The colour of Nothing
A veritable explosion of images this month, with the covid19 rules finally relaxing, and the UK falling out of its perpetual lockdown nightmare into a new dawn of (hopefully) less corona related restrictions, and some actual normality after a whole damn year of coronavirus hell.
Spring was also out in its full splendor, so I (of course) went photography mad, shooting everything from film, drone and digital photography over several trips I went on across the month to satisfy my new found (almost) freedom.
Let’s get into it then with some film taken during bristol walkabouts with the Fuji GS645s, before moving further afield when my new Pentax 6X7 camera arrived.
BRISTOL
Bristol blossom
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Ice-cream Van
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Clifton village - Barbour Shop chair
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Clifton village - BLM window signs
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
CASTLE COMBE
After leaving the now overly walked harbourside and clifton village to lockdown memory, it was time to explore a little further afield. First stop on a hot and cloudless spring day was the village of castle combe in the Cotswolds.
Castle Combe - Manor House
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle combe - Blossom reflections
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe Manor House - Blossom 1
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe Manor House - Blossom 2
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
I spent some time walking around the little village in the sunshine, after going full on blossom mad at the manor house. I of course gravitated towards the doorways and entrances to people’s homes, which for some reason fascinates me and sometimes makes a good image too.
Castle Combe - Door
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - Door
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - Door
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - Door
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - Main street
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - Houses
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - River
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Castle Combe - House Gateway
Camera - Fuji GS645S
Film - Kodak Portra 400
BATH
Next it was onto bath, with an afternoon stroll around the city centre taking in the spring sun.
Bath - Blossom views
Camera - Canon 5D Mk III
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
Bath - Last of the PPI?
Camera - Canon 5D Mk III
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
Bath - Covid19 scene
Camera - Canon 5D Mk III
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
Bath - Empty street
Camera - Canon 5D Mk III
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
I was keen to test out my new Pentax 6X7 which was going to be a baptism of fire, as I was using an expired roll of Fujicolor Pro 160NS that came with the camera when I imported it from Japan. The film had expired in 2011 which I had read online to overexpose by around one stop for every 10 years the film was expired. I shot the roll at ISO 100 to hopefully compensate for any change in the chemicals over this time. luckily it was a bright sunny day so shooting at ISO 100 was not an issue.
Bath - Covid Bike riders
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Expired Fujicolor Pro 160NS
Bath - Window Flowers
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Expired Fujicolor Pro 160NS
Bath - Window Pots
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Expired Fujicolor Pro 160NS
After using the Expired film, I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5 400 but totally forgot to change the ISO, so over exposed the whole roll like a moron. I realised after finishing the roll of my mistake, so I had to adjust for this in the films development time. I developed the roll for an additional minute to compensate, which luckily worked well. This mistake on my part did show the versatility of the Ilford HP5 400, which I will look to take more advantage of in the future.
Bath - Aston Martin
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Bath - Door
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Bath - Ustinov Theatre
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Bath - windows
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Bath - streets
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Bath - Apartments
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
BURNHAM-ON-SEA
My next trip was to the coast, with a walk around the seaside town of Burnham-on-sea. I had wanted to come over this way for a while now due to the lighthouse situated on the beach there. So with lockdown rules relaxing, and a calm,sunny day on the cards, I packed up basically all the gear I own, and headed down there.
Burnham-on-sea - Lower lighthouse
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Lower lighthouse + dogs
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Burnham-on-sea - Lower & main (in background) lighthouses
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
Camera - Canon 7D Mk II
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
I was also able to test how digital was vs analog, with both my Canon and my Pentax both in operation. I did use a tripod for the digital camera so maybe a tad unfair, but still a nice comparison between the two formats. The only real issue I found with the film was just how orange the sand came out once scanned. I needed to then balance this out quite significantly in post processing so I will have to be mindful of this in the future or adjust something in my development process.
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
Camera - Canon 7D Mk II
Lens - Canon 24-70mm F/2.8
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Main Lighthouse
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Lower Lighthouse
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Pier
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - hovercraft
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Couple
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
Burnham-on-sea - Sea-front
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
I also tested out leaving the film borders on the final image (see below), to see if this was worth doing. I may in the future use scanner glass rather than the film holder to achieve this look and also help flatten the negatives for scanning. I do kind of like the aesthetic of this, so may look at doing this for some of my film images moving forward.
Burnham-on-sea - Lower lighthouse with border
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Burnham-on-sea - Boardwalk Pavilion with border
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Ilford HP5 400 Plus
Burnham-on-sea - windbag
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Portra 400
I also took the drone over to where the sea had gone right out to get some images of the mudflats from a top down perspective which I think work really well.
