A couple of weeks ago I went to visit a lovely friend of mine, Tom, at his place in Norwich. We’re frequent photo buddies, and have been going out together to point glass at things for years. The blistering cold and imminent snow didn’t put us off, and we took a muddy trek to Whitlingham Marshes, 10 minutes from his house.
DIY Pinhole Camera: The Great Pinholio
Pinhole cameras are something I’ve seen lots of photographers use, often to fantastic effect. Making great use of motion blurs, people moving, and the exaggerated wide angle that often accompanies the simplest of cameras. Surprisingly, I’ve never tried my hand at it, but I’ve been seeing so many interesting images created using pinhole cameras (for example, Moni’s Blatherskite blog – some great images produced while wheeling a camera around on a trolley in a library) that I thought I had to give it a go.
Lomo’Instant Automat – plastic fantastic
I’ve been a fan of Lomography ever since we collaborated on a Dinohoodie photowalk back in the mists of time, and I’ve loved seeing all their new cameras and cool lenses come out over the years. Recently, their instant cameras have been really popular, with a few versions using the easily-obtainable Fuji Instax Mini packs.
Kodak Tri-X 400 by the sea
For the last couple of years, me and a dozen close friends go on a weekend break just after New Year, to catch up, drink too much and eat a massive roast dinner in a big house. This year, we decided to visit Foreland Point Lighthouse and stay in the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage there! It was windy, cold and rainy – ideal weather for visiting somewhere on the edge of a cliff!
Colour shifts: Experimenting with Lomochrome Purple
Lomochrome Purple is a psychedelic film stock from Lomography, based on Kodak Aerochrome. The colour shifts are controlled (I use the term loosely) by changing the ISO you shoot it at – set it as a 50 or 100 ISO, and you’ll end up with a redder hue to your greens, or at 400 for a more indigo look.
Continue reading Colour shifts: Experimenting with Lomochrome Purple
More money than sense? Then the Canon IV USB memory stick is for you!
Is a massive wodge of money burning a hole in your pocket? Have you already bought five Leicas, three Billingham bags and all the Velvia you can store in your gold-plated mansion? Then, my friend: the replica Canon IV USB stick is for you.
Continue reading More money than sense? Then the Canon IV USB memory stick is for you!
The Peak District on Ilford Pan 100
Last month we took a trip with some friends to a tiny camping barn in the Peak District, for a 30th birthday celebration. Lots of laughs were had, new friends made, and I struggled to work through a roll of film. Not for any particular reason, I just couldn’t find anything that looked as good through the viewfinder as I expected.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I finally developed the roll of Ilford Pan 100 yesterday, (in Rodinal, 1+25, 9 minutes). The Pan 100 was a gift from the Emulsive Secret Santa last year, and I’d not used it before. It gives a wide range of tones, some fantastic sharpness and deep, lovely blacks. I’ll definitely be buying another couple of rolls!
Woolacombe
Shot on Velvia 50, scanned on the ever-irritating Epson Perfection V550. Converted in Lightroom.
Rescanning old negatives, and the curse of dust
I recently (grudgingly) sold my Nikon Coolscan IV 35mm scanner, to be able to buy a flatbed that could accommodate both 35mm and 120 negatives. I’m still not massively sold on the flimsy film holders, as opposed to the easy-peasy “feed it in the hole and wait for the clanging to stop” method of the Coolscan. However, I can’t fault the quality of the scans, even if the method of obtaining them is a bit of a pain.
These shots were taken in the spring, locally to me – a test of my new 50mm Bronica SQ-A lens, and mostly metered on my phone or by eye (still not perfect, but not bad!).
I scanned and processed these all at night, in the dark… which meant I didn’t spot the MASSIVE amounts of dust on the negatives. At some point I’ll go through and clone it all out, but for now, it’s nice to have them properly scanned.
Bristol Bike Night
My day job is with a motorcycle dealership, here in Bristol. I covered the last Bike Night of 2017, on a digital camera for a change! We were losing the light towards the end of the night, and I had some fun trying to get the white balance right, but otherwise I’m pretty happy with how these turned out.
Lucky 13 custom Bobber
Kawasaki Ninja 750
Suzuki GSX-R – my favourite of the night
Winner of Bike of the Night
Chilling out
Lil bit of bike chat
When all else fails, add more glitter
Bzzzzt
Lucky 13