Photography Friday… Shardlow

The Trent & Mersey Canal, ShardlowThe Trent & Mersey Canal, Shardlow
Nikon D5500, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 G II at 30mm, 1/160s, f11, ISO 125

In recent weeks Fridays have become ‘Photography Fridays’ with myself and my camera finding friend Rachel taking ourselves off out for the day with far more photographic equipment in tow than is sensible…

Today we ended up in Shardlow in Derbyshire, a village on both the River Trent and the Trent & Mersey Canal, and spent the day snapping and ‘Gongoozling’ (and managed a pub lunch!)

These shots are pretty much as they came out of the camera (my wife’s Nikon D5500) but I also managed to get through a roll of film in my Nikon FE2. Rachel was also shooting film (a new thing for her) and somehow (on such a glorious day, with such a colourful subject) we both managed to have black & white film loaded!

Narrow boats, The Wharf, ShardlowNarrow boats, The Wharf, Shardlow
Nikon D5500, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 G II at 26mm, 1/200s, f11, ISO 125

Monochrome Monday… A wedding and Kodak T-Max P3200

Quiet pleaseQuiet please!
Nikon FA, Nikkor 85mm f/2 AI-S – Kodak T-Max P3200 rated at ISO 1600

Rosie and Daniel’s wedding must have been the first that I’ve attended in 20 years where I wasn’t actually expected to take photos… needless to say, I still packed a camera though.

I couldn’t resist trying some of the recently reintroduced Kodak T-Max P3200 black & white film and the above shot is one of the first I took. I’m reasonably happy with the results (even if I didn’t quite nail the focus), the grain isn’t too obtrusive and I think there’s just the right amount of contrast.

I’ve a couple more rolls in stock… what to shoot with them?

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

Single frame… Anderby Creek

Steps up to the Round and Round House, Anderby CreekSteps up to the Round and Round House, Anderby Creek
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 44mm, 1/80s, f11, ISO 400

An enjoyable trip to the Lincolnshire coast today, starting off at Anderby Creek, north of Chapel St. Leonards. A few hundred metres south of the tiny hamlet is the ‘Round and Round House’ a small building ideal for bird watching and accessible from the beach via a wooden boardwalk and steps… Part of the Structures on the Edge (SOTE) project, the building was designed by Soma Design of Morecambe and is one of a number of architectural installations along the 10 mile stretch of coast between Chapel St. Leonards and Mablethorpe.

Wordless Wednesday… Water Wheels (WWWW)

Water wheels, Cromford Mill, June 2018Water wheels, Cromford Mill, June 2018
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 18mm, 1/5s, f22, ISO 200

A dull day here in Derbyshire today but madam dragged me out for an ‘airing’ after she finished work and we ended up at Cromford Mill, part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

This pair of waterwheels caught my eye… the one on the left is an ‘breastshot’ type and the other an ‘overshot’ type. For more information on the different types of water wheel, their design and use, check out this Wikipedia page.

Built between 1771 and 1791 Sir Richard Arkwright’s Mills at Cromford were the world’s first successful water powered cotton spinning mills… almost 200 years later I began my working life just down the road at Sir Richard Arkwright Yarns’ Belper West Mill, now disused after Courtaulds UK Ltd closed the site down in 2016, ending an association with Belper dating back more than 200 years.