Kodak Polymax paper and Coelyne of the Coelynes

Coelyne of the Coelynes doing or, not doing the pressing.

There's nothing quite like old out of date Kodak Polymax printing paper for getting the desired mottled effect. And this is Kodak Polymax paper suitably out of date and therefore mottled. Not that you can easily tell. Looks like I have been playing with Textures so beloved of Flickrites and the like. I wouldn't dare as Mr Coelyne reads this most days and I would be hassled from here to eternity or something.

Mr Coelyne was trying to press the coffee to the bottom of the coffee thing at the recent Lewis Photographica [continuing] coffee morning. It wouldn't press [it transpired there was a granular irregularity by all accounts and sorted by Toots Wilson here seen lurking in t'background] . That gave one time to sort the Perkeo loaded with Fuji Acros, check the light, adjust the setting, focus using the auxiliary focus finder and shoot [using the auxiliary shutter - a knife in this case - don't ask]. Nice eh? The look of concentration. I can almost spoon out of the feel of the day from this image. It has an aura of averageness and everything.

Coelyne of the Coelynes run the Oiseval gallery and wonderful framing business over at Brue on the West Side. Only, they will be shut for October. Go soon or in November or later.

Playing with vandyke

 This could almost be Van Dyke and family, only it's not. It's a VanDyke print of a neg of Vic's, a cycling pal from doon soof [ish]. The neg looked like it might print nicely in this form so, since the sun is out from time to time, I went ahead on cheap watercolour paper. The emulsion I had already made up some time ago so it had matured well. Since the neg above was 6x9 cms it only required a small piece of paper.

This one is 6x6 cms and taken in the Perkeo camera. It's here in the village don't you know.Both were slightly bleached back and then dunked in sepia - it seems to increase the contrast. How does that happen?

I like them anyway.

The hair had gone!

What happened there then? The man was had short grey hair, a tie and everything. It wasn't the man I was expecting. He looked like a retired school teacher. But then, since he is, one supposes he should look like that. Maybe it was that he was a teacher in the 1970s, long hair and beard. That sort of thing. He knew his stuff all the same. Lovely pictures on Kodachrome and everything. Camping at 5000m held onto the side of a mountain by ropes, no food and no comb either I shouldn't wonder. But Doug Scott it was. He made to 2012 that's all. Like I did.

We were down with Mr Windy at the Harris Mountain Festival. Brilliant! I shall attend something else this week I hope. Thanks all for putting it on. Eh!

I was so Inspired, I couldn't sleep. I dug out these colour snaps from a recent trip to Engerland to help with the global warming/sea level rise/climate change that's enveloping us all. I wasn't driving all the time see. I snook some snaps with the Retinette1a and colour film that has come my way. It wasn't sunny at all - and there were no mountains and there was a window to shoot through. It says a lot about the world we live in. I think.

Tell me you like them. Tell me you hate them. Tell me something! Please.

See, I wasn't driving 

 I was sitting. And snapping.

Oh, and Ms Ook has been busy too.

Sad but true

Sad but true; this snap taken in Bridlington during 2006 with the old 6x9 Voigtlander RF is my most 'interesting' and most viewed and most favourited image on my Flickr thing.

I was inspired to seek this out after reading Mr Windy's post of the same nature.

I was amazed that the most recent image to make it into the top 10 most 'interesting' is this image, now hanging in the Oiseval Gallery at the mo. Which by the way is closing for October to give The Coelynes a break and will re-open in November.

Pin-hole on Garry Beach, Tolsta.



Made with the home-made Fruit-Pastel pinhole camera and printed on Oriental Seagul paper with Lith. Eh? Proper camera stuff an all ! Peoples seem to love the blur thing too!

Mind over matter

Me, meditating.

I don't usually meditate in bed. If I do I am liable to fall asleep and that's just not the point. However, it does really look like here I might have under lain the top duvet for a while as I contemplated my breath for a while. I might have been posing. You never know.

