Showing posts with label Nikon F. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nikon F. Show all posts

Monday, April 20, 2020

Small Worlds On Small Bits Of Paper

Morning folks . . . bored yet
Well, you shouldn't be.
For all that this strange period is getting extended, and I grant you it isn't financially easy, all the same, to be going off your nut whilst being given the gift of time, seems to me to be strangely sinful.

Been taking many photographs on your daily ration of getting oot and aboot? 
Erm, well, no nether have I, BUT, I have been printing, albeit in a small way. 
I can and should be printing more, however working from home means that this desk-style workstation is always manned.

Allied to this, making this 'ere Blog became harder earlier this year, courtesy of Apple who removed all support for 32-bit programs from their current OS, Catalina. And what did that mean in photographic terms? well, it meant I could no longer easily use my ancient Epson scanner. Yes, I could buy third-party software, but it isn't cheap . . it isn't really even reasonably priced, especially considering I've effectively already bought Epson's own in the first place. 
So where did that leave me? 
Well, in the land of work-around
Out came Alec Turnip's old laptop; out came endless hours of getting it right and up to speed again, and finally, out came the scanner sun again. 
So basically, I am scanning with the Epson V300, saving them to a Windows 10 laptop, then transferring them over to this Mac, my main machine. 
It is, as they say around these parts, a total scutter.
Anyway, we got there eventually. 

Where's 'ere Sheepy?

Well, small worlds on small bits of paper.


Coats Please

At this point, Bruce will get confused, so don't mind him as he crouches in the corner clutching his head, but y'see, despite my insisting that I'd been printing 6x4" prints, I've just checked the box and it says 5x7". Oh I know, what's a couple of inches between friends . . but all the same, what an assumption to make. 
Fool that I am.
Anyway, the paper is Tetenal TT Vario RC. yet another of my collection of photographic dinosaur bones, and you know what, as a RC paper goes, it was probably one of the best.
That's a hell of a statement to make, so why? 
Well, unlike the likes of Multigrade RC, you didn't have to print a Grade up with it. 
I don't know about you, but with MGRC I generally always have to print on Grade 3. Grade 2 just doesn't have that slight snap that I like, whereas with the Tetenal, I get snappy on Grade 2.
I've no doubt right now there'll be someone droning on about them being effectively the same emulsion . . . well, not to my eyes or experience matey. They look different.
Anyway, taking that course is like philosophers arguing about the existence of angel's breath, as in, it's a fairly pointless exercise. Like most everything else from the photographic cull of the mid 2000's, Tetenal's TT Vario is as dead as a dodo.
But I've still got some 5x7" so why not use it.

Photographically, this was like cheese and cheese.
Two cameras: 
Leica M2 with the old Canon/Serenar 28mm f3.5
Nikon F with the pre-Ai 24mm f2.8

Film and developer both times was Delta 400 at EI 200 and it was developed in Pyrocat-HD.
They both look pretty different.
I also am wondering whether there's a light leak or something going on with the Nikon, as there's some extra sprocket density which doesn't seem to be apparent on the Leica frames. 
It could of course be occurring when I am printing - I'm using a filed-out carrier on the DeVere so that I can print full-frame. And yes, before you ask, I've used some blacking to get rid of any reflections from the edges of the carrier.
Anyway, it is really hard to say and I suppose I should dedicate some time to finding out what is going on . . . it is very annoying to say the least. 
But anyway, rather than trying to retouch it softwarily, I'll just let it be. 
See what you think.
If you've any thoughts, please chime in. 
Opinions are always welcome around here.

Ok, first up a few from a really tiddly day with a camera - scrounged around the town a bit, hit the pub about 12 had a lovely lunch and got home about 7 - great fun and all exposures guessed.
The camera was the Leica M2/Canon 28mm combo.


Abandoned Car At The Bird House

Lost Building At The Back Of The Murraygate

Coats Please

Sadly no pub pictures were added, because I didn't print them with this session, but here's some hairy scans from the rest of the film.
I suppose they don't look too bad considering.


Tiddly 1

Tiddly 2

Mennies - Quiet Afternoon

Wellcome Foundation Building

Weird Light - Murraygate, Dundee

And now we're onto the Nikon film - I was more careful with this, metering every shot as best I could given the extreme cutting sunshine at a relatively early hour and what with the Big Yellow Thing being closer to the horizon and all that.
Again, these are all prints on Tetenal TT (ta-ta!).


