Deflated

This wheel kinda looks like how I feel at present. I seem to be having a lot of trouble finding enthusiasm for anything, even things I enjoy, on a regular basis. I don’t think I’m depressed or anything, just that I can’t seem to find the energy to do stuff. My attention wanders but never really settles on anything, just drifts from one thing to another, not gaining any real benefit. I’m finding it difficult to focus on things, both at work and at home.

It’s not a permanent, 24/7 thing – sometimes I feel better, but it’s noticeable enough for me to be giving it thought. It’s especially frustrating because, sometimes when I have free time to do something I’d like I end up doing nothing, which is a big disappointment. Free time is something I have in limited supply and to waste it is not good.

I’ve started to wonder if I might have Long Covid or something, as these symptoms are often associated with that condition, but I don’t really have any of the other signs. Or maybe I’m just getting older.

Olympus OM-1N, G-Zuiko Auto-W 35mm f/2.8 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 @ 20° 9mins.

Taken 9 September 2023.

A home for skater shoes

In the Neepsend area of Sheffield there is a skate park – The House Skate Park. I’ve never been inside the place – I couldn’t balance on a skateboard when I was a kid, much less now, although I did used to go to the local ice-rink as a teenager where I managed to get around on a pair of blades at high speed, so maybe I’m not completely useless at such activities (that was a long time ago though. I’d probably just bust my hip or something now…).

Despite never having ventured inside the place, I’ve walked past on more than one occasion. It has some nice street art adorning the outside of the building, and there used to be a tree outside upon which were hung numerous pairs of sneakers, presumably those that had reached the end of their natural life. It was certainly odd-looking fruit.

The tree is no longer there, but at least some of the sneakers have found a new home in the shape of the railings that run in front of the car-park. And theye they dangle, gradually forming their own miniature ecosystems as the weeks, months, and years roll past.

Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujichrome Provia 100. Lab developed.

Taken on 23 January 2022

Corrosion

This photo was taken atop one of the many disused railway bridges in the area. This particular bridge is a solid brick-built structure (with metal railings), but there a few around that are steel-built that have gradually decayed. Probably not to the extent that they’re likely to collapse (and I’m sure that they must be surveyed, if just for the safety of people walking nearby), but probably enough that I wouldn’t want to walk across them. One bridge (of which I have some, yet to be developed, photos ) has been fenced off to prevent people crossing it, but that one’s definitely in a poor state with most of it’s surface having long since disappeared.

Peeling cracked paint
Atop the old railway bridge
Looks like reptile skin

Yashica Mat 124G & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 21 January 2021

A bit of a fixer-upper

After two days of fence painting I feel a little like this cicycle looks…

Nikon F80, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS HSM & Fuji Superia 100 (expired 2008).

Taken on 28 June 2020