God loves a trier

That was one of my Grandpa's many sayings which has stuck in my mind all these years.  I guess it's a polite way of saying "You're not very good at this, are you?".  For some reason it came to mind when I tried to print this shot, from some very old Forte film left in a bulk loader that I acquired from a school clear-out a while back.  I had no idea how to process it so I just dunked it in my usual ID-11 for about 11 minutes.  Not quite long enough, perhaps or maybe it's lost a bit of speed over the years but whatever the reason the fact is the negative came out very flat, with little or no contrast.  Hmm.  What to do, eh?  Nothing else for it but to try and lith it, I thought - and here was the result on Foma 131 paper:

Sand dunes on Portstewart Strand, 2019.

The scan is a wee bit brighter than the print, which is even more moody than you see here.  I had used a longish exposure on a very windy day, so the dune grasses in the foreground have some movement in them.  You've got the usual lith-on-Foma warmth but I dunked the lower half of the print in some PotFerri to bring out the highlights a bit and as you can see they've lost that warmth.  Still, it works, to a degree...

Irish skies

I don't know what Japanese skies look like but I suspect they look different to the sky in this shot of my Irish-Anglo-Japanese relations on Portstewart Promenade in August:

Portstewart Prom, Summer 2019

On very, very old Tri-X in ID-11 and Ilford Warmtone fibre paper.  On it's way to Japan very shortly, once I get my act together and mount it.  The statue in the background is the War Memorial, in case you were wondering.  And check out the fancy new street lights we got last year (along with the fancy new stainless steel railings). 

I'm off to make some meringue now, in case you were wondering what I do with myself on Boxing Day morning (or St. Stephen's Day if you prefer).  Yesterday was Christmas Day of course and it was a beautiful day here in Ireland with blue skies.  I even got a dander down the road with The Hound, although he doesn't like to go very far these days.  This morning it's wet and windy and pretty horrible.  It would be an ideal day for the darkroom but we've a pretty full house and yesterday was like all Christmas Days - long and tiring.  But good.  Very good, actually.  I hope you had a good one too, wherever you are.

Oh, the stone

OK so I couldn't resist a little reprise on the last title - apologies.  But this is how some exquisite centuries-old Italian stonework comes out on Foma paper via some lith developer:

Bergamo stonework, on HP5+/Foma paper, lith developer

The composer Donizetti was from Bergamo, but you don't get it shoved down your throat when you're there - thankfully.  A bit like the fact that Ireland's finest Mr James Joyce spent many years living in Trieste - there was no sign of that when we were there 25-odd years ago.  Times may have changed, of course...

But back to Bergamo and Donizetti.  This stonework was either from the house in which he resided for a time, or one very close to it.  Just round the back of the Basilica, in case you were wondering (it's not a big place). Anyway, came out rather sweet on the old Foma 131 fibre paper in lith developer, I thought.

Oh, the water

It was something my mother said to me recently - that water was a great healer.  I'd never really thought of it before like that, but she's right.  I guess that was almost 90 years of living gives you - clarity of thought.  I've spend a large part of my life in water - mostly hydrotherapy pools, or swimming pools, to help the symptoms of my ankylosing spondylitis.  By symptoms I mean joint pain, of course.  Any excuse and I'm in there.  Well, as long as its reasonable, temperature-wise.  And these days as long as there's not too many people watching...

So here's some water for you, on print, via film and an old Hasselblad camera with a Zeiss lens (probably 250mm Sonnar):

Sea water, on Ilford Warmtone Fibre paper

It's sea-water, in case you were wondering - from roughly the same place as this shot that you might have already seen was taken.

And I almost forgot - the title.  Now Mr Van 'the man' Morrison is not everyone's cup of tea, I'll be the first to admit.  Heck I'm not even sure he's my cup of tea. As a person, from what I have heard (first hand) from people who worked with him he's not the easiest of guys to get on with, but some would say the man's a genius and so he walks a different walk to the rest of us.  Whatever.  But And It Stoned Me was one track that I thought was pure genius.  The lyrics are here.  A recording I guess can be found somewhere out there without too much trouble and although obviously it's sung it does give a good idea of how we speak in this part of the world...

Just playing (and some very old Tri-X)

I probably mentioned a while back about the visitors we had in the summer - all the way from Japan. My new-found cousin, her husband and two children. Not the time to be experimenting with long-expired Tri-X (a film I’ve never used before), but for some unknown reason that’s the way it turned out.  OK so not for some unknown reason at all but just from lack of planning.  It happens.  It actually turned out OK (ish) in my usual ID-11.  A tad grainy but as the man said Grain is Good - right?

The film I acquired from a school clear-out a while back. It was inside a Watson Bulk Loader and I’ve no idea what age it is - I would guess around 15-20 years old.

Here’s Mom&Son just playing (i.e., learning) in the little sandy beach by Portstewart Prom. That be Donegal/Inishowen peninsula in the distance (Malin Head, Ireland's most northerly point is the bit sticking out in the far distance).

Mom&son in Portstewart, Summer 2019.  Tri-X on Ilford Warmtone fibre.

I dunked the bottom third of the print in some very old (but still working - does this stuff ever go off?) PotFerri just to brighten up those white areas in their shirts, otherwise it's a straight print.  After mounting it'll be on it's way to Kanagawa, possibly to end up on a wall - who knows?

I like this shot.  A little shared moment in our lives - Mom, son and the guy with the camera.

It's a tad early for New Year's Resolutions,  I know - but I'd like there to be more people in my shots than there currently is.  That's going to be something I'll be working on...

Portrush East Strand

A while back a few of us film users in the Club went down to Portrush for an evening's shoot. It was a nice evening for it - a little bit of swell in the sea.  I stuck the Hasselblad on a tripod (rare event, be noted)  and after metering set a shutter speed about 1 second for this shot:

Portrush, looking towards East Strand.  On Ilford Warmtone fibre paper.