Unknown Location

A Nifty In The V&A

Dundee/Moscow

Hurt

Another Lost Lane

OK - unfortunately this is where the shiitake mushrooms hit the fan, because, in the words of our sponsors:

 "The surge is strong with these Luke!"


Seabraes Bridge

Not That F'ing Thing AGAIN

Dundee Waterfront Trials For Re-Creation Of Led Zeppelin's Presence

Abandoned Lifeboat


Shame eh - I love the light on the Bridge and Presence and the Lifeboat.
Now I suppose most photographic blogs wouldn't wash their dirty pants in public, 

A: because it is pretty gross

and 

B: because they want to prove they're invincible

but not here, oh no - these are Shurgetastic Mate . . . see what I mean.
Weird isn't it.
I've no idea because there doesn't seem to be any extra density on the negatives.

AT THIS POINT YOUR FEARLESS AUTHOR ARGUED HIMSELF INTO SUBMISSION AND:

Anyway, as I was writing this and everything was in one place as it were, I thought, why not check it now and it IS being created in the printing process, as I have just scanned some of the negatives of the above prints and the density is definitely not there.

Och well . . . have to be more careful with my masking . . . not so easy - might have to do some precision taping over the top of the glassless carrier, or use the sliding masks though I always feel you get a sort of penumbra of less density from those. If you have any thoughts on negative masking with printing full frame (and especially on a DeVere) please speak!

Well, I guess that's it really. Nothing much else to report, though I will say I have done something recently photographically which I have never done before, and, you know that stuff they tell you about exposed film needing to be processed as soon as possible? Watch this space.

Take care, stay safe and keep taking the beers. 
Don't know about you, but this whole thing is making me drink more . . at least, that's my excuse.

















Saturday, March 28, 2020

Birdsong

Aside from the above title being a most excellent war novel by Sebastian Faulks, it is also a truism of the current times we are living through . . . I know, it's really bizarre isn't it!

I don't know about you, so I can only speak for myself - I live in a City next to a busy road. Even at the back of the house, in our garden, the traffic noise is there most of the time, from the low drone, to the boy racer, buses trucks and lorries, to the upper, always there thrum.
Noise is something we never truly get away from unless we hit the wild spaces.
It can be incredibly silent on a mountain top; and especially when the wind dies down. it's an all encompassing quiet, tinted with the movement of air, and the thundering of your heart and the coarse old engines of your lungs; but it is something else too - it's a physical presence.
It's like, with nothing moving around, the air has stilled to its natural state - no thermals to lift it, no massed patterns of weather squashing and twisting.
None of that.
Silence becomes a state of being, and to be alone in that, far from the modern world, well, it's beyond my ken, and I can only say that everyone should be given the opportunity to experience it.

I guess that's why traffic noise gets me.
You really can't escape it - even in quiet, sleepy villages, there's always something whizzing along, cutting up the quiet and disappearing off into the distance.
And yet now, with the enforced shutdown of nearly every aspect of society due to CV, suddenly the traffic has stilled and it is bliss.

The birds have commandered the silence again, re-taking what had been theirs and filling it with a sweet song that says, no matter what, life in all it multifarious forms will go on, with or without us.
I find that wonderful.

So go on, go out on your Govenment-Approved Once A Day Exercise and see if I'm not right. Listen to those little chirpers, going for it like there's no tomorrow and relish it, because the world will revert back to its noisy old self and the silence and trills will seem like a distant memory.

OK, this is FB, so there's some photography going on, like it or not!

I couldn't find any pictures of birds, so instead went for the next best thing - places in the world that I have found peaceful!
Not that we've travelled much, but all the same, I think that, if you are open to it, peace can find you at all times.
Here's some of them:


Petit Sablon Afternoon

OK, this was taken with the Nikon F3 and f2.8 28mm CRC Nikkor - it's a great lens, and takes a lovely photograph. 
It's a detail of a fountain in the Petit Sablon Square in Brussels. 
A small but beautiful area of peace - yes there's traffice noise, but there's also birdsong and the rilling of water - highly recommended if you are ever there.


