Italia

 

Another little snap from yeay years back. looking all apprehensive for what turned out to be ride over the white roads in 40C heat !

Memories of Tuscany

 Watching the Giro D'Italia bike race the other day - and what a race it has been, brought back memories of 2011 and our last visit to Tuscany with Deanne and Mr Windy.

please bear with me

 

Have a slightly malfunctioning me.

Will resume soon.

at the wedding

 

In the bird box

 

We have been to check Toots is still ok. His dear wife is away at the moment and there's not too many peeps around what with the C..... and everything. We sit in the Bird Box in the Garden with the door open. Rules eh?

We seem to have a slightly malfunctioning Keith at the moment. He is prone to go out at night through the cat phlapp and then come back in soaked to the skin like a over-wet dishcloth. Keith then proceeds to leap onto the bed!

Ooooof, the Giro is excellent

 

When I say Giro I mean the Giro D'Italia which as it happens is still winding it's way round Italy at a rate of knots. Nother win for GB yesterday which is nice but the racing is exciting too. Just like the Ronde van Vlaanderen which Eve rode the amateur sportive version a couple of times years ago. Ooof, so good to have a pooter to watch it all on.

The wonderful registrar

 

Two lovelees

 

Now, it was Dr Alethea on the left who got wed on the beach - now ensconced in a warmer jacket over her fancy outfit and cuddling a glass of something chiled. Mind you most things were chilled that day.

Eve is doing similar and enjoying the lovely moment.

The wedding party

 

It wasn't my finest hour. The rain and sea spray dampened the day and my lens. I hung on for grim death and snapped a few up. There was an official lady snapper there too - collecting the pixels - and a lovely job she did of it too. 

Yes, the horizon is like that at that spot, especially that day with the wind blowing the beach a bit tilted. Twas a wonder the sea didn't all rush to one side! 

Harris and Daisy the Tibetan Terriers enjoyed the beach it seemed although they were shivering at the end of the day. A day I think I will remember for a while :-)

Not sure they'd thought it through

 

To the swim on Reef.

At that time the sun shone.

The light was lovely so i snapped.

for those of a photographic analogue disposition, this was Kentmere 400 @ 800 in Bellini Duo Step. It's nice too.

We strolled here too

 

With friends and everything.

The just married ones and others.

Oh what a lovely few days we had.

Eve's almost warm now

 

Hebridean Beach Wedding

 

To the beach.

Hebridean beach weddings are a thing here. We are in the outer Hebrides you see, beaches all around, white as white, sandy and empty. Except that is when two lovelies, in this case Alethea and Mags decide that October is a good month to get hitched.

It is a good month as it happens only it rains a bit. And the wind can blow. Just as well the registrar had her wetsuit in the car. She didn't use it that day but should have. The official photographer [not me although I know not why :-) ] had her wetsuit with her too I believe, such is life up here.

Oh how much fun we had - I say that now I have had a hot bath at home and averted the onset of hypothermia.  There were the happy, wet couple's dogs there too and they were having so much fun .

Oh look, the registrar is here smiling and everything as she does. All women today [apart from Harris the dog and the married gay men couple we met in the car park. It was a wonder the local Free Church didn't explode ! ].

And a unique reception social distancing in the car park by Alethea's van. Hot tea, sandwiches and cup cakes have never ever tasted better. The day really was wonderful and I'll never forget it. 

Congratulations Alethea and Mags McHardy. may you have many wonderful but dryer years together.

And to the Viking

 

See, I even took Mr Denis the Croatian from Croatia out to see Keith the Viking and his sheeps. Denis snapped him up.

Must pop over to see the fine Viking again in the not too distant. Haven't see him in ages.

That Croatian man from Croatia.

Denis came to the island after finding my blog on t'internet. What a nice fella he is too - loaded down with his Leica and blocks of Tmax400 film.  Enjoyed his company - taking him hither and thither while he snapped the place up [see here ].

I think this must have been down at Bosta Beach since I recognise the island in the background. I think. Goodness know what I was thinking when I took this - probably nothing at all since it was foma 100 asa film shot at 800 asa and developed in Rodinal !

The world is a better place with a little movement

 

Mining the archives again. Can't imagine how I missed this beauty. 

Eve

 

back to normal

 

As normal as it comes round here anyway. Back to snaps on film of Toots Wilson visiting last month or somewhen. 

the same stroll

 

It was a grand stroll. The sheeps [see yesterday] had trotted by,  the crofters following behind then we gazed over the misty sea. No breeze and even better, few midges.

Digi - so sorry.

 

I haven't been at my best so, I have resorted to a digi shot [I have a little Canon g10 to play with ].

Twas the Great Glen Tolsta sheeps round up we came across on our little stroll the other day.

wanderings

 

We haven't been wandering that far of late because ...... well, you know. Luckily it's nice round here when the wind is not howling and the rain beating a horizontal path to the door so when the moment's right we go out - on bikes, or one foot, with or without Keith.

This is one of Keith's favourite strolls. Down there on the soft grass and everything. 

Ducklettes

 

The Crofter was busy shovelling stuff from somewhere in a dark corner but the ducklettes were still squawking away in the hutches. I snapped up quickly and moved on. Not sure why I was there to be honest. Maybe I was borrowing something - that was probably it. Nice to be there all the same.

Then I developed the film in Bellini's Duo-step , diafine like developer which seems to gives lovely fine grain.

A while back

 

I miss this place. O'er the bridge from the wonderful Hepworth Gallery is this scene. I mean, I don't think the boys are there all the time but the rest is there - at the moment.