The sky got burnt in a little, just to bring out the cloud detail - otherwise it's a straight print.  I spot-metered the darkest shadow area under the railings and closed down 2 stops, so there's a bit of detail still visible there.  I've not idea why there are steps cut into the stone - presumably years ago there was some sort of building or shelter there, long gone.  The white things in the middle distance were seabirds either resting or feeding on the water.

It's good but it's not right

That was the catchphrase of a TV game show host a few years ago - a guy by the name of Roy Walker, if memory serves me correctly.  The game show was, rather aptly, called Catchphrase and is still going today, albeit with a different presenter.  A thoroughly decent chap Mr Walker was, too - from Northern Ireland, so that's a given, I guess ;)

It always struck me as a particularly polite way of telling a contestant that his or her guess was completely wrong.  You can't really tell them, 'Wrong!' or 'Nope!' and 'Hmm...not quite' is a bit fence-sitting but 'It's good but it's not right' is just a rather lovely way to let them down gently.

This was how I felt about this particular print, of clouds over Portstewart:

Clouds over Portstewart, with added bits.  Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

If you click on the image you'll see the problem - the white dots (black on the negative).

This is a good example of what happens when you step outside your comfort zone.  Unfortunately this is a film developing problem and it arose because I had run out of my usual ID-11 and had only a fresh box of DD-X to hand.  The DD-X I had bought for a specific use in mind, namely some Ilford Delta 3200 that I have sitting waiting to shoot.  But I'd used DD-X years ago with HP5 and knew it to be a super developer, albeit it on the pricey side.  No matter, I mixed it up (1+4) and away we went.  And about half the frames came out with a good covering of black dots.  Not always easy to diagnose the problem but I think it may have been down to the DD-X having settled a bit in the container and perhaps it needed to be mixed with the water a little more energetically.  The other possibility is air bubbles but I always tap the tank after inversion and have never had this problem before, so I'm blaming the DD-X.

I cropped judiciously in software (it was a 120 neg) and got this - which is OK for Web but I doubt I'd get an acceptable print from it.

Severely cropped

Back inside

Another one from inside the prison-hospital-art-gallery thingmy in you-know-where:

Art Gallery.  On Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

Printed about 10 minutes ago this damp Thursday morning in November on the North Coast of Ireland - I'm a bit behind with my printing (and taking).  No excuse other than it's been a busy time.  My wife's son has just bought and moved into his first house with his fiancee - and it feels like we've spent the last few weeks moving house as well.  Plus I went to Belfast to speak to someone about cochlear implants, on account of my poor (non-existent most of the time) hearing.  A scary proposition and not one I'm going to rush into.  My hearing has been reasonably good (for me) this last few weeks and as usual I'm hopeful that this upward trend will continue.  I think I would need 12 months of total deafness before I would take the plunge for an implant, as it destroys any hope of 'normal' hearing again.  Although I go through some very bad phases (and this year has been the worst) my hearing always returns - in one ear, at least.  And so far, I should add.  I don't take anything for granted any more - when I wake up in the morning I have to deal with whatever hearing I have.

Bicycle

This scene caught my eye - in one of those many courtyards I was talking about last time. This print was my first attempt at it and there's more work to be done but here it is anyway:

Bicycle in Bergamo.  HP5+ on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper, toned

A little more contrast would make the white frame of the bicycle stand out better, I think - although it will be just a little more.  As I've said before, these days I'm tending to favour lower contrast than pushing every scene, every print to full black shadows and paper-white highlights.

The left hand side of the print needs a little burning in to balance it out and while the weak sepia tone I used here is good I think it could benefit from a being a little warmer.  Perhaps a sepia-selenium combination might work well.  I'll post my next attempt in due course.

A storey and a half

Quite a few lovely courtyards among the old streets of Bergamo - like this one.  I had to poke the camera through some rather impressive wrought iron gates to get this, mind you.

HP5+ on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

So what’s going on here then? Tradesman's entrance vs Gentleman’s entrance? Who knows...but the doors are very close together and only one half-storey apart. If I’m being honest, at the time I just liked the scene in front of me.  Looking at it now, I’m intrigued - What’s the inside like?

The Old City (Citta Alta) sits high atop a promontory (as the Italian suggests) - the newer city (Citta Bassa lies below).  The old part reminded me of Bath a little - beautiful to walk around but I'm not sure I'd want to live there.  Mind you, the transport is so good there's no real need to - the bus journey from Bassa to Alta is frequent and cheap.  For the likes of us tourists, there's a funicular railway linking the two parts as well - which we used but it's a very short ride in small, cramped carriages.  It was impossible to see anything other than fellow tourists so it was a bit disappointing.

Pizza by night

OK spot the deliberate typo in the title - not pizza but Piazza. Funny what a little ‘a’ can add to the meaning. Anyway, Piazza Vecchia is where it all happens in Bergamo and it's a rather pleasant place to find yourself in at any hour of the day.  This is it by night:

Piazza Vecchia on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

Can't remember if it was the 35mm or the 21mm on the M6 but I'm favouring the former.

Mettle testing

On our last full day in Bergamo last month it was a bit dull and damp.  Still warm, though - and as a result still quite pleasant.  The ladies in my life were having a lie-in but once I'm awake I usually get up, whatever time it is, so I took myself off for a dander.  The nice thing about being on my own is not having to feel guilty about my wife or daughter wondering when yer man is going to catch up.  That's not terribly fair, as they are both very supportive (and patient), but still, at times I'm sure their mettle is tested to the limit.

Bergamo, HP5+ on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper, light sepia tone

Looking down this street I was struck by how positively lovely it was, steeped in shadow, a bit dirty...and just so authentic. Pity the wires were crossing it but I couldn't do much about them.  I overprinted it by a good half a stop, maybe more, as I wanted to give it a light sepia tone.  The bleach stage brought it back to life and then a dunk in some very dilute sepia tone just lifted the grayness a little. It still maintains an air of mystery, which was the plan.

Steps

No, not the pop-group that gave us such memorable hits as "5, 6, 7, 8" - the steps at the base of the Fontanone Visconteo, not far from the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiori in Bergamo:

Stone steps, Bergamo.  Lith, on Foma paper.

The Fontanone Visconteo is, as you might guess from the name, a 'fountain' built to supply water to the town in the 14th Century.  1342 or thereabouts and that's a fair while ago by any reckoning.  Now I'm not sure the steps date back that far, but they weren't constructed recently, that's for sure.

If you want a grittier version - here you are:

Both are lith prints and untoned but the second one was actually the first, done when I was 'getting my eye in' and it was massively over-exposed under the enlarger.  Rather than bin it, I threw it in some bleach (either standard sepia bleach or PotFerri, can't remember which) and let it sit for a while. Interesting how it turned out - losing all the warmth that usually comes with lith & the Foma paper (that you can see in the other print).

Fake

Here's another one from the Nikon 85mm f/1.4:

By the River Bann, September 2019.  Barclay graded paper.

It was quite a pleasant morning a few weeks ago that my wife and I went for a wee stroll along the Bann.  This is one of the few country (ish - it's only just out of town) walks you can do without getting very muddy this time of year, since the path is made from hardcore or cinders - something solid, anyway.

Actually this is fake.  The print actually looks like this:

The real thing.

Perhaps as we read from left to right the first is slightly easier on the eye.  But of course this is down to the power of software so therefore is unworthy of consideration.

Intruder

It's hard to go wrong in a country such as Italy, where it seems that around every corner lies a thing of beauty.  Particularly somewhere old such as the Citta Alta of Bergamo.  And the added bonus is that lovely soft light.  Bergamo lies just at the foot of the Alps, which might have something to do with it - we had a superb view of them as we flew over from Belfast, not a cloud in sight.  Fast forward 5 days and the flight back was the opposite - a thick blanket of cloud stretching pretty much all the way home.

From the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiori looking towards the Cathedral.  Lith print, Foma paper.

The main square in Bergamo is rather nice but the real gems lie just to the Southern End - the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiori and the Cathedral.  We did the Cathedral first, which dates back several hundred years and is every bit as impressive as you might imagine.  Inside is a treasure-trove of artefacts and statues which reflects an incredible level of skill by the stonemasons and artists of the time.  We actually walked past the nearby Basilica the first time we were there but the Old City isn't that big and on our next foray we realised there was another building open to the public and so we found ourselves in the Basilica.  It's on a smaller scale than the Cathedral but more impressive for it, I think.  The walls are lined with centuries-old tapestries and it's just a lovely space to find yourself in.  I didn't feel too bad taking a few shots with the Leica as the shutter is whisper-quiet.  Not sure how well they came out though since I was hand-holding at some ridiculous speed.  We'll see.  As I wandered around, somewhat in awe, I spied a separate room off to one side and entered through the large glass doors.  There's probably a proper name for it but I'm not big into my organised religions so that didn't stick in my head - most likely a space for private prayer and reflection away from the main area.  It was deserted - or so I thought.  I was admiring the centrepiece of Christ on the Cross and instinctively reached for the camera...as I did so I turned slightly and got a tremendous shock for out of the corner of my eye I noticed a very old clerical gentleman, dressed as usual in black robes and just sitting in the corner in quiet contemplation.  He didn't acknowledge me and was (I imagine) clearly there to get away from the hordes of tourists (with their damn cameras).  I felt like I was intruding. I put away all thoughts of taking a photograph, sat down in one of the chairs at the back and just enjoyed the space for what it was.  After what I thought was a decent few minutes I made my exit, leaving the gentleman alone to enjoy his peace and quiet.

At times like that it's hard not to wonder about the difference in people's lives.  I was going to write 'in the way people choose to live' but I'm not sure that's the correct way to put it.  I mean, I'm guessing the priest made a conscious decision to wear the cloth etc and I'm sure somewhere along the way I chose the Family Life but like the song (Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime) sometimes it doesn't feel that you get where you are today completely by choice.  It's just where we find ourselves. So there's me - family man, flying in from Ireland for a few days sightseeing and eating before returning home to School Runs, trips to the supermarket and my usual stuff.  And there's the priest with his life in Bergamo and all that entails.  Our paths crossed for a few moments.  Funny old game, isn't it?

Caffe Poli

This was taken at the entrance of the Flea Market in Bergamo - although I must confess to moving the cup a little to get some of the early morning sun.  Not sure what I must have looked like to the people going in and out but I'm kind of past caring what anyone might be thinking about me these days.

As usual the print is a bit richer than what you get here on screen but anyway:

Entrance to Flea Market, Bergamo.  HP5+ on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

It didn't really work as well as I wanted - the flower pot is just plain dull and boring.  I might have been better taking it off the table and just making do with the cup and the ashtray.  Or maybe not bothering at all...

In the clink

Well that's not strictly accurate, since 'the Clink' was a prison in Southwark, England and this shot was taken in Bergamo, Northern Italy where I found myself last week for a short break with the family (it being half-term, y'see).

Old prison hospital, Bergamo, 2019.  HP5+ on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper.

As we wandered up the main drag (via Bartolomeo Colleoni) there was a sign for a 'Flea Market' and we followed it, as both my wife and I usually love a good dig around such places - you never know what you might come across.  Downstairs was a bit disappointing, though - rails of clothes and some hand-made jewellery bits and pieces.  Neither really my thing, to be honest, but at the end of the hall was a sign for 'Experimental Art', leading up some very old stone steps.  I dithered a bit, as they looked a bit dodgy (no handrail, either) but in the end I ventured forth.  And it was a good decision. The steps led up to an old abandoned prison hospital.  Strangely, there wasn't much experimental art on display (none, except for a few not terribly impressive photographs) but the rooms were simply amazing to walk though.  Thankfully they hadn't renovated anything - it looked like it had just been opened up after years of lying empty.  Very sad it was, to think of the lives of the inmates that spend part of their lives living in those conditions.  I took a few shots and this was the first that I printed this morning.  I was a bit rusty in the darkroom but I was happy with this one. Others will follow.

Bergamo is a must-see, by the way.  I'm a sucker for anything old and Italian and slightly off-the-beaten-track and I have to say, this place is the real deal.  Even better as we could fly direct from our local airport.  At the other side it was a short bus ride to the old town (Citta Alta) and about a 3 minute walk to our hotel.  Couldn't really ask for an easier journey than that. 

A bug's life

That would be a great title for a film, don't you think?  ;)

This is another fail from the Nikon F3 test film I ran through the other day.  I think this was with the 28mm close focus lens - which was very nice to use I have to say.  As expected, you can get close to things...real close.

Variegated leaves in the garden (and a bug)

I didn't notice the bug thing until I printed it - it must have been very small.  The low contrast doesn't seem too bad to my eyes in this print - it kind of suits the subject, I think.  And it's on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper, which probably helps.

This shot of the hawthorn berries was close to being fair to middlin' (as my grandfather would have said) but the background on the top half of the print is too distracting.  I think this was the last shot, or one of the last on the roll so I was eager to get it finished.

Hawthorn berries in October

GAS

I've found myself a job.  Not a proper job, of course - been there, done that got the t-shirt etc etc.  No this job is to help a friend of someone in the Club sell their late husband's photo gear.  It's the sort of thing that's hard to say no to.  So about a week ago four bags of varying sizes were carefully placed in the back of the car.  I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this (Health Warning - could lead to a bout of Gear Acquisition Syndrome):

Nikon F3HP with the following AIS lenses: 24mm f/2.8, 28mm f/2.8 (close focus), 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 100-300mm f/5.6 plus as many Nikon metal lens hoods as were ever made, I think, along with a bag full of Nikon&Tiffen filters (including a 72mm polariser and special hood made for the 85mm f/1.4).  All in 'as new' order except for the 50mm which has a scratch on the back element.

Hasselblad 503cw, dedicated winder and remote, 45 degree prism, 60mm CB lens and 120mm Makro-Planar.  Again with hoods and filters.  And again, 'as new'.

There's a couple of flashguns as well, if you like that sort of thing (Nikon and Metz).

It's fair to say this gentleman had expensive tastes.  I'd like to think he got a lot of pleasure from using this equipment.

Reed bed by the River Bann;  Nikon F3, 85mm f/1.4 On very old Barclay graded paper.

I set about seeing if the cameras were in working order - no reason to think otherwise but I thought it might make it easier to price/sell if we could vouch for them. Nothing whatsoever to do with me just wanting to play with a new toy. The very thought...  The F3 needed new batteries but after that everything seemed good to go, so I went out and about and snapped anything and everything just to see (a) how much I liked it and (b) everything was working OK.  Oops...wrong way round. Honest.

Naturally I had to try out the F3 and the 85mm f/1.4 first - a beast of a combination, it has to be said.  If it were ever dropped you would hope it didn't land on your toes, that's for sure.  The F3 is from another era to the FM3a that I have...it really is a solid bit of kit and feels like it would withstand a lot of abuse.  Mind you, you won't ever forget you're carrying it around...

The print is poor - I had a rare failure when developing the film.  My go-to for HP5+ is ID-11 diluted 1+1 but I thought I'd economise a little, since this film was just a test of the gear and I knew there wouldn't be any masterpieces on it.  So I diluted 1+3 and gave it the suggested 20 minutes. I was a bit too slap-dash though and must have messed it up somewhere along the line as the negs came out horrible - very low in contrast.  My mind must have been somewhere else...

Danny Boy

Well our Club judge, Danny, did the business on Monday night.  He seemed a very decent sort, older gentleman with plenty to say about every image and print, which I liked.  Some judges have a tendency to skirt over some images when they have very little to say about them and I don't think that's very fair to the photographer.  But Danny wasn't like that - he had a lot to say about each and every one.  Unfortunately with my non-existent hearing I wasn't able to ascertain what he was actually saying - though when it came to my prints maybe that was a good thing.  There are 3 categories - projected digital images, colour prints and B&W prints.  Obviously there's only one of those that I enter - and here's a not-very-good phone snap of one of my prints:

Rejected: Clouds over Inishown

Danny almost selected this one to go through...almost.  He kept coming back to it but in the end he preferred something else.  I asked my friend David what he was saying and the response came back that Danny liked my print, said it was 'a print like you would have seen back in the days of film'.  But that he thought the other print would have better success in the competition.  While that did make me smile I think he got it spot on with regard to the chances of success.  I was pretty OK with that, since when I go to the trouble of mounting a half-decent print I want it go on my wall, not disappear to goodness-knows-where and be handled by goodness-knows-whom and be returned with grubby finger marks all over it.  It's my precious, see...

Fun times

Nothing much new here, I'm sorry to say.  It's Club night tonight and we have an external judge coming in to look at our work - let's call him Danny.  Danny's job is to select which prints and PDIs (projected digital images) go forward to the Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA)'s Inter-Club competition.  There are 5 rounds and tonight is round 2. The theme is landscape. Hmm....

Now NIPA judges don't usually give me a warm glow, it has to be said.  Some of the comments last year were, quite frankly, laughable.  It takes all my willpower to actually submit an entry to these things and I really only do it to show support for the Club.  I have no desire for any of my prints to be selected.  Having said that, there aren't usually very many B&W prints submitted so the chances are pretty high of having a print go forward to the competition proper.  My usual modus operandi is to have a bit of fun and submit a print they'll hate - something deliberately out-of-focus, or a lith print.  Either of these usually throws them completely, since they all seem to have a 'thing' about sharpness.

Unfortunately when I went to dig out something that might vaguely be considered landscapey, I could find nothing really suitable.  I tried to print a couple of negatives yesterday morning - lith on Slavich paper but that paper needs a certain sort of negative to come alive and neither of these really worked.  In all honesty I don't think I could bring myself to submit these, notwithstanding my views on the whole thing...

Portstewart Strand, on Slavich/lith

Mt Errigal, Donegal.

On the other hand...

I'll reveal how it went on the next post, if y'all can handle the suspense.

Sinar games

A new guy at the Club is into his film work and asked me about the 4x5 Sinar I don't play with very often.  I promised to bring it into the next Practical at the Club and so with that in mind I set up a little demo at home.  I thought it would be fun to show off the swing on the front (and, as it turned out, rear) standards and how that changes the plane of focus.  Here's the basic setup, lit by natural light coming in the window on the left of the shot:

Obviously I just threw the canisters on the table and they fell neatly into the pattern you see.  I know - incredible, isn't it?  Or Not remotely credible, might be closer to the truth.

As you can see, the first print is a straight shot - the line of focus cutting across the middle row of canisters. The plan was to now change the plane of focus so that only the HP5 canisters were in focus, running diagonally front to back.  I fiddled with the front standard a bit, focussed, inserted the dark slide and took the shot.  Here's what I got:

Not quite right.  The back 3 HP5 canisters are in acceptable focus but then it drifts off and the front two definitely aren't in focus.  F for Fail, Michael.  I failed to check the focus over all the ground glass.  So...back to the 'studio' for another attempt.  What I found was that it was a lot easier to get the focus the way I wanted it by using a bit of rear standard swing as well.  That nailed it - exactly the effect I was after:

All good fun.  All taken at f/5.6 with my one-and-only lens for this camera, a 210mm (equivalent to about 60mm in 35mm terms).  The online depth-of-field calculator told me that I had about 4cm of focus to play with, by the way.  Printed on old Barclay paper that someone gifted me - it's a graded paper, (grade 3) and comes in RC form with a lustre finish.  And it's a really lovely paper to work with - almost feels like a fibre paper in the hand.  The finish is rather nice, too - not glossy, but there's a sheen to it.  Pity it's not made any more (to my knowledge, anyway).  I'd like to find a modern equivalent.

Mi'lady

My wife likes to browse Charity shops.  We've had a long association with a couple of Charities over the years but they can be strange places to work at times so now we've only one that we give any serious time and energies to.  That's OK - it's a good 'un and we're happy with things as they stand.  This was one of the many, many (too many if you ask me) artefacts that we have acquired from those places.  It's typical in that it's not perfect - if you look closely, she's lost the tip of her nose.  But that's OK - I like imperfection.  Hey! - Whatdoyamean, you know! 

Mi'lady, via the Sinar & FP4+ in RO9 printed on 8"x10" Warmtone fibre

I set the Sinar 4x5 up to capture her.  Plonked her on a small table and rigged up some black fabric to the read and right hand side.  Natural light was coming through the window on the left.  Came out OK, I thought, considering I've no idea about posing a still life object or lighting it or anything else much about indoor photography, come to that.  I have to say I enjoyed the experience - and perhaps for these wintery days that are approaching a bit too rapidly for my liking a few more Still Lifes might be just the ticket.

Have a look...through the round window

Older readers from the UK (are there any?) might get the vague link in the title to Play School - a kiddies programme back in the 60s and maybe early 70s where there was a choice of round, square or arched window to look through each day.  That's what counted as 'interactive tv' in those days, where anyone watching at home was invited to guess which one.  And yes, I did have to do a bit of desktop research to identify which programme it was - in my head it was Watch with Mother but nope, the Internet Thing tells me it was Play School.  So there you go.

Anyway, enough drivel.  Well - enough of that drivel.  If you were awake last time (and this guy was, it appears), you might have noticed the round thing in the wall at the back of the play park.  As I wandered about, Hasselblad in hand, I took a peek and this is what I saw, captured for you on HP5+, developed in ID-11 and printed on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper:

Portrush Play Park, 2019

Through the round window lies the East Strand and if you could move a little to the right and look a little to the left (if that makes sense) you might see the Whiterocks and even over to the Giant's Causeway, a few miles away.  I should really go to the Causeway some time but it's a busy old place these days.  Perhaps I'll wait until a really horrible day in January and go then.  I'll bet there'll still be others there too, though. People, eh?

Just playing around

It was good to be back in the darkroom this morning.  It's been a busy couple of weeks in the McNeill household - this was the first time in a couple of weeks I was able to near the place.

This one was from a walk in Portrush a couple of weeks ago with some film users from the Club.  The light was good early on in the evening, but then it disappeared behind some houses and things were less good.  Still, I was happy with this one taken early on with the Hasselblad:

Playground, Portrush. HP5+ in ID-11 on Adox MCC paper.  A lovely combination, if you ask me.

Perfect symmetry

This was taken a couple of weeks ago in Portstewart, when out with the film lads from the Club.   It was early evening and the light was rather tasty. We all had the tripods out (as good Club Photographers do) and I had the 'Blad with the 250mm lens attached.  A quick point-and-shoot beast it is not...

I was composing a shot of the School on the headland - the Dominican College, formerly a Convent School - hence the cross sitting atop.  I'm a Governor there, for my sins, and I'm always on the lookout for the definitive photograph of it - it's one of the most recognisable buildings in the area, perched as it is overlooking the bay and the Promenade.

Anyway, I was vaguely aware of the young girl as she was climbing up the rocks in the foreground.  A bit mad, if you ask me, but that's the sort of thing you do when you're young - and quite right, too.  I didn't really have the camera trained on her or anything but I thought Well, kids are interesting - you never know, so I re-composed so that she was included in the shot.  And then, just for a second as she reached the top, she posed for her friends below with her arms outstretched.  I knew that was the shot and I didn't hesitate - I pressed the shutter release and hoped for the best with regard to focus.  As luck would have it, she's perfectly mirroring the Cross on the school, albeit some way away.

Dominican College, Portstewart.  Adox MCC fibre paper

This might be the shot to present to the school - perhaps they'll choose it as as a Christmas card or something.  I'd be very happy if it ended up bringing in a few funds to help the students.

Going on

There's too much going on today - I'm under pressure, so here's a quick print for you.  Back to the normal drivel soon, you'll be disappointed to hear...

Father and son, 2019

The Tokyo Connection

Back when this blog started, some 5 years ago, the plan was to showcase the area in which I live (on the North Coast of Northern Ireland), my photography and a bit of family history.  I wrote a lot about the family connections in the beginning, as I had just started researching my family tree at that time.  In the last couple of years I've hardly touched on the genealogy - probably since I've more or less shelved that work, for now at least.  I got back to the early/mid-19th Century ancestors on both my mother's and father's side and then things got a bit trickier.  A lot of Irish records were destroyed in 1922 in the Public Records Office, Dublin in an explosion and fire at the time of the formation of the Irish Republic.  Two-thirds of the original parish records of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths are missing as are virtually all the 19th Century Census returns for Ireland.  There are fragments here and there and many of those relating to Northern Ireland are catalogued in the Public Records Office in Belfast but you need to have (a) a fair idea of the local Parish the person you are looking for belonged to and (b) a lot of luck.  Of the people in my family tree from around that area I only have the sparsest of information - a name and possibly a county of birth and that's not a lot to be going on.

But, of the information I did discover, there were one or two 'family mysteries' that were finally unravelled.  One connection in Philadelphia was particularly satisfying to unearth after a couple of years of searching - particularly so when the person we were looking for turned out to be still alive.  Contact was made, stories were exchanged and a lot of missing details on both sides were filled in.  More importantly, a strong human connection was made - we were very fortunate.  Then out of the blue came another connection that threw us completely... 

I have written before about how we were aware that my Grandfather's Brother had flitted between Philadelphia and Ireland from the 1920s onwards.  He had found himself a wife in Philly and they had a son who ended up in the US Army.  However it happened, my grandfather's brother found himself in the Canadian Army for the duration WWII and was part of the Juno Beach landings on D-Day.  He came through that - albeit with injuries - and settled in England for the rest of his life.  His son, now back in the States after the war, passed away in his twenties.  That much we already knew, but it was around this time that my grandfather's brother broke contact with the rest of his family back here in Ireland and nothing more was heard from him.  Enter the Tokyo connection.  This young English lady who was now living in that far-away city contacted me a couple of years ago with a haunch that we might share a common ancestor.  Specifically, she wondered if her grandfather (now deceased) was my grandfather's brother - the one with the Philadelphia connections who had disappeared off the radar all those years ago.  It seemed like a tall order but not totally crazy as we knew he had ended up in England after the war.  Bit by bit we pieced together the story - or what we thought the story might be.  We got lucky when a couple of concrete pieces of evidence turned up and finally we could say with certainty that Yes, her haunch was correct and we had discovered a whole new side to our families - one which we were all completely unaware of.  Her grandfather, apparently, told everyone he was Scottish, not Irish (the soft Western-Northern Irish accent is often mistaken for a Scottish accent, even today, so that wouldn't have raised too may eyebrows).  Seems he really did want to break ties with his Irish roots - and if it wasn't for the tenacity of my new-found cousin he would almost certainly got away with it.

So this summer we had a short visitation from my new cousin, her Japanese husband and their two children.  The five-year old is, naturally, as cute as can be (that's her on the left, in case you're wondering).  The two-year old is like all two-year-olds, into exploring everything in his surroundings with fearsome speed and bravery.  We had a brilliant couple of days exploring the area, including some places of historical significance to our family and doing a lot of just plain old 'getting to know each other a little better'.  Here they are:

A little bit of Japan, in our garden in the North East Liberties of Coleraine. 
On the Hasselblad, HP5+ in ID-11, Ifford Warmtone Fibre paper.

Clouds over Benbane Head

Looking West towards Benbane Head from Ballintoy.  The setting sun was breaking through a very thick layer of cloud and just for a few moments the scene was worth a stop and a stare.  The subject brightness range was immense - I spot-metered the brightest part and opened up a couple of stops, letting the shadows fall wherever.  In the darkroom I didn't want the whole thing to turn to black, so I concentrated on getting the little wispy cloud in the centre of the shot more or less right.  Then I burnt in the light part of the sky along the top a bit, since the detail was in the negative.  Benbane Head itself is almost lost along the bottom of the print, just about visible.

Clouds over Benbane Head

Via the 'Blad with the 250mm lens, HP5+/ID-11 on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper.

Subterfuge down on the farm

Continuing the story from last time, we had, if you recall, a ewe that had one too many lambs, so they weren't getting enough milk to thrive as they should.  As luck would have it, the next day I was out with the Sheep Man, another lambing took place (eventually, I should say - these things can't be rushed, y'know!).  Anyway, this time the ewe had one (big) lamb, so steps were taken to remove one of the three lambs from the first ewe and present it to the new mammy sheep as 'one of her own'...

First, a print of some of the mammys-to-be, probably wondering if that strange thing two-legs is holding is in any way edible...

Expectant ewes, inquisitive as all sheep are, in my expert opinion...

If the scan of the print appears a little dark, it's 'cos I was intentionally over-printing it, with a view to toning it.  I just haven't got round to the toning bit yet...

Oh alright - since it's you, I'll tone it now.  Hang on a minute.  Sepia first...

After sepia tone.

And then sepia&warm selenium - the classic combination, like fish 'n' chips, or mac&cheese if you prefer:

Sepia&selenium tone

Which do you like best?

Anyway, although we're a bit disjointed with regard to the words and the photographs, let's continue with the details of how to get one mammy sheep to believe that a lamb from a different mammy sheep is one of her own.

Each ewe has a several markings on her fleece, as you can see above.  There's a letter and a number, which indicate her lineage. There's also one, two or occasionally three dots on her back, which are the man-that-comes-with-the-ultrasound-scanner's best guess at how many lambs she's going to produce.  Bear in mind it's not an exact science and also, one or more lambs can be still-born.  But, those things aside, the ewe that started lambing when I was present looked like she was only going to have one lamb.  That lamb was half-delivered as the Good Man's wife went off to take one of the three lambs belonging to the other ewe that had lambed a few days earlier.  Now things started to move fairly quickly at this stage.  The lamb to be fostered had it's feet tied with cable ties (two ties, front&back legs together), and was dunked rather unceremoniously in a bucket of water.  The legs are tied so that it can't suddenly stand up, as that would make the foster ewe suspicious and could lead to rejection.  Every time it tried to stand, it fell over - just like a real newborn.  Clever, eh? The water was so that they could slather the lamb in the birthing juices of the real newborn - the water helps the absorption of the aforementioned juices into the fleece.  Once well covered, the fostered lamb is then presented to the ewe as her own.  I can verify how well this works, since the ewe immediately started fussing over it and cleaning it.  Meanwhile, at the other end, the 'real' lamb was then delivered safely and also presented to the ewe.  The only other intervention was that the newborn was helped to take the first feed, as the first milk is the important stuff for a newborn and anyway can only be absorbed in the first few hours, so it would be wasted on the 4-day old lamb.  After about 10-15 minutes the cable ties were cut (first one, then a few minutes later the other) and the fostered lamb could stand again.  By that time, the newborn was also trying to stand so it all seemed above board as far as the ewe was concerned.

The only other point to mention is that the fostered lamb's real mammy was removed from the barn, as if she heard her wee one bleat she might get distressed.

I know, you didn't come to this place for detailed knowledge of how to foster lambs - but you never know, it might come in handy one day.

If you came here for some details on camera, film, paper etc, well it's not much but for the record, Hasselblad 501cm, 50mm lens, Ilford HP5+ rated at 200, developed in ID-11 1+1 for 13 mins (i.e., at the recommended time for 400 iso), split-grade printed on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper in Fotospeed Warmtone developer.  Well, you did ask! I think you did, anyway...

The Sheep Man

The Sheep Man is a member of our little Photographic Club, although I struggle to see how he gets the time to pick up a camera, let alone come to our meetings.  At the minute he's lambing...well, not him per se of course - his sheep, or some of them, are lambing.  He breeds Poll Dorset sheep and he seems to know what he's about as he has had considerable success over the years.

Anyway, a while back (at the Ballymoney Show, you may recall), he invited me to come along and document (photographically, of course) the lambing and so for the last couple of weeks that's what I've been doing.

Here's the man himself, with one of his wee ones:

The Sheep Man, 2019.  On Ilford Warmtone Fibre paper

Perhaps needless to say, I know a great deal more about the lambing process now than I did two weeks ago.   He was bottle feeding this one as the mummy had three live lambs and since she only has the equipment to deal with two at a time it means three of them don't really get enough milk naturally - hence the need to supplement with a formula.  The plan was to wait until a sheep had only one live lamb and then to do a sneaky switcheroo so that both mummies ended up with two lambs each.  I was very fortunate in that on my second visit this is exactly what happened.  I'll shall reveal all next time.

Ballintoy, towards Rathlin

Another one from Ballintoy - this time looking towards Rathlin Island.  Rathlin is the bigger island just visible in the background - not the big lumps of rock in the mid-foreground.  They probably have a name as well, mind you - most rocks in the sea do around here - but I don't know it.

Ballintoy, looking towards Rathlin Island.  Ilford Warmtone Fibre paper

Generally speaking I avoid going anywhere near the sea when there's a storm about - (and we'll be getting plenty of those over the next few months) but this little beach might be a safe option - there's reasonably good access and given its shape it might be possible to stand at sea level but a good distance away from the water.  We'll see - I'll have to do a risk assessment or two before committing.

A Secret Beach

As I think I might have possibly said before, there are a few of us now in the Club who do film and -  even better - we're getting out&about on a regular basis.  I'm enjoying that enormously - it's good to share and talk old cameras and film developers and swap tips with like-minded people.  The other week we went to that old favourite, Ballintoy.  Unknown to me, the others knew of a 'secret beach' (shhh!).  It lies behind a huge lump of rock that unless you walked right up you would assume was part of the cliff face.  But there's actually a thin strip of sand behind it - between it and the cliff proper.  Very clever.

It was getting late and the light was fading but still, with a tripod and cable release sure anything is possible...even losing the cable release somewhere between the beach and the car.  At least I didn't lose the Hasselblad - I'd like to think I would have noticed a certain lightness in my bag.

