I mean, I'm not sure The Crofter would be best pleased if we turned up outside his gaff with a troop of his black woolly back sheeps in tow. Especially on this ere special day and everything.

Came home in the rain, shook off me oilies - or what passes for oilies - and found this snap. Thought it looked like I felt. 'FELT' note; not looked.

Oh never mind!

Fish ing

I came across this amiable chap at Brevig harbour the other day casting his line in and pulling it out moments later wish fishes on the hooks. One after another they came. Cuddies I was told - which it seems could be Saithe. Maybe.

It's a lovely little harbour - as long as you don't want to put your boat in there as the swells are horrible and the water-borne entrance worse. Apart from that it's nice. The fishes like it too. Maybe it's all the crab bits that fall in off the few fishing boats there that attract them.

I'm rather liking this Kodak Tmax film. I might have to acquire some more.

Not much leisure

This is George. He was putting the finishing touches to his Leisure23 boat he has lurking outside his des-res just down the road from the house called Timbukthree in New Tolsta. New Tolsta is north of North Tolsta and thereby hangs a tale that I really know little of the clearances and the like.

The boat George acquired a while ago but needs a little tlc to get it back to it's best. Like letting the water out of the inside, a rudder and steering stick and a couple of hatches that got blown away in the wind in the recent gales. Apart from that, it's almost ready to go.

I like George. He has done some epic bike rides - all self supported - apart from the one when I supported him as he came out of a bar in Stornoway after he had just finished the end to end [of the UK]. I poured him into the car and brought him home. I think he deserved the celebration to be honest. Hopefully new adventures will happen with the boat. One day.

I'm working on it

I'm working on this snap. I lithed it up on old Agfa MCC then promptly managed to crease the thing. Can't waste it so the wax is coming out!

Love the image though. Hope you do too.

That Croation Man from Croatia

Mr Denis has be posting some images from his tyme here on the island. Always interesting to see what Johnny foreigner makes of the place. The thing I like are his images are sooooo much better than my snaps. Ah well.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/denis_bozic_bogovic/

This is one of my snaps of Mr Denis. Look at the link for his :-)

Processing

I have taken to processing up down the stairs. Not just for the sake of doing but as I move, gracefully, from the upper floors of the hoosey to the lower. I clutch my voluminous skirt out to one side [according to the direction of the wind at the time] and slightly bounce on the ball of my feet on the stairs. Oh, it feels so very lovely. Only, yesterday the wind was a tad brisk and I had to put in a couple of reefs. Actually, if I am honest I did more than that, I wore trousers. With flares mind you, but only small flares. I descended safely you will be glad to hear.

Oh please, you know I don't take landscapes! Denis, the Croation man from Croatia made me take it. OK?
Now look at this please.

Spot the bot

When bad is good

Nice snap don't you think? The visitor sat for me and kept on breathing and everything. Oh, it please me and all. Fair warms the cockles of my heart. I took that! Did you realise?

Ooh, this is nice too. Grain and all that sort of thing.

Nicely out of focus but the light, the light.

All imaged with the old Kiev60 GP3 film and Rodinal

Apparently this is nice

I posted this on Faceplant. And lots of peeple liked it up. Amazing what a crappy snap from a crappy plastic camera and cheap copy-film can do.

Today, [Sat] we have a[nother] visitor and she is here for a few days. This time it's Angelica from Germany out of Ullapool. We tried to take her sailing today on our Freyja but the wind was tad too strong. So we came home. It's raining now.

Pity it didn't rain last week because Denis, the Croation man from Croatia wanted some 'island weather' to photograph things in and he got sunshine and windless days instead! And taking nice images are so difficult in bright sunshine let me tell you. The light comes in without a song or dance but then it's going so fast it bounces around inside the camera. On overcast days the light behave properly although it does sulk a bit before sneaking in through the lens.

Eve with Denis doing his Fitzcaraldo thing.

Braving the sunshine

Snapping

Windy[s]

This is what happens when you visit the Windys' place. The camera goes wonky - in a nice way. That's Deanne above. Her nose isn't usually like that but hey ho, I like the snap all the same.

