Concrete Cathedral

So, there I was, early morning, wide awake, an itchy trigger finger and some film to use.

I'm not sure about your city or town, but mine is pretty much deserted - even the seagulls have pissed off and gone inland, and seeing as we have a population of Cannibalistic Seagulls urged on by their gluttony for the Lost Kebab Meat generated by large urban conurbations, that really says something.

So what do you do when you're wide awake at 5 on a Summer's morn . . well, you go photographing!

The Curly Car Park (or Doughnut depending on your age) is actually know as Bell Street Car Park. 

It's a bog standard 1960's Concrete Brutalist piece which I actually rather like. 

My father-in-law's car was stolen from here back in the 1990's, and I have never parked here myself.

Fashinating Capitain, you'll be saying. 

Well, yes and you know what is even more interesting than that . . .  

Woosh woosh woosh, wot's that sound?

Ah, it's the Sheephouseticon whizzing you back to the early 19th Century, for in 1834 (on the same site) was built The New Howff.

Now The Old Howff (or actually just Howff these days) is a slightly world famous, dead interesting (no pun intended) medieval (and onwards) cemetery in Dundee . . 

However it became rather full of bods, so you know what The New Howff is?

Yep . . a New one. 

Or at least IT WAS until (as was typical of Dundee at the time) it was destroyed by the Council's Planning Department with the building of an inner ring road and then the Curly Car Park was planted on top in 1962.

Incredibly, approximately 10,000 souls were interred on this patch of land until they stopped selling plots in 1882. Despite that, actual burials went on until the 1930's.

I actually had no idea of this until I started researching when the Curly was built.

This City is stranger than you could imagine . . f'rinstance I have a proper pint glass etched with the logo of a Temperance hotel . . . as they say in certain parts . . go figure.

Whilst most of post-war Britain underwent this destruction of a 'dirty' past (sound familiar?) Dundee seemed to suffer disproportionately. 

Had the central chunk of architecture (effectively still most of a medieval City) survived, then it could have been like a small Northern York . . what a lovely concept.

The history is still there in places, but you really have to scratch and dig.

Anyway, on with the old and the new. 

First lets set the scene: 

The New Howff In 1885

The Bounds Of The New Howff Circa 2020

What I find remarkable is that the destruction has largely kept the shape of the Necropolis. 

It is sad though isn't it - it would have been lovely had it survived.

When the cemetery was dismantled the bones were reinterred apparently in a common grave in either the Eastern Cemetery or Balgay Cemetery - there seems to be some conjecture about this. However, I'm sure you can imagine that they were bound to have missed at least some. I've always felt there was a weird air to the place and this has just cemented it in situ.

As a photographer all I can say is that the light in there is truly beautiful, open and cathedral-like - if only Frederick Evans still lived, he could have turned the space into photographs of true beauty.

FILM #66/70

Ilford HP5 EI 200

1. 1/60th f4 ZIII

2. 1/15th f8 ZIII

3. 1/15th f8 ZIII

4. 1/30th f8 ZIII

5. 1/30th f8 ZIII

6. 1/30th f5.6 ZIII Accident

7. 1/30th f8 ZIII

8. 1/30th f8 ZIII

9. 1/30th f8 ZIII

10. 1/15th f11 ZIII Rested on ledge

11. 1/30th f8 ZIII

12. 1/30th f4 ZIII

Need a thread adapter for the 500 as the TTT doesn't fit!

Had to handhold the lot   - go back with the SWCM - the space is amazing!

The camera was a Hasselblad 500 C/M with a 60mm Distagon. Metering was my old Gossen Lunasix 3S and film was HP5 at EI 200.

It was developed in Pyrocat-HD for 18 minutes - 14 of those with gentle agitation of 4 inversions every minute and then 4 minutes standing time.

I took the Leica Table Top Tripod, but forgot that it only has a small screw and the Hasselblad has a large insert, so they're all handheld.

I am sure I can be forgiven any converging verticals because of this - it really wasn't that easy. 

Some extra stability was provided by the Optech Pro Strap I use - it has enough flex (being neoprene) so that you can push down on the camera at the same time as supporting it in the normal Hasselblad manner. This brings your neck into the equation too (it being where the strap is!). 

