Showing posts with label Ilford Delta 400. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ilford Delta 400. Show all posts

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Clash Of The Titans

Morning folks - hope you are well, I am, and I'm not sure about Herman but I think he might be too.

Long term FB readers (Hellooooo! Coooey!!) will know that over the years I have had regular commenters, who I've always been nice and polite to. 
None of this keyboard angst around here, oh no . . .
One of these is Bruce from The Online Darkroom - an erstwhile, well-written, intelligent and informative blog about all things photography. 
We've communicated now for nigh on 11 years . . but weirdly, despite living close to each other (at one time less than a couple of miles) we have never met. 
Until now . . . well, not now, but a few weeks back.

They always say, try never to meet someone you've only ever 'met' via the internet don't they - I was a bit trepidacious! 
F'rinstance, was it going to be like: 

King Kong vs. Godzilla? 

Alien vs. Predator? 

Ali vs. Frazier? 

Possibly even:

Heidecke vs. Victor??

Was he a:

Nutter?

Conman?

Murderer?

White Slaver?

Down-To-Earth Nice Bloke?

Friends and neighbours held a sweepstake. 
This could be a ding-dong meeting of minds; a grudge match; a decider; the ultimate battle; a terrible mistake; a . . . oh I know, I'll shut up.
Fortunately he was the latter . . . 


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Gate


. . . And what it did turn out to be was a lovely trip around local countryside with a friend
Truth be told, I had a wonderful time and we talked and laughed and I got to see Bruce in action. 
It was an interesting juxtaposition actually; I had my big Gitzo with Arca ballhead, and then the 500 C/M and a 40mm Distagon in possibly the world's largest shoulder bag. 
Bruce had his Nikon F90X, an AF lens and a small, road-worn Domke bag.

Whilst I planted myself firmly on the planet and took varying readings, he wandered around observing, moving in quickly and getting what he wanted. 
I don't think he knew I was watching, but I was - it was fascinating actually. 

And so the day was whiled away and I don't know about him, but I felt such a sense of ease and good natured bonhomie that I can't wait for the next one. 
And there will be, he just needs an eye problem to resolve itself.

So without much more guff, and without further ado, here are the photographs. 
They're not stunners, but it's hard sometimes to take in new places and photograph them in a satisfactory manner. 
Maybe next time, though the wild garlic will be gone by then.


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Wall


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Caravan


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Dusty Room


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Dreams 1


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Dreams 2


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Dreams 3
(Actually the camera was level)

© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Hasselblad 40mm CF/FLE Distagon,Hasselblad 500 C/M,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,Ilford MGRC Pearl,Agfa Neutol NE,
Ancient Gate


Film was fresh Delta 400 at EI 200 in HC110 Dilution B, gentle agitation for 30 seconds, then 2 twirls (with the Paterson twirler) every minute to 7 minutes and then let it stand to 10 minutes - gives really lovely results. 

The older I get the more I believe that agitation technique is a key part of developing film. 
I've written about it before, and according to a bunch of pundits, agitation has no effect, but from my point of view, were I to really shake it up with Fomadon R09, I'd end up with pretty dense negatives, so I keep it calm - it's like trying to keep a raging bulldog in its place . . both palms up towards it, calm down lad, calm down . . . 
I also use the Paterson paddle/twirler exclusively these days. 
Imagine you were twisting a spinning top, but very slowly, once to the right, then back to the left. 
That's one 'twirl'. 
My universal technique, is 30 gentle seconds of that, then 2 twirls on every minute.  
I'll also do a semi-stand job - maybe not agitate on the last couple of minutes, and then let the film stand for a couple of minutes over . . my theory being, that because developer exhausts itself on highlights quicker, it will; but then it will continue working on the shadow areas. 
I'd rather have more shadow detail that I can print down when printing.
Hey ho . . it works for me.

