Tag Archives: photographs

My Favourite Photos of 2019

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I started the year being very organised and made a folder to save my favourite photos in preparation for this post. Then somewhere along the line I either got waylaid or gave up, I am not sure which. So I decided not to bother. Then I thought…wait a minute, Instagram. I post all my favourite photos there and tag the details. So if I look back at the last year I should be able to choose my favourites. Simple. Except now I have to take screen shots and include some Instagram formatting. Oh well, I am not perfect. Maybe it will spur me on the make better decision in the future.

With that said, here are my favourite photos from 2019. They are not in any order, I wasn’t able to choose that specifically.

Silver birch taken on a victorian large format camera with 4×5 sheet film

Greylag goose taken with a Nikon d750
Photo from a cosplay photoshoot at airoute studio taken on my phone a huaweip20pro
A tame baby crow taken with a  Nikon d750
A view of Nidderdale in North Yorkshire while I was out camping, taken on my phone a huaweip20pro
A view of Lofthouse in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire taken on Prinzmastermatic iii with ilford xp2
A photo of a staircase at Hive cafe in Blackpool while attending Unframing Identities exhibition, taken on my phone a Huaweip20pro
A view of Blackpool Tower from the Hive cafe while attending Unframing Identities exhibition, taken on my phone a Huaweip20pro

Despite the flaws in the film, I still love this portrait of my father, taken with a Mamiya C2
A photo take in my local pub carpark with my phone camera a Huaweip20pro
A photo of my sister taken at Camden market taken with chinon ce4 with ilford hp5plus
An image from Doncaster light night taken with my phone, a Huaweip20pro using the night mode
Photo from a cosplay photoshoot in an abandoned castle taken with a Nikon d750

Actually, I think the last one might be my favourite. It was the first time I took a photo and after processing it was exactly as I envisioned when I took it.

Lots of these photos were taken on my phone, which proves the adage, the best camera is the one you have with you.

Plus I think I love the one of my sister because of the time we spent in London more than the actual photo. We went away for my birthday and it was a super weekend.

Next year I think I will forgo the folder idea and stick to Instagram. So much easier.

Workflow and Stuff

Thoughts and Musings,

I posted a review of a camera today and that’s it…my draft box is empty! What to do??

Well I do have a couple of films to develop and two more cameras with film loaded, but I don’t have a set schedule or a workflow plan. That means I find myself without a review to post. Even without a workflow plan I usually post a new review once a week. That ain’t too shabby.

Being a teacher means that sometimes I am super busy and sometimes on holiday. Right now I am a little of both. I wake up, get dressed, and wait to see if I get a supply job for the day. If I don’t then I can play with a camera…but not buy any new ones due to the lack of funds.

So, my workflow is higgledy-piggledy. I don’t mind, as I have always said, this blog is for me.

I also get a chance to catch up on some reading. Today I read an article about post processing and film photography by Hamish Gill. Until recently I have not post processed my film photos very much, I felt it was somehow against the nature of film. And then I had an epiphany and thought, well that was dumb, what about burning and dodging. After that I started using Snapseed and other software more and more.

I also like to read Jim Grey’s articles, he often writes and posts about bridges. I love me a good bridge. Today I saw a super one in Huddersfield.

Getting an unexpected day off and spending time with friends is the silver lining. Being a teacher is pretty cool too. This week I was placed in a nursery and helped make bunnies and chocolate cornflake nests…cause having a bunny with a nest inside for easter is the done thing these days.

A conversation with one of the students went like this…

Student: When everyone has finished can lick the spoon?
Me: I am sorry that wouldn’t be fair to the other children.
Student: Hmm, you should get to lick it then, you helped everyone.
Me: I don’t think I am allowed to, the other teacher might be sad.
Student: But, you can hide in the cupboard, they won’t know.

Being taught how to cheat by a four year old 🙂

Update on the Kiev 88

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I finally used the Kiev 88 again. I bought an extra cassette too though for this excursion I didn’t use it.

I went for a local walk after work. It was a short walk, specifically to use this camera. I reread my previous post about the camera and reminded myself of the issues I had. It helped. I wound the cassette to the first shot and cocked the shutter before attaching the cassette to the body. The light was rapidly fading, but as there are only 12 shots I managed to finish in time and developed the film when I returned home.

I was getting ready to sell this camera, now I am not so sure. Oh Beastie, you are a fickle friend.

2018 Favourite Photos

Thoughts and Musings, , , ,

After reading Jim Grey’s blog about his favourite photos, I wondered if I could choose ten of my own.

It took a long time to sort through all the files. After I made a folder of possibilities, I then had to sort through those and then backtrack to find the information. If I do this next year I will make a “possible” folder and note the cameras and films in the metadata. Or I will start to use a program that puts everything in the photo data when I store them. For this year I will show the chosen 10 photos and as much information as I can. You have to be super organized with this, well done Jim for being that organized.

So here are my personal choices for 2018, in no particular order.

  • Iceland – Nikon D750
  • Cosplaying with a friend – at an abandoned hospital, Scotland – Nikon D750
  • Kenkyugakuen, Ibaraki, Japan – My favourite view of where I lived as it has the TX, mansions, and nature.
  • Sayama, Japan – Pentax MZ-30 – Fuji 100
  • Wisteria at Ashigaka Flower Park – Canon SX720SH
  • Kestrel at Sandal Castle, Wakefield – Canon SX720SH
  • St. Aidans RSPB Reserve – West Yorkshire, England – Canon SX720SH
  • Black Sands Beach, Iceland – Nikon F2
  • Reykjavik, Iceland – Yashicaflex – Ilford 3200
  • Northern Quarter – Manchester – Chinon CP7-m – Fuji Acros 100
    Chosen because I asked a stranger to pose for me.

A Photo Book on Japan

Books and Stuff, , , , , ,

I finished school a week ago and have been hanging around watching the world cup. I was planning on traveling around Japan, but England is doing surprisingly well, though I might have just jinxed tonight’s game. Well, yesterday was very rainy and there was flooding around Japan. So instead of going out walking and exploring I sat down at my computer and made a small photo book using iBook Author. It doesn’t have much text, mainly photos. It is already on iTunes and iBooks. You can find it here.

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Robot Style 3 lens Toy Camera

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I saw this camera on eBay, really cheap, and thought..why not? So I ordered one and had a play.

There is absolutely nothing to this camera, no seals, no viewfinder, not even a take-up spool. The basic information I could get from the eBay post says that it has an f/8 28mm lens that has a set speed of 1/100sec. There is no film type selection and ASA 100 or ASA 400 can be used. I suppose it depends on the light conditions.

Loading the film was a bit weird. There was nowhere to put the ‘end’, you just made sure the sprockets lined up with the film. When the shutter is cocked and fired it will set off the shutters in order, one slightly after the other. This arrangement means there are 3 exposures on the negative with a slight time delay.

But did it work?

Heck yeah and surprisingly well. I am not sure when I would ever use it again or in what context, but it was fun to try. Aiming the camera was a little tricky as there is only a plastic square to look through. As you can see I missed a few times, especially with a fast moving dog.

The final question, keep or sell? It was far to cheap to consider selling it. I think I will just keep it for a funky occasion.