Burnham-on-sea - Water tree
DJI Mavic Pro II
Burnham-on-sea - Mud river
DJI Mavic Pro II
SEVERN BEACHES
Next up this month was a trip to severn beach, and another stroll in this prolonged sunny spell. I was also excited to try yet another film stock I had taken delivery of. This time it was another colour film - Lomography 400. A cheaper colour film option, that had come to my attention while researching colour film. After using Portra 400 and the expired Fujicolor Pro 160NS, it was interesting to see the differences between all these different film stock options, and better understand which one would best suit me going forward.
Prince of Wales bridge
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Prince of Wales bridge
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Prince of Wales bridge
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Prince of Wales bridge & the Dog
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Severn beach
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Electrical Pylon
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Lomography colour 400
Overall the lomography colour 400 film rendered better than I had expected for its price point, but did struggle with grain creeping into the shadows. As well as this there was an overly blue/purple hue to the image which I did not like. For the money (£8 a roll) however, it does hold up well, and doesn’t seem to be too different to the £12 per roll Portra 400.
DEVON
I ended the month with a trip down to North Devon for a weekend away. This was the first time I had been able to get away from home properly in 2021 so I took full advantage, bringing every camera and lens I own to make some photos while I was down there.
I was able to take some great images of the local wildlife from the comfort of my little shepherds hut, set deep in the Devonshire countryside. I was especially happy with the Pied Wagtail images (below).
I watched the little wagtail feeding on the pond in front of the hut for quite some time, willing him to get into the right spot with the upturned boat behind, reflecting in the water. he finally obliged, giving me one of the most satisfying bird images I have taken to date.
Pied Wagtail & boat almost.
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
Pied Wagtail & boat reflection perfection
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
Buzzard on telegraph pole.
Camera - canon 7d Mk II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
From my AirBnB, I could also drone over to the coast, which sat only a few hundred metres away from my cabin.
Combe martin
Camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
Combe martin Beach
Camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
View to Combe martin
Camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
Moving further afield, a trip to Ilfracombe bought with it an amazing surprise. While walking along the harbour path I noticed some small wading birds below, feeding on the rocks just out to sea. I took some images assuming they were redshanks, but I later came to find out that they were in fact a pair of Purple sandpipers. One of only around 3 resident pairs known in the UK so a real treat to see and photograph.
Purple Sandpiper
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
Purple Sandpiper pair
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
Purple Sandpiper
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
They blended into their environment incredibly well, making finding them on the rocks a difficult task at times.
well camouflaged Purple Sandpiper
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 400MM F/5.6
On the last day of the trip I was determined to get the drone in the air over some of the devon sand dune systems to see if there were any shapes in the dunes that would translate onto an interesting drone image. Luckily they did not disappoint, with some fantastic shapes and textures created across the whole area that came out well on the drone. I was able to get up to 500 feet and really get and overview of the dunes below.
Sand dune shapes - Squid lake
camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
Sand dunes & beach
camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
Sand dunes
camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
Sand dunes
camera - DJI Mavic Pro II
I also indulged in a bit of surf photography when down on one of the many devon beaches, famed for their waves. I sat high up on some rocks and got some images of the locals catching some waves.
Surfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
Surfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
Surfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
Surfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
Lazy Surfer/Kayak surfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
Windsurfer
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - canon 400MM F/5.6
And snuck in a macro shot while walking along the coastal path as these little guys were everywhere.
Hawthorne fly on Gorse flowers.
Camera - Canon 7D MK II
Lens - Canon 100MM F/2.8 Macro
I was also able to take my Pentax 6X7 with me on this trip and test out yet another film stock. This time I was using Kodak Ektar 100. A film known for its punchy colours and fine film grain.
Saunton beach
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Saunton beach
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Coastal Hut
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Coastal path gorse
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Damien Hirst’s ‘Verity’ - Ilfracombe
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Ilfracombe harbour
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
MS Oldenburg - Ilfracombe Harbour
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Saunton beach
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Ilfracombe town
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Ilfracombe pastel coffee shop
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Coffee cup
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
ilfracombe Architecture
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
ilfracombe Architecture
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Ilfracombe steps
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
I was impressed with how this film was able to render colours and provided a very fine film grain that was a lot less noticeable than the Lomography 400 in the shadows.
Shepherds Hut on film
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Horse box colours
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
Beach views
Camera - Pentax 6X7
Film - Kodak Ektar 100
What a month that was, im exhausted. Long may this continue as 2021 can finally get going with lockdowns easing across the world and the (hopeful) chance of getting to do some travel abroad again. Until then I’m off for a lay down.
FIN