Also, I've found that Ralph Gibson's PRINT "Bromide Drag" technique works for a denser negative. 
You basically develop the print to a certain point. 
You'll find your highlights might still be really blank. 
Flip the paper over, turn you safelights out and go and have a breather . . . anywhere between 3 and 7 minutes. 
You come back, slip in, the highlights have emerged. 
You also risk slight fog with this, however in the case of of the print of the wonky frame and outside vegetation (Ancient Dreams 3) I rather like the effect. 
The negative of that was impenetrable - it's denser than a busload of denseness, but 68 seconds on f11 and left to twiddle its thumbs in developer for around 5 extra minutes (over and above normal 'completion time') brought the vegetation out. 
I've only started on this recently, but it probably deserves more research. 
It is though 'a thing' or should I say 'was'? 
Who prints these days?

Anyway, enough. I rather like the prints - to me they're almost a dream sequence.
Weird dream maybe, but a sequence nontheless.
Actually, they're a happy memory too - Thank You Bruce!

Oh and before I forget, the paper was quite old Ilford MGRC Pearl, developed in Adox/Agfa Neutol NE. They're all selenium toned.

And that's it folks - as always, thanks for reading, you've made an old man very happy, or should that be, you've made a happy man very old . . . .



Sunday, March 05, 2023

Grotography

Morning folks - it's a great term isn't it . . makes you feel, all, oooh tramps-vesty, if you know what I mean.


Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,
Bayview Morning


The phrase was coined by long-time FB pal and regular communicator Bruce from The Online Darkroom and by it, he means photographs  . . . of lots of grot. 
I am pretty sure he has lots, though he says it was the same old crap everyone else photographed . . . . 
He was snapping Dundee when I'd left College, given up on my dreams and was trying to be musical. He'll probably deny it but I'll bet he's recorded a lot of the terrible injustices and architectural tragedies wreaked here and if you want grot, I am pretty sure he's the man what's got a lot (sorry couldn't resist that). 
Actually, it is surprising that as a subject, there could possibly be more pictures (in private archives, snaps, prints, slides) of this City in its down phase than most cities in Britain, simply because it was everywhere.
These two articles remind me of what it was like coming here in 1980 from a rural background. A baptism of fire methinks:

Also, aside from your melange of general photographers, head of photography at Duncan Of Jordanstone (Joe McKenzie) actively encouraged his students to go and photograph what was happening, and they did!
There's another Neil I know who recorded the city in the 80's and (in hindsight) it is incredibly valuable stuff. So like I say if you take all that, plus the activities of DC Thompson photographers and gathered the whole lot together it would be substantial.
It is even more important now given how the place is rising from the metaphorical ashes.

Anyway, my recent adventure into Grot occured one morning when I was trying to find a community surgery and was having a scope out of its location before my appointment. 
I chanced upon a scheme pub (which I knew existed) called The Bayview, and it sadly looked partly great and well-cared for and partly past its best. 
Whilst there I was accosted by the owner's brother who was wondering what I was doing photographing it, but was actually really nice and helpful when I told him that way back when I first came here my student flat was not too far away and I knew (and [very occasionally] drank in) some of the other pubs (The Jimmy Shand and the Charleston Bar) but had never actually been to this one.



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



And there it is in all its sad glory - I feel gutted for places like this. 
Times are truly difficult in Britain's hospitality trade, REALLY hard, and the bloke told me that whilst the upper bar was fine and still in use (and I could photograph it if I liked) the lower bar was no longer in use. 
He used a fruitier term which I'll not recount.
It's a bloody shame though, because it, and in fact most scheme pubs, have that air of post-WW II concrete brutalism, which I dearly love. 
It is actually quite Soviet (!) but that is doing them a total injustice. 
I would call it Space Age Optimism
There's an air about them. 
You can't put your finger on it, but it is the sum of all of Britain's post war hopes for a more equal society; everyone working together for the greater good; settled times and lessons learned; happiness and, if you wanted it, you could have a few pints in your local housing estate (scheme) pub with all your mates. 
Not much to ask really is it? yet sadly, for The Bayview and probably most of Britain, the scheme pub is on its last legs. 
I find that really really sad.
Home drinking; lockdown and now cost of living are all driving nails into these coffins and when they're gone, they will never come back - simple as that.
They're barely viable from an economic point of view and if they go, so does that style of architecture.

