Monochrome Monday… Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020

Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020Willington Cooling Towers, January 2020
Nikon FE, Zoom-Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 at 43mm, 1/125s, f8 – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

I can’t tell you why I find this image of the defunct cooling towers at Willington Power Station so appealing… I just do.

It’s also one of only half a dozen or so images (so far) taken with my Zoom-Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 Ai lens…

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… All Saints Church

All Saints Church, RipleyAll Saints Church, Ripley
Nikon FE, Nikkor 50mm f/2, 1/250s, f11 – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

A pre-lockdown image from a beautiful spring afternoon’s visit to the local churchyard…

I owned a chrome Nikon FE around 25 years ago and loved it, only parting with it to fund the purchase of a Nikon F-801s for work, so when a mint condition black one came my way recently how could I resist?

A blog post about the Nikon FE is on its way…

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… New Bridge, Calver, March 2020

New Bridge, Calver, March 2020New Bridge, Calver, March 2020
Nikon FE, Nikkor 50mm f/2, 1/250s, f11 – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

Yet another image from the recent roll of Kentmere 400 I used to test a Nikon FE.

New Bridge carries the A625 Sheffield to Chapel-en-le-Frith road over the River Derwent at Calver in the Derbyshire Dales.

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Calver Weir

Calver Weir, March 2020Calver Weir, March 2020
Nikon FE, Nikkor 50mm f/2, 1/250s, f11 – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

Another image from the recent roll of Kentmere 400 I used to test a Nikon FE.

Calver Weir on the River Derwent in the Peak District, photographed during a ‘Photography Friday’ walk with Rachel a few weeks back (although it seems like forever ago now…)

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Land Rover

Land RoverLand Rover
Nikon FE, Nikkor 50mm f/2, 1/250s, f8½ – Kentmere 400
Developed in Ilford DDX at 1:4, 11½ mins at 20°c.

This Land Rover Discovery has been in bits for a few months now and I’d been meaning to photograph it for a while, finally doing so a couple of days before the Coronavirus lockdown began… It was also the last shot on a roll of Kentmere 400 film that I was testing a recently acquired Nikon FE with.

This is the first roll of Kentmere that I’ve developed in Ilford DDX and I rather like the results, much more contrast and seemingly finer grain than with my usual developer, Ilfosol 3.

Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED scan with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Monochrome Monday… Miniature folly

Miniature follyMiniature folly
Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AI-S – 1/125s, f11, – Kentmere 400 rated at ISO 320

In the current situation I’m struggling to motivate myself where photography is concerned but I’ve decided to post images here that evoke happy memories, if they have any artistic or technical merit too then that’s a bonus!

This miniature ‘folly’ is only a few inches across and adorns the wall that separates a holiday cottage from the sea in the Scottish village of Lower Largo.

We had glorious weather the week we stayed there in October 2018 and enjoyed a few al fresco breakfasts even though the cold waters of the Firth of Forth were only a few yards away.

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

Throwback Thursday… Gateway, Coniston, September 2018

Gateway, Coniston, September 2018Gateway, Coniston, September 2018
Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 35mm f/2 AI-S – 1/60s, f5.6, – Kentmere 400 rated at ISO 320

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

Last year I was accompanying a pal of mine (Hi Mark!) on his annual pilgrimage from Derbyshire to the Lake District to climb a hill in memory of his father. I didn’t join him on his climb up the 2,634 feet high Old Man of Coniston but did have a gentle stroll down the old Furness Railway line towards Torver and this shot was taken just before I took a detour off the path for a pint in The Sun Inn.

Today we’re off to the Lakes again, Mark’s got his Kendal Mint Cake and I’ve got my camera…

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