Teazels backlit by the winter sunshine. I used the 70-200mm for this and was at the very edge of close focue when I made the shot. The sun was bright enough to allow a decent shutter speed, although I think the lens was at it’s widest aperture.
Spiked halos shine bright
As winter sunshine lights up
Dry vegetation
Pentax P30T, Takumar-F Zoom 70-200mm f/4-5.6 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
See, I told you I ‘ve made a number of shots at this location, so look forward to more exciting skip photos in the coming days! I’m sure you can hadly wait… 🙂
Crust of frozen snow
Atop the bins it slid off
And made my hands cold
Pentax P30T, TSMC Pentax 35mm f/3.5 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
I’ve made a considerable number of shots of these skips recently. Some on this roll, and others on the following couple of rolls too. Part of this is down to lockdown restrictions reducing the number of places I can make pictures, but also because I think there are a number of interesting photos to be had in this location. There are maybe two or three dozen skips of varying sizes on an area of land outside a metal recovery firm and, after rain, large puddles form and create further compositional options. The skips are in a number of different colors and, as is the way with such objects, all have varying degrees of rust, dents, and other interesting patina. It’s an industrial “edgelands” type location that may not be to all tastes, but beauty and interest lies in the eye of the beholder.
Lunchtime walk in snow
Approaching the nearby lake
The sound of some geese
Pentax P30T, TSMC Pentax 35mm f/3.5 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
I have a sense of aimlessness today. A struggle to focus. The feeling that I’m doing things for the sake of it and that I’m missing something important. I’m sure it will pass, but I’ll certainly be glad when it does.
I’ll still write my amateurish haikus though. 🙂
I’m wandering aimlessly
With things still to do
Procrastinating
I’ve walked near and crossed over this footbridge on many, many occasions, and have made the odd photo of it. This was the first time I had a telephoto lens on the camera though and it gave a whole new perspective.
Pentax P30T, Takumar-F Zoom 70-200mm f/4-5.6 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
I’ve posted a similar image to this one before as part of my experiences with a Zeiss 6×9 folder last year. And I shall be posting another before too long – again with a 6×9 camera from almost the same spot and composition (but not conditions, and without the faultily aligned lens issue). There’s certainly no shortage of power line / pylon photos in the blog, and I guess they’ll continue to turn up with a degree of frequency as long as it runs, but I like the particular point of view in this image because the structures are aligned as far as the eye can see.
Play Safe they told us
Children of the recent past
Danger in power
Pentax P30T, Takumar-F Zoom 70-200mm f/4-5.6 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
This pollarded willow tree sits at the southern end of Woodhouse Washlands close to the A57 flyover (in fact, you can see the shadow of the flyover at the base of this image – I thought about cropping it out, but it would take the foot of the tree closer to the edge of the frame than I’d like). The field was pretty muddy and had a considerable number of cow pats deposited about on the day so I decided to use the zoom lens to get me closer. While it may not be to everyone’s taste, I like the contrast of the fields and trees on the left with the industry of the pylons and factory units to the right. The track fills the gap at bottom right nicely too.
Pollarding cuts trees
off at height, not at the base
as coppicing does
Pentax P30T, Takumar-F Zoom 70-200mm f/4-5.6 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
It’s one of those days where I can think of little to say. I’ve found a photo to publish and written one of my (likely not very good) haikus, but otherwise I’m suffering from a brain full of tumbleweed. So I’ll leave it at that and hope normal service resumes shortly.
If you look up close
See a small figure crossing
And heading downhill
Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 December 2020
A local cemetery has the small building depicted in today’s photo stood in its corner. While the cemetery is fully-enclosed by a hedge (with a gate to allow public access), this corner is also open to the street allowing a photo to be made without much obstruction. I’ve photographed the same building a few times now as a nearby tree casts lovely mottled shadows across the brickwork when the conditions are right. I’m not sure of the building’s function – I don’t think it’s a chapel or anything like that – but it’s probably used for storing equipment used to manage and maintain the cemetery grounds and graves. I did go into the cemetery once to take a closer look, but saw that there were some people tending a grave nearby, so left again in order to respect their privacy.
My injured leg is feeling better today (though not to the extent that I will attempt to run on it!) so I went for a walk. I was able to maintain a decent pace without any significant discomfort (although maybe a little when climbing and descending the steps of the railway bridges). It will likely be at least a week before I consider running again, but I managed to make a few photos while out walking today, which I likely wouldn’t have done had I been out for a run.
Today’s haiku:
Single traffic bridge
Awaiting my turn to cross
A boy slips in mud
Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 27 December 2020
Quite a lot of power-line shots on this roll. Wooden poled for the most part on the first half from my Christmas Eve countryside walk. Pylons to come soon form the latter half.
Day eight of my haikus. Something a little more cryptic for today.
Red box in the mail
One-hundred-and-twenty-eight
k of memory
Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 December 2020
So, my first week of Couch-to-5k has taken a dip on day three where it appears that I’ve gotten myself a calf strain. I managed to walk home ok but the pain has increased since (at least when I move around) and the range of movement has reduced. Absolutely brilliant, eh?
I’m dissapointed that I will likely now have to put the running off for a while. Not because I’ll miss the activity itself – running isn’t something I can say I love doing – but because I do want to increase my fitness and, more importantly, support my son as he runs too. I’ve no idea how long the injury will take to heal before I can run again (even assuming it is a calf-strain. I’ve not spoken to a healthcare professional about it as yet, so it might be something else), but online self-diagnosis suggests it can take up to six weeks to fully recover. Bah!
Like a cramp, it felt
as I tore my calf running
Excercise. What Fun…
At present I can’t really even consider going for a walk until it heals a little as I’m moving about like a pirate with a wooden leg at the moment. I should have stuck to walking!
Here’s a flock of birds and some power lines from a few weeks ago when I was able to move around uninjured. 🙂
Pentax P30T, SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 December 2020
Steel City Snapper photography 