Single frame… Wakehurst Place

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Woodland, Wakehurst Place, West SussexWoodland, Wakehurst Place, West Sussex
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 49mm, 1/220s, f5.6, ISO 400

Wakehurst Place in West Sussex is effectively part of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and consists of the mansion itself, walled and water gardens, woodland and wetland conservation areas and Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.

The gardens were originally created by Gerald Loder (later Lord Wakehurst) who purchased the estate in 1903. Wakehurst Place was left to the nation in 1963 and the Royal Botanic Gardens took up a lease from the National Trust in 1965.

A gentle amble around the gardens in the autumn sunshine yesterday was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I’m planning on making a return visit in the spring.

Monochrome Monday… Salt Division X767

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Salt Division X767, February 1998Salt Division X767, February 1998
Nikon F-801s, AF Nikkor 24-50mm f/3.3-4.5 – Kodak T-Max P3200

Another Kodak T-max P3200 image from 1998 and another condemned railway wagon…

Back to ‘normal’ today after a fantastic break in Scotland last week. Although I mainly shot digital whilst away I did also manage to get shoot some film, including my first roll of 120 in years!

Single frame… The Cathedral of St Andrew

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The Cathedral of St Andrew, Fife, ScotlandThe Cathedral of St Andrew, Fife, Scotland
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 20mm, 1/350s, f11, ISO 400

The Cathedral of St Andrew in Fife, Scotland, dates from 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews.

Robbed of its prized possessions in 1559 the cathedral had been abandoned and left to ruin by 1561. The ruins are now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland

On the left are the ruins of the nave, on the right is the east tower and in the centre is the 108 feet (33 metres) high St Rule’s tower.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that St Andrews isn’t just about golf (although much of the town is dedicated to the sport) and I’m definitely planning a return visit.

Nifty Fifty!

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I’d got something else planned for this post but then realised it would be my 50th so changed my mind…

‘Freelance Wastrel’ has proved surprisingly easy to create posts for and writing it has put me in touch with some fantastic people, I’m hoping that I can maintain the momentum of creating content for it throughout the winter months.

Nikkor 50mm lensesA few Nikon ‘Nifty Fifties’

I’ve mentioned my collection of Nikkor lenses before and the image above shows the 50mm examples… They are as follows:

  • 50mm f/2 AI, introduced in 1977. (Top left)
  • 50mm f/1.8 AIS, introduced in 1980. My favourite due to its minimum focusing distance of 0.45m. (Top right)
  • 50mm f/1.8 AIS, the later, more compact ‘pancake’ version of the above, introduced in 1985, has a 0.6m minimum focusing distance. (Bottom left)
  • Series E 50mm f/1.8, introduced in 1978 along with the budget Nikon EM SLR. This is the first version of the lens that doesn’t feature the traditional chrome mounting ring. (Bottom right).
  • 50mm f/2 Pre-AI, one of the oldest lenses in my collection, manufactured between 1963 and 1967. The ‘H’ appearing after the ‘Nikkor’ name indicates the number of elements making up the lens, in this case 6 (Hex). (Centre).

I do still use every one of these beautiful lenses, some more than others but they all get an outing from time to time, earlier this year I mounted the Pre-AI lens on my Fujifilm X-T10 (via an adapter) and used it to photograph a friend’s band in a local pub.