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Spring 024

Spring barely sprung this year, in all fairness, it barely spluttered. It hasn’t been all gloomy though, I’ve still enjoyed some nice sunny, but slippery woodland walks. However, the hills have had to wait. I did try once, but it was mostly light drizzle and for once, I turned round and came back.

The clouds may have been grazing the hills again on a rather damp and very quiet May bank holiday. Yet by the end of the week, I was heading out on another bike ride, this time with sun cream on. Great to see some clouds and blue sky for once, light winds too.

I’ll hopefully be out in the hills again soon, which may even include a few Scottish ones. I’ll certainly get out for some more large format, work my way through three boxes of medium format Kodak Tri-X 400 (it was on offer) and hopefully continue with some colour pinhole, the films are currently at the lab. All in all, it’s amazing how optimistic one gets after a few sunny days.

Winter 023 - 024

With the late Autumn nights drawing in and the sun barely skimming the horizon, I always look forward to the Winter Solstice. It marks a turning point, a gradual return to the light. It may only be a minute a day initially, but slowly surely, the evenings get longer, the mornings take a bit more time.

January appears to have taken December’s lead, a cold and frosty beginning leading to wet and windy storms. I’ve spent my time sheltering in local woods, some 35mm, but I mostly continue getting to know my pinhole cameras. I love using them, finding out what works and just as importantly, what doesn’t. I’m always surprised by the results.

It was because of using my pinhole cameras, that I finally decided to try large format photography. I’d been given a 4x5 field kit camera, it sat on my shelf and would often catch my eye, it all seemed a bit daunting. So, a 4x5 pinhole seemed ideal. I ordered an Ondu Rise, which has only just arrived, it’s such a beautiful camera. I also purchased film holders, a development tank, dark cloth, a box of Ilford FP4 and then a Graflex Crown Graphic too!

Autumn 023

Heading into Holystone Woods at the start of October, all sunshine with a bit of a warm breeze, I didn’t need to bring my coat. I love the woods here, not so much in the summer, too many biting insects that love me, but now it was Autumn, but with summer weather! I walked through all the old oaks and up to some of my favourite trees, I do have favourite trees and many of them are here. The previous day I was at Upper Redesdale Show, another excellent and lovely day, the conversation at my stand was dominated by the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree.

I’ve walked Hadrian’s Wall for over 40 years, I’ve even helped to excavate a mile castle and the Sycamore has always been there. It may not be one of my favourite trees, but it’s always been a welcome sight, somewhere to rest awhile. I must admit I’ve never taken a photo, although for many years I didn’t even think of packing my 35mm camera. It was that tree in that film and it was nowhere near Nottingham. In a way, it’s been digital technology that’s brought it to a wider audience, the anchor of many, many photographs. So the felling of this beautiful iconic tree, a rightful symbol of Northumberland, came as a shock, it was deeply saddening and brought a real sense of unease.

So I needed to be close to trees, amongst trees and Holystone Woods always brings a sense of calm. I went through a roll of film, something I don’t normally do. I thought about the damage here brought by Storm Arwen, how it raged up the valley. The woods have changed and healed, but essentially the same. Perhaps the same can happen at Sycamore Gap, the tree can hopefully be coppiced and regrow, I may even take a photo.

The Tyne At Lemington - Full-frame Digital

Summer 023

Here comes the summer and like a flick of a switch, we moved from a rather cold and damp spring to blue skies and sunshine. It flickered a bit in the North East with clouds driven in from the sea, but once they cleared, it all became like those long summers from my youth, jumping up and down to The Undertones and lazy days in the shade of an old oak tree. These days it’s mostly the latter, but I still have my moments.

With the continual warm weather and blue skies, I finally got round to shooting the colour film I bought last year. It’s not that I need lovely weather for colour film, but with films like Kodak Portra 160, it certainly helps. What I do need is a lab to develop my negatives and with the sad closure of Peak Imaging, I was at a bit of a loss. I must admit I prefer working in black & white, choosing the camera, the film and developer, but the option of working in colour without going digital, is something I’m keen to explore.

I thought I would try the lab at Analogue Wonderland, it’s where I buy my film. I must admit I was very pleased with the negatives and bought quite a bit more colour film. As soon as the film arrived, July settled into sunshine and showers. I still have lots of opportunities coming up, a summer of shows and hopefully, autumn colours to look forward to, which is what I intended to use last years colour film for.

Spring 023

Spring may have been early this year, snowdrop walks in January and daffodils soon after. Yet as I start this next gallery of recent work, winter has returned and snow has been falling all day. I’ve decided to just continue adding photos throughout the year by season, which can last awhile with a roll of film, especially 35mm. So photos taken during the winter will appear into spring, much like the view from my window.

I have recently been purchasing a number of new cameras, I say new, the most recent are from the 1930’s. I do like to test them with a roll of film first, which can lead to a bit of repetition, but I do like to explore what each camera will bring to a photograph. They each have their own character and mixing them with different films bring lots of possibilities. I’ll be adding a feature on my cameras in the near future, they’re always a talking point with my customers at the shows I attend during the summer and beyond, speaking of which, I have quite a few booked already.

Winter 022-023

The winter months have led to some rather warm hikes into the Cheviots, all boggy and boot squelchy, followed by some lovely foggy days out on the bike. Activity has since been curtailed somewhat by the inclement weather, but breaking into the new year, there’s a lot to look forward to. I had an image of Dunston Staiths selected for the monochrome exhibition at The Glasgow Gallery of Photography, which ran from 6th - 31st January 2023, so a good start already.

With the closure of peak Imaging, my favourite lab, I’ve started to develop my own medium format film. I’m already familiar with 35mm, this is another part of the process, just a bit trickier. I did lose a film, but with a bit of practice, I’m now developing films as I go. I just need to find a lab for colour film, I have a couple in mind.