49 year old negatives

For most the past week I've been printing some negatives shot back by The Brother way back in 1977 when we were both spotty teenagers.  An old school friend of his had requested prints from the Stranglers concert that we all went to - my first 'real' concert and from that moment on I was a Stranglers fan.  The group themselves evolved from the 'punk' label to, well, I don't know what exactly, but evolve they did and are still going - albeit with only one original member playing.  Two have passed away and the lead singer left a long time ago to pursue a solo career (Hugh Cornwall, who is still touring).  Hard to believe that was almost 50 years ago.  Where does the time go, eh?

Anyway, the printing was challenging as the negs were very thin, low in contrast.  A good bit of dodging and burning was needed to try to inject some atmosphere into them.  Here's the final offerings, which included a wash in pot ferri to tease out those highlights and bring the contrast up.  On Fomabrom112 paper, which might not have been the best choice but it's all I had to hand.

 

 

This last shot is a little risqué so if of a nervous disposition don't scroll down.  In fairness, it was the punk era and the t-shirt is a now-iconic Vivienne Westwood creation, or so I'm told.

Fairground ride

Still printing shots from the Feira De Santa Iría, all taken on the Yashica T4 on FP4+.   The fairground rides at the Festival were out of this world - the organisers have clearly honed their craft over the 400+ years the festival has been running.  At night, the place came alive with people - especially young 'uns.  The music was loud, the air full of dry ice and heavy with the smell of street food - a great atmosphere I had to admit.  It felt like a very safe place to be for teenagers - there was no evidence of antisocial behaviour or out-of-control drinking, which unfortunately is all too common in the UK these days.  My wife and I enjoyed a mosey around but after a while we were happy enough to leave it to the young people and head off to somewhere quieter for a bite to eat. 

The Yashica did a pretty good job of sorting out the exposure - it's a small 35mm point'n'click camera, auto-everything and a reliable little travel companion.

Spectacular rides in Faro.  Fomabrom112 paper

Garlic Bulbs

From one of the food stalls at the Feira De Santa Iría in Faro:

FP4+, Fomabrom112 paper

I’m just back from visiting my daughter in Liverpool. Took a camera with me but not one shot was wasted…horrible weather, poor light and lots of Dad jobs to blame!

Mystery Solved

Continuing on from last week's teaser, here's a straight print of the same negative, again on Fomabrom112 but in regular Multigrade developer this time:

Here's the lith one again, for comparison:

Yep, makes no sense to me either!

So the shot was taken at a end-of-summer fair in Faro, southern Portugal, towards the end of October.  My wife had a 'significant birthday' last year - I'd promised her a trip away, and this was it.  We had a very pleasant few days eating and drinking our way around the town and just happened to catch the Feira de Santa Iría whilst there.  It was pretty darn good, with everyone in high spirits - lots of fairground rides (like the one above) and food stalls.  The fair started over 400 years ago, apparently, and lasts for 9 days.  In other words, a great big party - a great big long party.  And why not, eh?  

I have to say we do like Portugal - the weather, the food and the people.  And a big plus, we could fly direct from Belfast.  Perfect.

A right (Fomabrom) mess

I got a box of new-to-me paper just before Christmas - Fomabrom 112 fibre, matt finish.  I had read it is lith-able, so I thought I'd dive straight in and see what happens when it is dunked in some Moersch Easylith developer at around 30 degrees.  This happened:

FP4+ via a little Yashica T4 point n shoot.

Yup, I know - a right mess!  A nice mess, though.  Not exactly what I thought might happen - much colder than other Foma papers I've developed in lith.  Closer to Slavich papers in how cold it came out.  Interesting, for sure.

So what it is of?  Not telling just yet - there are clues if you look close enough and ignore all the cotton wool.  I will print a 'normal' version of this neg to compare, and then all will be revealed.  

Happy New Year!

Drummers

 Drummers as they pass Coleraine Town Hall on July 12th:

FP4+, Foma 313 paper

Yup, I know, I'm a bit behind with my printing.  I'll catch up eventually, but probably not during the next couple of weeks as we've a packed programme of eating and drinking to be getting on with.  Hopefully the odd beach walk as well, although it's dark, dank and miserable these days around The Liberties.  

Have a Merry Christmas wherever you find yourself on the Big Day.

Jersey cows

If you've never been lucky enough to see one up close, Jersey cows are rather cute wee animals. These two - and their handlers - were well presented, at the Limavady Show earlier this year:

Jersey cows at the Show.
FP4+ on Foma313 paper, via the 'Blad

I guess the ribs are meant to show, although the way those hind bones stick out make them do seem a tad undernourished to the untrained eye (i.e., me).  Although you can't see it here, obviously, Jerseys are the most lovely light truffle colour and they are about half the size of some of the larger breeds.  I snapped one a few years back (here) which, reading that post again, reminds me they shave the animals along the rib lines to make them more prominent for showing.  And why not, eh?