But back to The Bayview. 
It is a wonderfully optimistic name isn't it, and that's because from the upper lounge windows you get a great view of Invergowrie Bay. A view so beautiful that if it were anywhere else in the UK it would have visitors . . however because the viewpoint is mostly occupied by a hospital and council housing, nobody comes for pleasure. 
Deal with it. 
That's Dundee to a tee though - you'd be hard pressed to find many cities around the world set in such scenic beauty, with so many catastrophic and foolish planning decisions.

Anyway, when I saw it I wanted to photograph it immediately. I only had the F3/28mm Nikkor on me and took a couple of snaps, but I wanted to do it justice, so went back a couple of days later with the SWC/M and a monopod. 
It was a brutally cold morning - so much so that I couldn't feel my fingers at all and the tears leapt from my eyes in shock when I got off the bus. 
But the shadows were great and the early sun was slowly reviving the earth and cutting through the light haze. 
I had Delta 400 rated at EI200 and I set to work quickly and must have got through all 12 frames in about 20 minutes flat. 
I think I was in a bit of a state of shock because of the cold actually - I felt light-headed and a bit breathless. 
Always a one to believe that preparedness is the best way to be in photography, I thanked the fact that I have used the SW so much that it is almost second nature. 
Not that there's a whole lot to do, but you really must remember to focus, because nothing is going to tell you that you got it wrong, until you develop the negatives!
Oh and take the lens cap off you twat . . . been there, designed and printed the t-shirt too.


Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



Hasselblad SWC/M,© Phil Rogers Dundee,Ilford Delta 400,Agfa Neutol NE, Ilford MGRC,Analogue Photography,Black And White Printing,Black And White Film,Kodak HC 110 Dilution B,



The Delta 400 was developed in HC110 Dilution B and those are straight scans off of the prints.
Given the extreme contrast range, I think it has dealt with it beautifully; it is a very versatile developer.
And yes, the eagle-eyed will note that at some point a homeless person has set up home here, though it is empty now (thank goodness) as there's barely any shelter and it's a pretty cold spot.

And that's it really - I think it works as a sequence and I like the fact that nature and detritus are reclaiming part of the site. There was a treasure trove of old Mangers Cider tins and so on right up the side of the building - Grotography In Extremis . . .

I'm also delighted with how the SW has dealt with such extreme lighting conditions - deep shade and point-source sunshine - it hasn't failed me in the last print.
Oh and the prints are all on gifted Ilford MGRC Pearl (thanks Alan!) developed in Agfa Neurol NE and then selenium toned.

So, until the next time, go and make a landlord happy, it'll mean more than you think.
TTFN, keep taking the pills.
H xx


Monday, May 23, 2022

Close Encounters (Of The Close Kind)

Morning folks - hope you are all keeping well and positive.

Today's little ditty is about a thing that (strangely) over the years I have come to care about deeply:

Dundee's Closes and Pends.

Er, Wot? I hear you say.

Well, basically they're little lanes and cul-de-sacs in the interstitial spaces between buildings - a throw-back to times when medieval cities grew exponentially as populations increased. 
They were/are messy, tight, dark, surprising and, to my mind, utterly wonderful

Many cities still have theirs - I am thinking particularly of York and Chester and lots of European cities, though theirs are as nothing to here. 
Well that's not quite true actually. 
Ours might well have rivalled them all had this city not been subjected to, erm, how shall we put it politely, 'improvements'.

Tear-downs; new this and that; bolstering up; neglect; architectural laissez-faire - you know the sort of thing.

