Oddshots #4

Once again, apologies for my somewhat slower paced updating of the blog. In order to at least post something to keep the blood flow going, here’s another in my occasional Oddshots posts – just a single image that doesn’t really fit in a bigger post, or perhaps something from the archive.

This one was taken a week ago following a trip to the local cathedral (which had opened it’s doors to a local photography group for the evening). After the visit came to a close I walked back to the car to find that the street where I’d parked was bathed in gorgeous evening sunshine. Hawley Street consists of a row of terraced houses that were spared damage in the blitz, and the light on them was lovely.  It’s only the contemporary cars (and maybe the odd street sign and road marking)  that really date this image – it might otherwise have been taken 75 years ago. I’m not disappointed by the cars in the shot – they themselves will add a nice historical air as the photo ages.

Sheffield Steam Rally

On Sunday 25 June I attended Sheffield Steam Rally, which is held just outside Sheffield at North Anston. I visited last year too, but have only attended one other time before that, probably sometime in the late 1990s. Like trains, classic cars, or aircraft, steam engines are not something that I have any deep interest in, in and of themselves, but as a photographer, they make for excellent interesting subjects, both of themselves, and also in the vast array of detail that they hold. There’s also a wonderful nostalgia that surrounds them and, while I don’t think I’d like to have lived in an environment thick with it, the pungent whiff of coal smoke is lovely in these situations.

I managed to take over fifty photographs on the day, but this post contains just a selection of them. These shots were all taken with my Olympus OM-1. Some shots are on Ilford HP5+, and others are on Fomapan 100. I’ll mark each shot accordingly, but the HP5+ shots will be first.

#1 (HP5+) – This was a favourite of the day. I really like the out-of-focus engine to the rear of the shot, and it feels like it could have been taken a long time ago.

#2 (HP5+) – Another favourite. I like the composition and the trio of figures.

#3 (HP5+) – A lot of the traction engines appeared to be family endeavours, with fathers, sons, wives, daughters all mucking in. I like this shot because of the foreground interest granted by the man and his dog (although I nearly cut off its feet!).

#4 (HP5+)

#5 (HP5+) – I think the human element adds to a lot of the shots. Some of the interest would be lost if were just the machines.

#6 (HP5+)

#7 (HP5+)

#8 (HP5+)- This must be a show regular, as I photographed it last year too. To be fair, many, if not all of the engines might’ve been there last year too, it’s just that I recognised this one.

#9 (Fomapan) – Another favourite. If the van weren’t in shot, this would perhaps have the look of a much older photograph.

#10-19 (Fomapan) – The steam engines take part in a drive-past event in the central “show-ring” area and I took a number of photos of this. The next two are my favourites – the size of the machines, but also the poses of the drivers, gives them something od an epic feel I think.

#20 (Fomapan) – The smoke adds so much atmosphere (both literally as well as figuratively!).

#21 (Fomapan)

#21 (Fomapan)

#22 (Fomapan)

#23 (Fomapan) – There were other things present, apart from steam rollers and traction engines, including this organ. There were also some nice food stalls and I had a delicious pork and pulled-pork burger from one of them.

There were also a large number of classic cars, bikes and trucks present, but I’ll save those photos for another day.

So much for at least one update a week!

Oh well, the sky hasn’t fallen down as yet, so I guess my self-imposed “at least one post a week” wasn’t the be all and end all (after all!).

Anyway, I’ve still got quite a mountain of pictures to post – even though, until the weekend, I’d had a break of a couple of weeks without taking a single photograph – so here’re a few more. These were all taken during the day-trip to York that I’ve already posted about, but were on a second roll of film that I didn’t finish on the day. There’s no particular theme, just a selection of things I though might make a decent picture.

These were all shot with my Olympus OM-1 on Ilford HP5+. I used the F.Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 for some, and a Hoya 25-42mm wide-angle zoom for the others. I got both lenses with the camera but, despite its wide-angle versatility, I’m not keen on the Hoya – it’s very bulky and heavy and the image quality isn’t a patch on the F.Zuiko. I’ve flagged the Hoya shots with a (H).

#1 – This was taken on my way back to the town centre after the morning’s visit to the National Railway Museum. I hung around at the edge of the street to get someone reflected in the puddle. I took two shots, but this is the best.

#2 – Despite their poorer image quality, I still like a few of the Hoya shots, including this one (H).

#3 – York Minster at a jaunty angle (H).

#4 – Another one of the Hoya shots I really like (H).

#5 -The Minster again (H).

#6 – And again. I like the juxtaposition of the old Roman column against the more modern cathedral here. I couldn’t have taken this without the wide-angle (H).

#7 – A couple of bicycles (H).

#8 -Another street scene (H).

#9 -And another (H).

#10 – York’s famous medieval shopping street. the Shambles, some of the buildings here date back to the 14th century. It gets its name because it used to be the home of a large number of butchers’ shops (shambles being an old term for open-air butchers and slaughterhouses.

#11 -And York’s famous tea-room, Betty’s (there’s another branch in Harrogate, which I think is the original). There was a sizeable queue outside each time I passed by.

#12 -Finger-puppets for sale on The Shambles.

#13 -And more modern digital “bobble head” clocks.

#14 -And gin (though this wasn’t on The Shambles).

#15 -There was a sizeable international food fair taking place on the day, with loads of stalls, but the only one I photographed was this sausage stand (which might be there all the time anyway for all I know).

#16 -The old BT piper logo was still in evidence on these payphones.

#17 – This is my favourite shot of the bunch. I spotted this trout’s expression on a fish monger’s stall.

#18 – Another bicycle. The city being relatively flat, bicycles appear to be a popular form of transport in York.

#19 – Not sure if these stones mark actual graves any more.

#20 – And the final shot of this batch, a small alleyway just off Stonegate. And another of the shots I quite like.

It’s a shame the weather wasn’t better on the day – there are untold numbers of things to photograph in York, and the place is well worth the visit.