I've not long completed a little led -meditation in the Summer Parlour in front of the now lit fire. A small fire merely to look at I tell you. I listened to the calming tones of Mathew Manning - as he lurks awaiting on my hard-disk somewhere most of the time but comes out to help my meditation if I ask him too.

Some years ago I had the pleasure of attending a Mindfulness Meditation course at the Manchester Buddhist Centre with a group called Breathworks. It was time well spent I can tell you. Brings me back from the brink every time, helps me through life and gives me an excuse to do nothing from time to time. 

The snap came from the pinhole camera, loaded with Fuji Acros and souped in Promicrol.

I know, I have changed the format of the blog. I'm not sure I like it yet. Do you?
We still have the links and what have you on the right if you take your pointer-thing that way - although I tried it on Toot's Ipad and it looked a little different. Over-apple-ed I shouldn't wonder.

PS. It has been mentioned that that new format [now changed back] asked you to log on. So, have gone back to old ways!

Blue Pig

I've been using the Promicrol again. It's a developer and cheap as chips don't you know. Thought Id try it to see what the pin-hole Fruit-Pastel camera saw when I pointed it at The wonderful Blue Pig Studio over in ... oh, I don't know. Over the west side up a windy lane by the sea. And there's a wall nearby near a white sheep. Near there.

The equally wonderful Jane Harlingon works there, owns the place, does everything in the place that makes it lovely just to be there. I was there. Gate crashed the place while a Art workshop for peoples was taking place. I looked over their shoulders and everything. Saw painting, drawing and lots of laughter. That's the sort of place it is. Since the Fruit-Pastel pin-hole camera had some Fuji Acros inside I pointed it at the peoples. They didn't seem to mind. Not even Jane or Barbara from Oiseval Gallery just up t'road who had swopped her digi-cam for a paint brush.

Now the souping in Promicrol is over - this time 1:14 dilution as per instructions which, I might add I did glance a this time, we have snaps from Blue Pig. Nice eh?

 There they are. Having fun. That's what it looks like.

 A Grouse with fame by the looks of it

 Sticks; with hairs attached.

Ensemble

Knitting at the Blue Pig. As one does.

Do we like this?

Been playing around about with the blog. Did you notice?

Thought it was time for a freshen up since I looked at the lovely Susan Revey's blog and thought, I could do that! I did, but somehow it just doesn't look as nice. Maybe I need better words and photos and inspiration. Or something. Maybe it's the music I'm listening too while I write this that's informing how I see it. Maybe it's because I've already been rained upon this morning. Who knows?

 Nothing better than a blurry picture of happy children

 Or a snap of Paddy - the man in a dog-suit.

Or even an image of Bonky as my mother in law is affectionately known by all the family.

Now is a good time to be here on the island. It always is a good time but there's a couple of interesting events coming up. Firstly there's the Harris Mountain Festival and we are off to listen to Doug Scott's big wall exploits. Why not? Then at An Lanntair The Artist formerly known as Jon is taking part in a celebration of John Cage and will be improvising with a radio! Well worth a trip in.

Promicrol Hp5 @ 640

This is a photographic technique post. So, if you don't want to see what it's all about, look away now.

 Tandem

I had acquired some cheap, expired and seemingly badly kept HP5 from someone in Spain. It was cheap - did I mention that? When shot at 800 asa ish it seems to work ok ish. Wasn't sure about the developer to use though. Tried Rodinal but it wasn't brill. Tried LC29 and that was a little better but now I have tried some Promicrol acquired from some-place down in England, cheaply. 

