Cycling

This must have been the day of summer 2015 when Eve deemed it warm enough to bare her legs and blind anyone who looked at them without a welding mask on.

Not another!

Yes. Hot from the darkroom and still a tad damp, this print on Ilford MG FB is as old as. As when I had the KOWA6 to play with. It kept failing on my, cost a fortune to repair so I got rid. I still have some negs though - and this is one of them. Nice eh? For a non-portrait anyway.

Ok, now look here please

copyright ; Michael Jackson [no relation]
http://www.mgjackson.co.uk/gallery.html

Found this site somehow, somewhere and I am mesmerised. Well worth a look see and gander round.

sea

This I might mention here, is the sea. Not all of it mind you just a bit that was wallowing past here recently. I snapped it up before it went on its way, developed the film, printed it onto old Ilford RC paper and scanned it for here.
Sometimes I wonder if its all worth it.

cheap as chips

Cheaper in fact. Now that chips are probably more than 6d a bag.

Taken with a Soviet RF, using Agfa400s film rated at 800asa. Yes 800! It was a mistake. I thought the film was Foma400 so I developed it in DDX [1-9] for 14mins.
Got this;. Nice eh? I mean the snap is ordinary but the grain and what have you is nice.

jetty

We have bigger and better ones. and worse!

Nice rocks though.

Now I'm recovered from my little trip own the island for a bit of work, I can get on with finding some images from my settee archive. And perhaps a little more to say. I have got going on the former.

Square and not monochrome

and not on Lewis or Harris either!

Colour. Portra film I found somewhere so I thought I'd take it with me on my work jaunt.

I'm still not convinced. I'll wait till they find something else.

Toots -again

I caught Toots on the beach with Soviet RF - andAgfa400s rated at 800!

Uist snap

A house in Uist.
I like it.

Don't blame me, blame my employer!

I had a couple of days away you see. Off down the Isles to South Uist to do a little job. Yes, it rained but once the work was done I took this snap of the hotel there.

Doesn't look the most cheerful of places does it? It is so wonderfully peaceful and beautiful though - except when it rains - which is most of the time at the moment.

I am now tired - very tired after this little trip and back. I need a rest...

official announcement

Please let it be known that I have officially made gooses persona non grata or something. They were not my best of pals at any time but they just went too far. Bit me troos - with me leg inside. Couldn't shake the blighter off either. Had to talk very firmly to it and everything.
Officially off my Christmas card list too.
There, said it. On The Blog too not the Crofters one. Must be official now.

A little bike ride

No, of course I didn't do a bike ride - but Eve did. Pedalling her lovely purple bike here there and everywhere on the island. All part of the Hebrides Auda event organised by the wonderful Windy Gilbert an Mrs Gilbert.
I helped - a bit. Stamped cards at Huisnish for the riders, pointed the way and everything. Granted there was only one way due to Eddie - my co-car stamper  - and being at the end of the road. A truly terrific 12 miles of wonderful views, hills and coows.

Two Audaxers having benefited from the pointing arm, take off back up the road from whence they just came.

See, we were here. Nice innit? Sort of Clacton by the sea but with style, and quietude.

Twas a lovely day too - apart from the lashing rain and all that. Apart from that it was lovely.

falling apart

I think I'm falling apart. I notice that my hands have been sore for a while. Joints and palms. I thought it must be Dupuytrens Contracture - as I have previously had treatment for that - cutting stuff out and what have you - but now I'm not so sure. I think arthritis has set in. My fingers are swollen along with the pain. Me hands feel hot and I had a right struggle to get my engagement ring off as it was digging into the flesh and causing pain. I use the 'cotton wound round finger trick' in conjunction with olive oil. It came off but not without a lot of shouting on my part as it hurt. A lot.

Anyway, here's a snap - using the Kodak TWin20 of a lampost in Northton, Isle of Harris, home of the very fine Temple cafe.

2 more twin20 snaps

Ooh, I like this snap as I tried to use the camera for 'sports' action. Almost got it and love it.

