Single frame… Green Wood, February 2020

Green Wood, February 2020Green Wood, February 2020
Fujica GW690 + Y15 yellow filter – 1/125s, f8½, – Kodak T-Max 400
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 6 mins at 20°c.

An image from a recent ‘Photography Friday’ trip out with Rachel… This patch of woodland can be found to the north of the wonderfully named ‘Great Pond of Stubbing’ near Chesterfield in Derbyshire and we used a brief break in the rainy weather during half-term to explore it. It’s definitely a location we’ll be revisiting!

Epson 4870 Photo scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Middleton Top

Middleton Top, January 2020Middleton Top, January 2020
Nikon F, Nikkor-S.C. 50mm f/1.4, 1/125s, f8, Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 7½ mins at 20°c.

Another image from the roll of Kodak Tri-X shot in a borrowed Nikon F…

Middleton Top engine house (in the background here) houses a preserved steam engine that used to haul railway wagons up the 708-yard long, 1 in 8&frac12 gradient Middleton Incline on the Cromford & High Peak Railway (C&HPR) that linked the Cromford Canal at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. The incline closed in 1963, with the rest of the line following suit in 1967 and the trackbed now forms The High Peak Trail.

The railway wagon stands at the top of the incline and is VERY securely chained down to the track!

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

Square Saturday… Motor Rail diesel locomotives, October 2019

Motor Rail diesel locomotives, October 2019Motor Rail diesel locomotives, October 2019
Yashica Mat 124G – 1/125s, f11 – Ilford FP4 Plus rated at ISO 100

Another shot from my first roll of film through the Yashica Mat 124G that I had repaired by Miles Whitehead of MW Camera Repairs last year.

These two Motor Rail diesel locomotives at the Midland Railway-Butterley have definitely seen better days since finishing work at ICI’s Smalldale Quarry in the Peak District.

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

Monochrome Monday… Ruined cottage, Derbyshire

Ruined cottage, Derbyshire, January 2020Ruined cottage, Derbyshire, January 2020
Nikon F, Nikkor-S.C. 50mm f/1.4, 1/250s, f8, Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 200
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 7½ mins at 20°c.

I’m fortunate enough to have been loaned a beautiful Nikon F and Nikkor-S.C. 50mm f/1.4 lens (thanks Simon!) and I’ve been shooting some Kodak Tri-X with it.

This cottage is about a 20 minute drive from home and I’ve been meaning to photograph it for a while…

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

Throwback Thursday… Broad Walk, Buxton

Broad Walk, BuxtonBroad Walk, Buxton
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 110mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO 400

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Three years ago it was the Derbyshire spa town of Buxton, during a visit with my friend/partner in crime Rachel, who at that point had yet to take up photography…

A repeat visit to Buxton is on the cards now that she has!

Monochrome Monday… Silver Birch trees (again)

Silver Birches, Jack Flat, January 2020Silver Birches, Jack Flat, January 2020
Fujica GW690 – 1/125s, f8, – Ilford Delta 400 Professional rated at ISO 800
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 14 mins at 20°c.

Another image of the Silver Birch trees (Betula pendula) in the area between Baslow Edge and the Baslow-Sheffield road known as Jack Flat, this time shot on film…

I’ve really caught the home developing bug!

Epson 4870 Photo scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Wellington’s Monument, January 2020

Wellington's Monument, January 2020Wellington’s Monument, January 2020
Fujica GW690 – 1/500s, f8, – Ilford Delta 400 Professional rated at ISO 800
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 14 mins at 20°c.

Wellington’s Monument stands high above the Derbyshire village of Baslow. Dedicated to the Duke of Wellington it was raised by local dignitary Lieutenant Colonel Edward Mason Wrench (1833-1912) in 1866.

Not much else seems to be known about the monument, one story, probably apocryphal, suggests that it was built to commemorate a visit of the Iron Duke to the area while a guest of the Duke of Rutland. Or perhaps it was merely built to provide a balance for the monument to Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson on nearby Birchin Edge.

Epson 4870 Photo scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Mossdale

MossdaleMossdale
Nikon FA, Nikkor 85mm f/2 AI-S – 1/125s, f2.8, – Ilford HP5 Plus rated at ISO 320

Mossdale is a wooden ‘Mersey Flat’ cargo vessel, built in 1860 by William Speakman of Chester and is currently undergoing restoration at the National Waterways Museum (NWM).

Originally owned by the Shropshire Union Canal Company and named Ruby she often unloaded her cargoes of general goods, grain and margerine at Ellesmere Port where she was eventually found abandoned in 1970.

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

Monochrome Monday… Spiral staircase

Spiral staircase, New Year's Day 2020Spiral staircase, New Year’s Day 2020
Fujica GW690 – 1/30s, f4, – Kodak T-Max 400
Developed in Ilfosol 3 at 1:9, 6 mins at 20°c.

I’ve been developing film again… a roll of Kodak T-Max 400 that had been hanging around for a couple of weeks until I plucked up the courage to wrestle it into a developing tank (I find 120 film so much more fiddly to feed onto a spiral than 35mm).

I’m chuffed to bits with the results, especially considering the grotty weather the film was shot in on New Year’s Day!

Epson 4870 Photo scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.