Petit Sablon Fence

Another detail from Petit Sablon, this time with the Sony A6000 sporting the 35mm f2 Nikkor 'O'. 
It's done a fab job I think, the colours are quite subtle.


De Kattenkabinet   - Spot The Cat

Same camera and lens, but a different place.
Amsterdam is nuts and even more-so these days, well, it was . . . . bet the locals, like those in Venice are relishing every moment just now.
Well, in amongst the bong-hunting, beer-swilling, neighbourhood-annoying youthful hordes, there is this - De Kattenkabinet
Basically a museum dedicated to all things feline and quite a delight actually (even if you don't like cats!). 
This is the garden at the back, inhabited by lots of sleepy cats and, incredibly, chickens. The songbirds are pretty fly there too - they keep themselves well above the cats and taunt them with song and flitting.
Hell of a place!


Abandoned Nets

Off the coast of Croatia there is a small archepeligo called the Elaphiti Islands. They're sleepy places, and really rather quaint and peaceful.
The above abandoned fishing net, was taken on SuÄ‘uraÄ‘, the quietest and sleepiest of the lot. Sony and 35mm Nikkor again . . . .
It is a wonderful island with groves and sleepy farmhouses and strange bits of junk lying about, and, of course, birds. There are some cars there, but mostly, it's the occasional whizz of a scooter that cuts the peace.
I'd love to go back one day.


When In Rome


They Really Do Follow You

When in Rome, do as the Romans do . . . stay off the streets at midday! It can get bloomin' hot, unbearably so actually, and of course, everyone wants to maximise their holiday so they're out and about in extreme temperatures.
So, what to do, when your (under)pants resemble kinked and knotted, skin-chaffing bits of soggy sandpaper? 
Yes, that's right - head to The Cimitero Acattolico, or The Non-Catholic Cemetery for Foreigners in Testaccio, Rome (to give it its full name).
It is the single greatest city space I have ever encountered.
Choc-full of incredible gravestones, some quite recent, it really is an oasis in the busiest City I have ever been in.
Lots of birds, and lots of graves like the above, which scared the bejeesus out of me - it's just there, lurking and staring directly at you no matter the angle you're at. 
Very weird.
The camera was The Ship's Anchor! The Nikon D300S and the 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 G AF-S DX.
Jings it was heavy, however (and despite no longer owning it) it rendered colours pretty well.


Gentrified Glen

When the Nikon went back, I got the Fuji X2-ES and 27mm f2.8. A fine get-up, but for someone raised on Nikon F's and Mamiya C330S's, as light as a gnat's fart. It developed a fault too, so went back and I hung up my digital improvements.
Anyway, this wonderful little place is besides Cambo house just south of St Andrews. It's a small Victorian 'improved' dell, with this wonderful burn running through it and a couple of small ironwork bridges. 
Dead peaceful and lots of birds.


Tribute To Eliot Porter

This was taken besides the Adriatic and is a Pie-Phone (Mk V, meat and potato) pic. There's flare, but somehow it reminds me of early LF colour photographs by a hero of mine Eliot Porter - think it is the format actually. Anyway, this wee walk was beautiful with birds, wild figs and the soft lapping of waves, mixed in with the gentle twanging of mankinis from the German tourists who liked to bathe there. 
Ah the sound of a twanging mankini . . . I'll say no more!


The Pool At The Centre Of The World

I think I've shown you this before - it's a loud little pool at the head of a Glen where you can go no further. 
Not much in the way of birds at such an elevation save the odd grouse and a few eagles, but peace ran out of the rocks and enfolded me. 
Again a heck of a place - and if the government don't restrict all outdoor activities I'll try and get back there whilst there's still some snow on the ground . . .
Camera was a 500C/M and a 150mm Sonnar - bliss.


Loch Tideline

Ah, this is a secret place of mine in the South Of Scotland - every time I have been there, it has felt like my own private playground and as such I intend to preserve its identity!
This was taken after a night of heavy rain and the loch level was starting to drop leaving this line of leaves.
The camera was my favourite 35mm camera  - a plain old Nikon F Photomic, made between August and October 1970. Heavy, clunky, but hand-holdable down to ridiculous speeds because of the weight.
Lens was a '71 or '72, 24mm Pre-Ai Nikkor - just an incredibly good lens.


Rocks, Pre-Rainstorm

Normally I wouildn't show my pants in public, but this is a scan off a contact print and I intend to print it soon. Again, a small walk in the mountains that is a bit off the beaten track.
The light was extraordinary as the heavyweight clouds muscled in from the left.
Camera was a 500 C/M and the lens was my 60mm Distagon.


Keeping The Magic In

Remember that secret place I mentioned with the Nikon? - this is close by. 
It is a (I believe un-noted by archaeologists) small hill fort. It has a spring on the top of the hill, and to my mind, any pre-historical era person would love to have somewhere easily defendable with a nice water-source too.
Not sure why I like this pic, but I do.
It's square and that holds it all together - 500C/M and 150mm Sonnar.
Oh and there's birds, normal small songbirds, and red kites, billions of them. Peace oozes from the ground and it has a real uncanny feel to it. 
The funniest thing to me, is that others must have felt it too - maybe it was a sacred grove? 
There's plenty of ancient trees (which had significant magical interest) all over the place. 
Curiously there's a Motte nearby too - the Norman's really liked to seize the local places of power . . more of that at the bottom.
Oh and it is surrounded by stone dykes and fields, yet has remained un-farmed . . are the walls keeping the magic in?


Fort Imperial Defences

Back to Dubrovnik. You are literally at the top of the City here as this is a section of the defences of Fort Imperial atop the hill of SrÄ‘.
The Fort itself was built by Napoleon, and centuries later it became part of the resistance during the Battle For Dubrovnik.
I took a wee shifty here - don't think you were supposed to climb so high, but the fort was claustrophobic.
Plenty of birds here, their song taken away on the wind. peace was here too (strangely).
Camera: Sony A6000 and 35mm Nikkor. 


Aged Oak

Ah, another Norman-commandered site! 
I played here when I was young. 
It is a named SSI and is chocca with oaks that must be around or over 1000 years old. It is an extraordinary place with an extraordinary feel.
Lots of birds and a disquieted peace. as a family we always felt there was something weird and uncanny about the oaks, and I still can't place it. 
We tried to avoid it at night too.
This is another scan off a contact print   - needs to be properly printed.
Camera: 500 C/M and 150mm Sonnar.


Sunday Morning

I rediscovered this - it was taken with a Nikon F3 and a pre-Ai 28mm f3.5, which, the knowledgable amongst you will know was the lens that McCullin shot Vietnam with.
It is widely ignored these days (everyone want's the f2.8 CRC version because a load of net influencers say that is the one to go for) and as such is a total bargain. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, in fact I would say it takes a great photograph.
The above was morning sun through a hotel bathroom window. it was sunny (for a change) and the birds were out in tough little tweety gangs!
Peace suffused the air and me and the wee one had a wonderful weekend.

And that's it folks.
The end is nigh (if you believe everything you read) and whilst the privations might seem tough, I'll draw your attention to a little known shipwreck of a ship made in Dundee, the RV Strathmore.
You can read extracts from a passengers diary here on this link
Now that was tough.

TTFN, keep taking the pease-pudding and remember to add some carrots in too.
























Thursday, December 20, 2018

Lost Light

I KNOW, time is pressing; it's a few days before Christmas and you're rushing around, adjusting the pressure on the sprouts in the pressure cooker, wrapping pressies, having a fit . . . there's no time to read this!
So listen, just you go and do what you want to do and come back to this when you have time.

Just bring your own bottle next time you lousy freeloader you . . . 


Look, OK, I Know They're GNOMES!


Well, The Season is upon us again, and like last year, where I wished I'd taken more pictures during the year, I can honestly say that this year I haven't.
In fact film stats have been totally pathetic . . . and if you throw in a bare THREE sessions in the darkroom with RC paper (gargh!) then you can see:

'E's been a very naughty boy . .

This being said, I still think I can do what is fast becoming a Christmas Tradition here at Sheephouse Turrets . .

Ye Olde Annual Sheephouse Roundup

Oh yes, from the countless comments I've had - well, at least 7   - this is a popular read.
So without further ado, and because I know you're desperate to finish off that bottle of home-made 90% proof Egg Nog, I shall start where all good years start:

January
Ah, the month of post-Crimbo recovery where the delights of the curling, mayo-soaked Turkey sandwich quickly start to pale.

I started the year with good intentions, and especially with regard to my Large Format photography which has been totally neglected for a couple of years, but alas and lackaday, viewed from writing this in December, my enthusiasm came to naught.
I think part of that might be down to the nagging thought:
"How the hell do you make a photograph as good as this?"

Walker Evans
Portrait Of Hazel Hawthorne Werner c.1930


I was fortunate enough to pick up a first edition Walker Evans book (First And Last) for a small handful of quids, and there was another photograph from this session in there.
Heading towards 90 years old, this portrait of a (by all accounts) maverick, spirited young woman transcends those years and changes and could quite easily have been taken today.
Except it wasn't.
Look closely and you'll see a master at work.
The incredibly narrow depth of field; the stunning catchlights; the sheer non-pose; the blemishes. Damn, it is honest and raw and real . . and made with a Large Format camera.
With my arse firmly kicked, I folded down my front standard, compacted the bellows and retreated . .

Yes, January was an interesting month from the point of view that my lovely DeVere was unwell. Well it wasn't really, not in a life-threatening way, but in the annoying sense, because the bulb holder went! Bing-bang-biff-boff-pow it did and then it lit no more.
Now if you own a 504, maybe you'll not know it yet, but that lovely 24 Volt 250 Watt bulb requires a holder that can take the post-nuclear heat of the bulb chamber. It gets blindingly bright and red hot in there, even with the fan, so, if your bulb holder gets taken out by a rogue Chinese bulb, then here's the solution - what you need is a Gx5.3/Gy6.35 Low Voltage Lamp Holder

The one I got was made by Bender and Wirth, so German. High quality, and with some judicious manouevering, it fits.


I believe from memory mine is the 961 model. I also added some high temperature shrink around the bits where the cable joins the spade ends (I'd had to cannibalise those from the holder that had gone caput).
 
While you are there you might want to have a butchers at your bulbs. Basically, if it is Chinese or PRC, throw it out. It will shatter, and in may case it took out the bulb holder too.
You are safer spending money and either finding some NOS British or USA or European made bulbs or buying new:

Philips Focusline (Made in Europe)

GE Quartzline (Made in USA)

But seeing as production shifts around so much these days you are best checking with the vendor where they are made.
Trust me - you'll be glad you checked.

February
Ah, season of mists and solid coughing fits!
Well this year we were treated to THE BEAST FROM THE EAST!
Fellow blogger and pal, Bruce of the Online Darkroom was trapped in a car on the M80 for 18 hours . .  . without a camera!
I finished off a roll of Tri-X I'd popped into the olde Nikon F with the 24mm Nikkor (possibly my favourite 35mm lens) and popped another roll of Tri-X into the Leica M2/35mm Summaron combination. 
The difference between the two was notable - the Nikon being solid and I was able to shoot exactly what I saw; the Leica was intuitive and on the fly, seat-of-the-pants shooting - very different in a "snap first ask questions later" sort of way.
I mulled both experiences over and decided I preferred the Nikon way. That 100% viewfinder makes all the world of difference.


View From The Bus
Leica M2, 35mm f3.5 Summaron, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
#73 Bus, Dundee, 2018

Sadly, due to being in a hurry, I developed the Nikon film in some old (but not that old) Rodinal-type developer (R09 for all you fact fans) . . and the whole film was blank, saying to me that the developer was dead. It felt like a bereavement. Never happened before. 'New' Rodinal types have not the slightest bit of longevity of the proper old Agfa stuff . . and that's why I'll never use it again.

March
The Beast was still Beasting, so I took advantage of all that snow (calf-deep in places) and loaded a roll of Delta 400 into the Hasselblad and had a mini-explore of an area right next to me, but which I had been unaware of in the 20 years we've lived here. The path had more than likely existed all that time, but hadn't at all been obvious till the Council decided to add some new steps. Anyway, it takes me down beside a school and thence through what must have been at one time the lost footings and gardens of grand houses, then over a railway bridge and out onto a main arterial route.
I had a great time using the 500C/M - easily one of the finest cameras I have ever used.


