A sea arch and a signal station

I took a few photographs from this location – including this one shot on the Brontica ETRSi – but this is the only shot where I included the sea arch that can be seen at the lower left of the frame. I think I had the 75mm attached to the Bronica at the time and probably couldn’t include both the arch and the signal station in a single composition with the field of view that lens provides (although I did have the 50mm with me as well, which would have done so easily had I been inclined to switch them over).

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

Taken on 14 March 2022

Wider for the lighthouse

I think this was the shot where I had to change lens to get the best composition. I’d been using the 75mm Zenzanon up until this point and, had I been stood further away, that lens would have coped perfectly. But that meant that other unwanted elements would have started to creep into the frame due to my distance, so the 50mm came out of the bag to take this picture. I think the 50mm might be a bit softer than the 75mm, but it’s not really noticeable in the main subject here.

I like this angle on the lighthouse. It gives it an imposing character.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 50mm f/2.8 MC & Ilford Pan F Plus. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7mins 20°.

Taken on 14 March 2022

Fog signal station

Several photographs of the fog signal station at Flamborough Head.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford Pan F Plus. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7mins 20°.

Taken on 14 March 2022

Beyond the grass sea

I was struck by the way that the lighthouse looked like it stood beyond a rolling sea of grass in this photo. I did wonder about cloning out the lone figure on the left but then decided against it.

In other news, I’m currently scanning a roll of 135 Tri-X that I finished shooting at the weekend. As I often get drying marks on my 135 negatives (although, oddly, never on 120 negs…), even though I use distilled water and wetting agent for the final wash, I’ve taken to using a squeegee lately. This has worked fine all the other times I’ve used it, but this roll of Tri-X looks beset by scratches along most of its length, which is disappointing.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford Pan F Plus. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7mins 20°.

Taken on 14 March 2022

Look at the sea (for 50p)

The seaside telescope is a regular sight at resorts across the land (and across other lands too – there were binocular-style telescopes all over the palce when I visited New York a few years ago).

While there is a sense of excitement about using the devices, my own experience has generally been one of disappointment. They are often somewhat unweildy to use, their movement stiff and heavy, and by the time you find something worth looking at the money runs out. If you’re a child, this is compounded by the fact that you have to be lifted uncomfortably by your parents in order to even look through the eyepiece, let alone maneouvre the telescope to point at anything.

And yet I like taking photographs of them, even if I don’t actually look through them.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Ilford Pan F Plus. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 7mins 20°.

Taken on 14 March 2022

Flamborough Head lighthouse

There are two lighthouses at Flamborough Head. The original lighthouse was completed in 1674 but never lit. It stands at the edge of a golf course now with a Grade II listing.

The new lighthouse was first lit in December 1806 and remains in use today, although the last keepers left when the light was automated in the 1990s. As with its older sibling, it also has a Grade II listing.

Standing atop the promontory, the light can be seen from numerous places along the coast as well as, obviously, from the sea. Whenever I’ve visited places like Scarborough or, when I was younger, Filey, I would look for the light in the south as evening arrived. There is something evocative and even a little magical about catching that distant flash of illumination as the beam sweeps your position.

I took a number of pictures of the lighthouse on this trip, so don’t be surprised if they turn up here in the coming days. 🙂

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Lomography Color Negative 100 .

Taken on 14 March 2022

Flamborough Head

Today’s photograph is of Flamborough Head, a promontary extending several miles into the North Sea from the Yorkshire Coast on eastern side of England. Just the tip is visible in the picture. It is a landscape of chalk cliffs (the only such area in the north of the country), arches, sea-stacks and small sandy coves. Large areas beneath the cliffs can be walked at low tide and there are fossils to be had I believe.

Out at the end of the promontory sits the fog signal station.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Lomography Color Negative 100 .

Taken on 14 March 2022