Coffee time

 A shot from the hip (maybe) as we wandered around the Indoor Market in Newcastle a while back:

Sharing time in Grainger Indoor Market, Newcastle
Nikon N80, HP5+, Foma paper

Not much news to report at the minute.  Not out and about much at all - too cold.  Waiting for spring to make an appearance, but apart from the odd snowdrop and daffodil there's not much sign of it yet.  My wife reminded me that it was St Patrick who 'turned the stone' - and that's exactly one month away.  Let's hope the big guy comes good this year.

Young, fit and tipsy

Back around 1980 or so The Jam released the classic track 'Going Underground', of which I was a big fan.  Fast forward to 2024 and that's what Missy and I were doing on the Newcastle Metro:

One of the lights was out, which I didn't realise until I printed it.
Nikon N80, HP5+ on Foma paper.

The Newcastle Metro is, I have to say, rather useful.  Although we did nearly get stampeded on by a group of over-enthusiastic (and probably over-inebriated) girls one night, when just as we were reaching the bottom decided they would try to run the wrong way up the moving stairs.  Missy was alert to the danger to her old man and quickly guided me to safety, so there was no harm done - to me, anyway.  A quick glance back showed that the girls didn't get very far up the stairway until they lost their footing and collapsed in a heap, the stairway doing it's best to transport them back to the bottom.  All good fun when your fit, 20-something and tipsy. 

Almost every time we rode the Metro there was a significant presence of security guards - both on the trains and at the stations.  I'm not sure if this was due to a lot of problems in the past or a decent attempt to stop problems from occurring in the future.  The latter, I think - so well done Newcastle. 

Spooky Cheeses

One from Grainger Market in Newcastle - although we were well past Halloween the spooks were still hanging around the Cheese Stall:

Nikon N80, HP5+ on Foma paper.

 

All bags £1

 Finally got back in the darkroom yesterday morning.  It felt good to be doing something again.  This was a shot from Newcastle city centre taken when visiting Missy before Christmas.  

HP5+ on Foma 313

I've just noticed the sign for Nelson Street in front of the column - but it's not Nelson on top, as that one is in London.  This is Charles Grey (Earl Grey) and was built in recognition of his tenure as Prime Minister and MP for Northumberland. His claim to fame was passing the Great Reform Act of 1832, which reorganised the system of parliamentary constituencies and increased the right to vote. 

Anyway, as I was in the darkroom I got to thinking about the process.  You make a first print (or a test strip if you prefer) and then examine the result.  Hmm...a bit more (or less) contrast? A shade lighter (or darker) perhaps?  It's all up to you - there is no right or wrong.  Ok so you might want your whites white and your blacks black but even then there are times you want a different look.  Perhaps that's what the attraction is - doing your own thing.

Not there yet

 An oldie for you today, just to keep this thing alive while my life is a whole lot of busy-ness.

North Parade Buildings in Bath, Somerset; 
lith print.

I like the old flagstones, all higgledy-piggledy.  Wonder when they were laid. 

Christmas 2025

 More friends from the Bath Uni 40-year Reunion:

International Man of Mystery there in the background
Nikon N80 on full-auto metering with flash.  HP5+ on Foma paper.

It's been a tough Christmas here in The Liberties.  Great to have Missy home for a few weeks but hard in other ways, notably with my mum who finally accepted that she might be better off in residential care than trying to cope in her own home.  It's a decision I wish had been taken a couple of years ago, since it's been a slow but steady decline in her mobility over that time.  And that has meant a lot more on my plate, particularly this last 12 months.  My photography has taken a back seat, as you can probably tell from the sporadic posting of anything new or interesting on this place.  Anyway, two days before Christmas we took a phone call to say a bed had become available in what is probably the best care home in the area.  What a stroke of good timing.  A couple of days after Christmas and the move was done and I'm glad to say she is (so far) settling in OK.  Part of her thinks (hopes?) that the move might be temporary and that she will be able to return home at some point in the future, but I really can't see that happening.  From what I learn from the staff in the facility that is not uncommon aspiration from residents when they first enter the facility.  I think in time, though, my mum will come to realise that she is in the best place - somewhere warm and safe, and where there are people to chat to as well as make her endless cups of tea and food more or less on demand.  Everything she didn't have in her own home, in other words.

Friends, all shook up

I missed this frame the first time I looked at the negatives from my Uni reunion but in the darkroom last Sunday it caught my eye.  Unintentional Camera Movement (not to be confused with ICM)...perhaps it was late in the evening (ahem!) or maybe someone nudged my elbow.  Either way  - I like it!

Somewhere in Bath, a couple of months ago. 
I like the ghost figure between my friend and his wife, supping her drink.