Month: August 2020

Monochrome Monday… National Coal Board Fife Area No.19

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National Coal Board Fife Area No.19National Coal Board Fife Area No.19
Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/60s, f8, – Ilford HP5+ rated at ISO 320

This Hunslet Engine Co Ltd ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST locomotive was built in 1954 for the National Coal Board (NCB) and spent its entire working life in Fife, first at Michael Colliery and then at Comrie Colliery until the latter’s closure in 1986 when it was purchased by the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway (B&KR).

I only took one pic of the loco during my visit to a steam gala at Bo’ness in November 2018, I was too busy riding up and down behind it!

Scan by AgLab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Single frame… Bass Rock, August 2020

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Bass Rock, August 2020Bass Rock, August 2020
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 74mm, 1/340s, f11, ISO 200

Bass Rock (Creag nam Bathais in Gaelic) is an uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, roughly three miles north-east of North Berwick. The island is home to a colony of more than 150,000 Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) and they give it its… ‘distinctive’ colouring.

The pic was taken from Seacliff Beach and on that particularly glorious August Saturday the beach was busy with swimmers, kayakers and paddle-boarders… me? I limited myself to having a paddle!

Monochrome Monday… Cove Harbour (again)

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Cove HarbourCove Harbour, August 2020
Ondu 6×6 Pocket Pinhole + ND8 filter, 15s, f167 – Foma Pan 100
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 8 mins at 20°c.

I make no apologies for posting yet another image from the Ondu 6×6 Pocket Pinhole camera… I love it!

This is the last image on my first roll and I’m finally starting to get close enough to the subject.

These shellfish creels and lump of weathered wood were found beside what I think is the harbour master’s cottage at Cove and I popped the camera on the doorstep to take this pic!

Single frame… Serendipity in Scotland

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My pal Mark (husband of my regular ‘Photography Friday’ partner in crime, Rachel) loves flags so it came as no surprise when he suggested a visit to the National Flag Heritage Centre at Athelstaneford during a trip to Scotland.

Lone tree, AthelstanefordLone tree, Athelstaneford
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 19mm, 1/200s, f11, ISO 200

The Heritage Centre occupies a lectern doocot (dovecote) dating from 1583 to the rear of Athelstaneford Church but it was the above scene that caught my eye when I rounded the corner!

I’ll confess to not knowing what kind of tree it is but I recognise a Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) when I see one!

Monochrome Monday… Winch, Craster, August 2020

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Winch, Craster, August 2020Winch, Craster, August 2020
Ondu 6×6 Pocket Pinhole + ND8 filter, 30s, f167 – Foma Pan 100
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 8 mins at 20°c.

Another pinhole pic from a recent visit to Craster in Northumberland.

This winch is quietly rusting away beside the harbour and only a couple of feet away from the bench where we tucked into a picnic lunch…

Again, I could’ve done with getting much closer with the wide-angle Ondu camera!

Square Saturday… Craster on the Ondu 6×6 Pocket Pinhole camera

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Craster, August 2020Craster, August 2020
Ondu 6×6 Pocket Pinhole + ND8 filter, 19s, f167 – Foma Pan 100
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 8 mins at 20°c.

Another pic from a recent visit to Craster in Northumberland, this time taken on the ONDU 6×6 Pocket pinhole camera.

Last weekend’s trip north came just a couple of days after I received my camera in the post so I just had to take it!

I’ve not yet got the hang of getting close enough to the subject with the camera’s wide 115° angle of view (and no viewfinder) but I’m sure practice will make perfect!

Single frame… Cove Harbour, August 2020

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Cove Harbour, August 2020Cove Harbour, August 2020
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 32mm, 1/300s, f11, ISO 200

A brief trip to the Scottish Borders last weekend gave us the opportunity to explore a couple of lesser known locations on the coast below Dunbar.

Cove Harbour was one such location. The tiny natural harbour was improved in 1831 by the building of a breakwater and to all intents and purposes not much has changed since then!

Access to the harbour from land is via a tunnel through the cliffs that was dug by hand in the 1700s, a tunnel that has a number of side chambers that were used for storing fresh fish (and no doubt a variety of smuggled goods!) The chambers continued to be used as changing rooms by bathers until they were sealed up in 1981.

It’s a location I’m very keen to return to!