It's a technique I've used for years with the Rollei and mostly it sort of works.

I started at the bottom, went to the top then came back down, but I have resequenced the prints as it works better.

Oh and I asked permission of the security guard too!

Also, because of the nuttiness of our times, there are currently no cars parked there . . worra bonus!

Concrete Cathedral 1

Concrete Cathedral 2

Concrete Cathedral 3

Concrete Cathedral 4

Concrete Cathedral 5

Concrete Cathedral 6

Concrete Cathedral 7

I don't know about you, but I think the light is astonishing - it was around 5.30 and the sun had been up for around 40 minutes.

There was almost something cathedral-like about it, from deep shadow to bright sun and a slight morning mist caught on the floors, slanting Jacob's Ladders, wells of extreme darkness . . the whole lot really, but in car park form. 

I took the photos quite quickly - can't have taken much more than 40 minutes - and was home and packing my third cup of tea before the house was roused. 

And that's it.

Maybe you've got something Concrete and Brutalist near you - go and photograph it - it could be rewarding.

Oh and I nearly forgot to add that these are all straight scans off of the original prints, which were on Ilford MGRC at Grade 3 - they were straight prints with a little burning, but on the whole no faffing at all. 

I don't know why (well I do, because I bought a bulk 250 sheet box) but it seems to be becoming my regular go to paper these days; though I really should get my finger out and use some fibre-based stuff. This being said, you do get a really decent print off of MGRC and it is so damn quick to print and process . . . well.

I suppose that just points the finger that I'm a lazy sod . . .

I also need to mention that after years of not using it, I am now also using the timer that came with the DeVere - it is a wonderful old thing - a DeVere Electronic Timer. It is all Tan metal, Chicken Head Knobs and Bulk. 

Up till now I have been counting elephants, but, like all elephants they were becoming unruly and wandering . . . so . . . it is also hard to fit one on an interplanetary craft.

Sheephouse to Earth, over and out!

I'm In Love With My ̶C̶a̶r̶ Sonnar

OK and Good Morning/Evening.

Well this tale is like a strange love story.

It's a bit like the best Romcom ever made - When Harry Met Sally.

First the characters meet but there's indifference. Then time takes its toll, life moves on, they meet every now and again and they start to get used to each other; then there's the denouement when love is proclaimed and they sail off into a happy future together. 

Sorry to ruin it if you've never seen it, but you really should.
Oh and it has the best Mexican Wave in the history of film - I never tire of it.

Anyway, nearly 2 years past this April, I bought a reasonably priced CF 150mm Sonnar for the 500C/M. I liked it, but barely used it. It was part of my arsenal, but was bypassed in favour of the 60mm Distagon and the SWC/M.

If you read FB regularly, you'll know I had terrible trouble with underexposure recently - you can read the whole sorry story here - however, as detailed below, I am pretty sure I've discovered what I did wrong.
Huzzah!

But to rewind a little, I desparately wanted to see whether I really did need to buy another light meter (I was convinced it was duff, despite testing it against 2 other meters) so I packed the 500C/M, attached the Sonnar and went out into the freezing cold.
I dunno, the things I do for this 'ere blog . . . 

Why the Sonnar?
Well Bruce from The Online Darkroom and I had been talking about lenses and he'd said he'd love to see some of my reflection photos made with the 150mm. I thought about it for a while, because I didn't think it would work; I didn't think you could get in close enough to get that wideness you need with reflection photos. Anyway, my fears were unfounded and even though there's only a couple of those photos of slightly that ilk on here, a longer lens really does work.
Not only that, but I've discovered that at pretty much any aperture, the humble 150mm Sonnar (the cheapest lens you can buy for a Hasselblad, full stop) is sharp and beautiful.
It's a stone cold optical bargain actually.

As an optical design it is ancient - nearly as old as semi-modern photography itself - and wonderfully simple; however, with Zeiss' T* coating (and maybe a lens hood++) it is as good as it gets actually.
Well it is in my opinion.

++ If you own a Hasselblad, don't be tempted by the likes of Photodiox lens hoods or those awfully cheap ones on Ebay - they're mostly very poor - I know because I have spent the money for you and tested them myself.
The real Hasselblad ones are made from high grade plastic and are built to last.

