Furrows

The Liberties are largely a rural area, as I'm sure you all know by now, and so in recognition of that fact we dedicate this post to the humble furrow.  Important things, furrows.  Without them we wouldn't get no spuds and that, dear readers, would be a national disaster in this part of the world (Ed: again.  That would a national disaster again in this part of the world).

I've done furrows before (a very long time ago) but I was out and about a while ago and spied these ones.  So I stopped the car, got out and pointed a camera at them.   Now it has to be said that the lads and increasingly the lasses who live in and around The Liberties know how to turn a sod.  If you don't believe me, look here - World Champions at it, no less.

Lovely lines

My horizon appears to be off again - seems to be happening rather frequently these days.  I think I actually stand a bit lop-sided - probably due to me dodgy hips, what with all their titanium parts, ceramic heads, screws, bolts, chicken-wire and whatever else the surgeon had lying about at the time.  I shall endeavour to build myself in an autonomic self-levelling feature in the hope that the old snaps turn out better in the future.

Autonomic: (au-to-nom-ic)  adj.

1. Physiology

a. Of, relating to, or controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

b. Occurring involuntarily; automatic: an autonomic reflex.

2. Resulting from internal stimuli; spontaneous.

(Ed: was that really necessary?)

Anyway, furrows, or drills as they are known around here.  Here's some more for you:

Look at that rich soil - just right for spuds

I think there's probably a decent photograph of furrows waiting to be taken - by someone with a lot more talent for this game than me, though.  The light that day was very flat, as it tends to be a lot in this part of the world, what with all our lovely clouds and everything.  Think of it as a big soft-box.

Seaside snaps

Anyway, since I could see that you all appreciated those summer snaps yesterday here's another couple to enjoy before the bad weather sets in for winter.

Summer in Portrush

I think this was taken same day in July as the snap of Missy wot you might have noticed yesterday.  Cracking day it was, as you can see - well, for taking snaps on film, anyway.  Those lumps of rocks you might just be able to make out are known locally as The Skerries.  Now if you are well edumacated, you might know that the name derives from the old Norse word sker, meaning nothing other than 'a rock in the sea'.  I like that.

Summer in Portstewart

Just down the road from Portrush is, as you know, Portstewart.  We had summer there too.  Yes I know there's something going on with this snap, it has streaks all over it and the horizon is all wonky.  Blame the operator.

Summer's gone - was it ever here?

What a fantastic summer it has been this year - somewhere else maybe, but not round these parts.  We've had lots of rain, not that much sun and while the temperatures haven't been too bad they haven't been too good either.  Still, on the plus side, at least those clouds make for interesting skies when captured on the old film, eh?

Lovely summer's day in Portstewart, rain not far away

That would be Inishowen you can nearly see in the background there, almost covered by low cloud - and usually what is happening in Inishowen now will be happening in Portstewart in about 30 minutes time.

Here's a building you might recognise:

An old favourite

I've 'done' this old coastguard station before and no doubt will do it again.  For some reason I like coming by here from time to time.  Last time I captured it on a 50-year old Franka 6x6 folding camera - this is what it looks like on 35mm using a more modern rangefinder (although still dating to last Century).  I think I prefer it as it was - it is now, as you can see, a striking dark red colour.  Why I know not, but some-one keeps painting it.  That's OK with me - although I preferred it when it was white as it all looks a bit dull now on the old FP4+.  Or maybe that's just poor exposure on my part.

After those very depressing snaps we need something to cheer us all up a bit.  And here is that something - Missy, on Portrush Strand in the middle of summer, wearing a coat and a smile.

Missy, as happy as can be, Portrush, 2015

Binevenagh

Now locals will know what I'm talking about here - or rather where I'm talking about.  Binevenagh, or Binn Foibhne [bin evena] in Irish, meaning Foibhne's Peak, is a big lump of rock about 10 miles North West of us here in the North East Liberties of Coleraine.  Fortunately there's a road up to it and a handy viewing point at Gortmore, where one can gaze out over Magilligan Strand, Lough Foyle and over to Inishowen, which of course belongs to the Free State (to use the vernacular).

