Single frame… Leawood Pumphouse

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Leawood Pumphouse, January 2018Leawood Pumphouse, January 2018
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 24mm, 1/105s, f8, ISO 400

Leawood Pumphouse was built in 1849 to supply water to the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire. A Watt-type beam engine draws water from the River Derwent through a 150 yard tunnel to a reservoir in the basement and then up 30 feet and into the canal.

The pump’s piston has a diameter of 50 inches, a stroke of 10 feet and works at seven strokes per minute and is capable of moving 39,000 tons of water in 24 hours! The immense size of the pump is due to the fact that there were restrictions on removing water from the river, doing so was only allowed between 8pm on Saturdays and 8pm on Sundays.

The pump house closed along with the canal in 1944 but it was restored in 1979 and is regularly steamed.

Monochrome Monday… Birmingham reflection, December 2017

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Birmingham reflection, December 2017Birmingham reflection, December 2017
Nikon FM, Nikkor 50mm f/2 – 1/60s, f5.6, – Ilford FP4+

Another image from the roll I shot in December for Emulsive’s FP4 Party but that didn’t return from the lab in time for post week.

I was changing trains (and stations) in Birmingham, on my way to December’s Beer & Cameras event in Worcester and spotted the Odeon and the iconic Rotunda building mirrored in the reflective surface cladding the Grand Central shopping centre that sits atop New Street railway station.

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

Monochrome Monday… The old Post Office, Ilkeston

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The old Post Office, Ilkeston.The old Post Office, Ilkeston
Minolta Dynax 505si Super, Minolta AF 50mm f/1.7 – 1/45s, f4, – Ilford FP4+ rated at ISO 200

I have a fondness for what are known as ‘Ghost’ signs… that is to say old painted, carved or tiled signs advertising long defunct businesses and I photograph them whenever possible.

Hogarths Gin Palace now occupies the building that this particular sign adorns, while the Post Office resides in a tiny, nondescript location closer to the centre of town.

This is an image from the roll of film I shot for January’s Emulsive FP4 Party.

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

Single frame… Steel City Sunset

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Steel City SunsetSteel City Sunset
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 29mm, 1/100s, f9, ISO 400

I popped up to Sheffield on Saturday to view the exhibition of images from last year’s Photo Marathon Sheffield that both I and my wife took part in…

Heading back to the railway station (and The Sheffield Tap for a cheeky pint…) I noticed the sunset was being reflected in ‘The Cutting Edge’ an 89m long stainless steel installation by Si Applied Ltd (Chris Knight, Brett Payne and Keith Tyssen) and Keiko Mukaide.

The Cutting Edge – ‘A sinous stainless steel blade gaining in height as it runs downhill towards the station entrance. The smaller end of the piece is almost circular in cross section and decorated with backlit glass work by Mukaide; the station end is a very thin ellipse also with backlit glass by the same artist. It is also lit along the length of its base.’