The Long Silence: Part 2

  A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about exploring a local abandoned mental asylum and said I would follow up with more pictures.  Well, after hours of scanning, rescanning, stitching, rescanning, stitching, colour balancing, rescanning, stitching and re colour balancing (I hate Photoshop) I have finally managed to scan my prints and get the scans to look (almost) like the prints.  I really should learn not to print bigger than 8 x 10 because my scanner can’t fit the print in and my computer struggles to run photoshop (I really need to get round to wiping it and reinstalling everything).

  First things first though, a little bit of history (Wikipedia based of course).  Construction on the asylum began in 1869 as the three Lancashire asylums in Prestwich, Rainhill and Lancaster were deemed to be full.  It was designed by Henry Littler, Architect to the Lancashire Asylums Board.  It officially opened in April 1873 and had an initial capacity of 1000 inmates.  Within the grounds were a church, a chapel, a large recreation hall and a farm estate.  In 1878 a new annexe was started to the north of the hospital and this was completed in 1880.  This allowed a further 115 patients to be housed and a dedicated Post Office to be created onsite.  Shortly thereafter in 1884 a sanatorium was established in the hospital grounds to cater for patients with infectious diseases.

  In 1892 works began to provide electric lamps throughout the grounds and another new annexe was started, followed by another in 1912.  By 1915 the hospital housed 2820 inmates, more than double the original capacity.  The Whittingham Hospital Railway which was used to transport coal, goods and staff between the hospital and Grimsargh was closed in June 1957.

  When the First World War struck a new annexe was commissioned to cater for war casualties.  Patients who died were buried on a private cemetery within the hospital grounds.  When the war ceased the hospital returned to private use.

  In 1923 the decision was made to change the name ‘Whittingham Asylum’ to ‘Whittingham Mental Hospital’, presumably to make it sound a little less imposing.  When the Second World War struck the hospital was again used in treating victims of the war.  In 1948 the hospital was renamed to ‘Whittingham Hospital’ after it became a part of the newly formed National Health service.

  In the late 60’s meetings were held with senior staff to discuss complaints of cruelty, ill-treatment and fraud within the hospital.  Those who held the meetings were then threatened with actions for libel and slander.  Eventually the Hospital Management Committee intervened and began inquiries into the allegations of corruption and abuse.

  The hospital eventually closed in 1995 and the hospital still sits there, fenced off.  Plans have been in progress for a number of years to build new homes on the site, but as yet have not been finalised.

  That’s the history, now let’s take a look inside.  I have included the 2 pictures from my previous post just for the sake of completeness.  As previously stated I decided to use the lith process on these prints as the high contrast and graininess would really complement the textures within the decaying buildings.  I used Agfa Brovira paper as it retains highlight detail really well when lathing and you can get a wide variety of print tones depending on developer dilution and life.  I hope you enjoy:

The Long Silence

  The title of this post has a two-fold meaning.  Firstly, i haven't uploaded a post in absolutely ages,  and i'm sorry about that.  The past few months have been hectic and i just haven't been able to get into the darkroom to do any printing at all.  I was hoping to finish the series this post is dealing with off and upload all the images together, but as it looks like i won't be back in the darkroom for (what feels like) eternity i thought i had better upload the first part now.

  This post is about one of my favourite photographic subjects - abandoned places.  Regular readers will know that i love to get into abandoned buildings and take photos.  A few months ago i finally found my way into Whittingham Asylum, a large complex of buildings not far from where i live.  This place is without a doubt the biggest explore i have done and it was amazing.  I barely scratched the surface of what was available to see and i ran out of time before i had even covered a quarter of the complex.  I definitely need to go back.  And soon.

  For me, urban exploration photography is all about texture.  Peeling paint, rotting wood, crumbling walls etc all catch the available light and enhance the texture of photographs.  When inside i shot a roll of old Portra 160NC and a roll of Ilford FP4+.  When home I developed both rolls and decided to start printing the colour first as i hadn't done any RA4 in a long time.  It didn't go too well as i kept getting light leaks on my paper (it was a sunny day, there must be a hole in my shed letting light in that i need to plug).  I got one print that i liked as shown below:

  I decided to ditch colour for a while and concentrate on the black and white roll.  The problem was that what with the roofs missing from parts of the buildings, there are areas of extreme highlights on some of the walls.  Some of the shots i took are unusable because i just couldn't retain highlight detail.  I printed a few of the other frames but i just wasn't happy with what i got.

  I decided to try some shots in lith, but i didn't want the extreme contrast you get with some papers like Slavich Unibrom - that would have resulted in even more highlight loss.  I decided to use some Agfa Brovira (G3) i had recently come into as I knew it would give a nice even development but still retain that nice lith look.  Brovira has a "softer" lith effect than some other papers and highlight detail can be retained much easier.

  I mixed up some LD20 and made the first print, which took about 25 minutes to develop:

  After a good wash i toned in Selenium 1:5 for a few minutes which altered the highlight colour from a pale yellow to a slightly pinker hue which i preferred.  Normally i use a 1:9 ratio to avoid a pronounced colour change but still affect contrast, but used 1:5 as i wanted a colour change on this print.