The Beast Visits The Harris
(Yeah I Know It's A Bit Squinty - It Was F'in Freezin' Right)
Hasselblad 500C/M, 60mm Distagon, Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Harris Academy, Dundee, 2018


The enjoyable experience made me think that I'd really like a better walkabout camera too. I love my Rollei T, but you know what GAS is like, was there something better out there?
I had also become enamoured with the 24mm Nikkor, really enjoying the really wide perspective of photography. I put two and two together and rather than investing in a large and heavy 40mm for the 500C/M, a thought came and hit me over the head like an enthusiastic mugger:
THE HASSELBLAD SWC!
Looking around I discovered that they were getting scarce and expensive, so with the encouragement of my darling wife and the thought that I could (like my Father) be dead in 10 years time, I thought Feck it, and bought one.
It was a 1982 SWC/M with the more desireable Prontor CF shutter, just serviced from the good chaps at Ffordes. A lot of money (borrowed off my son) and a couple of years paying back . . but it really was love at first feel.
This is him - left and right profile:






He's got a few scrapes on the finder, but in reality most of the battle scars are on the film back - which was serviced, just looks a tad rough.
My feelings about the camera were to be cemented when I processed the first film.
It was tough getting my head around the field of view - this is the best of a bad bunch:


Dawn Dog
Hasselblad SWC/M
Dundee, 2018


You really have to get your whole perspective (sic.) around that wide view though - it isn't an easy camera to use initially - the need to get as close to everything as possible really is quite different . . however, that clean, undistorted image is well worth it.
To cut a long story short . . . I love it.

April

Lee Friedlander
Peter Exline, Spokane, Washington 1970


This photograph, made my jaw hit the floor the moment I saw it - it contains almost everything I like in a photograph, weird metaphors, a photographer, sunlight and reflections. On the latter it is utterly subtle but they're there in a "WTF How did he do that?" sort of way. Allied to that the large arrow of light pointing to the guys temple and the striping of his face make you think you're entering some weird world of ritual and symbolism.
And there, Stage Left . . Mr. Lee Friedlander. I'd known his photos (selected ones) for years, but upon reading that he almost exclusively used the Superwide I investigated further and discovered a delight of humour and ideas. Have a look for yourself.

Inspired, I headed out with the SW and tried to see what I could do.


She's So . . . Modern!
Hasselblad SWC/M, Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Dundee, 2018


This was my favourite.
I don't know what it is about it.
Her obvious delight at being a stereotype?
His obvious delight at having a young woman flash her gnashers at him?
The gnashers and reflection of window bars being almost as one?
The legend at the top:
"Leanne's Delight Is Our Customers Rewarding Their ???"

Actually, I think it is the way her hair has been rendered by the Biogon.
It's spot-on to my eyes.

At the end of April, after a years' absence, I took to the mountains and came back with just about my favourite landscape photograph of all the landscape photographs I've ever taken.
It was courtesy of the SW.
I also got others I was proud of with the 150mm Sonnar, but this, this is it to me:


Lost Burn, Glen Doll
Hasselblad SWC/M, Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Clova, 2018


Rather like Leanne's hair, the Biogon has rendered the grass and light in such a way as to be almost ethereal to my eyes.
It was chucking with rain at this point, and the light was terrible - sheltering under trees, guarding the camera from giant drops that were gathering and, er, dropping from the canopy above wasn't easy.
I was lucky to have bought home any bacon at all.

May
Ah, well there I was, on the cusp of some DIY. our sitting room hadn't been decorated in 18 years - it was tired, and at that point in time I thought to myself "Y'know, the paper and woodwork is a mess. Why not strip it all back and start again."
N'er a truer word is said in jest, and little did I know then that what I was about to start on, would be the hardest physical job I have ever done . . . and I've done a few. But this, this was something else.
I blithely peeled back a corner of peeling lining paper and got my scraper out . . .
November 

and 6 months later I finished . . .
I won't bore you about trying to Escape From Alcatraz With A Teaspoon, but that is what it was like.
I won't bore you with trying to clean up half-done scraping jobs filled with polyfilla, lining papered over and then varnished on top of that; nor will I rant about the clouds of fine dust that burst from a woodwork undercoat/ground made from a thick mix of Linseed Oil, Lead Oxide and fine Plasterer's Sand; a ground that was in truth harder than concrete
Underwear hanging around your knees saturated with sweat? 
8 pints of water drunk in one afternoon to deal with dehydration? 
Carbide scraper blades blunted in a couple of hours? 
Chaos, mess and more chaos? 
Drops of wallpaper 1 metre wide and 3.3 metres long?
It was all of that and more . . nearly 60 square feet of sheer exhaustion. 
What a job.

