I did not

Just to clear up any doubt, I did not go on this particular fairground ride in Faro, electing to stay a safe(ish) distance away and be content to point the Yashica T4 in the general direction:

FP4+ on Fomabrom112 paper

And yes, it was as noisy as it looks.  But in a good way - it was impossible to not get in the spirit of the fair and watch the young ones having an absolute ball.  The lads trying to look cool and non-plussed in spite of the terror of the situation and the girls screaming to high heaven.  All good fun and what a fantastic way to mark the end of summer.

Chestnuts and churros

I finally finished the last few frames of the film (FP4) that had been lurking in my Yashica T4 since Faro, which seems a very long time ago now (it was last October) and, even better, I found some time to print some of them.  

At the entrance/exit to the big end-of-summer fair we had the chestnut-sellers:

All very makeshift - apart from maybe the lights everything else about their stall looked like it had been in use for a very long time.  We didn't buy, as we were saving our appetite for later but they did smell good.

Food was a big thing at the fair - 'farturas' are a Portuguese type of churro and were very popular:

Both prints on Fomabrom112.

Not much else to report from The Liberties, except to say it is awfully cold right now.  The place is heaving with tourists for Easter weekend - I read that the seaside towns of Portstewart and Portrush, just down the road from us, were log-jammed with cars yesterday and today.  The 'car cruise' scene is a big thing over Easter - young people come from all over Ireland (and Scotland) to show off their motors and try to avoid getting pulled over by the local police for minor infringements.  If I had the energy/interest to spend an hour in the traffic to go about a mile it might well be worth wasting some film on, but I decided to pass.

Equivalents

 I know, I've some nerve using Stieglitz's 1925 term for cloud photographs but we do get some interesting skies in this part of the world. 

FP4+ via the Blad, on Fomabrom 112 paper.
The white dots aren't as noticeable on the print, by the way.  Not quite sure what is going on there but it’s the same for all negs on this film. Reticulation? 

Songs of the sky was another term of his for these shots, which is rather apt.  If you think you've seen this sky before, you may well have (here) as I first printed this as a lith print.  

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.