North Parade Buildings, Bath on lith

I escaped the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Festivities the other day and got myself some time in the darkroom.  Christmas is exhausting!  Well, this year more than most - I'm a year older than the last one and we had a lot of driving to do this year.  My wife's mother is now a permanent resident in a care home and it was debatable whether or not she would be well enough to come for Christmas, as she usually does.  In the end, we drove up to Derry/Londonderry Christmas morning and brought her down.  Then back up on Boxing Day.  The 24 hours inbetween were particularly hard for my wife, who took the role of primary carer for the day, as well as primary cook and primary Mother-Figure to the whole family.  She hasn't recovered yet...

Anyway, this shot was taken in July, when we had a quick visit to the lovely city of Bath to visit the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases.  We had just enough free time for a little wander about so I snapped away, using the little Yashica T4 point-and-shoot camera.  It's a real gem, the Yashica and I'm always amazed how good the results are.  Probably something to do with the Zeiss Tessar 35mm lens on it.  It's fully auto, all you have to do is drop the cassette in and close the back door and you're good to go.  This was on HP5+ at 400 asa, developed in RO9 and printed on Foma paper dunked in Moersch Easylith developer:

North Parade Buildings, Bath.   Lith print, 9.5"x12", Foma paper

When I see the print in the flesh, I wonder if a tighter crop might be better - emphasise the guy sitting under the tree a little more.  But I like the paving stones - all over the place, just as they should be.

A continental holiday

This shot is of my father, back in '76 when we holidayed on 'The Continent'. We had two big holidays when I was growing up - the first was in 1972 and I was a bit too young to remember much about that one.  That was when we had the Zodiac.  By the time of the second big excursion, in 1976, we had acquired a VW Caravette.  There was just about room for the 4 of us to sleep in it, but the bunk beds in the push-up roof weren't great for two strapping teenager boys, so my dad - who was good with his hands - made an extra bed for us out of plywood and steel.  The VW took us from the North of Ireland to the South of France, Switzerland and Germany before home again.  Both the outward and return trips were made with the help of the ferry to/from Scotland and then a long drive to/from Dover in the south of England.  Yes, you'd be correct in thinking my father liked to drive - a lot.

My father and the VW Caravette, somewhere in Switzerland, 1976.  Printed 2018, Adox MCC fibre paper, 12"x9.5"

I doubt either of these treks were much of a holiday for my mother, who of course had all the cooking to do.  And washing I guess. How she managed I know not - I guess she must have been super organised.  The amazing thing is I never remember any arguments - she just got on with it.  Well, once, somewhere in Germany I do remember a bit of a raised voice as dinner was being prepared, but it was over in a flash and then us males went for a walk and gave her some space.

I can't help smiling when I look at my father here.  His trousers look so short, pulled up as they are to get the air around his legs.  He was quite old when he married - in his late forties.  He would have been about 62 when this was taken and he's just staring into space, enjoying the hot sun.  I'd love to know what he was thinking about.  If I had to guess, I'd say he was thinking about the times when he used to ride his Triumph motorcycle down through France with his mates on his long summer holidays from teaching.  Long, long before marriage and parenthood came along to cramp his style...

Flat caps and Ford Escorts

I’m sure the driver of this car, way back in ‘76, was more than a little surprised as he came up our road and was met by a teenager pointing an OM-1 at him:

Ford Escort Mk 1, 1976.  Printed in 2018, Adox MCC paper

I like the fact that he’s wearing his flat cap while driving. It was part of the uniform back then. My grandfather and great-uncle (both working men) never left the house without a tweed jacket of some indeterminate age, a tie and a flat cap. I mean - never! Even when heading off for a days fishing that was the gear - albeit supplemented by waterproofs and thigh length waders.

I can barely remember the last time I wore a tie - probably when I last did an honest day's work, about 5 years ago. I still wear a jacket, but only occasionally- school Governor’s meetings, the odd time I’m at a funeral and the very odd time we dress to go out. We’re not big on going out - too often we’re disappointed with the food and with raging tinnitus and poor hearing it’s not that pleasurable either for me or anyone else. So we stay in, cook good food and enjoy the pleasant surroundings of our own home. Not much wrong with that, I think...

Beach life

A quick return to the shores of Lake Michigan as I continue my documentation of the American Mid-West during a few days in August, 2018...

Montrose Beach, Lake Michigan.
Via the Hasselblad, HP5+, RO9 developer.  On Ilford Fibre Classic paper, toned in thiourea. 8.5"x8.5"

Did you get the obscure reference to Robert Adams?  I have a real liking for his work, by the way.  At first glance his photographs might appear nothing terribly special, but stay a while and they have a habit of drawing you in.  Well, they do me...

A country lane

When I came across this negative the other day I thought I'd print it just to see.  I'm glad I did, as there was one thing about it which genuinely surprised me when I saw the print.  The figure in the shot is my brother, back in the late 70s and it was taken just at end of the driveway to my parents' house, looking up the road.  The lovely Irish Setter in the foreground wasn't ours, by the way - I think it belonged to a neighbour.   My father had a dislike of dogs, having been bitten by one when he was young, so we had cats - lots.  All outdoor/farm cats, though, never allowed in the house.

Brother and dog, late '70s.  Printed 2018 on Ilford Fibre Classic paper.

The thing that surprised me was 'our' road - look how narrow it is!  And then I vaguely remembered there being a day when the council came by to widen our little country lane.  Nowadays it's about twice as wide as you see here - enough for large milk lorries, oil lorries and just about anything to get through - albeit with care.  And those verges - look how high and dense they are!  They look beautiful to my eyes.  Today there's not much at the sides of the road, just a bit of grass and then hedges which are clipped to almost nothing by the farmers.