There's a ferry across Lough Foyle nowadays which is a good thing, 'cos otherwise it's a long old drive around through Derry/Londonderry to get to where you want to go.  During the war (Ed: oh here we go...) my grandmother and many others like her used to take their lives in their hands and go on a wee boat across to Inishowen in order to buy food that was rationed over here in The North.  Yes, My Granny was a Smuggler - good title for a book, that, isn't it?  Of course she wouldn't have been a granny in those days but still, it must have been a bit dangerous all the same.

But I digress.

The point of this post is to tell you about the other evening, when I was minded to take the Big Camera (aka The Sinar) out for some Proper Photography.  Yes, we're talking large format here...none of your namby-pamby 135 or even 120 roll film here, no siree.

Now in spite of the Sinar being an F1 model - the 'F' apparently standing for 'Field' - believe me it is anything but portable and so it doesn't get out in any sort of field much.  But when it does come with me for a little trip, I find it rather liberating, in spite of its size and not inconsiderable weight.  Everything suddenly becomes very deliberate - more so than with roll film. Large format photography really forces me to slow down and think about what I'm doing - and usually that's a Good Thing.  If things are going well I might push the boat out and take 2, or even 4 shots in one session - usually just in the one location, since it requires a fair bit of work to set up (and take apart again).   But when it all comes together the results can be, well, interesting.

View from Gortmore, summer evening light

This particular day, a couple of weeks ago, the weather had been really bad since morning, but sometimes in this part of the world you get an hour or two just as the sun is going down when interesting things happen - and I wasn't disappointed.  The sun made a very brief appearance just before it sank behind Inishowen and for a few minutes the light was, I have to say, spectacular.   This looks a tad over-exposed to me, but the sun was very low in the sky and exceptionally bright and so this is reasonably close to how I remember it.

You will, of course, remember my post the other day where I was bigging up Unicolor processing gear and again it comes in handy for 4x5 development.  The trick here is to acquire a Unicolor 8x10 paper drum - the one that has ribs along the sides, which allow the chemicals to get to both sides of the film.  This drum will take 4 4x5 negs (with the help of a clothes-peg to keep each pair of negs separated - this guy explains it).  I've been experimenting with the volume of chemical required - Unicolor's instructions for a 10x8 print drum are 2oz, or 57ml.  This seems ridiculously low, but I've read somewhere (here in fact) that most of the developer is for wetting the film quickly and evenly and that only a little is required to actually do the work.  For now though I'm erring on the side of extreme caution - mostly as it takes a lot of effort to acquire 4 negs using the Sinar and I don't like the thought of messing things up at the developing stage.

Au Revoir to Raghery

OK I don't know about you but I've had enough of Rathlin now - I think with Missy's snaps and my own masterpieces it feels like I've been there for a month.  So here are the last pics and stories for your deliberation, before we move on.

There are a couple of seal colonies around the island and the one by the South Lighthouse was very accommodating, the inhabitants allowing us to get reasonably close as the light was fading.

Seal colony by South Lighthouse

The younger ones were very inquisitive, bobbing their dog-like heads up right beside us for a wee look at us land-based mammals, before slipping back under the water.  The older ones just lay on their rocks and kept a wary eye on us, letting out the occasional haunting moan, as they do.

A pretty rubbish photograph this next one, but it shows the view across Church Bay towards St Thomas' Parish Church.  The graveyard bears testament to the numerous shipwrecks  (40-odd) which lie around the island (hence the presence of 3 lighthouses, I guess).  The most famous shipwreck is that of HMS Drake, the sinking of which was not due to the treacherous tides but instead due to a German U-boat, which torpedoed it in 1917 - which would be about 98 years ago if my maths is correct.

The oldest gravestone in St Thomas' dates to 1665, which is pretty impressive and there are several dedicated to sailors who perished in the waters around Rathlin.  Some marked with names, others simply 'A Sailor', which is quite sobering.

Church Bay, Rathlin

Inside St Thomas' is a wall memorial dedicated to the Rev John Martin, first pastor of the church, who departed this life in 1740.   Inscribed on it are the words 'Memento Mori' - 'Remember you must die'.  Not a strap-line you necessarily want to have permanently tattooed on the inside of your eyelids, but perhaps worth remembering at times when events are seemingly going badly.  It might just help put things in perspective, y'know.

