Single frame… ‘ART’

'ART', Sheffield, June 2018‘ART’, Sheffield, June 2019
Nikon FE2, Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI-S – 1/250s, f8, – Kodak Portra 400 rated at ISO 200

This beautiful carved lettering adorns the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield and it caught my eye during a wander around the city in June this year.

The gallery occupies the third floor of The Central Library which was opened in July 1934, dedicated to ‘the service of knowledge and art’.

Built with the support of John George Graves, an entrepreneur who made his fortune out of one of the country’s earliest mail order businesses (which became part of Great Universal after his death in 1945), the gallery is the main home of Sheffield’s visual art collection and hosts significant touring shows.

As the lettering is a few feet above my eye level I used what is rapidly becoming my favourite Nikon lens, the Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI-S… a wonderfully sharp, short telephoto that balances perfectly on my Nikon FE2 and FA bodies.

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

Single frame… Serrurerie Sécurité

Serrurerie Sécurité.jpgSerrurerie Sécurité
Nikon FE2, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/125s, f8, – Kodak Colorplus 200 rated at ISO 100

Another wonderful old business premises in central France, photographed between beer breaks at pavement cafés during a wander around Cosne-sur-Loire in August last year. This ‘Locksmith Security’ specialist had long since moved on…

I really could spend hours just wandering around and photographing things like this.

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

Throwback Thursday… Fat Stan

Singer.jpgSinger
Nikon D300, Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM at 95mm, 1/250s, f2.8, ISO 1600

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Ten years ago it was local rock band Fat Stan, strutting their stuff in the Crossed Pistons Saloon at the Rock and Blues Custom Show in Derbyshire.

I don’t think I’ve ever had such good access to a stage as I did here, not only that but I’d got two massive bikers keeping a watchful eye on my gear!

Fat Stan, July 2009.jpgFat Stan, July 2009
Nikon D300, AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR at 31mm, 1/250s, f6.3, ISO 1600

Drummer.jpgDrummer
Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM at 17mm, 1/30s, f5.3, ISO 1600

Monochrome Monday… Mama Jane’s Pizza & Chicken

Mama Jane's Pizza & ChickenMama Jane’s Pizza & Chicken
Nikon F-301, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S, 1/250s, f4, Kodak T-Max P3200

This is one of four shots taken during a short walk through Derby to The Brunswick Inn in January…

The centre-weighted metering of the Nikon F-301 made a surprisingly good job of this scene, when the dark nights roll around again I’ll have another go at shots like this…

Scan by Ag Photo Lab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

A few frames from… the Nikon F-301 on Kodak T-Max P3200

Sax soloSax solo
Nikon F-301, Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI-S – Kodak T-Max P3200

The Sensational Hot Rocks Band played another storming set at the Holbrook Village Fete last Saturday night and I shot a couple of rolls of Kodak T-Max P3200 of them strutting their stuff!

The Nikon F-301 is quite a nice camera to use for live music… small, light, built in motordrive and cheap enough that owning a pair doesn’t break the bank!

The Sensational Hot Rocks BandThe Sensational Hot Rocks Band
Nikon F-301, Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI-S – Kodak T-Max P3200

Folsom Prison BluesFolsom Prison Blues
Nikon F-301, Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AI-S – Kodak T-Max P3200

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

Throwback Thursday… Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill

Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill, July 2009Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill, July 2009
Nikon D300, AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR at 45mm, 1/320s, f9, ISO 200

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Ten years ago it was this Grade II* listed tower mill at Burnham Overy Staithe on the North Norfolk coast.

Returning home (the pretty way, around the coast on the A149) from my first trip to Norfolk and just had to stop and photograph this most East Anglian of buildings!

Built in 1816 for miller Edmund Savory, the mill last worked in 1919 and was turned into holiday accommodation by Cambridgeshire architect Hugh Hughes in the late 1920s. Following restoration in 1957 the mill was given to the National Trust and today is available to rent by holidaymakers.

Single frame… ‘Red Mist’

Red Mist, Glasgow, April 2019Red Mist, Glasgow, April 2019
Nikon F-801s, AF Nikkor 24-50mm f/3.3-4.5 at 35mm, 1/1000s, f5.6, Fuji Superia X-TRA 400 rated at ISO 200

A stunning custom Harley-Davidson gleams in the sun at West Coast Harley in Glasgow during an event on 20 April 2019. Its owner had ridden it up from Merseyside… not something I’d fancy doing with that rigid frame (having no rear suspension).

Scan by Ag Photo Lab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.