Category: Photography Friday

Single frame… Narrow boats on the Macclesfield Canal, Marple, July 2019

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Narrow boats on the Macclesfield Canal, Marple, July 2019.jpgNarrow boats on the Macclesfield Canal, Marple, July 2019
Fujica GW690 – Exposure unrecorded, – Kodak Ektar rated at ISO 64

I haven’t posted anything shot on my (borrowed) Fujica GW 690 for a while but yesterday I had six sets of negatives arrive in the post from Ag Photo Lab so here you are!

The narrow boat chugging its way along the Macclesfield Canal at Marple has just come off the Peak Forest Canal (which is on the other side of the bridge in the background) but whether it had traversed the 16 lock Marple Flight or not I don’t know…

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

Monochrome Monday… Porters Bridge, Trent & Mersey Canal

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Porters Bridge, Trent & Mersey CanalPorters Bridge, Trent & Mersey Canal
Fujica GW690 – 1/125s, f5.6½, – Ilford Delta 400 Professional rated at ISO 800

The Grade II listed Porters Bridge over the Trent & Mersey Canal at Shardlow in Derbyshire, photographed on a cold and damp Photography Friday in January this year…

Another shot from the Fujica GW 690 camera that I’ve got on loan…

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

Monochrome Monday… A few frames from Tideswell on JCH Street Pan 400

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Forget Not The DeadForget Not The Dead
Nikon FA, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/500s, f4 – JCH Street Pan 400 rated at ISO 320

One of the films that came back from the lab on Saturday was a roll of JCH Street Pan 400 that had been lurking in my Nikon FA since August last year!

Corner House, TideswellCorner House, Tideswell
Nikon FA, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/125s, f8 – JCH Street Pan 400 rated at ISO 320

Tideswell in the Derbyshire Dales (known locally as ‘Tidza’) is a beautiful village, the centrepiece of which is the Church of St John the Baptist, known as the ‘Cathedral of the Peak’.

The dull weather during my visit didn’t do the sights any favours but Bellamy Hunt’s JCH Street Pan 400 film has still delivered some nice, contrasty images…

1929 Ford Model A, Tideswell, October 20181929 Ford Model A, Tideswell, October 2018
Nikon FA, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/60s, f8 – JCH Street Pan 400 rated at ISO 320

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

Single frame… Knife Angel, Coventry

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Knife Angel, CoventryKnife Angel, Coventry
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 18mm, 1/420s, f8, ISO 400

Currently on display in Coventry, the National Monument Against Violence and Aggression, more commonly known as the ‘Knife Angel’ is a towering, poignant tribute to the lives lost to knife violence.

Artist Alfie Bradley disinfected and blunted more than 100,000 weapons before welding them together to form the angel. Thirty percent of the knives used in the sculpture were bloodied on arrival and came in biohazard bags.

It’s an incredibly moving piece of art and ironically I almost had a moment of ‘violence and aggression’ myself while viewing it… The urge to slap senseless the person who insisted on telling me ‘it’s a statue dedicated to Mick Dagger! Geddit? Mick DAGGER!’ was almost irresistible…

Single frame… Trent & Mersey Canal, Fradley Junction

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Trent & Mersey Canal, Fradley JunctionTrent & Mersey Canal, Fradley Junction
Olympus OM20, Zuiko Auto-T 100mm f/2.8 – 1/125s, f8, – Agfa Vista 200 rated at ISO 100

Some more ‘gongoozling’ on a recent Photography Friday outing, this time at Fradley Junction, where the Trent & Mersey and Coventry Canals meet…

It was also warm enough for the first outdoor pub lunch of the year (and a couple of pints of Everards Tiger) at The Swan.

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

Photography Friday… The Chesterfield Canal

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57ft narrow boat 'Little Mester'57ft narrow boat ‘Little Mester’
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 39mm, 1/80s, f11, ISO 1000

Today’s excursion took Rachel and I ‘gongoozling’ again, this time along the restored section of the Chesterfield Canal near Shireoaks in Nottinghamshire.

Turnerwood Bottom Lock No.37Turnerwood Bottom Lock No.37
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 23mm, 1/110s, f11, ISO 400

The towpath can be followed all the way from Chesterfield to the point at which the canal meets the River Trent at West Stockwith, taking in some very peaceful countryside along the way…

Swans at Browns Lock No.32Swans at Browns Lock No.32
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 46mm, 1/200s, f11, ISO 400

We only saw a couple of boats but at the moment the canal comes to an abrupt end at the eastern portal of the 2,884 yard long Norwood Tunnel near Kiveton Park but the Chesterfield Canal Trust have plans to restore the remaining nine miles to Staveley near Chesterfield.

Photography Friday… a trip to Wales

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Today’s ‘Photography Friday’ trip took us off to Wales… specifically to the Llangollen Railway and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Llangollen lies on the River Dee in Denbighshire and plays host to the International Musical Eisteddfod, an event that we completely failed to realise was taking place this week and the town was packed with visitors (and performers) from all over the world!

The River Dee at LlangollenThe River Dee at Llangollen
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 18mm, 1/240s, f11, ISO 400

After grabbing a bite to eat we boarded the first train to Corwen and I was surprised to find (given the recent dry weather and potential fire risk posed by a steam engine in such conditions), Great Western Railway (GWR) 5101 class ‘large prairie’ 2-6-2T No.5199 in charge of the five coach train.

Sadly (for some, not me, I like diesel locos too…) the return trip was handled by British Railways (BR) class 26 diesel-electric D5310 and No.5199 was returned to the engine shed.

GWR 'large prairie' 5199 pauses at CarrogGWR ‘large prairie’ 5199 pauses at Carrog Station
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 32mm, 1/80s, f9, ISO 400

Following a delicious pub lunch overlooking the river at The Cornmill we headed off to see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a stunning structure that carries the Llangollen Canal (originally the Ellesmere Canal) over the River Dee at a height of 126ft!

Pontcysyllte AqueductPontcysyllte Aqueduct
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 26mm, 1/250s, f8, ISO 400

Completed in 1805 at a cost of £47,000 the aqueduct is a Grade I listed building and a World Heritage Site and still carries boats from the village of Froncysyllte to the canal basin at Trevor. The towpath is open to walkers but a head for heights is definitely recommended!