Urban Artist, Dundee

You kind of need a hood, especially in circumstances like the above, but onwards, that's a sample print . . . strap your rubber trousers on, 'cos here's THE CONTACT!

Film #66/53

                            

Film #66/53

Anyway, as before and the new regime, here's my film notes - you know the score by now, read 'em or don't bother!

#66/53, HP5 EI 200, 10/2/19

1./ 1/15th, f8, Z? Guess Gossen/Lux comparison

2./ 1/125th, f11, ZIII, Gossen

3./ 1/125th, f11, ZIII, Gossen

4./ 1/125th, f11, ZIII, Gossen

5./ 1/125th, f11, Z?, Gossen/Shatter

6./ 1/125th, f11, Z?, Gossen/Shatter

7./ 1/250th, f11, ZIII, Refl.

8./ 1/60th, f8, C-Gul, Guess

9./ 1/60th, f16, ZIII, Wall

10./ 1/60th, f11, ZIII, Design

11./ 1/60th, f.8, ZIII, Plant

12./ 1/15th, f5.6, ZIII, Guess

All handheld

PHD 5+5+500 22℃.

Agit 30 sec, then 4 per min,to 17 mins then stand to 21. No waterbath.

Very happy with this - I double checked the Gossen with Lux on the piephone - the Gossen is fine. I read the standard reading not the spot on 66/52

It might be hard to discern from the contact above, but it was printed at Grade 0 to give me some idea of the negatives potential. It is a new way of working for me and I like it. Sadly scanning only really reveals part of the story, but if it wasn't scanned you wouldn't see it, so you'll have to carry on squinting.

Ah, but before we get into the meat and potatoes (actually neeps are probably better for the gut and can be wonderful in a casserole) here's what happened last time:

Maybe you'll remember in Rescue Job I detailed the horrors of an underexposed film, well I think I've worked out what I did wrong.
The bit below also explains why I am talking about Gossen and Piephone in the notes above.

An Old Friend

So, here's an old old friend, my Gossen Lunasix 3s, with spot attachment.

When I started again, I couldn't afford fancy-pants Sekonic or Pentax spot-meters, so I ended up with a battered but useable Gossen, from MXV for very little money - possibly about £30 - and it has been a reliable friend ever since. 

It's also one of the most sensitive light meters ever made and tbh I love it. 

I had him recalibrated (for exactly NOTHING) by Gossen about 10 years back, and have made many well metered photographs with him. The spot attachment was an option accessory and clips on the front - it reads 7.5 or 15 degrees, I use 7.5. 

The whole shebang is kept in a £5 Lowepro compact camera case on a strap, and when out and about, that is worn on my left hip, camera bag on my right, bandolero style! 

It's convenient and works for me.

Gossen Lunasix 3s

What I did wrong last time:

- I'm only huuuuman after all, I'm only huuuuman after all . . . blah blah blah -

You see the meter window at the top has the needle nearly on 11? 

Well using the spot attachment, I should have been aligning the 11 on the lower yellow disc with the green mark (just above that disc - it is to the left of the yellow triangle).

Instead I was using the spot attachment and using the 'standard' reading on the silver disc (just above the 'V'.)

Confused?

Me too, and I hope I have dissected it correctly - it really is much easier with a meter in your hand than staring at a screen. Anyway, suffice to say that I was consistently underexposing by a whole stop  - not too much trouble if you were using ZV, however I always place shadow readings on ZIII, so with the last film I was actually placing everything on Z II, hence, shite.

Lesson learned!

Be aware.

Shattered Window, Wobbly Bridge, Dundee

A picture of that shattered window from last time - it is trickier to photograph than it looks - I've probably handled the exposure a bit too heavily here, but it does get the extraordinary texture across. On the whole I like it, but I've taken better photos of it.

Inside Outside, Vision, Dundee

If you're a REALLY longtime FB reader you might recognise this scene from years back. It's in the Vision building in Dundee. The last time I photographed it, it was almost empty; nowadays, well there's a lot of it being used, hence the office chairs and tables. I just liked the fact that it wasn't at all apparent where the outside began and the inside ended.

It's scanned off a print made on Ilford MGRC Pearl and lightly toned in selenium. The print is better than the scan (but then I would say that wouldn't I!) - in fact everything on here is scanned - the prints are better.

