Scafell Pike

I know its been a long time since my last post… But I’m hoping to start posting more regularly and here goes..

So a friend and I went on a walk up Scafell Pike in the lakes and the weather was beaut. Clouds, sun, wind. It was a good laugh and I got some good pictures. Autumn is a fantastic time of year for photographing. You see pictures of golden trees all the time, but its the start of the time of year when you get the lovely crisp clean air. It makes the light look prettier and makes all your pictures look better, it’s particularly good for landscapes. Theres less time to wait between golden hours and you don’t have to get up unbelievably early for pictures of the sunrise. Just great.

Also before I forget I’ll have a little chat about the Fuji Film X-Pro 1. I know it’s an old camera and there’s no need for me to go back over old reviews. Basically this camera is fantastic and the camera quality is amazing. I do wish it maybe felt abit safer in the rain but.. Oh and one thing I really miss is the interval timer. I have gotten into timelapses in a  big way and I do miss the feature.

Anyways enough waffle. Here they are.

Just a small cairn on the path up to the summit of Scafell Pike in the Lake District, Wast Water in the background.

A walker on Scafell Pike looking over Wast Water.

Looking over Angle Tarn to the east.

Looking East.

Looking North. Sun coming through the clouds,

My friend Mike stood on the edge of the abyss.

The clouds broke just long enough for these sun stairs to come out over Wast water.

Lovely autumnal weather (NOT) but perfect for sunstairs and dramatic clouds.

Low cloud caught the cliffs nicely causing a fairly pretty scene.

Some really dramatic lighting over Wast Water catching a tree nicely on the slope edge.

Sunset at the top of Hardknott Pass.

Medium format continued.

So a lot has been going on since my last post! I asked for some advice on the rangefinder forum on scanning, and I got a whole bunch of very helpful responses, but one poster in particular helped me the most. My new friend Pete. Pete gave me his epson V700 photo scanner with all the associated holders. This gave my scanning the opportunity to take a humongous leap forward in quality. I have been playing around with the scanner tonight digitising some of my 6×6 and 645 negs. The results are beautiful. (If abit dusty, if anyone has any advice on how they clean their negatives before scanning this would be much appreciated.) 

I can’t say how greatful I am to Pete. Once again thank you mate.

Heres the photos:

Taken in Colleville cemetery.

Taken in Selside. The mountains in the background are those of the lake district.

A different view in Colleville.

Taken from the same hill in Selside, but looking toward Morecambe bay and the Irish sea.

Classic dad shot. I realise the composition is a little bit off. (The top of his head is there on the negative, need to figure out the scanner)

And finally, my favourite “Moody sheep”.

I’m just over half way through another roll of Tri-X so as soon as that is finished I will self develop it and get it scanned for you guys.

Thanks for reading.

My exploration into Medium Format (and scanning)

So over the past few months, I have been experimenting with medium format, with both the KIEV 88CM and the Zenza Bronica ETRS. Bought from West Yorkshire Cameras. Being cheap as I am, I have been self developing using Ilfrasol and Ilford Rapid Fixer. Using a medium format camera is a steep learning curve over using a regular SLR or rangefinder. The key difference is the size of the film. On a medium format camera, the surface area of the film is about 2 times the size of regular 35mm film. This allows for a number of benifits, increased dynamic range, far higher (equivalent) resolution and a “cleaner” grain. Medium format also has a particular look. The bokeh is unique and fantastic. Developing your own film is interesting and rewarding. I mix up my own solutions for the developer from powder chemicals, kindly donated to me. I use a method known as agitation developing. I won’t bore you with the process, but it is fantastic. I can only do black and white as I do not have a precisely controlled water temperatures, and black and white is quite forgiving.

I had developed the films as soon as I exposed them all, but had (until today) no means of digitising them. So far I am honestly, a little dissapointed in the results. None of my scans are particularly well focussed. I think this is due to the convex nature of the negatives when they are placed on the scanning screen, which may throw the neg out of the focus zone. If anyone can offer any insights, PLEASE let me know.

Enough waffle, heres the pictures:

Camera: Zenza Bronica ETRS, Lens: 75mm f2.8, Film: Tri-X 400

 

Camera: Zenza Bronica ETRS, Lens: 75mm f2.8, Film: Kodak Tri-X 400

 

Camera: Kiev 88CM, Lens: 80mm F2.8, Film: Ilford FP4 400

Taken at the Colleville cemetery.

 

Camera: Kiev 88CM, Lens: 80mm F2.8, Film: Ilford FP4+ 400

Thanks for reading.

Walney Terriers VS West Coast Trojans

I recently photographed this American football match, and one of the players kindly wrote a write up of the match for me. 

Here is the write up and the pictures.

Game write-up for match held on 22/09/13 @ Hawcoat Sports Club – Kick-off 14:00pm
 
With a long delay from their previous match (away to the Durham County Presidents) the Walney Terriers finally got their chance for another affiliate game.
 
For those not aware; the British American Football National League (BAFANL) requires “Associate Teams” such as the Walney Terriers, to participate in at least 3 full games prior to the end of 2013. These matches are reviewed by the officiating referees, the opposition and a league representative whom decide whether the team should be granted admittance to the full leagues for the forth-coming season.
 
This particular game was always going to be a tough ask for the Terriers; facing the formidable ‘West-Coast Trojans’ from Troon in Scotland who played last season in the BAFANL Premier Division.
 
With the Trojans having a lengthy 4 hour commute, tired legs after a long season and a relatively small squad of players, the Terriers were optimistic of a good performance.
 
Around 100 supporters showed up to watch the game and with good weather to match, the Terriers set out for an entertaining display of Football. Despite losing to the score of 0-48, the local team had some good plays on offense and in the second half, managed to slow down a potent Trojans attack.
 
Highlight plays came from “Cameron Arnold” who plays both Line-backer and Punter, who made some good stops on defense and on a punt play which had the ball thrown over his head, was able to recover the ball and run it back an astonishing 26 yards through a wall of Trojans to keep possession of the ball.
 
With the Terriers chasing for much of the game Wide Recievers “Joe Allington” and “Liam Bradbury” made some acrobatic catches to keep the game alive.
 
But it was on Defense in the second half that the Terriers finally picked up stride; Defensive Most Valuable Players “Matt Scott” and “Gareth Trufitt” made some good stops in the Trojans backfield along with constant pressure from “Paul Bulmer” and “Steven Soulsby” to force some wayward passes from the Trojans quarterback.
 
Sweeping up at the back of the Defense was a very active performer in Terriers safety “Lyam Denney” rounding out some good performances despite the final score-line.
 
The Terriers next fixture on October 13th is against another ‘associate’ team, the Burnley Tornadoes’ which promises to be a much tighter contest.
 
The Walney Terriers want to thank everyone for their continuing support and hope to see you all again on the 13th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading