A Visit to the Temple

 It's been a couple of years (or more) since I made the trek to 'The Temple' but it rarely fails to disappoint and last Thursday was no exception.  We got lucky with the weather - it stayed dry and even managed a decent sky for HP5+ to capture.  Whatever you might think of 'The Earl Bishop' Lord Frederick Hervey back in the late 18th Century, you can't argue the man didn't have vision (and of course the moolah to turn his dreams into reality). Modelled on the Temple of Vesta in Rome, Mussenden Temple was built right on the cliff edge, in honour of his niece.  It was conceived as a library and apparently had a fire permanently lit in the basement which helped maintain a relatively moisture-free environment for the books - not an easy thing to achieve in this part of the world, particularly given the location.

Looking West, Mussenden Temple on a blowy day in March 2021.  Via the M6, 28mm lens, HP5+ on Ilford MG Classic fibre paper.  A deserted Downhill Beach just below, leading to Magilligan Strand and over to the hills of Donegal in the background.

From the other side it looked like this:

Looking East, past Castlerock towards Portstewart Strand and then to the headlands of Portrush and Benbane (Causeway territory).

I'm not a landscape photographer, as you can probably tell - although it's easy to see why so many photographers from this part of the world are.  I didn't really enjoy making these prints - the shots are too 'chocolate-boxy' for me...too much focus on the 'What' rather than the 'Why'.  Plus I was tired yesterday morning when I went into the darkroom (too much garden work outside on Saturday) and then I had to pre-flash the paper to get the sky looking half decent and the whole thing became a bit of a chore, which is not the object of the exercise.  I shall try to do better next time...

Lobster Pots, Portballintrae

The old lobster pots are hard to pass by without clicking that shutter - they just look such interesting things.  This is kind of a boring shot, though...needs some side-lighting perhaps to make some interesting shadows.

Lobster pots, Portballintrae 2021. HP5+ on Ilford MG Classic fibre paper

It has taken me a long time to warm to Ilford's MG Classic paper but I'm getting there.  It can be a tad lifeless at times - or maybe that's just my negs.  The legendary Fred Picker is one of many who recommend One film, One developer, One paper and get to know them inside out - you can see him here, although be warned, it's 3 hours long.  He can (could, I guess would be more accurate as he's left us now) come across a tad stiff at times with regard to the mechanics of the whole shebang but overall I do like the way he speaks and the care he takes with his photography.  The takeaway is that by nailing down the technical aspects of photography you free yourself to concentrate all your efforts on the important things - the creative aspect, or as he rather succinctly puts it, Where to stand.  I think that's a decent strategy and the Zone system, or a version of it, is probably the easiest way to decide what to do with the highlights and the shadows in your scene.  Whether or not Mr Picker's photographs are ones you like is another question - again, to paraphrase the man, it's important to have the strength of your own conviction with regard to your work.  If you don't believe in it, how can you expect someone else to? 

There are plenty of opinions about Mr Picker on the Internet and while opinions on his work vary everyone who knew him personally speaks very highly of him as a teacher and as a person.  The first hour of the video is good for anyone interested in photography, the second hour is more on the Zone system and figuring out your own film-related Exposure Index and the last hour is about darkroom work.  I can see the sense in the One film One developer One paper approach.  Up until recently I've been using HP5+ for about 75% of my work and FP4+ for the other 25% (the exception being a recent foray into Fomapan 200 for the 4x5 pinhole camera).  I know how to make both the Ilford films work for me - HP5+ in ID-11 and FP4+ in RO9.  I can feel myself migrating to using FP4+ exclusively in 120 format and saving HP5+ for 35mm work (which I've been doing less of recently).  However, I do like having a variety of papers at my disposal.  When I start thinking about printing a negative I'll ask myself which paper will suit that subject and shot best?  Warmtone papers are rarely a bad choice; cooltone papers I find myself not using so much; neutral papers such as Ilford's MG Classic I've been using a lot of recently.  And then for something completely different there's lith (cold and warm papers) or something more specialised like Foma 133.  It's all good. 

Spuds and Coal

There's not too many of these wee independent shops around any more, due to the proliferation of supermarkets and franchises. Plus, I think, a lot of villages around the North Coast have an increasingly unhealthy percentage of second-home-owners, which means that they lie unoccupied for a large part of the year.  Anyway, Glass's is in Bushmills and as you can see, has sacks of potatoes on one side and bags of coal on t'other and sure what else would you need to keep you warm and fed?