At the Secret Beach, Ballintoy. On Ilford Warmtone fibre paper

Decisions. I know the horizon is off (again) but that can be fixed easily enough during mounting. I burnt in the sky a little but while there’s detail in the negative for the rock I didn’t try to keep it in the print - I kind of wanted to emphasise the rock's size & presence so I was happy for it to go to black.  As I look at the print I wonder if if that was the best decision.  Also I'm thinking I could use the magic of pot ferri to lift those waves a little.  I can't do anything about the rock at this stage, but think I will try to bleach the surf - carefully, as I don't want the sky to lighten any, just a little more contrast in the part where the waves are hitting the rock.

I had HP5+ in the ‘Blad rated at 200 but since the light was fading I was able to go down to 1s to get a little blur on the water.

Update-I gave it the pot ferri treatment this morning. I just dunked the lower part of the print and for a few seconds only. The print is still wet so perhaps not a fair comparison but this is it:

Heat

My morning ritual in Valencia was to get up early, as the sun rose - by far the nicest time of the day, before the heat began to build.  My morning cup of tea with my book (more on that later) on the terrace was very pleasant.  In fact, given this morning's weather here in The Liberties (overcast, wet, windy and decidedly cool), I'd actually swap for for those first couple of hours in Valencia.  Unfortunately the shops there didn't open until 9 and by then it was already blisteringly hot.  But off I would trudge, through the back streets until I got to a Supermercado where I could get provisions for the day.  Breakfast & lunch we would normally do in the apartment and a couple of times we cooked in the evening too (probably the best food we ate in the week, to be honest).

This was the small park en route to the shops and this park of it I snapped on the M6 with a Voigtlander 21mm f/4 attached.  Most likely with an orange or red filter - I forget which.  A little beaut of a lens it is, by the way, tiny as tiny can be - thankfully with a rather large focus pin to help people like me with fat fingers...

Morning in Valencia, on Ilford Warmtone RC paper

The book.  Oh yes, the book.  In recent times I've developed an interest in the lives and antics of some of our most famous despots.  I think it started with Stalin, then moved on to Mao but when in Spain I thought it only right and proper to tackle the Spanish Civil War and Franco.  The particular book I had with me was The Spanish Holocaust by Paul Preston.  An eye-catching title, for sure.  The subtitle is Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth Century Spain.  It's a meticulously researched book which documents the atrocities on both sides (Republician and Falangist/Francoist).  And there were a great many atrocities to document, that's for sure.  It's not an easy read.  It's a very uncomfortable read, perhaps because it's geographically closer to home than Stalin and Mao, and similarly, not that long ago.  By the end I was wondering if Spain at that time was inhabited by some sort of alien species, since the bloodthirstiness of a great many people was off the scale.  It made me grateful for being born and growing up here in Ireland - which for sure had (and still has) its problems, but nothing like Spain in the '30s.

Aqua Multiespacio

One of the few shots from Valencia with any merit - and not much, at that.  Taken in what I think was the largest shopping centre in the known universe as the women in my life did what they had to do, apparently (Aqua Multiespacio if you are anyway interested in such trivia and I lie it’s not really that big but after an hour or two wandering around and sitting about I gave up and found a generic Tex-Mex American bar-restaurant thing and went in for a quiet beer but then they found me so that was the end of that. The food was yucky by the way - so bad I refused to pay the the full bill and that doesn’t happen very often but I got the impression it happens there quite a lot ‘cos the guy on the till didn’t put up much of a fight, much to my relief).

So, as I said, while the ladies browsed I hung around outside, pointing my camera in various directions - upwards for this one :)

Somewhere in Valencia, on Warmtone RC paper

Portstewart

There is a small (but growing) band of film users in our wee Photo Club and the other evening we headed out for a shoot. Nowhere very ambitious - just down to Portstewart. The early evening sun was lighting up the Promenade nicely and I shot this on the Hasselblad with the 250mm Sonnar. On a tripod, of course - I doubt if that combination is hand-holdable. HP5+ rated at my usual 250iso and developed in ID-11 1:1 for 13mins.

Portstewart Prom, August 2019. Adox MCC paper.

I burnt in the sky a little (too much?) and added a vignette to the corners&edges, as well doing my usual thing for the black borders so there were 5 steps to making the print. That’s a lot for me, but I was pretty happy with the result. 

Parody

The train ride from Belfast back to The Liberties isn't particularly exciting but you never know what you're going to see out of the window (remember this time), so I carry a camera at the ready - particularly when we're getting close to a station.  This was Ballymoney and I liked the lines, particularly good since the sun was out.  We sat there for a good few minutes and as I held the Yashica T4 to my eye a couple of people walked over the footbridge.  Then I saw this guy on his bike and I thought 'Yup, that's the one'.  As luck would have it I caught him nicely between the uprights of the safety barriers:

Ballymoney Train Station, 2019.  HP5+, ID-11, Adox MCC fibre paper.

I kind of looked at this for a while & then it hit me. It's an upside-down parody of Cartier-Bresson's most famous shot at Hyeres - this one.  I know, not quite in the same league.  Ah well, one can but hope and carry on...

This one

So it's GCSE results day here for you-know-who and it's been a busy morning going up to the school, collecting results and enrolling for the next big adventure (A Levels).  The girl done good - we are all immensely proud and I just had to dive into the darkroom this afternoon to print this shot of her - taken last Christmas in Dublin on HP5+ in the wee Yashica T4 point'n'shoot thing and printed on Adox MCC paper:

Missy, growing up too fast

I didn't want to change places with her this year - the new exam format is just plain nuts.  A few years ago they decided to move away from continual assessment so now pretty much 100% of the assessment is exam-based.  Over 4 weeks of exams and since most subjects have 3 papers that's coming up on 25-30 written exams.  For 16 year olds that's a big ask.  They never stop tinkering with the education system in the UK and I doubt they ever will.