Throwback Thursday… Midland Railway-Butterley

DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND arrivng at Swanwick JunctionDUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND arrivng at Swanwick Junction
Panasonic Lumix GF-1, Lumix G Vario OIS 14-45 f/3.5~5.6 at 45mm, 1/320s, f7.1, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Nine years ago it was more steam trains! This time at the Midland Railway-Butterley in Derbyshire.

London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Coronation class 4-6-2 locomotive 46233 DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND was in operation and looked fantastic in the autumn sunshine.

I also paid a visit to the line’s demonstration signal box, a Midland Railway (MR) structure dating from 1895 that originally stood at Linby in Nottinghamshire.

Lever frame, Swanwick JunctionLever frame, Swanwick Junction
Panasonic Lumix GF-1, Lumix G Vario OIS 14-45 f/3.5~5.6 at 21mm, 1/160s, f4.5, ISO 200

Monochrome Monday… ‘F’ in focus

'F' in focus‘F’ in focus
Olympus OM-2 SPOT/PROGRAM, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8, 1/800s, f4 – Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 7 mins at 20°c.

A little detail from a recently spotted (and slightly oddly named) Ford Econoline 250 Chateau van. I can’t imagine any vehicle fitted with a 4.9L (302 cu in) V8 engine being in any way ‘Econo’.

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8 and Nikon ES-2 Film Digitising Adapter with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Throwback Thursday… SIR KEITH PARK… at Keighley

Southern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARKSouthern Railway Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARK
Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR at 48mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO 2000

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Five years ago it was a steam gala at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (K&WVR).

Southern Railway (SR) Battle of Britain class 4-6-2 34053 SIR KEITH PARK was visiting from the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) but managed to wreak havoc with the day’s timetable thanks to defective sanding gear (something vital for the constant climb up to Oxenhope) and a leaking piston valve.

Built by the Southern Railway at Brighton Works in 1947 as 21C153 (designer Oliver Bulleid employed an idiosyncratic numbering system for his locomotives) and named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, the First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander, the locomotive saw only 18 years service before being withdrawn in October 1965 but luckily preservation would beckon and 34053’s restoration was eventually completed in 2012.

Monochrome Monday… Engrossed, Berwick-upon-Tweed, August 2021

Engrossed, Berwick-upon-Tweed, August 2021Engrossed, Berwick-upon-Tweed, August 2021
Olympus OM-2 SPOT/PROGRAM, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8, 1/640s, f4 – Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 7 mins at 20°c.

Another pic from a recent trip to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

I’m slowly gaining confidence when it comes to street/candid photography and now I’m getting out and about a bit more it’s something I intend doing more of…

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8 and Nikon ES-2 Film Digitising Adapter with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Berwick-upon-Tweed on Ilford HP5 Plus

Under the stairs, Berwick-upon-TweedUnder the stairs, Berwick-upon-Tweed
Olympus OM-2 SPOT/PROGRAM, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8, 1/60s, f8 – Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 7 mins at 20°c.

I can’t remember who on Twitter suggested rating Ilford HP5 Plus at ISO 200 but I thought I’d give it a try during a recent trip to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Late 18th century townhouse, Berwick-upon-TweedLate 18th century townhouse, Berwick-upon-Tweed
Olympus OM-2 SPOT/PROGRAM, Zuiko Auto-S 50mm f/1.8, 1/125s, f8 – Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 7 mins at 20°c.

First impressions are favourable, good tonal range and the grain looks finer too… contrast is reduced but that’s easy enough to fix in Lightroom (or a darkroom).

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8 and Nikon ES-2 Film Digitising Adapter with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Throwback Thursday… Villegeneray, France

Propping up the roofPropping up the roof
Fujifilm X-T10, Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS at 24mm, 1/200s, f8, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Five years ago it was the commune of Villegeneray in the Nièvre department in central France…

A delightfully rustic place, the ramshackle woodwork above supported the roof of a building home to a tractor and the Hollyhock was growing through the framework of a water well!

HollyhockHollyhock
Fujifilm X-T10, Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS at 50mm, 1/80s, f8, ISO 640

Monochrome Monday… Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020

Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020
Nikon FE, Zoom-Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 at 43mm, 1/125s, f8 – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

I can’t tell you why I find this image of the defunct cooling towers at Willington Power Station so appealing… I just do.

It’s also one of only half a dozen or so images (so far) taken with my Zoom-Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 Ai lens…

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.