Up shady streets (without a wobble)

The GW690 is something of a beast of a camera – it didn’t get the nickname of The Texas Leica because it’s compact, that’s for sure. As a result it canbe quite an awkward camera to use, despite its otherwise simple set of controls. I find it quite difficult to hold in portrait orientation and most of my missed shots, where there has been a degree of camera shake, have been when taking pictures this way. The camera has a second shutter release button on the front of the body to aid in taking portrait format photos, but I still tend to generate more of a wobble when using it even like this.

Thankfully the portrait oriented pictures I took on this day in Wentworth have all come out ok with the exception of one.

Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Shot at 200asa and developed at box speed by lab (in Xtol).

Taken on 20 February 2022

Cottages

A couple more photos from Wentworth today and, let’s face it, there will be a few more day’s worth of Wentworth photos yet to come given that I shot three rolls of film there. All GW690 though, so not that many in total really.

The first one required crackerjack timing (c.f. Jack Burton) to avoid any of the frequently passing vehicles getting in the shot, but I’m not sure if I should maybe have cropped the right side a little. It was composed this way deliberately to avoid the clutter of parked cars and stuff further down the road to the left, but it feels a little unbalanced as a result..

I made a big pan of chicken and bacon soup earlier today to satiate my current need for a soft diet. The soup looked great when ready, and then I had to blitz it in the blender to get rid of any chunks. It looks nowhere near as nice now but, thankfully, it still tastes great. I had a huge bowl of it for my tea and feel pretty full now!

Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Shot at 200asa and developed at box speed by lab (in Xtol).

Taken on 20 February 2022

Wentworth post office

Yesterday’s trip to the dentist resulted in, as I expected, the removal of one of my teeth – an upper back molar. The experience was not a pleasant one. It didn’t hurt at all and, so far, I’ve suffered no real post-extraction pain either. The lack of pain does not remove the other sensations resulting from having a tooth removed however. I’ll not go into details here as people might not want the gruesome breakdown, but suffice it to say that it is a highly uncomfortable physical experience even without pain.

I’m now stuck with a diet of soft or liquid foods for a while, so I’ll be having soup shortly, and had porridge for my breakfast and scrambled eggs for lunch. No hot drinks for a few days either, and even my soup will have to be left to cool before I awkwardly eat it while trying not to get any in the tooth socket. This is more to protect the healing of the extraction site than because it will cause pain, I think. I’ll also start a regime of saline rinses after I eat today and will need to carry on with those for the next week or more. At least it being on the upper jaw means that gravity works to prevent stuff getting stuck in there a little

Hopefully the infection that caused my trip in the first place has gone with the tooth though.

Enough horrible dentistry stuff, so here’s a photo of Wentworth post office, cast in some quite significant contrasty shadow by the light and the film I used. It took me a number of attempts to get this shot as cars kept pulling up in front on a frequent basis.

Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Shot at 200asa and developed at box speed by lab (in Xtol).

Taken on 20 February 2022

Cottage with bonus rabbit

There is a rabbit lurking in this picture of a cottage.

The photo was taken on a visit to the picturesque village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, which I visited a couple of weeks ago. I got quite a few photos I’m happy with. This is a good thing as I was shooting my GW690 which only gives 8 shots per roll of 120 film, and I shot three rolls. It probably costs the best part of £1 per shot, maybe even more in this case as I had a couple of rolls lab developed as I didn’t have time to do them myself.

I bought the GW690 over a year ago and I haven’t used it all that much – probably due to the limitations of only having 8 shots per roll rather than the cost, as it means I need to take a few rolls with me in the event that I find lots of things to photograph. It does take very nice pictures when used correctly though, and I hope to use it more this year.

Fujica GW690 & Fomapan 400. Shot at 200asa and developed at box speed by lab (in Xtol).

Taken on 20 February 2022

At low tide

As I might not have full access to my PC to post for a few days while we’re having some decorating done, I’ve pre-written a few posts with older pictures that I haven’t posted before (I hope!). As I’m a little stuck for time to write them, they’ll each have this same boilerplate text. If I get back on my PC earlier than usual I’ll probably put the remaining ones back into the drafts folder for emergencies.

You’re not going to escape the crappy haiku’s though…

Estuarial beach
A feeding ground for the gulls
As strangers pass by

28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF & Fomapan 400.

Taken on 20 February 2019

On the beach in wintertime

As I might not have full access to my PC to post for a few days while we’re having some decorating done, I’ve pre-written a few posts with older pictures that I haven’t posted before (I hope!). As I’m a little stuck for time to write them, they’ll each have this same boilerplate text. If I get back on my PC earlier than usual I’ll probably put the remaining ones back into the drafts folder for emergencies.

You’re not going to escape the crappy haiku’s though…

Although it looks cold
It was very warm this day
Ice creams in winter!

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF & Fomapan 400.

Taken on 20 February 2019

Before the riders arrive

As I might not have full access to my PC to post for a few days while we’re having some decorating done, I’ve pre-written a few posts with older pictures that I haven’t posted before (I hope!). As I’m a little stuck for time to write them, they’ll each have this same boilerplate text. If I get back on my PC earlier than usual I’ll probably put the remaining ones back into the drafts folder for emergencies.

You’re not going to escape the crappy haiku’s though…

Hey crappy haiku
Why assault my senses
With your rubbish verse?

Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f.3.5-5.6 AF & Fomapan 400.

Taken on 20 February 2019

Flowers in a vase

This photo is a potential competition entry under the theme of “shiny”. The vase is quite shiny so it should fit but there’re still a couple of weeks until the deadline yet, so I’ll wait and see if I find anything better before then.

These plastic flowers
In a shiny golden vase
Sit in the sunlight

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fomapan 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 12mins @ 20°.

Taken on 26 February 2021

Inanimate objects caught unawares

Although I didn’t spot it at the time of making the photo, the concrete post on the left of this image appears to have a somewhat shocked expression, like I’ve caught it in some sort of compromising incident and it’s now aghast at being photographed. It has a vague look of V.I.N.C.E.N.T, the flying robot from Disney’s 1979 movie, The Black Hole about it.

Shocked looking fencepost
It seems strangely animate
Caught on camera

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fomapan 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 12mins @ 20°.

Taken on 26 February 2021

Disorganised bookshelf

This is one of the shelves in my shelving unit. It’s not very tidy or well organised. The truth of the matter is that I have too much stuff for the space I have, or at least I need to have a proper think about how it’s all stored. I guess I could alter the height of the shelves so that the books could be ordered differently – while some are grouped together by author / subject, it’s hardly an effective library cataloguing system. I was also somewhat bothered when I saw that the dust-jacket of From Uncertain to Blue was being distorted bt the book above (a copy of Uncommon Places by Stephen Shore, should you be interested). Don’t worry though, I’ve sorted that out now!. 🙂

I have a couple of other shelving-units / cupboards with shelves in them but a lot of the space in those is filled with stuff that could either be chucked, go on eBay to raise a bit of spare cash, or re-arranged and put elsewhere such as in the loft (some of the stuff I’m reluctant to get rid of is also stuff I don’t look at very often).

The photobooks are going nowhere though!

Disorganised shelf
But still full of interest
Not a bad problem

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fomapan 400. Ilfotec DD-X 1+9 12mins @ 20°.

Taken on 26 February 2021