OOps

Sorry, colour again but snap of Jon [Rio Paralympic cycling manager/coach ] and his lovely family. Could not resist.

Getting carried away with the square

Despite this not being the best portrait or still life I have ever done, I like it. The square format really does it for. Doesn't matter too much what's inside the square but square it has to be for me.

Of course this is Stormoway - on a rainy day.

All Perkeoed up.

Look, I have sorted the Perkeo. Just about anyway. It's rather been prone to refusing to play recently; the double exposure prevention preventing even one exposure. Saves on film but somewhat defeats the cause of image-making. So, screwdriver in hand, I took the top off the camera and disabled the preventer. Works fine now. Just have to remember to wind it on after every shot.

So I finished off the partly shot film on the village, in the rain. Collecting the feel of the old place.

Oh.

'Captn' Mearsman plays his harpsichord at home.

Captured on Foma100 in the Bronnie

Yes yes yes

Bin sailing again. Twice in two days. First day - not a breath of breeze. Wallowing about on The Minch looking at the glassy yet wavy sea with Captn Mearsman. Second day - loads of windy wind, loads of wavy waves and that was just in outer harbour. Great fun was had mind - again with Captn Mearsman.

Here is Captn Mearsman in his Tolsta 'Castle'. Nice eh? Yes Catptn made the big banjo thing and yes he can play it too. Made a Harpsicord as well. I might show you a snap of that another day. 

I rode a little

and I snapped with the Viv UW&S as I went.

Well worth using the old fogged HP5 film too. Works ok with Bromophen developer.

Soon be over

Soon be back to B&W and something interesting me thinks. Can have too much of this colour thing and things one can recognise. So last two.

Eve sat on the pointy end while I held the steering stick.

Eve playing house.

Did I mention we went sailing?

No, not on our little boat but a bigger one on Caledonian Canal. Yes, canals but big Lochs too. A 29' boatee with little house bit and everything. Snapped a bit.

 Yes Eve enjoyed herself too. Sat there sitting and driving the the thing. Watching the birds, the light and waiting the wind falling off those there hills.

Still not convinced about this colour film stuff. Shoved the £1 a roll Agfa film in the p&s and this is what we got.

But if I monochrome it up, I think I rather prefer that.
Lovely week sailing though.

And I have to admit the colour does show the coming autumn colours well.

Her Highness Henrietta Cartier-Bresson

The place is mad

The sun has been shining and there is no wind. Stormoway is wall to wall tartan and whisky as the Mod takes place. There's more cameraists around the place than you can shake a salty stick at, long lens' and over-pixelled boxes on three legged sticks - and then they all take the same snap!

Journey

We took the ferry. Although when I say The Ferry I really mean a ferry since The Ferry was being mended after getting stuck in 2 nd gear and the handbrake not working then crashing into rocks and a few pontoons the other day in Lochmaddy. We don't often go this way these days either as the ferry from Stormoway is newer and nearer home.

I snapped up the old Clansman anyway onto Polypan-f film using some old rangefinder I had about my person.  Oooh, I rather like the effect here.

This cheatin lark! Eh?

I'm getting ready to cheat

Now, don't you get telling that Toots fella but my Perkeo I took on me hols stopped working again. Only shot off two shots before the double exposure preventer jammed. So there I was, bobbing around on the boat on Loch Ness, keeping a wary eye for the monster with nere a square format camera to play with. And, seeing I'd made a pact with that Tootsie to shoot some shots paying homage to Kenna - as he would do at his gaff in Spainland - I was stuffed.

I did have a little Ricoh 500ghttp://pansfilmcameras.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ricoh-500g.html that almost worked properly with me - and an old Konica Point and shoot camera so I used those. Will edit them square and everything. I won't tell if you don't.

Here's the first I just developed and everything in Rodinal. Foma200 if you please.

Loch Ness. Or Loch Lochy possibly. Tis a Loch from a boat anyway

Yes, we have been away

Not to anywhere warm or anything. Not warm like this snap in Gaiole / Italia . No, over the Minch on the Caledonian Canal on a boat.
Sailing, that sort of thing anyway.