This is James. He rode the 100km Audax only a few days after acquiring a bike. Suffered - not only from the lack of proper shorts but also from an unfortunate fall. Despite the grazes on arms, legs an hip kept going to the end. Brilliant first ride - even if the snap was out of focus!

Twin20

Sometimes it just comes to me that one of my old cameras needs an airing. This time it was the plastic Kodak Twin20 . Classy eh? I re-rolled some FP4 onto 620 reels and took it out for a spin in the unusual sunshine. Toots posed [above]. Eddie too at Huisnish where we were marshalling an excellent Audax cycling event.

With only a little control over exposure or focus it was more difficult to mess things up.

Same place

So where is this?

I'll give you a clue; it's the same place as the snap I'm going to post in the morn.

Hope that helps.

And yes, I do know where it is. And yes it is here on the island. Can't you tell from the weather?

Coatingless

Know what I mean?

I was in possession of my pal Toots' Rolleicord camera with an uncoated Triotar lens. It's an old thing and Mr Toots told me it was knackered. It isn't. A quick clean up with a wire brush and hosepipe soon got it sorted. Now loaded with some HP5 I pointed it at The Crofter in his lair. Nice. I pointed it at Mrs 2be too but I was overdoing it, so you don't get that here.

I took the camera home again and pointed it at something else. Not so easy to focus with my eyes but hey, sort of ok.

You may have been here with me

I may have brought you here before through a camera. I might not have let on though. I visited recently and helped a couple launch their Swift18 boat. Of course they didn't want me to help but I got me wellies out and helped them anyway. I took this snap while I was there too.

See that little hoosie?

See that little hoosie? The one just to right of the wet person and to the left of the wet doggie? See it? It's the Mission House. Nothing to do with me only that my long time pal is going to stay there - for his honeymoon . It might have stopped raining by then too. Ben the doggie will still be there. The wet person won't. We will have been at my pal's weeding in England before we have a well earned traipse around relatives down there.

and you thought I'd forgotten?

Went there and everything

Back at The Crofters

The Crofter and 2be

?

Have I told you how much I love you?

Have I told you how much I care?

Not sure what's happening

It is a roadscape. Just so you know.

I like that ring of stones - the ones on the right of the pole. Nice aren't hey? Wonder how long they have been there sheltering from the incessant rain?

The snap is rubbish mind you. Was trying to use RolleiRPX25 again and got it wrong. Again. Still, you can see what it looks like there - from this angle, then anyway.

Chaos

Did they cross the road? Not sure to be honest. One moment the chickens were there and next they were not. I checked the tyres of my car but the chicks were not embedded there thank goodness. I was distracted momentarily as I noticed one of the three chickens had rather lovely plumage - and it wasn't even Norwegian I should imagine. Yes three. One sat on the beach edge pecking for fun, or food. Two guarding my escape route with a ferocity only expected in a worried Ram.

See this

It's the Ammonite - minus the pole thing up top.

I took the snap on some old FP4 someone gave me. It seems like it might have 'gone over' as it were. Still, I rather like this version.. It took it during the recent blow - ie; Yesterday.

Been sailing

See http://freyja-yacht.blogspot.co.uk/ if you want

Now, before I mention it........

Sometime back, back when the days were not dampened more or less continuously but rain and blown almost dry by a howling wind before pouring again. Back then - if you can remember that far back. I can't since I'm ageing. I was only 18 last week and now I've just applied for a bus pass!  Back then, long before now, I took this snap of the foot of the Angel of the North. I like this snap I must say. The Angel stands in a strange location next to a little football pitch and a housing estate.

The snap speaks to me. I like the football goal posts, the foot and, particularly the contrast. Reminds me a bit of  the work of Mario Giacomelli. Ok, so the subject is different - everything is different but it FEELS TO ME like I might have been influenced by Mr Giacomelli. Somehow.

Of course these next images are not in that vein although the contrast is a little high for some reason. Maybe it's Godwin and Giacomelli colliding.

Now, this snap I like. Over in Gress on a stroll across the beach. I think it may have been a moment of sunshine before the rain too.

Sorry, forgot what I was going mention now!

High tide

It's high tide time. No wonder what with all the rain that's falling day after day!