  I then decided to print the chair photo mentioned earlier (i shot it on b&w as well as colour, just in case).  This took 45 minutes to develop, fortunately i had my stool and stereo with me (possibly the 2 most important items in any darkroom)!

  As before i toned in Selenium 1:5 but i cut toning short once the highlights were being reached (selenium toning starts in the shadows and moves up) to retain the yellow hue.  This image is naturally contrastier due to the light coming in through the windows and i think the cool greys of the shadows works well will the warm highlights.  The straight print of this is nowhere near as good as the lith version in my opinion.  Sometimes an image just needs lith.

  I have still got a few more frames to print which i will hopefully be able to do this weekend, failing that next week.  As soon as they're done ill get them uploaded and posted here.  In the meantime keep printing and ill see you again soon.

The Curse of the Big Print

  Months and months ago i made a 16 x 16 lith print on a sheet of Afa MCC 118 paper which turned out perfect.  I plan on framing it and (hopefully) getting it into the Harris Museum open exhibition which is where "artists" in and around the Preston area get to submit a piece of their work for display in the museum.

  Meanwhile i have literally spent the past two months trying to get this print scanned.  Big print and small scanner is not a good combination.  I am using an Epson V500 to scan with and i will take a sheet of A4 size paper, so i'm having to scan the print in several separate sections.  The problem comes when trying to stitch them together in Photoshop.  I have been having computer issues lately (its getting old and i think i just need to wipe it an reinstall everything again) and so Photoshop keeps having a sulk whenever i try and do anything with large files.  It's a shame really as the negative i made the print of is one of my favourite ones to print, i love everything about the image; plus, it works great in lith.

  Anyway, in the end got so fedup im decided to relith it using some smaller paper (7 x 7 Orwo BN 118 to be exact) and post it here and on Flickr.  So here it is, finally online:

  The print on Agfa paper has a more yellow colour to it than this pinkish one but i think it still works.  Im looking forward to framing it and getting it displayed.

Distractions...

  I’m afraid my straight up prints have been suffering lately due to my being obsessed with lith printing.  I literally can’t stop doing it.  I shot a wedding a few weeks ago as a backup for my wife and the negatives haven’t even been scanned yet, i’ve been too occupied lithing!

  I did a 16” x 16” lith a few months ago and it is taking forever to scan.  Because it’s so big i have to split it into 6 separate scans and then try and stitch them together in photoshop but it isn’t quite working...yet.  I hope to have it uploaded soon anyway.  I do, however, have two prints which i can show you now:

  This first one was taken using a Lomography Diana F+ and lith printed onto Orwo BN118 paper which i won on EBay for a steal.  I love the brownish tones you get with this paper and im looking forward to trying out some more contrasty negatives soon.

   This second one was taken in an abandoned power station not far from my house using an old Lubitel 166B.  It was my first camera with variable aperture/shutter speed which was a little confusing at the time but operating it is second nature now.  Normally this paper gives me a rich golden yellow tone in the mids but this time i got a pale pinkish brown which was a nice change and (i think) compliments the image well.

  Anyway i just thought id share my latest prints with you all – my next post will (hopefully) have some of these wedding photos on once i pull my finger out and get cracking on them!

  Oh by the way – remember i bought an Epson 4490 to replace my V500 which broke?  Turns out the 4490 power supply will run the V500 which is a major bonus in my opinion!

Sunography and Cyanotypes

  It was my first wedding anniversary last week and my wife and i got each other a few presents in celebration.  Hidden amongst the graphic novels, jeans and camera-related treats was an A4 sized envelope of something i hadn't seen before.  It was a package of Sunography cyanotype paper.  A quick read of the instructions revealed that all i had to do was expose the provided paper in sunlight for a period of time, wash it and voila-a cyanotype!

  Well we had our first sunny day yesterday so i set to work.  I put a sheet on top of a hardback book, put some negatives on top and placed a sheet of glass over them.  I sat them in sunlight for 15 minutes and then rinsed in cold water for a few minutes.  For some reason some of the images rinsed off in the water (hmmm...) but one of them stayed and looked great.  Im really looking forward to exposing the rest of the sheets.

  I noticed this morning that on the Silverprint website they sell a kit that contains chemicals etc to make your own cyanotype.  It costs a little more than the Sunography paper but it seems you can get more mileage out of it and you get the fun of mixing your own chemicals and exposing them onto whatever material you want.  Ill probably be giving that a try at some point in the future.

  Im hoping to print one of my photos onto a large sheet of acetate and try and expose that onto the paper-hopefully it will turn out well.  You can place pretty much anything you like over it and expose which i think is pretty cool.  Purist cyanotypers may turn their noses up at this as i suppose its not really a true cyanotype but its quick and fun so i dont really care!

Is There a Doctor in the House?