Granted, from reading the evidence, a vast amount of upgrading was required, however, to my mind, and certainly to my mind's eye, one can only imagine what this place would have been like had the medieval/post-medieval city been allowed to remain, AND we hadn't had "the most corrupt council in the UK in the 1960's". 
Oh yes, architectural gems, slums, monuments, you name it and it got pulled down
If you are in any doubts about this bold statement, just ask Brian Cox - you know, the gruff Scots actor (not the physicist). 
Brian can remember a time when this city still wore its poverty with a fierce pride and a distinct bonhomie that was as both surprising (to a newcomer to the city) as it was accepting. 
It wasn't for nothing that Jackie Leven penned the ditty "The Bars Of Dundee". I seem to remember him saying somewhere that the city's hard-drinking culture was a special, but ultimately destructive, thing, but that it had helped him out when he needed a friend.

There is quite a lot of written and photographic evidence of the old city; I actually think there's probably been more books written by Dundonians about their city than there has by anyone about anywhere else. It's that pride thing methinks.
If you are interested, there's a wonderful archive called Photopolis. The majority of the photographs were taken by Mr. Alexander Wilson with his plate camera over a period from the 1870's to 1905!
If you have leisure time, you can find them here
They are wonderful.

Anyway, back to closes and pends. 
Sadly these days, they've mostly been closed off, or left single open-ended for access, resulting in the look of the photographs below - it isn't a happy state.


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Hasselblad SWC/M,Ilford Delta 400,Pyrocat-HD,
Pullar's Close 1


© Phil Rogers Dundee,Hasselblad SWC/M,Ilford Delta 400,Pyrocat-HD,
Pullar's Close 2


These were taken in Pullar's Close.
It is literally across the road from the wonderful McManus Galleries and yet within the space of a few hundred yards you have gone from somewhere that people care deeply about (the McManus is a fine place to visit - I love it) to a place that literally nobody gives a shit about. 

Indeed, broken waste-water pipes at the back of one of the tenements overshadowing the close is resulting in a proper, medieval shit and bath water pool, the likes of which were banished from the kingdom, oooooh, at least 200 years ago!
But that's the thing - nobody cares.

The bits where the buildings have been shored up have been dealt with in a mess of security gates, razor wire, CCTV, and, perhaps the most heinous of crimes . . .  cement pointing. 

[The latter just means that because Scottish sandstone is relatively 'soft' (in stone terms not soft, but you know what I mean) and cement is inflexible and impermeable, when the stone around a cement-pointed joint wears (because of weather erosion - and it will, that is the nature of the beast) water gets into the small gaps between the pointing and the stone. 
The stone gets wet, stays wet and when a hard Winter comes, the water freezes causing ice bulges, which split and crack the stone. 
It is a natural process, but cement really hastens it along. 
These joints should have a lime pointing which is flexible and breathable. 
It is kinder to the building.
Here endeth today's lesson!]

Anyway, documenting what is left of these wonderful medieval hangovers is something of a project for me and I am thoroughly enjoying it . . . I just wish I had a time machine.

The above negatives were Delta 400 processed in Pyrocat-HD, but I think my metering was well off that day as most of them seem underexposed. I had sort of resigned myself to filing them away and forgetting about them.
However help was at hand in a bit of wayward thinking. 

I have never in my life printed anything on Grade 4 - have you? 
It never seemed necessary, and not only that, on a 'normal' negative, you'll just get pretty much soot and whitewash, so harder grade printing was filed away as a WTF's The Point thing.
However, having recently had Bruce (from The O.D.) enthuse about Wynn Bullock's Stark Tree print - a masterpiece of printing - I revisited his section in the book 'Darkroom' where he mentions using hard grade papers for underexposed negatives. 
A big 'Duuuuuuuuuuuuuur!' thunderclapped over me, of course, that's the whole point of harder grades.
I'll put my forgetfulness down to the fact that most of my negatives are perfect all the time - naturally (he said, tongue in cheek).