Urban Artist, Dundee

Here's an on-the-fly portrait of a young artist.

I've photographed him before - he's a really interesting chap actually, more artist than graffitti artist, he's more inclined to cheer the place up with his crazy pictures of charachatured Seagulls, than to tag his name everywhere. I like that attitude. Anyway, he was doing this crazy Doctor Octopus Seagull on an ex-Dundee Waterfront noticeboard that someone had scrawled "Cock" all over - public service or what?!
I asked him if I could take his pic and he agreed.

It was a tricky one actually, because of the strong backlight coming from behind him, and I am glad I opted for f8 rather than f5.6, because it snagged the catchlights in his eyes.
There's something Breugel-esque about this and I can't place it.
I know, give him a brush and some sack-cloth and there y'go!
PS. the arm movement was from his spray can shaking - gotta keep it moving in cold weather . . .
It is my favourite from the whole film - maybe I am more of a people person than I thought. It was easy to go up to him and start chatting.

Wall, Dundee

This wasn't as well executed as I'd hoped - I just liked the simplicity of the shadows. It was v.hard getting the wall straight from a ground level pov.

Safety Glass, Dundee

Ah, the dread shatter again. Again not as well executed as I'd hoped, but not bad - it kind of looks like a giant Spring roll over-mounted with broken glass. I should try and do a better print of it . . maybe get Bruce in, in his Split trousers to do some adjustin' an' waftin' an' stuff . . 

Whole Safety Glass, Dundee

And the final one - this is a print too, but I'll confess that I've straightened it ever so slightly, as my verticals were off and it is better for it.
This is the back of DOJCA opposite the old plaster sheds  - I just liked the starkness of everything!

A ThinkTank Suburban Disguise 20 Just Ate My Hasselblad

Oh, yeah, I wasn't pulling a Spiderman or nuffink, but just so's nobody can spot me, here's a pic of my ThinkTank Suburban Disguise 20. A 500C/M with Sonnar, hood and back fills it completely, but it is dead convenient and very well made. 

Probably one of the better bags I've owned actually - should I need another bag for anything in the future I might well buy more from their range.

Anyway, that's it.

I've come to love the Sonnar now and look forward to using it further in the future - what a great lens.

Now, remember to tie your shoelaces, lace your bow-tie, clean your teeth, brush your hair, check your wallet and make sure you turned the toaster off.

That's you! 

Off you pop . . see you in a couple of weeks.

P67 - The (Model) Number Of The Beast . . . (Unless You Count C330F Too)

Morning m'Dearios. 

This week your Cap'n has been reading about the terrible tale of the Somerset Nog. A horse (half Suffolk Punch/half Dachshund . . well, it gets very foggy on the moors) so long and overburdened that it snaps in two and founders along with its cargo of day-trippers in Ganderpoke Bog. They do say though, that if 'ee passes Ganderpoke Bog at midnight, you's can still hear the two ghostly halves of the Nog singing a lament.
It fairly wrings your withers to read about it. 

So let that be a lesson to you all:

Don't overburden your Nog.

***

My apologies to you all in advance, but this weeks FB is pure photography all the way, so hold onto your hats, tighten your belt and make sure you've got a pair of flat shoes on . . .

It will bore you to hell unless you like talking about cameras. Normal, less techie, service will be resumed next week.

When I started taking photographs seriously again, after a hiatus of about 15 years, I resumed using what I thought would give me the best quality (as our American friends would call it) bang for buck. 

I eschewed restarting with 35mm because I had used it fairly extensively at college and wasn't really wanting to go along that path again. 

At college, I had actually had the most photographic enjoyment at the time using The Beast - a Mamiya C330F. This is a camera so heavy it requires a team of sherpas to move it about. I think back in the '80's a large number of them were seen in use by the members of the Russian weight lifting squad at the 1988 Seoul Olympics . . . .

Sherpa Ten-dzen transports a Mamiya C330F to secret Russian training camp circa 1987

Honest, it feels like it weighs about 20 gravities, but it produces very nice quality photographs, and is actually about the cheapest way you can get into interchangeable lens medium format photography without selling your kidneys.

