Tag: arts

“Bridgend Mashup” digital version……..

As I said in my previous blog post I also shot some of the action type stuff digitally which was so much easier than trying to shoot full manual on my film camera…….

The band shots were also shot on film and I prefer the more gritty feel of the film shots over the cleaner/sharper digital ones.

As you can see in this post there are far more digital photographs than film but that is the thing I like about film it makes you choose your shots far more carefully.

There is no way I would go back to shooting film for everything but I will be taking a film camera be it an SLR or a compact like my Olympus Trip everywhere alongside my DSLR as I feel it really compliments the digital shots and I really enjoy shooting and processing film again.

Thanks for looking

click on an image for a larger version…….

 

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……….

2nd Roll of Tri-X at the Classic Car Show………

Well this shot was after the Classic Car Show but I put it first to show the difference between my 85mm and my 50mm.

I had a few frames left when I got home eager to process it and see what I captured I decided to try my Nikon 85mm 1.8 just as a comparison  so I dragged my son Ben kicking and screaming out the garden to take a few shots to finish the film.

I love using the 50mm on my FM2n but I must admit the look I get when shooting portraits with the 85mm is so much better.

The rest of the shots were from the car show except for the line of trees, I shot both digital and film on the day and even though the digital shots were good when it came to the people shots I preferred the film.

click on a photo 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……….

Not the usual Shots……..

We have visited the Lightboat in Cardiff bay on many occasions and it has featured in many of my photographs in and around the bay so this time I decided to have a different outlook and just shoot details and abstracts instead of the normal everyday photos.

The lightship Helwick LV14 was built and commissioned by Trinity House in 1953. It was brought to Cardiff Bay in 1993 and restored to create a floating Christian Centre.

A link to the wesite is here  http://www.lightship2000.co.uk/ it’s well worth a visit if you are in the Bay, they do a very good pot of Tea and their Welshcakes are good too!

All the shots were taken with my D300s and Sigma 30mm f1.4

Click on images to see much 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