So, it's Au Revoir to Rathlin, we'll be back next year and hopefully take some better snaps.   I'll give the closing credits to Missy, since she took way better shots than either me or me mate Dr Charles (although he lives in a different world and mostly takes...gulp...digital images).  Missy captured this on her OM-1 as we were leaving the island.  Well, OK, artistic licence and all that - she took this somewhere on our trip around the island on Alhamudilah.

Oh - and if you ever get a chance to go to Rathlin Island, just off the North Antrim Coast (or a wee bit further off the coast of Bonnie Scotland, if you prefer), take it.

Bon Voyage

Island shots

Moving on from the RSPB bird sanctuary on Rathlin you do get some nice views of the island if you are on a wee boat as we were.  The 180mm fixed lens I was using was a bit too long most of the time, but here are a couple of shots for your amusement.

Birds still filling the air

I quite like the sense of depth in that one above - the light must have been doing something interesting.

This next one shows the limestone cliffs.  They used to quarry the limestone on the island - sometime around the late 19th/early 20th century, so our host Alan informed us.  Apparently the ladders only reached so high, and that's when the quarrying stopped.  I can just about imagine what it must have been like quarrying in those days, what with only hand tools and all - but on a ladder, a hundred feet up?  Seriously?

Rathlin's Limestone Cliffs

The way the sea has eroded the rocks here is very reminiscent of the White Rocks near Portrush - not altogether surprising since Portrush is only about 10 miles away across on the 'mainland'.  It's almost safe to visit Portrush again, now that the holiday season is drawing to a close, but I think I'll give it another month, by which time no doubt we'll be having mad gales and rain and stuff - and there might just be something worth pointing a camera at.

More birdy shots

A couple more bird-related shots from Rathlin for you today.  All a bit shaky due to the boat we were rocking and rolling about on...

Not much real estate left for those late to the party...

Our most excellent host Mr Alan Curry informed us that in summer (or what passes for summer round these parts) the rocks turn white, due to the amount of guano deposited by the birds.  If one was to return in the winter apparently one would see that the basalt rocks would have reverted to their natural blackish colour.

I quite like the way the FP4+ has captured the old rocks in this next one - in DD-X if you are interested.  As I'm sure you all know (Ed: oh yes, we all do), my current go-to products are from Ilford.  As yet I haven't deviated too far from what I used a teenager back in the 70s - well OK, so it was FP4 then and usually something like Microphen instead of FP4+ and DD-X, but you know what I mean.  Someday soon I might get all adventurous and try something else, but I like the results I'm getting at the minute.  OK DD-X is not the cheapest on the market, but I've found a cunning way to economise...

Precarious nesting

You see I found an old Unicolor motorised base and a couple of Unicolor drums which had been lying about in Mother's Loft for the last 35+ years.   Actually I think there were The Brother's, but that's OK - it's long enough ago and he's far enough away not to know or care.  The base and drums all work fine, which means I have been able to set aside my little Patterson tank - which uses 290ml for one 35mm film (or 300ml to be on the safe side) - in favour of the Unicolor gear, which is very economical by comparison.  Now I can get away with 150ml for the first reel and 90ml for each subsequent reel, up to 6 in total.  So...that means instead of say 900ml for 3 reels in Patterson-land I'm now using 330ml (360ml to be safe) in Unicolor-land.  So less than half the cost - not bad, eh?  It's continuous agitation on the motorised base of course, so I'm reducing my times by about 15% which so far seems about right.  We'll see what happens when I get back in the darkroom and actually try to print some of these properly - things might need a little tweaking here or there but for now the negs look OK.

I think I could well be printing this last one once the enlarger gets its new lights, which is, apparently, imminent.  Honestly.  Two weeks I'm told.  Everything else has (almost) been done...I've made a sink-like contraption and fitted taps to the wall, which need to be plumbed in, although that's not absolutely essential to get printing again.  Mrs North East Liberties has agreed a one-week turnaround to get my thick curtain-inside-the-door trimmed to a decent length, which will stop me tripping over it.  The Nova processor has been re-glued and hopefully is now chemical-tight as we speak (although yet to be tested).  I think that's it finally getting there...at long last.  Funny how these projects take a lot, lot longer than anticipated.