Ice cream

The informal photo competition I take part in each month had a theme of “Tempting” last month, and I made a few photos that might fit the bill – the picture I posted here yesterday of the seaside cafe was the one I chose to enter and it got me second place.

The photo in today’s blog was another potential entry, and one I’d had high hopes for, but I was disappointed when I received the developed film as the ice cream cone was off to the left of the image. I quickly realised that this was due to me not using the parallax correction lines in the camera’s viewfinder. I’d had to hold the ice cream at the limit of my reach in order for the camera to focus correctly, and this meant the subject was close enough for parallax error to creep into the composition. The camera does have a macro mode, but that uses a partial zoom which meant the subject fell well outside the image edges when viewed.

After looking at the photo again I decided that it might work with an off-centre viewpoint, so I cropped in a little to get the picture you see here. I’m pretty happy with it now.

Offset ice cream cone
At the limit of focus
The end of my arm

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Lomography Xpro Chrome 100 (expired 2012)

Taken on 16 September 2021

Seaside treats

The Mermaid cafe sits on the small promentory on Mablethorpe’s prmenade, just to the north of the Pullover – the main access point to the beach at the end of High Street. The cafe has been there as long as I can remember, although I can’t recall if it’s been known as The Mermaid all that time. It stands adjacent to a small crazy golf course (which can be seen to the right of the photo). The course is now pirate themed, but I remeber it in its slightly ramshackle and homemade guise from when I was younger, with obstacles that looked like they had been built in some inventive creator’s garden shed. It was great fun.

Games of mini golf
The sound of waves and seas breeze
Acompanied play

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Lomography Xpro Chrome 100 (expired 2012)

Taken on 16 September 2021

Private Benjamin

It’s been a lllooooonnng time since I watched the movie Private Benjamin – it was most likely as a VHS rental sometime in the 80s, where I remember a bedraggled, helmet wearing Goldie Hawn peering out from the box on the video shop’s shelves. As a result I have no idea if a truck the same, or similar to this one featured in the film, or if the owner named it by some other association. It’s an impressive looking vehicle whatever the case.

In VHS days
Persusing the shelves of films
For that night’s viewing

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 4 September 2021

1970 Plymouth

Google has been my tutor again here, filling in my lack of automotive knowledge. If I’ve done my job right, I think that this is a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner. As always, please correct me if I’m wrong.

Kneeling on the grass
Getting face-to-face with this
Vintage Roadrunner

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 4 September 2021

Folks on tractors

As ever (it seems) my plans of finishing earlier than normal on a Friday have been thwarted. Today thanks to my errant laptop that has decided to eat all the available disk-space on its C drive, thus rendering almost all activities unachievable or vastly more time-consuming. I now need to rebuild the machine back to a fresh state so I can actually run applications and (gasp!) view webpages.

The weekend awaits, but I’m already booked up tomorrow helping my son and his girlfriend move to their new apartment, so I doubt I’ll have much time to relax. Perhaps Sunday will give a little of itself?

So, today, a couple of pictures from the Smallwood Vintage Rally as I’ve finally gotten around to scanning the last roll that had images on from that occasion.

Here are two tractors
In a movie these would be
Driven by actors

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°

Taken on 4 September 2021

Backstreets

I find that I’m often drawn to photograph scenes like the one in today’s post. I’ve not tagged them in such a way as to be able to find them easily, but I’m sure that if I look through my archive of photos that there will be many that bear close resembalnce. It’s not an original composition – looming walls on either side of the frame drawing and leading your eye towards the vanishing point between – but it’s one that always appeals to me.

In urban canyons
This photographer sets out
In hunt of pictures

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Lab developed in Xtol.

Taken on 19 August 2021

Fast food, fast blog

A couple of fast-food vans. Feels like an apt choice given I’ve had fast food for my lunch today (well, fish & chips from a chip-shop anyway). I’m also absolutely knackered as well (not from eating the fish &chips!), so it’ll be one of those concise posts today. I’ll still write a quick haiku though. Only a few more months until I stop inflicting these on anyone who happens to read the blog. I’m gonna stick out the full year of them though!

Fish and chips for lunch
And very nice they were too
Eaten in the sun

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Lab developed in Xtol.

Taken on 16 August 2021

Walking beside the Wye

This photo was made on our first visit to Bakewell in almost a year. I last visited back in October last year. I’d planned on going out again when the autumn colour kicked in properly but the country was thrust into a series of “tiers” based on Covid-19 infection rates and I was unable to travel beyond our local area.

While it was nice to get out there again on this day the weather wasn’t the best, being dull and rainy while we were there. I shot twenty frames with the XA3 and got a few nice pictured despite the conditions, including this one looking up the River Wye.

I was very busy with work and sorting our cat out after his recent accident, so stumped up to have this and another roll lab developed to save me the time.

A trip to Bakewell
On a dull and rainy day
Can still be quite nice

Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Lab developed in Xtol.

Taken on 16 August 2021

St. Peter’s at Elmton

A few more photographs of St. Peter’s Church in the village of Elmton. I’ve posted other photos of this church here and here.

Apologies for the rather concise posts lately – I’ve been caught up with a few other things that have been taking my time.

Look at the tower
There’s a crucifix up there
Fixed on the window

Olympus Superzoom 160 & Agfa APX 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 12.5mins @ 20°.

Taken on 7 August 2021

An overgrown barn

This is an old barn in the village of Elmton. I was out shooting the remaining frames of film in an Olympus Sure Shot 160 I got as a freebie along with my XA3 when I made this picture. I wasn’t expecting too much from the camera – it has a pretty slow lens, especially when zoomed, and the last Superzoom model I owned, a 105G, made photos which were a little soft – but it’s surprised me with nice crisp results.

I shall drip-feed further images from the camera over the next few days.

Old barn in a field
Providing shelter for trees
An odd crop I think

Olympus Superzoom 160 & Agfa APX 100. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 12.5mins @ 20°.

Taken on 7 August 2021