 Dog

The only down-side was that I stared the development without checking the times and dilutions. 1:30 came to mind so I used it. Unfortunately, there is no data for this dilution so I turned to my usual technique in these circumstances - I winged it!

trees

Yep, this is 18 mins @ 22C [ish] 1:30 dilution. And it seems to work too.

tree

Did I show this snap of a tree? Why should I? It's not exactly stunning. It's sits there in this field somewhere in Yorkshire where, no doubt it has for sometime. And will do for sometime more too. But, seeing as we don't 'do' trees outside of Stornoway - well, not proper trees anyway, I thought I'd capture its essence. Or something.

Of course we know how to party

Shy of two

 Yes, they were enjoying themselves too

Eve, sister Lynne and Dominique guard cup-cakes

See, my big sister had a significant birthday, my little sister too - I didn't but had one of them days already. We gathered in the wilds of the Somerset Levels. In the garden, the orchard next door and all. Over-cup-caked, over-whelmed with good food and drink. And company. Yes the company was lovely. Games too. We threw things at other things - properly you know. Like you are meant to and everything. Smite them, hard. Threw things over things, took bit of wood out of piles of wood. That sort of thing. That's how you have a good party.

Twas brill. Even if my younger sister wouldn't have her snap taken.

 Welcome, to My world

Burning

We burnt things. No witches to hand so we burnt wood. Once we had de-plummed the ground. De-quinced it too. Then people sat round hoping the rain wouldn't come. It did..

Lynne, posing while cooking

Sublime

 Not out on the peats

Not here in England either

Tonight the air was sublime, down there by the cool sea gently working it's way slowly in as a cruise liner slipped by on the horizon. A heron passed lazily by as the midges tried to have their wicked way near the machair. We left them to it strolling along the water's edge, dodging the incoming waves and enjoying the fresh, cooling air.

A brisk walk on the soft, white sand revived the soul, a meditation of movement as the day drew to a close.

I may have mentioned this before but,,,

I don't 'do' landscapes. Portraits of places maybe but definitely not landscapes.

Yes, it's 'that' castle.

This is no exception, trust me. I've been meaning to make a nice portrait of this nice looking gaff every-time we pass it - usually on the way home to the ferry from Uig to Tarbert. It is a big tourist trap. Although this day it was early, overcast and what have you, the midges were biting so no too over-crowded in the car-park. We stopped, I snook out to snap it up then we moved on to the next layby where there are some nice loos. Like you do.

It is a portrait. Although I feel somewhat embarrassed posting it. I mean, everyone takes this snap.

Relatives eh?

Martin

We have relatives. Not sure what they are for but I am lucky in that the in-laws are very nice indeed. As are the rest of the family I might quickly add before I get a wave of emails :-( . Martin is no exception, accommodating Eve and I on our trip southwards in their country house. The hedges were getting out of hand so Martin got his contraption out of the garage and tore into it. Not before he had donned just the latest in hedge-wear. I did offer to help but [luckily] was turned down - not doubt on account of my hedge-cutting inexperience / incompetence.

The Frasers. 

Homage to Laura Trott

Homage to Laura Trott.

Portrait of a lane

I shall be going to the Lewis Photographica [continuing] coffee meeting in the morning. It is a fine affair were ideas are exchanged, coffee drank and fruit consumed.. Sometimes we look at photographs. Imagine?

This image will not be one of them. I don't do landscapes but I did do this portrait of a country lane. Just before I toook these portraits of Ellen & Paul Hunter. All with the Hasselblad.

An English Lane 

 An English [not Welsh] Rose [ahem]

A born Hunter

Bin away

 See how much fun we had

Had a fab time and everything. going here and there visiting peoples related and not. Viewing Kelvingrove museum/gallery and the Hepworth/Moore gallery in Wakefield. How good was that? Very as it happens. We had a fine time.

 Shopping.

Shopping; we did a little of that too. The tent we were residing in became waterlogged on account of the excessive wetness. We got another lovely one in a sale. A sale in a shop that is. Shopping is not fun. But the snap I took I like. That's the best bit about shopping in an indoors shopping arena, one can snap away at will - unless the strong arm of the over-zealous security guard gets to you. They didn't. But they could have. I could have been writing this from the dungeons of a department store. Oh, the thought ails me.