  As mentioned in previous blog posts (http://www.twelvesmallsquares.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/decayed-derelict-and-abandoned.html) i am very much drawn to run down, derelict places.  I love the textures of peeling paint and thick rust and i spend hours online searching out other peoples’ photos of abandoned places and looking for local places to access myself.  Recently i got inside an abandoned hospital/convalescent home that isn’t too far from my house.  I spent a good 2 hours inside and had a great time.  Although it’s sometimes a little spooky to be in such places i absolutely love wandering round soaking up the environment and shooting as many photos as i can.  I must confess that i got a little trigger happy and shot 3 rolls of film whilst i was inside!  The weekend was spent developing, scanning and uploading, both to this blog and to my Flickr page (www.flickr.com/wilfbiffherb) but it was worth all the effort.  I’m so pleased with how my shots came out as i have always struggled a little with metering, but my exposures from this trip were spot on (well, in my opinion anyway).  I’m looking forward to a return trip sometime in the future to explore further and take more shots.

Return To Huncoat

  Another trip back to Huncoat Power Station, this time with my good friend Paul in tow.  Paul had never been before so i said id take him round and show him the sights.  The man was keen.  He was clearly into it when we got there, kneeling in all the crud on the floor just to get the shot he was after.  I had a great day there to be honest, i saw so much i had missed on previous visits.  You should check Pauls shots out; he shoots digital but i suppose we can let him off this once.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljohnberry/

  I have been having trouble lately with my black and white shooting/developing technique so i decided to try a new approach.  Using some Ilford HP5+ i decided to underexpose by 1 stop then overdevelop accordingly, thereby boosting contrast.  Using a red filter whilst shooting and a 1:25 mix of rodinal when developing meant id get even more contrast without losing details in shadows and highlights.  For the first time i also used a grey card with my light meter for exposure, and im never going back now, it really helped so much.  Im really happy with how the shots came out, exactly like i saw them in my mind.  Looking forward now to getting back out and shooting some more.

Decayed, Derelict and Abandoned

  I dont know why but i love abandoned buildings.  Many an hour has been spent poring over books and websites dedicated to the decayed and abandoned.  A book called Abandoned Places by Henk van Rensberge contains some of the greatest pictures of abandoned places i have ever seen.  To think these buildings once were a hive of activity with people milling about to and fro, but now are left alone to fall into dereliction and decrepity. 

  I am fortunate in that one of the most famous asylums in the country is just outside my city.  Whittingham Mental Asylum.  A huge complex of buildings shut off from the rest of the world, slowly collapsing and succumbing to the prying hands of vegetation.  I have visited only once and only the outside, but look around online and you will find some truly amazing photographs from this wonderful place.

  Also near me is an abandoned power station.  You can walk right into this one and explore the rooms and halls that once echoed with the sounds of industry.  This place is a popular fly tipping destnation and people have dumped many lots of strange things here.  Mostly sofas, which i find fun to shoot with different film/camera combinations.

  Being from Lancashire there are also lots of abandoned mills.  One in particular in Bamber Bridge draws me to it, its exterior being red brick and boarded windows; yet still it catches the eye and begs to be photographed.

  Perhaps its the solitude i feel when im in these places, or maybe the sharp dash up my spine whenever i hear a sound echoing round those empty rooms.  Whatever it is i dont think ill ever stop being drawn to these places.  There are still many many more on my list to visit and i may never get to them all.  But i can try.  And should the mood strike, so can you...

The Ghosts of Industry Past

  Very last minute my wife decided to go to London for a close friends hen meal, suddenly leaving me with a whole day free to entertain myself.  I had a few errands to run including picking up a parcel about twenty minutes drive away.  So I packed up the car and put in a camera and some film just in case and started driving.  Whilst trundling along strumming my fingers lightly on the steering wheel in time to the CD playing through the car speakers I suddenly realised that directly en-route to the parcel depot was an abandoned mill I had been meaning to visit for some time!  Upon arrival at the depot I hastily rummaged through my bags to see if I had packed some black and white film and my light meter.  Thank goodness i had!  So off i went in search of a road leading to the mill.

After a bit of searching (both on-road and on-line) I pulled up outside.  Not wanting to cause suspicion I parked a little further down the road and walked up.  The mill was surrounded by a large fence but fortunately at one point someone had cut a gaping hole into it which I could just walk through.

  I tend to get a little on edge when going to places like this.  Both of  locals seeing me and thinking i'm up to no good and so calling the police, or delinquents who hang around these kinds of places causing mischief.  But fortunately I ran into neither.  I rather fancied trying to get inside but couldn't see any obvious way in so and I didn't want to do any climbing as i was wearing my favorite jeans.  So I decided to just keep outside and see what i could find to shoot.  Fortunately an abandoned shopping trolley proved a worthy subject, as did a traffic barrier which is strange really as I only shot it to finish off the roll of film.

  As i was developing the negatives i was really hoping they would come out ok.  Fortunately my Diana camera didn't let me down and I got some shots that i'm really happy with.