A Slightly Delayed Wedding

  Now i'm no real fan of digital cameras but it does have its uses.  For example-weddings.  Weddings are a massive pain at the best of times, let alone when you add to pressure of photographing them.  Fortunately that's not really something i'm into.  My wife, however, is another matter.  She loves to shoot portraits so when she was asked to shoot a friends wedding she jumped at the chance.  I decided to play at being a second shooter using my trusty Bronica SQ-A and some Tri-X 400.

  The day went really well and everyone had a great time.  Jess got some great photos (and proceeded to spend the next 3 months editing them) and it was nice for me to try something a little different. 

  I developed the films in Rodinal and (as seems to be the norm for me these days) I lith printed a few onto some Orwo BN118.  Here's the three best that I made:

    Jess did a great job with her digital shots as can be seen here (and if you desire a well-priced and very talented photographer for your wedding just drop her an email).

  All in all it was a good day enjoyed by all, and its always nice to see a friend get married.

  

P.S.-Yes that is me in the band that you can see on Jess' blog...

In Loving Memory Of...

  I very recently lost my Grandma.  Over the past few years she had been falling a lot (she still lived at home without help) and was in and out of hospital.  She went in again shortly before the Christmas holidays and things kept going wrong and unfortunately we lost her.  It's always a difficult time when you lose a loved one and i was especially close to my Grandma.  At 94 years of age she had many a story to tell!  She swore by a diet of cream cakes and whiskey and could pack away a carvery platter in ten minutes flat.

  We had the funeral on Monday and each family member decided to take a flower from the bouquets we had brought to remember her by.  I decided to set up a simple tabletop studio to photograph the flower so i could have something permanent to remember her by.

  I used close up filters on my Bronica SQ-A and shot on Kodak Tri-X 400 film.  The film got developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 16.5 minutes (most data says to develop for 13 minutes but i've always find my negatives come out a little to thin).  I decided to lith print them for a grainier/older look.  I used Fotospeed LD20 mixed 15ml A, 15ml B, 30ml old brown, 640ml water and printed onto some old Orwo BN118 paper.

  I printed the teacup one first and it took 26 minutes before i pulled the print, the second print (the flower in the pot) took almost an hour!  Good job i had my Ipod plugged into my dock in my darkroom!  From this we learn that the more low values there are in a print the quicker your developer will exhaust!  I think i may try these prints in second pass lith at some point too, i think the greys and pinks you get with this paper could work well.  For now though i'm really happy that i took these photos; it's a nice reminder of all the good times i've had with my Grandma and everything she meant to all of the family.

Flashy...

  As my new flash (a vivitar 285) had been sat in my bag unused for weeks i finally managed to get my wife to pose for some portriats for me.  This was my first venture with proper flash photography and it was highly enjoyable.  Mistakes were made though, i need to use my reflector better as most of the shots had a great big shadow off to one side.  But we learn through mistakes so it didnt bother me too much.  I like some of the shots that came out though:

  Portra is such a good film.  I hadn't used it for portraits before but the skin tones have come out great, ill be using it a lot more in future.  I had a fiddle in photoshop with one of the images, turning it into a cyanotype.  I can't decide whether i rpefer this or the original, what do you think?

A Holiday from Holiday

  For the first time since i left work last Friday i managed to get away from the family days out to do a quick hour of shooting.  I met up with one of my shooting pals Paul and we headed to Lytham/St Annes beach.  It was windy.  Extremely windy.  Tripod use was out of the question.  We headed down onto the beach hoping to head for the remains of the old pier but alas the tide was further in than i have ever seen it so we had to shoot from afar.  After spending some time messing with assembling my Bronica i finally got some shots in.  The tide was coming in at a ridiculously rapid pace and by the time i had setup my gear and eyed the shot in on my waist level finder i was stood in water.  Metering was a nightmare so i just used my instincts and shot.  I was a bit worried as the strong wind was battering our cameras with sand particles and blowing our gear bags all over the place.  We persevered regardless and shortly moved further up the coast where a flock of birds was sat on the water quite close to shore.  The local dogs chasing them proved to create some nice photo opportunities.

  Shortly thereafter i spotted a partially filled plastic bottle dumped on the sand which caught my eye so i snapped it.  It turned out to be one of the best shots on the negative.

  Our final stop was a little further up the coast where the waves were now smashing against the sea defences.  I sacrificed dryness to snap a few quick shots of the spray coming over the wall.

  The results were a bit hit-and-miss on the developed negative and some shots took a bit of work to get a decent image of but all in all i think they came out ok.  It was nice to be out in some extreme weather shooting on instinct rather than taking my time over each shot and meticulously recording every detail.

Loughrigg

  Dont go hiking in a blizzard.  I booked a Friday off work to go for a hike in the Lake District mountains with a friend i hadnt seen for ages.  Unfortunately Friday was the day the snow decided to hit hard.  We decided to risk it and head out anyway which turned out to be a good decision as once we got past Lancaster the snow eased and the skies cleared.

