Yeah

More snaps from a recent stroll. Eh?

Argh!
Sorry and all that. Selfie attempt with contemporary 'smile'. Why do peeps do that? Please tell me.

Another stroll

I stroll most days as it happens. Most days the rain isn't horizontal anyway. The other morn the sun shone, the wind blew but it was a tad mildish. I found the Pentax P30 lurking on the floor so loaded it with old fogged HP5 film I have and enjoyed the stroll on a village beach [there are 3 here] and snapped happily way.

With crappy old fogged film you can snap at will, this way and that knowing full well it is probably all in vain - but the act of snapping is nice all the same.

Home again I sloshed the film in Bromophen paper developer and you know, it's not too bad although the snaps are kind of boring. Sorry about that.

I enjoyed the stroll though.

A stroll

 Sometimes I go out to play with Mr Toots. He is not always this happy.

This time we strolled past the Woodlands centre - well, into actually. I took some snaps with a camera I had with me - and Polypan film. How good is that?

Barnack

Have I ever told you I actually paid a little bit of money out and traut myself to an old Barnack a while back? No? Well I bought one for a mere trifle really. It's only about 80 years old too - so quite cutting edge I suppose. The twin rangefinder and viewfinder take some getting used to - and the rangefinder is a tad on the dim side. But hey, it is a Barnack :-)

And no, I have no Leica lens but am using either a Jupiter12 of Industar61 I already had. Lovely all the same. I managed to shoot a whole roll of masterpieces with it only to find I hadn't loaded the film right. All lost.

But here is one I made earlier. At the harbour and everything.

Cancelled; The sun was shining

Oh dear

Did I tell you about the birds?

Out there on the saltings, flapping about an all. Only this time they weren't flapping about. They were sat sitting and everything. On a little island in the saltings just oop the road. How dare they!

A fisherman came along - all rubber and gore-tex - waded straight through the water, flicked his string-on-a-pole at swimming fish as he stood in that there wet water. The fishes ignored him. Obviously.

I wandered up. flapped my arms in my best birdy impression so the real birdies flew up into the windy wind stuff. Oh, how I laughed. Laughed till I cried. Or it might have been the wind that made me cry. When I say 'cry' I mean tear-up sort of thing.

I snapped the whole scene up with my stealthy camera - a venerable 6x6.

I blame Toots

I was just following Toots with his 5x7 and merely proferring an orange filter now and again. I used it myself too - hence the snap. What a  lovely afternoon we had wandering here and there, there mostly as it happens. I shouldn't really bother with a proper camera when I go on the beaches since I almost never like the resulting snaps.Oh well, at least I looked the part.

Gunnera

Please tell me how it got here

Are you still there?

Are you?
I am.
I hid in the darkroom for an hour or so and felt better for it. Must be the fumes.

These images are Conceptual. At least I think they are.

This is, probably, the state of my mind.

Excuse me while I try to save the Human race

Please excuse me while I try to save the human race

Toots

Should Kenna come

Know Michael Kenna? Nor I but I know his images. Simple but stunning images made on film round the world. Shot and printed square - just small 6" x 6" prints I'm told. Has a particular style, much copied.

I am trying to channel the fella at the moment because Toots and I have made an 'agreement' to shoot a couple rolls of 120 film in our 6x6 folders while away o our next hols. Toots in Spainland, me on a boat in Scotland. Will be interesting. I shall keep you informed.

I took my self rejuvenated Perkeo out for a jaunt yesterday [ the double exposure prevention had jammed - again] in the wind and dampness - just so I could gauge its possibilities. Not printed yet but this is my Homage to Kenna in Stormoway.

Bikists

There are still a few around at this time of year. Unlike the flocks that abound here in summer, these late callers are often alone or in pairs. The wind and rain doesn't seem to put them off flitting around the place with their world strapped to the back of their wheeled skeleton. Soon though, as the weather becomes more inclement we will see them migrating southish on the ferry leaving only a few hardy souls to see out the winter.

Can often be sen head down on the roads from Tarbert to Stormoway. Plummage is usually bright with flapping bits although some sub-species can be dark with flapping bits.

Occasionally  seen huddled in bus shelters in bad weathers - often with their wheeled skeletons up-side-down.

Be reassured

Whilst I may explore imagery created other than in camera, I will still be posting snaps taken with a lens and old fashioned film.

A kernel of truth

I was reading about these on a blog the other day. Seeing I have a stash of old fogged papers I thought I'd give it go. My resist was peanut butter and honey. Why not?

I'm rather liking this Chemigram process although I am rather glad i have air handling in the darkroom.

So, what do think?

Island Street Life

Why is it that the place that oozes pixels also sports many lovely film cameras in use?

Some people write so well on photography. Make sense and everything. I have for sometime been interested in an alternate view of the world through image making and when I came across http://nonfigurativephoto.blogspot.co.uk/  I knew I'd found plenty to read. I might have to get moving with my own interpretation of being.

In the meantime I shall show you my daily snap. I fell upon an old Ricoh 500g rangefinder in a box the other day. Not sure I have used it before. The rangefinder is dimmer than dim, the lightmeter doesn't work but loaded with Polypan-f it works passably well and looks "well cool" as I hear the young things say [or is it "sick" - I can't keep up].

Since the weather dawned fine - finer than fine actually. Clear skies almost and warm sunshine with a cooling light breeze, I had a short stroll on one of the village beaches. I took the Ricoh along for the ride. As it happens there was a photo-tour thing happening there. Long lens' pointing here and here, pixels flying everywhere. Nice peeps though. I think it might have been this man. No idea if he is any good but he goes to nice places and is very nice to chat too.

Number 2

Gosh I was on a roll that day, the day of Ken & Moni's wedding. I am very surprised they have not been on to me yet ordering countless copies of my snaps of the occasion.

They better hurry up otherwise they'll be in a queue when word gets out about my style for weddings. I reckon I am going to be booked up. Might have to get another back up camera or something.

I always think it's good to have a USB or do I mean USP? Who knows, I've probably got both anyway. I shall have a look in the store cupboard. My old boss was always asking if I had a USP - but he seemed to exist without one !

Oh I do like a nice wedding

And this one was nice. So nice I almost forgot blurry.

Not a print

No, it's not a darkroom print. Was messing with a camera and film to make sure all was well and i wasn't messing up the development. seemed to have got it nailed..