We might have been here before

 

Underdeveloped!

 

As you can see I scanned this snap anyway. Taken with  point & Shoot Pentax on Orwo N75 and underdeveloped in Bellini Hydrofen.

I suspect a sea creature had expired on the beach and a tractor was used to remove the creature.

In the meantime, have a listen to this bit of loveleeness.  

Kodak cresta

 

Another image of the Isle

 

Still the sheeps are here. Multiplying like Russian dolls somehow.

For those who care about such things this was shot on Orwo N75 in Bellini Duo-step. Perhaps a tad overdone.

And no, I don't know the name of the sheeps.

An image of the Isle

 

David the croft

 

Croftlife

 

I know you have spotted it but I have been down to The Crofter gaff recently. When I say gaff - I mean the barn where the sheeps and coows are. I notice they've been popping out fresh miniature ones as of late. Making a right racket too as The Crofter plays with them and Dad Crofter does the hard work moving stuff from back there to the front bit.

Pool of light

 

A pool of light in the Crofter's barn.

Just as well the light was there as I was using Polypan-f film and a f1.7 lens.

An Lanntair

 

Yes our lovely Arts centre in Stormoway is open again. gallery, events and cafe. Oooof.

Here, from a year or three back budding artists - budding as it were.

Eve, Bob and Keith

 

I haven't used this camera much of late - the Baby Graflex with roll film so perhaps that's why Keith barely got a look in. Twas hand held after all. 

Outside the darkroom BTW and yes, I have been in sloshing paper in chemicals. Got some images too.

Isle of Lewis

 

Thinking of coming up to the island once its has opened up? Well, this is the island too. 

They were here

 

Nope, not much

 

Not been up to much as of late - bar a quick jaunt into the smoke of Stormoway. 

So here is a snap from England, Yorkshire. That's how they do it there.

Some years back

 

Doesn't seem too long agao but was five years back while I was working in the southern isles that I snapped this up

Sign of the times

 

Out west and everything

Houses, houses houses.

 

I'm a liking this stylee of house portrait. It tells me enough. Whether it tells anyone else enough I don't know but I don't rightly care either since these snaps are for me.

Eve and Gin

 

That's Gin the doggie here enjoying the sunshine before the snow came back. Posing for me who was messing with the Bronica for a change.

In the villlage

 

I found something behind the yellow door.

 

The yellow door in question was the darkroom door. Not the front, back or potting shed door which are all yellow. The paint on the parlour is yellow as are the whites of my eyes sometimes. I like yellow. I 'advised' Eve - correctly as it happens - to have her new bike yellow. 

But I was fumbling around in the gloaming of the darkishroom and found a packet of Tetenal C41 - that's colour film developer lurking in the dark recesses. Since there was nothing living behind the packet, I extracted it from the dust and immediately thought of the 35mm colour film I had exposed some time back but then promptly laid to one side. I'm not so keen on colour snaps. I'm even more rubbish at colour than I am at B&W and I don't seem to have got a handle on the digital scanning and processing of the colour stuff. 

Take this snap - of , of a chap [possibly Donald Four Tractors] near The Croft doon the road with his digger. The colour is wrong and not even wrong in a good way. My pooter programme of choice for editing had for a long time been Serif starter editor then for the last four years Serif X8. They were good and I got used to their ways although not in a way I could find nice colour. So when the X8 started or stopped responding properly I splashed out £20 on the latest Serif thing. Only it works so very differently I am practically lost. Rather wish I hadn't got it now. At least I still have an excuse with the colour stuff.

Look, don't get complacent.

I may not be back to this every day you know. Don't come here expecting to be be entertained every morning. I may not, probably will not have something to show or say.

Yes I was here that day, strolling and enjoying the sun on my back and the sounds of a windless day [with birds]. This is on the west side of the rock here. I expect you knew that already  but I have to admit I was unsure myself for a while when I looked at the neg. I met Jane this stroll - an artist of some wonderfulness who inhabit this part and who always fills me with positiveness and the like. Then I met DJ and his lovely daughter in arms - although she was asleep in a pram at the time. Not the type of huge pram that my Mum used to wheel me around in when I was little but a new more sleek and practical model. So lovely it was but DJ was working so we had a short chat and passed in the road.

Anyway, as I write this it's snowing !!!!

So.

 

I acquired a Minolta A3 rangefinder camera sometime back. The sort of camera that was made in the year of my birth - which is, I might add, a year or two back. It came with sweet smelling leather case - of which I only use half. I like it. It is substantial which is another way of saying a bit heavy but all the same sits nicely in my paws when I meditatively search from an image on this here rock on the edge of the north Atlantic.

Since the Rokkor lens is a bit prone to flare in the occasional sunshine we have here, I dressed it's lens hood with black gaffer tape to aid it in the manner of the great James Ravilious' camera. It works. fairly well although I might have to make some adjustment to stop the slight vignetting of the image. The uppermost image was shot at f16 the lower one at f2.8. 

Almost looks proper - despite me shooting Kentmere400 @ 100 and thence rescuing it in rodinal.

Oh yes

 

My recent crisis of me-being has passed thank goodness and now twice jabbed I am ready to go. Only there is bad weather - perhaps snow but certainly a blow for a few ddays so I'll bide my time a little.

As you see I took a turn around the village in the unexpected warmth of sunshine. We are so very lucky to be here. Keith akaBilly on the other hand takes advantage of us, insisting on a stroll down towards the beach and then expects to be carried home.

There were even cyclists out and about in the warm, sunny and windless day.

I am still here

 

Yes, I'm fine - thanks for asking. I didn't post this yesterday in case you thought I was joking !

The fine human vets have got me going again so I may well be back on here again soon. 

I even took some snaps yesterday although they were in the unexpected sunshine so I  don't hold out much hope for them.