Having fond but painful memories of the Mamiya though made me search in another direction, namely Germany and the Rolleiflex. They were light and beautiful and the camera of choice for lots of well-known photographers. I couldn't afford a 3.5 or 2.8 F model with their exceptional Planar and Xenotar lenses, so I opted instead for a Rolleiflex T.

It wasn't cheap, but neither was it a fortune. What it was however was a stunning piece of 1960's engineering with a range of accessories that worked and fitted beautifully. In other words it was the bees knees.

I have spent many long hours wandering near and far with my Rollei and despite a few teething problems to start (film transport going funny) it has served me well (and still does actually). They are a very adaptable camera - portraits, landscape, pretty much anything you can think of a use for a camera for, and with a bit of free thinking, you can get there. 

However, as time went on I started looking seriously at the likes of Wynn Bullock and Ansel Adams and wondered whether upgrading to a larger format would make some of their vision rub off on me (it didn't by the way). So after much thought, I decided I was very hungry and needed a bigger doughnut.

Enter The Beast # 2. 

I saved up all my pocket money (and Christmas money too) and bought a trip into larger format heaven - a Pentax 6x7.

This camera looks and handles like the fat boy brother of the largest 35mm camera ever made (a Nikon F2s?).

Smuggled prototype photograph from Pentax HQ, showing proposed sizing of the original Pentax 6x7 (with new Mk II lens range) in proportion to average human being size. You can clearly see a plan for world domination here.

The Pentax is solid and heavy, has the loudest mirror slap you have ever heard and the shutter flings itself across with such violence it will actually torque the camera even though it is secured to a tripod. In your hands it can kick like a .22 air pistol. 

It was widely used by fashion photographers (Mario Testino and Bruce Weber are two who come to mind) namely and for that if you are using fast film, or flash, but definitely in the higher range of shutter speeds, I can see it working, but for quieter landscapes it is quite a proposition. The incredible thing is though, that for many it is the landscape camera of choice . . or was, in those heady days of using film. 

Personally, I found it difficult and I had to adopt a totally mad method of taking photographs with it.

Apologies if you love and use your P67, the following might tickle your funny bone . . . 

Note: if you are using the Pentax for anything other than hand-holding it at about 1/125th with the lens stopped down a couple of stops, then try this method of using it on a tripod . . it works. 

So here we go - Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tips.

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 1: Firstly you fix it to your tripod like you are expecting rough weather and phone 999 (or 911).

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 2: Compose your photograph - I recommend the waist level finder actually, because you do not get the full frame when you look through the prism finder. Make sure all emergency services have arrived and are ready and on standby.

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 3: When you are happy, zip up your flash suit, make sure you are in eyeball contact with emergency coordinators and then LOCK THE MIRROR UP AND SET THE SHUTTER TO B. If you do not do this then you will not get a sharp photograph.

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 4: Use your lens cap the way they used to be used - in other words keep it in front of the lens. You can actually use your hand too.

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 5: Hang on to something immovable and release the shutter. This is difficult to do - I found a bicycle chain around my ankle and then secured around a bollard or tree quite good. A cable release is essential, however I have used a pencil. Ear defenders are recommended. The shutter noise will scare birds and small children so sand-bagging the camera can work too. Don't worry though - the emergency crews should be in place to deal with any mishaps.

Rogers' Pentax 6x7 Tip Part 6: Remove your lens cap, but still keep it tightly in place until you are sure there is no movement or vibration from the camera. Very gently move the cap out of the way for your timed exposure. Count off your exposure. Place lens cap back in front of lens tightly and quickly. Release cable release to close shutter and unlock mirror.

Denouement: There you have made a nice photograph with the Pentax.

Kindly ask emergency teams to stand down, but remain in field radio contact with them as you have another 9 frames to use up.

I simply had to adopt this method because it was easier than that well known P67 tip of forcing all your weight down on top of the camera whilst it is tripoded to stop the torque ruining the photographs. I had had to do this a number of times until I came up with the method above believe it or not. It didn't half get some funny looks!

Unfortunately for me, because of my financially necessary photographic bottom feeding, the Pentax I had bought had probably been done to death by its previous owner(s).