This is not the tent

It is so nice to be back though.

There is a niche in the market

We are back! Back from swanning round GB in search of people to talk to and drink tea with. Via Ullapool on the way home since the Tarbert ferry broke down yesterday - meaning another 130 miles driving on t'mainland and a 3 am arrival home this morning. So no, I have no snaps to show yet!

But it has come to my notice that there is a niche in the market. A market that is dwindling I grant you and is creating havoc with over-consumption of 'stuff' leading to the disrupted weather patterns no-doubt [I will expand on this at a later date I'm afraid]. Still,  whilst strechting my legs and after emptying my bladder on the log journey at various ghastly places , the newstands took my interest. So many magizines to be had these days. Practical houseboating, knitting, psychology - electronic imaging buying [always buying, very little using] and so on. And that makes it difficult to buy something should you want to. Rouleur drops on my mat from time to time at home so I wouldn't buy that even though it's brill. I like mags with nice photos but most photo mags are just about buying some over-pixelled imaging device. I want to see creative snaps. Blur, colour even. eh? Something interesting anyway.

What we need is Practical Magazine Buying mag. Brilliant! Inspiration on my part I think. I shall sit back now while someone nicks the idea and puts it into production adding to the destruction of the planet as habitable by humans. That way I could browse the thing at the newstand and come up with Oh Comely without having to look at every bit of trash on the stand! While we can still breathe and eat that is.

BTW; this mag has lovely images - and a lot of them film based :-)

Batty by name

In the veg patch

Mr and Mrs Batty have a fine garden all neatly rowed, tied and growing. There's a tunnel of netting, walls of netting, and lone nets. Plants too. And a big pile of what I hope is merely compost. They spend hours in the garden doing 'things' and generally enjoying themselves while keeping themselves fed and flowered up.

We visit from time to time. Sometimes to tend the little veg patch we have been loaned here and sometimes just to drink tea and pass the time of day. Either way it's enjoyable. I suggest the Battys may well be just looking at the garden today as it is, at long last, raining!

bubbles

It's amazing how much fun one can have with water and washing up liquid. Such simple things have now been monetised - like so much of life - and I succumbed to it and bought a bubble stick. Ms Sophie loved it running hither and thither in the Toot's garden chasing the bubbles. Seemed quite reasonable thing to do at the time.

Sophie and bubbles

Twas lovely to see Sophie and her mum Deborah over on the island from Scotland on a visit to grandma Toots and hubby. But surely not as lovely as being with Eve - anywhere. Here in Ullapool.

Ullapool

another year

Another has passed since Mrs Up Yours had a birthday - which means that today of all days she was celebrating in the village shoppe - on account that she was working [at least, that's what she calls it]..

I had decided that such an auspicious occasion should be marked by an 'official' portrait sitting. The sun has been shining bright yet again so took the Ensign Box camera loaded with East German photo paper and ordered Mrs UY to sit - still. She did -  although I moved a bit. I then slaved in the darkroom [in the heat of the day I might add]to produce this masterpiece using my newly developed technique. Mrs Up Yours birthday girl called it 'interesting'. Can you imagine. Has she no appreciation eh? Obviously not!

Birthday girl

Have a great day Mrs U-Y.

One of those days

I'm a bit cranky today - as one of my friends might say. It's too hot and I'm cranky.

Still, I have developed a new technique for you all - especially The Coelyns over at Oiseval Gallery.

I shall be taking portraits commissions soon :-)

Peering into the future

I suppose you want to know how to make such a masterpiece? Eh?

1. load a box camera with fibre photo paper.

2. Shoot

3. Develop in weak developer taking care not to overdo the dark bits.

wash it.

4. split the paper to tear off a good bit making it thinner.

5. stick it in enlarger and print.

Voila!