Category: Street

Ilford HP5 at The Bridgend Mashup……….

It was “The Bridgend Mashup” event last week featuring various Street activities like Skateboarding, Bikes, Street art and music amongst other entertaining things.

My son Ben and I popped down for a couple of hours and as well as my trusty DSLR I took my Nikon FM2n and a 50mm 1.8 shooting some Ilford HP5 Plus 400 for the first time.

I was extremely pleased with the results the film gave me, it performed excellently in the sometimes harsh sunlight and then overcast skies.

I didn’t attempt to shoot any of the high-speed action stuff on film due to the full manual controls I have on the FM2n I left that to my D7000 the results of which I will post in my next blog.

I will certainly be using HP5 again as the level of detail I managed to capture from highlight to shadow was great and considering I processed it myself I was doubly happy  🙂

Click on an image to view larger……….

My first roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 and home developing fun……..

Last week I decided as I was shooting more and more film I would have to have a go at developing my own negatives. This is something I have not done since school.

When studying for my ‘O’ level Art my teacher Mr Halley who was a keen photographer set up a darkroom and some of us who were interested in photography got to waste our Friday afternoons developing and printing our own stuff which is where I got gripped with the photography bug over 30 years ago.

With a mixture of memory/facebook friends and youtube I ventured into my makeshift darkroom /bathroom 🙂  and thought I had made a total mess of my film.

First it all unwound and dropped to the floor, then I managed to cut the leader at an angle so it would not wind on to the spool, eventually I emerged from the bathroom thinking the worst but I was so pleased after opening up the processing tank when I saw images instead of clear or black film.

It is such a thrill to process my own film it brings back so many memories, I love processing my digital shots too, but there is something about the look/feel and smell of Film.

These shots are far from perfect but as it is all my own work I love them…….

Thanks for looking…….comments are very welcome  🙂

Click on photo to view larger……….

Photo Exhibition and Cardiff Bay……..

We went to the “Cardiff after Cardiff” exhibition at the Wales Millennium Centre this weekend and thoroughly  enjoyed it, I love Street Photography and this was right up my street as they say.

Here is a link to the exhibition   http://www.wmc.org.uk/Productions/2012-2013/18969/79765/?view=Standard

Here is the link to the blog that explains how this exhibition came about  http://cardiffbeforecardiff.tumblr.com/

After the viewing we walked around the bay looking for photo opportunities using my film camera and my D7000 and Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and immediately came across a great couple sitting down enjoying an ice cream. I didnt want to shoot them candidly so I asked if they were up for a portrait and they gladly obliged  🙂

The main image at the top of the blog is of the Seamen’s Memorial Sculpture created by Brian Fell to the sailors of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War and the building in the background is the Pierhead Building built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company.

 

All in all it was a cheap afternoon out and I am looking forward to getting my film back to see the results, Cardiff Bay is a great place to shoot street stuff.

Click on any image to view larger…..

Thanks for looking ….  comments welcomed

I Shoot People………….

I have no speciality when it comes to my photography, not being a Professional and having to earn my living at it so my photos are very varied.

The one thing that I have found over the last couple of years is that I enjoy shooting people more and more.

I have off camera flashes and studio lights but much prefer take photographs of people either candidly or much better after meeting them when I am out and about and taking an informal type of portrait.

Since getting back into film recently I am looking forward to shooting in this style on various types of film camera and waiting in anticipation for the results……..

Here is a little selection of shots, so of which I have posted on the web previously but some are new.

Comments as always very welcome…….

Bridgend Christmas Food Market…….

Visited Bridgend this weekend and had a field day shooting loads of colourful foods with my Sigma 30mm f1.4 getting real shallow depth of field.

The sharpness of this lens coupled with my Nikon D300s wide open is exceptional and it has not been off the camera since I bought it.

I recommend this lens highly it is a pleasure to use.

Last Days of the Embassy Cinema……

I shot this yesterday as a record of the end of a Bridgend landmark. I think most people who have lived in Bridgend have some fond memories of the Embassy cinema I know I do, its sad that the building could not have been saved.

Nikon D300s,  Nikon 85mm f1.8      1/640 sec  f3.5  iso 200

click on image to view larger…….

A Day at the Fair…….

I was testing out my new Sigma 30mm f1.4 and went down Porthcawl on a nice sunny day where I saw this couple sitting in the middle of the fairground. I took a few quick snaps but they looked so interesting I asked if I could take their portrait, they were shocked that someone wanted to take their picture but duly obliged.

Nikon D7000,  Sigma 30mm f1.4      1/1600sec  f4  iso 100

click on image to view larger…….

 

Sunday Morning…..

    

Went for a little walk around Bridgend Town centre this morning while therest of the family went food shopping. I took my little Olympus Trip 35mm and shot some film but also took the Nikon 300s and the Nikon 85mm f1.8 and got some nice portraits.

click on image to view larger…….

 

Bridgend Mashup…….

Visited The Bridgend Mashup in Bridgend Town Centre today and captured loads of candid portraits as well as plenty of action shots of BMX, Skateboarders and Free Runners.

Nikon D7000,  Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8      1/400sec  f4  iso 900

click on image to view larger…….