You see, it's not just the Windys at The Windys but Eve as well. Oooh, lovely snap.

Ballaye

We thought it was going to be good when the first tune accompanying the lithe young things on stage was played by the Kronos Quartet. I mean, the KQ weren't there more's the pity, just a musical facsimile of the band. The real thing were in Missouri, or Belgrade or somewhere like that. The dancers didn't mind, they leapt around the stage so wonderfully anyway. Looking for all the world like little things who leapt around a lot, enjoying themselves and looking fantastic. Which they did and were. Fantastic that is.

Copyright; Alexey Brodovitch

I liked that piece, I liked the red piece and the dark one and the drumming one and ... well, I liked it all actually. Twas the Scottish Ballaye doing their touring thing. And I for one was very pleased they did it.

When two t-shirt and jeans clad erbs came on stage it worried me a tad. I wondered if they had wandered in from the Lewis Bar down the road. Only, I was wrong, two more appeared so I imagine they must have come from the Carlton Bar up the road too. All the same they did a nice dance. We laughed at the right bits [I think]. Clapped when it was over and pretended we didn't know where they came from.

I loved the little solo minuet between two pieces too. The rolling of the carpet - although the lighting was a bit off at this point. I alone applauded and am sure the dancer appreciated my deep knowledge of the genre.

On to the last, the major work, their opus majorati where I notice that the great John Waters seemed to be dancing. I mean, it looked like him but now I notice on the tinternet that he's about 68 and a half now so perhaps I got that wrong. Whoever it was could dance a bit.

The costumes were lycra which I thought was the cyclists' material. Apparently not. They did show their knickers a lot though. Maybe that's a Scottish thing!

No, no snaps of the dancers. Not allowed they said.!
Well, look here here and here.

The epitome of a modern Viking

The venue is right. The sheeps are right - Icelandic and lovely too. The man is right. Fierce looking but lovely. I mean, really lovely. Welcoming and what have you with a couple of beard rings.

This was out over Lemreway area. We'd been to see The Vikings loom shed, marvelled at the view, The Croation man from Croatia took some snaps, William wandered here and there. This might be Mr Viking telling us about Clara - his bestest sheeps. Or not.

They may be Icelandic but they know how to pose all the same. They will produce wool so The Viking and his partner can spin it and produce cloth. Nice eh? That is if the world doesn't end before the end of the week - not that I'm feeling pessimistic or anything.

Oh look. Please, somebody give him a longboat to play in!

Moja je lebdjelica puna jegulja

It wasn't but it could have been.

Please read this.

I don't do this too often. It's not something I am prone to do but please, please donate to MSF today and help them continue the wonderful work they have been doing with around the world for decades in the most difficult situations for people who need help most.

No job too small - or whatever one says

This is Pat. No job too small. That sort of thing. Knocking things down, building them up, concreting, brick laying, wood things and all. Lots of other things too I shouldn't wonder.

He is, I might add, a VERY NICE MAN. Notice the capital letters? That's meant to convey that I mean wot I rote. I do.

Pat lives in North Tolsta. He smiles a lot. I like that.

I know! I KNOW! Don't dis me up. And Everything.

Would have been a minor masterpiece this. Only I'd loaded Foma100 into the Zorki4 / Jupiter12 combination and I thought it was 400. Rated it at 800 as well - like you do. I know, I'm getting old and all that. I was distracted by the constant kippering of Denis' - the Croation Man from Croatia - lungs.

I almost rescued it. Looked hard at the huge development chart, read it wrongly, used 1:25 instead of 1:50 Rodinal and ended up with this snap. Well, not just this snap - from Bosta and everything - but including this snap. At least you  can see what this snap is meant to be like.

That's Denis. His back anyway.

Of course I did

Yes, I did take the Croation man from Croatia to see Roy! Why not? They both wanted to fumigate their lungs inside so all was well. Denis the Croation took some snaps with his fancy Leica camera while I snapped away with a camera I got for nothing from my sister. Both seem to work fine. My film was Foma 400 rated at 200 for the people who like that sort of information. The film was developed - if that what one can call it - in Rodinal. Ziggy, Roy's dog was asleep.