It's reliance on batteries was also a pain and proved to be part of its downfall in my eyes. At about -4C, and a number of miles away from anywhere, it just refused to work. I was livid. It is no joke removing a small battery with freezing fingers and shoving it into your pants and clasping it tight in the crease where lower groin meets leg to get a little life back into it. This does work very well by the way, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are photographing in a city . . .

After that trip into the depths of a Scottish late Winter/early Spring I had a wonderful time with a few films being exposed correctly with a perfect frame count all the way through (10 frames on 120 film) and then it started misbehaving again: missing frames and locking completely, resulting in a blue darkroom fog of unloading the partially wound film, respooling it and starting again (!)

Enough was enough and I returned it to the vendor for a refund - they were good enough to do so after my 6 months of using it. I often wonder what happened to it. Knowing the secondhand market, it is probably still around with the problems of the transport still unresolved. 

Old and knackered cameras rarely die, they just keep getting shipped around the country.

For all that I seem to be criticizing the Pentax, I actually think that the problems of the early 6x7's were partially resolved in the later rebuilds - namely the Pentax 67 (see what they did there) and the Pentax 67II.

The superb photographer Steve Mulligan regularly uses a brace of P67II's for aerial photography and I simply don't see how they could have sold so many if they were rubbish.

There is a small whining voice inside me that says, I would love to own one again, simply for their sheer heft and the quality of the lenses. This being said, the lens I had (and could afford) was an early 75mm f4.5 Super-Multicoated-Takumar, and I thought it was a tad soft (there seems to be a concensus of opinion that it is one of the sharpest in the range, so maybe I had a not so good example). 

If I were to go for one again, it would be as late a model as possible with either the 90mm or 105mm lens and the 55mm wide angle. But then again, I would still face the same problem of not being able to see 100% of what I am photographing - a point which annoys the hell out of me.

My notes from when I returned the Pentax read as follows:

Basically no matter how good looking and likeable the Pentax 67 system is (and it is) - never get another one!!

The flaw of the system is the shutter (which is ridiculously loud and heavy in action *

If you want a 6x7 go for a RB67 or Fuji or something but not Pentax.

* The camera will torque no matter how much effort you put into restraining it. Only the lens cap/mirror up method works, but then we were let down by the lens.

The madness of bigger doughnuts did sort of resolve itself from this. The money I got back from the Pentax and lens and all the doo-dads I'd bought for it - strap, UV filter, waist-level finder, plus a trade-in of a nice little Petri rangefinder, enabled me to take a giant step forward.

I got the Supersized lunchtime special doughnut; a camera so large and bulky and yet so wonderful that I still own it. A Sinar F.

It is so much a character of his own, that he will have his own dedicated FB sometime soon.

But back to the Pentax, why does that niggling voice keep going? 

Why would I want to get another one when the original proved to be so unreliable and challenging to use? 

I think it could well be, that I like the idea (but maybe not the practicality) of having one again. Yes it was difficult to use. Yes it wasn't a ready companion miles away from anywhere, and yet, it was a character all of its own. A camera that you had to deal with on its own terms and not your own. A struggle to use, and yet a pleasure too. I hope he is still around out there, giving some bargain hunter pleasure and not pain!

The photograph below was made with the Pentax, at a place called Mossburn Ford in the Scottish Borders. The path Alec Turnips and myself were on passed through someone's garden, before meandering away and up a hillside. In the garden were some overgrown sheds with this incredible collection.

The photograph was made on Ilford FP4 at EI 64. I metered it with my Gossen Lunasix S meter (a totally wonderful light meter) placing the top left corner on Zone V. Exposure was 2 seconds at f16.

It was developed as per Barry Thornton's instructions - basically Ilford Perceptol at 1:3 and 20C, for 14 and a half minutes.

The scan does very little justice to the print, which somehow manages to 'breath' in the greys with a luminosity that is always very difficult to get a hold on.

I call it 'Grandfather's Chair', because of that old candlewick bedspread draped over the chair. 

It looks to me like a figure is sitting there - possibly the ghost of someone's Grandfather, still clinging to the unloved remnant of his favourite chair. 

Allied with the movement from the weeping Willow, and I think an air of strangeness has been imparted to it.

Of all the photographs I have made, it is the only one I have framed and on the wall in my study.

(Ab)normal service will be resumed next week.

God bless and thanks for reading.