  We decided to head to Loughrigg as it is a relatively low fell and an easier walk.  We had only walked a quarter of a mile or so before the path opened up onto a lake with a distant mountain reflected perfectly in its glassy water.  This was definitely a shot to be taken.  We then kept following the path as it began to descend towards the summit.  Whilst the valleys were clear the peaks were snow capped and just as we got to the summit the sun started evaporating the snow creating a glorious mist.  The views were astounding.  We took a break and had some food  whilst we stood and took in the horizon.  Landscape spread out for miles, rolling hills and blue waters surrounding us.  I took as many shots as i could before we began our descent down some icy steps to the car park.

  The walk only took us a few hours and was around 5 miles in total but it was thoroughly enjoyable.  It is so satisfying to be in a beautiful country with a great friend.

Roddlesworth

  Although the afternoon had turned a bit grey and dreary (after a gloriously sunny morning) i headed out to do some shooting.  I had last minute booked the afternoon off work and wanted to head to my newly found favourite shooting location of Roddlesworth in Tockholes, Lancashire.  Roddlesworth is an area of beautiful woodland with paths leading throughout and even venturing by reservoirs and a small stream with numerous waterfalls of various sizes.This makes for a photographic utopia!  I only had an hour or so to shoot before sunset by the time i got there but it was nice to wander round the many trails and be among the beauty, taking my time shooting.

  I developed the film immediately when i got home.  the negative didn't turn out the best but i'm getting better at measuring my exposures and shooting accordingly.  I have every intention of returning to Roddlesworth as soon as i can, hopefully with some sun this time!

SQ-A First Roll - Derwent Water

  Although i have posted shots from my Bronica already the shots below are from my first roll with my SQ-A.  The only reason they haven't been posted earlier is that i have only just got the chemicals in to develop them.

  My wife and i decided to head up to Maryport in the Lake District very last minute one Friday evening a month or two ago.  We had friends up there who said we could stay over and the plan was to get to Derwent Water near Keswick before dawn to catch some sunrise shots over the water.  Sure enough after 4 hours sleep there we were on the lakeside waiting for the sky to brighten.  It was a joy to use my SQ-A for the first time and i cant wait to get back up that way again for some more shots.  Tiring but fulfilling.

My City

  I  suddenly found myself with a free evening as my wife had been reminded of a tea party she was meant to attend after work.  As its winter and the night comes ever earlier i decided to do one of my favourite things which is wander around the city in the dark with my ipod on and my camera in hand.  It's not as scary as you might think, i have never been hassled my yobs or anything so as long as im careful i can seem to avoid harm.

  I loaded my Bronica SQ-A with some Ilford FP4+ and headed out to some of my usual spots.  For some unknown reason i am always drawn to car parks at night.  I just love the contrast you can get shooting on the different floors, and if you make it to the roof theres always something to shoot. Whilst wandering round the Fish Market car park i stumbled on a police car parked up in a corner with a snoozing officer inside.  I wonder what he thought when i pulled a huge black cube out of my bag and mounted it on a tripod...

  After spending some time in the car parks i wandered the streets for a bit.  One enjoyable experiment to do is have your earphones in but without music playing.  Its amazing what people say when they think you cant hear them.

   Just around the corner from the Fish Market car park is the fish market loading bay where all the fish is taken off the lorries daily and put on display in the market.  I had never shot here before but though id check it out.  I quite liked it in there apart from the smell and a ridiculous amount of litter strewn all over the floor.  I took a shot looking along the loading bay and then got down onto the floor to try out the f2.8 aperture on my lens.

   When i got home i realised i hade made a slight error as Ilford FP4+ (an iso 125 film) cant really be pushed to 400 iso using Rodinal.  So after some research i decided to stand develop for 2 hours at 1:125 and hopefully id get useable negatives.  And above are the results, no alterations in the scanner or photoshop or anything like that.  I love how they have come out.  Maybe not the best pictures in the world but i love the tones and i love the high contrast.  I may stick to stand developing all my black and white films in the future.

  So next time you find yourself with a free evening why not head out onto the streets and see what you can find.  Contact me when you have something, id love to see your results.

Portraits of Jessica

  I mostly shoot objects and things, its very rare that the portrait mood strikes.  Although saying that, one of my best shots is a portait!  A few nights ago my wife and i decided to use the spare room as temporary studio and try some portraiture using my recently acquired Lubitel 166B.  I decided black and white would work best and due to lighting conditions i loaded my Lubitel with some 3200 iso Ilford Delta Pro (rated at 6400 iso).  I also decided to use a red filter to maximise contrast.  And then it was just a case of moving the lamp and making Jess change outfit every so often.

  As you can see they came out a little funny.  I developed in Rodinal with a 1:25 mix but i think the problem was with the reel i had loaded my film onto.  Its seems as though parts of the film were touching so the developer couldnt penetrate all areas it.  But i dont know, i quite like how some of them came out. 

  I want to shoot some more photos like this, using this film.  I like the large grain, contrast and 'old-look' of these shots.  Hopefully next time i will get a better development.