This is a small snapshot of the wallwork . . . add into this the paintwork which encompassed 4 doorways, one 9 foot tall window and allied skirting . . . och you get my drift!



Clear Striations - Antique Wallpapers Welded Together

Cultural Vandalism - I Am Not Proud Of Myself For This
But It Had To Be Done

Like Thick Lino.
After I'd Removed The Top Layers, I was Left with a 3mm Thick
Layer Of Soldified Concrete.
Steam And Chemical Stripping Didn't Work . . AT ALL.

Progress?

Possibly

At the end of May, fed up of scraping I got up super-early and headed out with the SW, only to be beaten by tide timings, so Dundee city centre it was!
This was my favourite from that session - to my mind it looks like something from 'proper' Soviet times:


Comrade Dennis
Hasselblad SWC/M, HP5, Pyrocat-HD
Tay Bridge, 2018

I liked the look of HP5 in PHD so much, that for 2019 most of my faster film will be it. Plus it's the cheapest good quality named fast film you can get at the moment.

I had one more visit to the city centre with my camera before the end of the month


Cultural Upgrade
Hasselblad SWC/M, HP5, Pyrocat-HD
Dundee, 2018

The above is a scan from a 6x6cm contact print, so not a proper print (no time).
I was astonished by this Cultural Upgrade, solicited by Dundee City Council in a wee lost lane, called Mary Ann Lane (it's next to the Bus Station of you're interested).
The hummingbird is ok - nice colours, but the debris left behind (this was typical of the whole lane which too had been 'treated' to some lovely street art) was something else - I would say the Tesco Savers Lager tins outnumbered the spray tins by about 10 to 1!
Nice work if you can get it.
Oh to be an artist . . sigh . . .


St. Paul's Court Portal
Hasselblad SWC/M, HP5, Pyrocat-HD
Dundee, 2018


I wrote about this delightful place in FB at the time, so I'll say no more except pack the disinfectant gel and remember to wipe your feet after you've visited (it's right opposite Gelatly Street in Dundee if you're a visitor - cross the Seagate; see that pend? pass the bins and turn left).
I am super-chuffed with this print. It is on Ilford MGRC and was printed on Grade 3; I must make the time to make a proper archival one on Galerie.
The thing I love about it, is the combo of HP5 and Pyrocat-HD and how they have interacted with the Biogon. Have a decko at the detailing of that door-grill. Most lenses I've used (including decent LF ones) would get nowhere near that balance of detail and tonality.
Like I said . . super-chuffed!

June
The consequence of all that blood sweat and tears was that, in the finest Summer people could recall for years, I spent most weekends indoors working like a blue-arsed fly.
Photography?
That was for mortals! 
Printing?
That was for moles! 
Hah, what need had I of that when all I thought and talked about was scraping fecking walls and woodwork.

Well actually, that's not all true.
St Andrews Bottie gardens provided a day out for some not very good photos on really ancient (around 5 years expired) TMX 100. Sadly all fairly underexposed because I'd set the wrong EI on the light meter AND underdeveloped them . . where's that kipper???


Underexposed, Underdeveloped Hothouse
Hasselblad SWC/M, Anciente TMX 100, Pyrocat-HD
St. Andrews Botanical Gardens



We did manage to get some R&R (not rock n'roll, though there was plenty of that played whilst scraping) and a couple of days out, plus a really lovely stay in Edinburgh

I used the Rollei T as a walkabout in Edinburgh and it was very fine. I even had a dreamy-eyed old Dutchman come up to me in a cafe, point at it and say:
"Aaah, Rolleiflex!".
He used to have one . . and by the look of it, he was going home to buy another one.

I've not had a chance to properly print any of these, so they're scans off of the contacts.



Waiting For My Friends
Rolleiflex T, Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Moffat, 2018


Weird Afternoon
Rolleiflex T, Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Edinburgh, 2018



July
My favourite month, and did I see much of it?
Did I feck!
Feeling like a Morlock, I worked hard at paid work during the week and at the weekends came home and threw myself against the massed canons of ancient decor:

 Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.