Big up to Photographist Roderick Downes of Elgol, Skye. Apparently, Roderick actually reads this stuff - for which many thanks. He's snapping away there on the lovely Skye and introduced himself when he thought he recognized us when we visited the other day. How about that? Knew who we were from the blog. Great stuff Roderick. Do post a link to your work Rod.

And HHHCB is now back at home after a weeks meditation in Catditz.

Before we were saved

I used to have a KOWA Six camera - quite a bulky and sadly fragile affair but with the most cuttingly sharp lens. I sold the thing as it was beginning to give me trouble . I took some quite nice snaps with it - mostly before we came up to the island and the peace and quiet.

This one above is one of them. Know where it is? No? Namur, that's where. Or near there anyway. Probably. Can't for the life me remember why we were there though.

Yes, yes, we are home now after a week away sailing. Lovely weather we had too - apart from a lack of wind most of the time. And will not have many snaps to show as the Perkeo I took jammed. So just a few P&S snaps to come :-(

Him

Sometimes one likes a snap even though the technicalities - whatever they are - are absent.    This is Paul, no doubt searching for some aero/hydro-advantage for his son Harrison in his rowing boat thing. Paul did the same for his dear wifey Ellen on her tandem - to great effect - and for his own tandem to equally good effect

As I sit on this boat here

I'm wondering what Denis, the Croation Man from Crotatia is doing today.

Would be lovely to see this man again up here in the wet windy north. eh?

Down t'road

I have been here before as you might know. I decided to take a snap, a portrait of the place in fact. The textures are rather nice and catch my eye on every visit. Only thing is, I was trying to remember what camera i used here and I cannot. I do know the film is more of that very cheap Polypan-f [no longer available] developed in Bromophen.

I am nothing if not predictable

I am

Gone

Now gone from the bay - at last.

Tourist spot

As far as tourist hot spots go here on the island, I like this place. Not for the pile of stones that is the Broch seen here in my dustbinscape of past triumphs. Nor is it the path that leds daintily up the slope to the pile of stones. It's not that - even when ones skated up there when the ice lay crisp and uneven.

No, it's the view from the top. The lay of the land, the structure, the shapes and whathave you. It amuses me.

Angelica

A lovely artist. German born, Scottish honed.

 Angelica.

I wonder about Boysie

Gone to live in Engerland. I hope he and his human pets are well.

Fence

We do fences up here. Mostly in the particular style that involves the posts hanging off the wire that runs between them.

This is not one of these. As you can see it's rather immature and needs another few years to get 'local'.

Selfie

I hate that term - selfie. Hate it.
I don't 'do' them either - except when I do, obviously.
And when, on that very rare occasion when I have been known to 'do' a selfie, I don't stand there with my gob open in that contemporary 'smile' that seems so very prevalent.

I prefer this homage to someone I can't quite recall.

I need another sitter

Mining

Been mining the past so to speak. I know one shouldn't look back bu the potatoes are boiling and I haven't got time to snap up develop and scan at the mo - let alone print, so this will have to do.

It is from October  13. A good year I think I remember. Easdale island. Nice. No idea why I took this then. Must have been there. I seem to recall I met Lord Hoooha there once in his little yellow and white boat with his driver man Doug. Doug eh? Poor old Doug. Planted Lord whatisname [Astor. ed.] on the wrong island and everything. 

I like islands it has to be said. Easdale is an interesting one. Jura a superbly lovely one but I love where I live now.


Now check out this work from the excellent Henry Iddon.

Not gone

Toots may be gone from here but the damaged rig remains. Attempts to float the thing onto a special boat thing failed when the sea - despite days of calm, was too rough!

On a hill

Shroom with lady

No idea what sort it is. It grew in Castle grounds and everything. On a slope. The lady was Eve.

Happy Birthday Mr Toots

I knew the anniversary of Mr Toots' birth was coming up so I went round and took his portrait. 

Happy Birthday Sir. Hope it's a grand one.