And last time I looked the Hepworth is open atm too - so well worth a visit especially seeing there are Bill Brandt images on show.

On two roads

 

 

I am being a little disingenuous here to be honest. They are two roads on the island but not all roads here are like this now. It's not all sheeps and bailer twine you know. We have roads that are twin lanes and everything. And a few roundabouts in our small capitol. 

All the same we, Eve and I like this sort of road that inhabit the island-scape as they are generally most bicycle friendly. Excepting these two roads - since they both fizzle out. The top one at the slipway to the Bay thereabouts and the second into a grassy path and a footbridge.

'imself

 

Look, look, 'imself The Toots actually went out with camera the other day. Not sure he actually pressed the shutter - step too far an all. Lovely clouds spitting a little rain at the time and Toots was worried about his recently styled bouffant .

[w]ooof

 

It rather surprised me, wandering as it did across the dunes as the rain came in again. Surprised, I triggered the shutter and recorded the happening. Like I do.

ooof

 

Sorry about that.

Portraits of the land

 

 It has to be said that I do make portraits of the land here on the island. Although it's not my "thing" the opportunity is there and mainly it doesn't argue and complain about privacy. 

My portraits of places are a trying to contain a certain mystery about them. Hopefully, they make the viewer wonder why on earth I took the snap like that. I prefer it that way.

Misty fog

 

We have been having some misty fog recently. Thick all day - everywhere which is unusual since often you get out of our village and it's clear. Having a liking for misty foggy days I took a camera out. This burn caught the cameras lens .

Lucky

 

I am so very lucky to have wonderful people in  my life. Not least my wife of 14 years Evelyn whom I love so very much. But there's also people like Derek and his lovely wife Caroline. 

Derek and I were both in the dental trade back in the day - in Bath our home town. I hated the business and got out after 20 years but Derek prospered in the trade and ended up in Cheltenham area.  Luckily for me we have stayed in touch and so, when I heard they were up in the Skye area recently, we popped over on the ferry from Harris to see them. So pleased we did. Lovely to see them again.

I have been looking at portraits again - photographed and painted. I'm particularly drawn to the work of HCB in this regards. I keep his work in the mind as I compose my own less then brilliant snaps.

Do you know this man?

 

I know this lovely man. It's William and he lives in a lovely place by the sea with his equally lovely wife Gemma. You might have met William here before. He appears from time to time. I love this man but sadly he is not quite at his best these days.

Bill and I worked together for a few years rushing round the island at night, tangling wires and balancing arials as we sought to wire the island's miscreants up. I mean, we were trying to set up monitoring of said peeps  although not without hassle.

It didn't always work - the locality and the landscape often getting in the way of a developing technology. The peeps were sometimes less than lucid or cooperative although I have to say most were friendly.  We had fun though. Mostly. 

William stopped working the job some years ago while I slogged on with new technology with the help of my other colleague Alex. 

We stay in touch - and why wouldn't you? Such a lovely man.

From a day in Silesia

 

House

 

I met Charlie with William near this house once.

The Coow

 

Evelyn and the coow exchanging pleasantries on a track behind the village.

autumn is here

 

Badlands

 

Just been reading about Lachlan Morton's tremendous ride in the Badlands off road self supported race in Spain. Fantastic riding  on pretty well trffic free roads without the helicopters, motorbikes, cars, lorries, vans and coaches that support the TDF and similar dinosaur races.

Yes, yes I do watch the tdf on the pooter these days and I do like the racing. The rest of the environmental disaster that is the race is a nonsense though. the sooner it changes and becomes self-supporting or something the better. There I have said. Now excuse me while I go and watch today's stage :-)

Minolta A3

 

Some while back in a moment when I briefly felt rather flush with spondoolies, I spent a few groats on an old camera made in the year of my birth. It's a Minolta - which I rather  like because perhaps it was the make of my first proper camera. This one is a rangefinder camera - an A3 to be precise.  It's a lovely looking thing and feels lovely in the hand. However, for taking snaps it's not brilliant.

Being manual, one has the faff of checking the exposure all thee time and, the lens, while sharp doesn't really like the light. It flares like a seventies hippy's trouser leg. So taking a leaf out of James Ravilious' book, I got out the gaffer tape and closed down the front of the lens hood to an oblong shape. Typically, I overdid it and the image is a bit compromised.

I took the camera all the same on a little stroll we had at the back of the village after a rather exciting TDF stage on the pooter. I love this stroll - mainly because I have only ever seen one other person up there - collecting their cut peats with an old  Tractor.

end of roll

 

What do other photographers do when they have not quite finished a roll? Of film that is. Not sweets in which case I'd eat the lot immediately.

 If the film has been in the film has been in the camera for as long as a couple of weeks I have to pop out and finish it. This was one of those snaps taken one evening near one of the village beaches [we, the village have three]. It was foma 100 and I actually used a tripod. Eh !

not sure why i bothered really

the TDF is good this year

 

Still watching the TDF and it's good this year. Adam Yates from Bury near Manc is leading the whole thing as I write after a strong ride. Connor Swift from Doncaster is doing some sterling and much appreciated work in the race for his team leader Nairo Quintana [Columbia].

I have managed a few ebike rides with Eve and a few snaps with the Bronica , one of which is here. It's the village here in the evening.

I couldn't help myself

 

One day my lack of restraint may well realise a nice snap. And, I do have a lot of Polypan-f film to use !

Keith AkaBilly and Frank

 

Keith the cat and Frank the dog from o'er the road size each other up then walk away.

Kodak Fine Grain Positive film

 

This is a week or so old but rather nice snap if I do say so myself.