So, both of the above were printed on Grade 4 at very short exposures (8 seconds at f22 on the DeVere/Vivitar combo) with about 4 seconds extra for each edge and the skylight bits (which were hard sunshine) got an extra 8 seconds.
I could see, as they emerged in the developer, that they looked lovely, with a glow that made me feel quite proud.
The scans don't really do them justice, but they work as prints.
The paper was bog standard Ilford MGRC and I'll need to print them properly at some point.
The camera was the SWC/M on a monopod.

Seeing as it worked this time I also intend to go back over other underexposed negatives that I have given up on and try the same technique - it was an eye-opener.

And that as they say is that!

I've loads more stuff to come, but am still mid-decoration, so am having to balance time and ladders.

Until we next meet, be good, take care and stop feeding those seagulls.
H xx

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.

















Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Cats Wanted, Dead Or Alive

Morning folks - this'll be quick and to the point.
When I was young, my Dad gave me a gift which has gone on giving.
He encouraged me to visit my local library, and even though these days I don't (preferring to get my own books for a fairly ott, house sprawling, interesting, useful when the bog roll runs out, sort of collection) that early delving into fiction has affected my life totally. 


Cats Wanted, Dead Or Alive

After a not so brief dalliance with Janes' Book Of Anything Big That Kills, and Sax Rohmer's Dr.Fu Manchu, and Mr. Lovecraft's Miners In The Deeps, my wee brain settled on a form of fiction I no longer read. 
Science Fiction. 
Why don't I read it any more? 
Because I don't think it particularly has anything to say and hasn't for a long time - it's become the domain of cliché and bad writing, lacking the naivity that made those novels of the 50's, 60's and 70's so wonderfully fresh.
But going back, way back to those formative books I read, goodness me - it's definitely a cliché to say it, but They Blew My Mind.

The sub-section of SF that intrigued me the most, wasn't the Space Operas, it wasn't Ursula's oh-so relevant Gender Benders, it wasn't even Future Wars. 
There was certainly a love affair with Time Travel; but my absolute, tip-top favourite was:

DF - Disaster Fiction.

Y'know, Apocalypse stuff . . and even then, it wasn't the broad span that was out there, it was two very specific books that I read many times. John Wyndham's Day Of The Triffids, and Edmund Cooper's All Fools Day
Allied to these two cornerstones,  JG Ballard's High Rise and The Drowned World, completed my education.

It was pretty heavy stuff for a youngster.
Mix in any Michael Moorcock (apart from Jerry Cornelius)
Heavy re-reading of The Hobbit and LOTR (curse you Peter Jackson for taking my world away from me and spreading it out like an all you can eat buffet before the hungry eyes of the world!) and you've got a brain primed for one thing only . . . . DISASTER!

Which I guess brings me succinctly up to date with what set this off.

Before we shut down last night and stumbled off to plug ourselves into the dream machine, I caught a really telling report on the CV EMERGENCY.
You know what I am talking about, and why nobody has abbreviated it to CV is beyond me, but anyway.
In the UK, concerned neighbours are printing out forms to put through old folks doors with phone numbers on if they need help or support.
That's positive.
In the States, and please excuse my generalisations if you are from there and reading this - I've always admired America's Let's Get It Done spirit; your roots are in people from this little land and its islands - you're not that different really.
But what is different, was the footage of queues at gunshops.
Whilst we mad Brits stock up and argue over Bog Roll (Toilet Paper for those uninitiated in Britspeak) from the footage we've seen on TV, Americans are stocking up on guns and ammo. 
Now it doesn't take a brainbox to realise, that a fuse has been lit.

Thinking (or rather reacting) like this - well, it's an easy step up to The Big One (though CV really isn't, but more of that in a minute).
It's more the thought process that has been rolled out by this current World 'Crisis', and that thought process was something I thought had gone away waaay back in the bad old days.
But no, there he is lurking at that street corner, smoking a ciggie, in a trench coat and Fedora . . it's our old friend:

Cold War Paranoia.