I guess it's the detail that is most easily forgotten as time passes.  You think the road you drive along several times a day was always like it is now, but of course things change - everything changes, little by little, day by day, year on year. I realise that these days I'm in a minority - someone who still lives at the place where they grew up (after having spent many years living in England, I should probably add, before I saw the light and came home).  Looking at this simple photograph today gives me a lot of pleasure - but I wish our road still looks like it does here.

Library at DePaul University, Chicago

How’s that for a snappy title, eh? OK I know we're flitting back and forth some 40 years here at the minute, but sure it keeps things interesting.  I hope so, anyway.

As you know, if you've been following events, I went for a quick visit to Chicago this summer to see my brother.  Here's one of the shots I took on the Lincoln Park campus of DePaul University.  This is the lobby/entrance to the Library. So actually the title is misleading; it should read ‘Entrance to library at DePaul University, Lincoln Park Campus, Chicago’. Even snappier then, right?

The Library, DePaul University, Chicago.  2018. Ilford fibre classic paper, toned.

About a tenth of a second after I took this shot the guy there dropped to the floor in alarm. No, of course I jest, but the place was quiet and with all those tiles the mirror slap from the ‘Blad was, how shall I say, noticeable.

Anyway, isn’t the library entrance impressive? I thought it was. And the ground floor lobby of the library  was equally plush - all wood and expensive chairs and big computer screens and a sense of reverence. I got the impression it’s where prospective students - and, more importantly, their parents - would be brought on Open Days. Yes, folks, just equate the quality of the learning to the decor and By the way, sign right here...

It’s a business, higher education these days, don’t you know?

1976

I seem to be stuck in The Archives at the minute, having had a marathon printing session the other day.  As expected, there are lots of family shots from the mid-late 1970s, when I was a teenager.  This one is from 1976 and from the first roll of film through my new OM-1.  It's of The Brother, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights:

The Brother, as he looked in 1976.  Printed 2018, Adox MCC paper

What's nice for me in this shot is not just my brother, but the bits&pieces which went to define the living room in my parents' house.  The Binatone stereo just behind his head, for example - I can remember my dad being very excited by that purchase.  He loved his music and was a tenor singer in the Church Quoir as well as singing in local festivals.  The same stereo is now housed somewhere in my mother's garage - it's not that she's a hoarder, she just can't bear to throw things out :)

There's a ton of books and reading material scattered around.  We did a lot of reading in our house in them days - there were no distractions like Internet or TV.  Well, there was TV - only just, mind.  I'll say more about that in a later post.

My mother still uses those same sofa and the same hardwood chairs that you can see to the right of the picture.  And that's one of my dad's oil paintings on the wall.  He was quite a decent artist and was planning to take up painting a bit more seriously in his retirement.  Unfortunately that never happened - cancer took him just a year into retirement and it was clear it had been working on him for a few years.  That's one of the reasons why, when early retirement became an option for me I jumped at it.

The edge markings indicate that this was shot was on Ilford FP4, by the way.  The developer information wasn't written on the glassine negative file, unfortunately - probably Paterson Acutol or something like that. Printed on Adox MCC fibre paper, by the way - 42 years later. That still tickles me!

My Martin Parr Moment

My first ‘Martin Parr’ moment came over 40 years ago...and yes, you’ve got it - I’m still waiting for my second.  Ah well - it’s all about the journey, right?  This is a shot from The Archives that I've been wanting to print for ages and finally got around to it.  It is, of course, a location which will be recognisable to many - Number 10, Downing Street, London.  It's the official residence of the Prime Minister of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland!

Outside No. 10 as it was in 1977.  Printed 2018, Adox MCC fibre paper

Now it's not the greatest shot in the world in terms of composition, light, subject matter or anything trivial like that.  I thought it was worth printing as it simply captures an interesting moment in time - that moment being sometime in the summer of 1977,whilst on holiday with my parents.  I would have been 14 at the time and that means it would have been taken on my OM-1, which I'd recently acquired.  The Olympus pretty much wiped all out my worldly savings from birthday and Christmas money etc built up over the years.  My finances recovered pretty quickly, mind you, once I got a Saturday&Holiday job in the photographic department of a local chemist, but that's a story for another time.

The policeman has his sleeves rolled up (it was summer!) and doesn't look too stressed considering he's guarding the offices of the most important person in the country.  No Kevlar stab-proof vest, no Taser, no gun - nothing really, apart from his radio.

And then there's the Asian couple standing proudly for their photograph.

Nowadays you can't even enter Downing Street if you're just a regular Joe or Jane - there are huge steel gates at the end where it joins Whitehall.  And usually about a dozen anti-terrorist, heavily armed police.  You don't really want to hang about there these days - not that would be allowed to anyway.

How times have changed, eh?  Ok I was a callow youth back then with nothing much to worry about except the spots on my face and whether or not I would ever be attractive to members of the opposite sex (and that's definitely another story for another day - growing up in the middle of the countryside in the far North West of Ireland with only a brother for company did not make me the world's most confident person in the company of girls) but looking from today's perspective it really does seem like a different world back then. Apart from the Carlos the Jackal, the Bader-Meinhof group and the Entebbe thing there didn’t seem to be too many threats about*.  Fast forward to today and - well, things are very different. What the heck happened?


* OK so I missed out the local shenanigans going on at that time - the activities of the Provisional IRA and various opposing groups, but where I lived seemed like the eye of the storm - it was relatively untouched.  Relatively.