Bushmills, 2021. Via the 'Blad, HP5+ and 60mm lens

I was sorely tempted by the spuds as I reckon they'd be a damn sight better than the ones the supermarkets flog to us.  I'd probably go for the smaller of the two sizes as we haven't a large family and it's really only the odd weekend we might have half a dozen around the table for Sunday lunch.  But we do like our spuds and we go through a surprising amount each week.

I love the awning on Glass's, which looks like it hasn't changed in a few decades.  Plus the fact they put their wares (or some of them at least) out front.  Good marketing that, for any passing trade there might be...even, I was going to say, the tourists as they drive through en route to the Distillery or the Causeway.   But then again, when I think about it, I doubt too many tourists would be after spuds or coal... 

Portrush Rock

We have a lot of rock over here.  Heck at times I think Ireland is just one big rock, sitting as it does in the Atlantic.  It's not easy to get a decent photograph of the hard stuff - and I'm not saying I succeeded here, mind.  I've photographed a lot of rocks, but most times they come out a bit 'meh'.  This one was on the 'Blad/150mm lens on a walk around Ramore Head, Portrush last week.  Perhaps the only saving grace is that there's a bit of balance in the shot:

Portrush Rock, HP5+ on MG Classic paper.

That's the Skerries coming in from the left and the Causeway in the distance on the right.  The Skerries are a couple of small islands just off the coast and are a safe haven for lots of seabirds.  The Causeway, as you know, is part of the mainland, a few miles east from Portrush along the North Antrim coast road.  

Copper roof

 The old Waterworld Swimming Complex in Portrush has an interesting copper roof, which I snapped up on the 'Blad last week.  It came out quite well on Ilford MG Classic fibre paper.  HP5+ was the film, developed as per usual in ID-11.

Copper roof panels in Portrush, 2021.

The whole Waterworld building is ready for tumbling, though - it has been up a good few years now and it's looking very sorry for itself.  I'm not even sure the pool has been operational this last couple of years (certainly not during 2020 anyway, due to COVID-19).  It's council owned and maintained and I doubt the council has the funds to do a re-build, since it's in serious debt.  And that means, of course, that householders in the area will be hit for more property taxes (which are already high enough thank you very much).  Perhaps it can sell the building and reduce its debt somewhat, since it's right by the harbour and must be worth a few million, given the location and the value of property in the region these days.    

Room with a View

Ah, memories of the lovely Ms Honeychurch, eh?  Alas no sign of Ms HBC in Portballintrae the day I was there but heck, I'll keep looking...

Not so much a Room with a View here, more Rooms with Views, I guess.  I've always liked this bungalow, sitting where it does right on the edge.  The headland in the background is the Giant's Causeway.  Mind you, it must take some battering with our winter storms:

Portballintrae, 2021. HP5+ on Ilford MG Classic paper.  Hasselblad 501cm, 150mm lens.

It was damned cold that afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I remember, but the sun was offering up some decent light on the house and it looked rather sweet.  

Fellow Club member and film photographer David was with me.  David is on a mission, I think, to acquire any and all film cameras that catch his eye.  And why not, eh?  His latest purchase is a majestic Fuji 690 which would almost make me open my wallet for too.  Almost.  But they go for a pretty penny these days and I seriously do not need any more gear or distractions.  For now, that is, you understand.  This week he's promised to bring his Mamiya RB67.  He's doing it to annoy me, I think...and he's succeeding. 

Money for Old Rope

Not sure about the money bit but here's some old rope, which was lying around the harbour in Portballintrae last week.  It was late afternoon and the light was fading fast but we got a few minutes where the sun managed to escape the clutches of the clouds - not that you would notice from this shot as rope is, by nature, quite diffuse:

Portballintrae Harbour Rope.  HP5+ in ID-11, on MG Classic paper

I think I'll try toning this.  Hang on...

Print above, toned in home-made thiocarbamide bleach/thiourea toner

Makes quite a difference, toning it.  Much warmer, a bit more contrasty and altogether a much better print, I think. 

I made a second print at the same time as the first, which I thought at the time was a tad underexposed.  I over-printed it slightly as I was anticipating toning it.  This is it, after toning:

Same shot, different print

I think the best print is the one I didn't do - halfway between.  

