Shine

I was going title the post 'sun' but I didn't want to attract the wrong sort of notice.

La la la, la etc

Please don't tell me I cannot take a portrait to save my life.

This is him. Not seen him for ages then several of him came along at once. The Ilford Sporti did a fine job in collecting him up.

Been busy

Not making snaps but mending the wee yacht, sailing the thing, visiting peeps ooh, and keeping Toots here company in the woods.

Sorry about the lack of wordage on this ere blog but the world is satirising itself and doesn't require me to comment at the moment.

Belongs to Crofter's mum

Some sort of furry sheeps.

Looking at another world

There I was wondering if I could stand the day. Cope with what life was throwing at me, the sun warming my back and the wind caressing my ears.

Then, all of of a sudden it appeared as it by some flip of reality. I liked it a lot and took myself off home to make Beany sheepherders pie for tea.

Did I tell the sun shone?

It shone briefly on me and my self on the beach. The big beach by the village that is.  I had the Perkeo with me and shot around a bit.

aGAIN

I still have some colour film.

Dearest

Twas howling

This is the harbour entrance at Brevig, just down the coast. it's not the best protected in this weather direction but hey, a little boat did come in.

Trying to hold the camera steady in a force 8 was no easy task I can tell you.

Oh, you're back.

I'm in a state of non-plusssedness. No, thank goodness it's not the 54th state of Trumpton.
The wind has been blowing, the rain falling, me bones aching and I'm still awaiting that flash of inspiration to come upon me.
I took this to placate my mind. It didn't work..

Study

It's the future.
Trust me.

It might have been summer

It might have been summer this snap.
It might have been yesterday but me thinks the umbrella wouldn't last a few moments in the breeze we endured then.

Just back from a fine visi to Mr Toots. had tea and Tunnocks too. How good is that? Only Mr Toots is beached on the settee with his get up and go gone. Gone to a similar location mine has I shouldn't wonder. Still, my stupor didn't get the  better of me and I fought the wind at Brevig harbour watching the waves crash in, snapping them while they weren't looking and seeing a foolhardy little fishing boat bravely fight it's way in to what is a dodgy harbour entrance at best. Oh well.

beware of those who want to sell you snake oil

Please don't mention that name here

.. and a dog

Yes well.

Foma Retro 320 @ 1600.
Oh you say.

Biking

Is this IT ?
Is this the day that the US decide.
Is it?
Not sure.

I'll be glad when it's settled though.
It's worrying me - the thought of Trumpton

Trees

Bit of a breeze here today so we might be losing a few branches off the trees in Stornoway.

Was in toon yesterday at an Lanntair for Nanook of the North film along with an excellent musical accompaniment by Peter Urpeth and some guitar wielding chap called Mark Hewins. Ooh they made a right fab racket to watch the film by.

When you are on to a GOOD THING

Notice the capital letters there? That's means something. I know not what but it is important as I present to you another lith print. Eastern Block paper too - ORWO - thin but nice if you shine the right light and soak in the right chemicals

Lith

You may have seen this snap before - and you may see it again. Why stop showing a snap you like eh?

Tis not quite the same as the last offering as it happens., The dust is in different places, this printed using Lith on old Hungarian photo paper - can you tell?

I was there

Self

This may be me. Lounging in the Summer Parlour. Only twas autumn. that's why the development of the glass plate was wrong. So wrong you can almost see how I feel. Terrible that is.

Pedestrians only

You can tell it's been pedestrianised.

Just decided to get rid of one camera I never really got on with. I always wanted one but when I had it, it didn't gell with me. Oh well.

My bod is rebelling at the moment. Tried Dandelion root tea but that didn't agree with me either. Now I'm melting all the time. You can see that reflected in the snap!

Mother and daughter

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.