What to take a Croat photographer to see?

Obviously, one takes a Croat to see a coow. Several in fact. Seems like he needed a snap of a coow or two.

Oh, and to see a boat, one waiting for a very high tide.

And a stone in a field. Did I go to the right places for him?

I'm loving 'it'. I hope you are too.

This is a boat. It's not a boat really, merely a snapshotte of a wee boat. The Ammonite, a Cornish Crabber or something like that. Owned by the wonderful Gerald. Eh? I liked this boat up so much I took the photo a few times - on the same bit of film with my Ilford Sporti. Makes it interesting I think. Don't you?

This boat is lovely, trust me. Sails with her gaff rig so 'nice' to use a technical sailing term. I drove it once you know. When the road in the harbour was empty. Gerald is sensible I think.

We have a visitor you know. Denis the Croation man from Croatia. Taking photees all over the place. None in Tolsta have escaped his gaze. He likes the Tolstians I think. Smiled and all at them. Shook hands like a proper person.  I like him being here. He might get to meet William. Now there's a thing.

Back by popular request

It was popular here anyway. I like it that is. Reminds me of something. Something nice.

Actually did a little sesh in the darkish damp room the other day too. And, I might have a print to show for the time. How good is that?

Eat your heart out OnlineDarkroom and The WebDarkroom. Eh?

Not sure what's happened.

Must be the work I have to do. You know, the pressure and all that. Seem to be a bit o'er tired at the moment. The CFS  seems to have me in it's vice like grip and all that - at the moment. It goes like that you know. Me 'ead falls off, rolls down the stairs and I find 'life' troublesome. I'll get right soon, promise.

In the meantime here's another snap from our little break off island. Took it with a film camera - OM1n - as it was the only 35mm one I had with me. The film was B&W - and I can't remember what type of developer I used to make the picture 'come out' as we used to say.

Spainland. A nice bit.

I loved all that; "did I come out on that picture? " and all that sort of thing. Not that we were enquiring as to whether we had come out of the closet - although I have I might add - but as to whether the snap had developed properly, was in focus, had the right exposure and the heads weren't chopped off sort of thing. You younger beings who are all dig*tal and everything are missing out on that!

Here we go

Whoa! I like this. I mean, really like this.

Obviously it's Stornoway. On a wet day. Wet and windy as it happens. Camera was a lovely Zorki4 with Jupiter12 lens and film Polypan-f in Rodinal - if you talk camera you know what I mean.

Yes, I am sure Lowry came here .

Sometime someone's work blows you away.

See?

The work of Cathleen Naundorf

Try this when you have an idle moment.

As it was

Have I told you how much I appreciate you?

No I didn't.

Anyway Stornoway feels a bit like this snap at the moment - what with the wind that has been leaping around the place of late. Hopefully, the wind might have ripped off some of the yes/no signs. There's loads still round the place and it looks awful!

Somerset

I have not been to Somerset for a while now. My big sister lives there still but never seem to have the time to pay a visit - and she is so very busy anyway. That's a pity as the countryside is rather lovely especially in my favourite part that is the Quantocks. Here is a snap I found of Fyne Court, or at least part of. What lovely day that was. Must go back and visit again. Look, that's trees and everything!

Blobs on film

Since you liked the last few snaps, I'll post this one. It reminds me of something. Although I may have forgotten what it was it reminded me of at the time.

This time next week, weather permitting the ferries to run we should have a visitor for a few days - along with his camera from somewhere foreign. By that time we will have moved enough stuff to find somewhere for him to lay his weary head. He does take the most lovely [film] images I must say and and I rather looking forward to meeting the man and taking him  round to meet some peoples here on the island

Same roll

I'm on a roll. The same roll as the last two days to be totally honest. GP3 film. Has nice pictures on it and everything. Not really sure how that happened. It's not usually like me. Can't remember the camera I had with me but it looks like it might have been the Ilford Sporti. Nothing but the best etc.

I'll be back to my usual soon enough, don't you worry. Even though I suspect I'm talking to myself these days :-(

Hello again

See, almost a proper snap. Few hairs but hey, who cares?