The Case of the Dirty Thumbprint

We're staying with the 4x5 TiTAN pinhole for the moment - another one from our walkabout in Portstewart last week.  This time looking West, past Dominican College in the foreground towards Downhill and Magilligan Beach.  If you look closely you can just about make out the hills of Donegal way in the distance, centre-right.

Portstewart Bay via Fomapan 200, ID-11 and MG Classic fibre paper. 30 second exposure.

 

As before, there was a good bit of magic required in the darkroom - burning in of sky and left-side of water then more selective burn-in of the lighter waves.

Ah go on then, I'll say it - you know I'm dying to.  Not bad for no lens.

I'm not suggesting this next bit is necessary but if you click on the image and get it larger on your monitor you might notice something odd.  I did!  But only when I scanned the print and saw it full-screen. Then I took a closer look at the print and yes, in oblique light it is there.  What am I talking about?  The artefact that looks suspiciously like a thumbprint, North-West of the centre of the print.  I'm going down to the darkroom where the negative is to take do some further investigations.  Don't go away...

OK I'm back, none the wiser.  There is nothing on the negative that I can see.  I can't imagine it is a thumb-print on the negative anyway, as it's so close to the centre of the negative and there's no way I'd ever grip a 4x5 negative like that.  I've checked the enlarger lens (clean) and the negative carrier.  I use a glass carrier for 4x5, which is necessary if you want a flat negative (which you do!).  Although the DeVere carrier is able to take glass top and bottom I only use glass on the bottom and rest the negative on it.  I've no need for glass on the top as with the LED head that I use there's no heat and no chance of the negative 'popping'.  It's old picture frame glass and on close inspection it's not perfect - there are marks on it.  But...I don't think sufficient to cause the artefact here.

I've spent most of the last 24 hours thinking about this one and I think I know what happened. I use a 4-blade easel, which is a thing of beauty and like the DeVere likely to withstand the next earthquake to hit Ireland (hopefully in a few millennia).  The blade mechanism lifts up and the paper butts up to two bumpers, on the top and left sides before the blades are lowered to keep the paper in place.  With fibre paper there can be quite a curl when it is removed from the box and it doesn't just sit cleanly against the bumpers.  What I usually do is stick a thumb, or finger in the middle of the paper to keep it in place while with the other hand I lower the blades.  I reckon my thumb (or finger) has become contaminated with fixer from a previous print...

I haven't noticed this artefact before and the reason for that is that up until very recently I've used nitrile gloves when working at the wet side of the darkroom, which more or less guarantees that your hands stay clean.  You do go through a lot of gloves in one print session, though.  What with the COVID situation and the massive demand for nitrile gloves (especially in the early days of the pandemic) I decided the sensible thing to do was go back to using tongs.  But I've developed the habit of lifting the paper out of the fixer by the tongs but then using my fingers to transfer it to the wash.  I mustn't have washed my hands properly before going back to do the next print.   I think that's what's happened.  So...I'll tighten up my workflow and go back to using gloves.  We'll see if that does the trick.

Graffiti

Banksy excepted, graffiti has such a negative connotation to it, don't you think?  While a lot of folk around here might not class this particular bit of street art graffiti as such, it is painted on Council-owned property (the kiddies beach & play park in Portstewart).  It appeared around the time The Open golf tournament was held in neighbouring Portrush, so a couple of years ago.  The weather has rendered it slightly less readable than it used to be: 

The Crescent Playpark at Portstewart, February 2021

Taken on the 4x5 Walker TiTAN pinhole camera, with Fomapan 200 loaded.  I was rating it at iso 50, which gave me an exposure of 30 seconds on a rather blustery (and cold!) afternoon last week.  I tray-developed the film sheets in ID-11 1+2 for 11 minutes and they came out looking rather delicious, if I say so myself, with lots of detail in the sky and the foreground.  Printing them on Ilford MG Classic fibre paper was challenging, though.  I burned through a few test strips before I settled down to waste a full sheet of paper.  That set the marker and what you see here was the second full print made.  For the record, after the base exposure for the foreground I burnt in the sky first and then the left hand side, both times using a sheet of paper to mask out the other areas.  Then for the fourth and final pass I did a selective burn-in of the middle of the print, using a sheet of paper with a hole torn in it.  Torn rather than cut as you want the edges to be rough.  It was tough to get the middle part to tone but I knew the detail was there in the negative, it was just a case of giving it enough light without causing the rest of the print to go black.