Your valiant scribe eschewed all thoughts of a nice cold beer with the missus in the garden and donned a heavy duty face mask and industrial gloves instead.
Relaxation?
Pah, that's fer wimps!

August
Covered in clouds of Lead Oxide dust, flakes of old paint and a white residue of sanded filler, I soldiered on.
Man it was HOT.

September
For a period of two weeks I was banished from my ladder . . . 
I had to do something . . 
Anything that didn't involve swearing and tears.. 
Now what was it?
Ah, the annual break . . so Brussels it was!

If you've never been, GO
It is quaint and posh, downtrodden and chic; a city of character, great food, astonishing beer and really interesting things to see and do. 
This was our second visit, and honestly, I'd go back again. 
It felt like a home from home.
I took a Nikon F3 (for its metering capabilities) and a 28mm f2.8 Nikkor (late version . . another bargain actually) - film was Tri-X. 
I loved using the F3 with a proper Ai-S lens . . . 

Why on earth was the digital camera ever invented???



Three Girls Waiting For Their Friend
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Adam Museum Of Design, Brussels, 2018

Dirk Frimout - The Belgian Spaceman
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Brussels Planetarium, 2018

Portal To The Underworld
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Basilica Of The Sacred Heart
Brussels, 2018

A Quiet Moment
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Petite Sablon
Brussels, 2018

Impossible To Get A Boring Photograph
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Atomium
Brussels, 2018

Les Pionniers Belges Au Congo
Thomas Vinçotte (1921)
Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8 Ai-s, Tri-X, Pyrocat-HD
Cinquantenaire Park
Brussels, 2018


October
The push was on! Not only was I working on the deco at weekends, but also evenings!
I chatted many times with Bruce about getting out and taking photographs . . he even cleaned out his darkroom (!) but still I had no time for anything other than The Grand Finish.
It was at this point that hope disappeared.
Faced with the underside of a horizontal doorframe lintel, where I'd missed scraping the nightmareish ground, I broke down and had a good cry.
Then I had a good swear.
Then I scraped it, manned up and strode forth refusng to trim my beard till it was all done! 

November 
Weird though - it got to the point in November where I seriously began to doubt my own sanity.
Everything I turned my hand to needed tweaking or sorting or putting right - I was spending 10 hour days working at the weekends with 15 minute lunch breaks. 
I lost weight, lost tools, and lost my mind.
It wasn't just crazy, it was super-crazy-with-knobs-on . . .
Despite this and the odds being against me, eventually,  I got there.



Yes I Know It Is Out Of Focus OK!
That's What Happens When You Don't Concentrate

The above is an example of why you should treat a SWC/M like a Large Format camera and perform a check of everything before you operate the shutter:


Composition ✔️
Lighting ✔️
Exposure ✔️
Focus ❌
Also, it is a tiny scan from a contact print, so stick that in yer pipe and smoke it.

Anyway, eventually, the carpet was laid and furniture assembled. 
My beard, which had been tripping me up, was trimmed and a bottle of champagne cracked in celebration.

December
Yep - that's now.
I'd planned on getting to the hills before the snow arrives in earnest, but it was not to be. The remnants of storm Diedre (?why did they have to start naming storms? I have no idea and will chalk it down to some touchy-feely brain-storming session at the Met Office) was bringing in freezing rain and snow, so I chickened out.
Still, the streak of grim determination cultivated over the Summer got me out and about - there was no way I wasn't going somewhere to photograph something - this was the first 120 film I was going to use since June  . . .
And I did it!
I'll detail the trip in the post-Festive FB . . it was quiet and relatively quick . . but FUN and made me think about a lot of things photographically and also how I am going to move FB forward . . but more on that next year.
Just for now here's a sample.



A Quiet Path To A New Year
Hasselblad SWC/M, Ilford Delta 400, Pyrocat-HD
Wormit To Balmerino, 2018


But until then folks enjoy The Festives.

And that as they say is that.
Thank you all so much for reading this drivel over the year - I hope some of it makes sense. 

Good luck for Next Year.
Make time for photographs that count.



Now if one of you could help me with these compression stockings . . . that should disguise me nicely.