It was a hard learning process (for both East and West) when the Wall came down and (some!) people realised that on the whole, no matter race, colour, language, thought process, (bar the nutters) people are people.

We're all the basic same machine.

We all want the same things.

I can't think of any more accepting city than Berlin which quickly found its bohemian roots again.
It's a city I feel totally at home in despite not understanding German particularly well.
They learned quickly.
Life is more than division and dissent.
It is also more than:

He's got that, I want it, and I don't like him either. 


The world has to work together man or it is all for naught and the megalomaniacs can run the game; holding back (rather like the clichéd generals in films who let the grunts do the hard work and blood spilling) whilst the rest of us run around like headless chickens.
Use your noddle.
Not saying nuffink, just saying, that's all.

It can be pretty simplistic being a human being, but increasingly we've let technology overtake humanity.
Brains are outsourced to phones; news is trusted without weighing the facts; the ability to make decisions is increasingly a herd mentality, so whilst people are gathering themselves, sheep-like, into virtual flocks, the wolves are really in the pen with them.

There was an interesting headline in the FT this morning saying that there was a Russian campaign of misinformation going on with regard to CV - that people were being whipped up to a frenzy of panic by social media.
I came to the same conclusion in early February - things were rolling out like a bad SF novel!

Far be it for me to go against Government Advice, but what people seem to have lost all sight of, is that stuff like CV isn't new - it has been going on for millenia, and it will carry on going on.
Undoubtedly something is out there, but isolating yourself will not stop it, it just means your body has less chance to build an immunity - mark my words, when this one starts to adapt and mutate as a virus will always do, maybe not the next one, but somewhere down the line it'll get really bad (again!).

You have to take chances now and use a bit of common sense; be understanding and kind; help others, sure, but also use your Harn (old Scot's word for brain) - take all that is being thrust at you with a modicum of suspicion.
Weigh the facts yourself and look at your countries officially published figures for deaths from Winter Flu - they should be (so far) considerably greater.
Amendum added three days later: Certainly this is more contagious, and even though things are looking terrible around the world, it's going to be a long long haul before the full story is told. AND THE PUBS ARE SHUT!

Anyway, use your noddle.
Question it all, look at the facts (there's screeds of WHO reports).
Not saying nuffink, just saying, that's all.

Anyway, wot's this got to do with photography - oh nothing, it was a pre-tea melding of thoughts that came out on the computer.
The pic at the top was taken on a lovely sunny Sunday, with the M2 and the (now becoming hard to find at a sensible price) Canon 28mm f3.5 - think that pic was on f5.6, because despite the sun, it was still pushing it with regard to speed.
Film was Delta 400 developed in Pyrocat-HD.
In hindsight I should have adjusted my position for a better composition and picked out the 'Dead' of a fantastic statement:

Cats Wanted, Dead Or Alive

The window is an ex-Thai restaurant - that space has never had much luck - I think there's been a collection of Chinese/Thai restaurants there since time immemorial.
Wonder if they did my absolute favourite, Tempura Tiddles?

Anyway, here's another couple - same film, same lens:


Weird Light Sunday

Mine's A Pint

Anyway, enough said, I did say it would be brief. 
Hope this has made you think, and how about, instead of staying at home, going out (with your mask on if you like!) and making the most of the light and the empty City streets.

I'll leave some last words to someone else:


Help!
I need somebody
Help!
Not just anybody
Help!
You know I need someone
Help!

When I was younger
So much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone,
 I'm not so self assured
And now I find I've changed my mind
And opened up the doors

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you like I've never done before

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me

When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured
And now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me,
Help me,
Help me,
Ooh


TTFN, and if the bastard who stole all the long life milk in Tesco cares to owns up, I'll not get him into trouble.