A year has past..

.. and then some.

I can't believe it has been so long since I last updated my blog.
Those little promises I made haven't been kept, I have another camera now and about 40 rolls of film waiting to be developed!
These will get done someday, I think. I hope.
Until then I suppose my blog shall have to be about something else.
Fingers crossed I can change the name of it ;)

First Three Through.

Hi here and good evening.

As I was off work today I figured I should develop two more films as they have been waiting a few days. Unlike the first time I managed to have a streamlined system so each chemical was ready right

away.

Everything seemed to go fine until it came to the drying stage..

Water marks... everywhere.. *quick, squeegee... too hard... scratches...*

I never realised the emulsion was so soft...

I now have two perfect tram lines right down the length of film.. Magically they go across Merryn's face regardless of the orientation of the shot.

At this point I was a somewhat disappointed however not so much as I am very much in the infancy of film developing.

Sadly the second roll fell to a similar fate... over zealous squeegeeing with one's fingers.

The images are however viewable and shall be scanned come Friday! ( I have a plustek negative scanner on the way). So I shall see how one's exposures etc are.

Exciting times!

Cheers for noo

Hi there and good morning! 

It's tuesday, I'm about to sit my mock driving test and then I'm going to process two more films.

Yes you read right. I can now develop film! 

I did my first roll last night and from the looks of it, it's perfect!

The roll was shot using an Olympus 35RC, full manual. The internal light meter wasn't working but I was using anold Gossen Sixon Lightmeter from the 50's that seems to work perfectly well!

I have also noticed my 'internal metering' seems pretty acurate as well.

Taling of old camera's an Olympus Trip arrived yesterday.. excellent condition and the lightmeter is working!

Rock on.

I shall get photo's up as soon as my scanner arrives.

Time...

Time is irrelevant...

I hope..

Welcome to the 2009 edition of my blog... 

This time I'm not going to say it will be updated regularly for I failed monumentally on that one last year.

Photography wise I have done very little... 

There have been one or two gigs, Up Helly aa, the Shetland Folk Festival and that's about it.

I got out this Sunday with SLR and fired off a few shots before I felt too ill and had to go home (currently suffering from a viral infection).

2009... A new year, a new start... it's been said before...

This time it is different though. .

In my hands *picks up camera* is a beautiful Olympus 35RC Rangefinder..

In the post are various items required for processing film.. And did I mention the ten rolls of Neopan!

Time to go old school, to real photography.

I'm excited.. Very excited. I haven't properly shot with film before. Even the whole fixed lens is a new thing for me. Manual? Full Manual.. Not even AV! I LOVE IT!

I shall be getting my first roll developed the morn (to check that my metering calculations are alright) then that's me!

Onwards into the big bad and rather beautiful world of film photography.

I may also have an eBay bargain in the form of an Oly trip 35 on the way...

O dear!!

So Hello

Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Sheltering from the Storm

Although conditions in town were relatively calm on Saturday with it being particularly mild for this time of year it was an all to different story the night before. With winds gusting over 70mph and a particularly large swell running, Lerwick harbour was sought as a refuge for many a fishing boat.

(Mooring Up)

On walking along the pier I got talking to a crew member of one the boats as he was shoreside getting ready to help with moorin. He was from the Banff registered Jenna Maree and kindly allowed me to take photographs of himself as he worked. Once the boat was secured I got talking to other crew members and was kindly invited on board.

Once on board I was allowed to wander on deck and take photographs as I pleased while the crew went to town. On their arrival I was given a tour of the boat. From the cell like dimensions of a cabin to the freezer hold where boxes and boxes of frozen prawns were stacked high I snapped away. It was a lighting nightmare with shutter speeds of around 1/13th bein common. A tripod would certainly of helped however would not of been ideal in such a situation. The cabins were an ideal location for portraits and I only wished myself and a crew member had time for a portrait or two.

( Working in the hold)

The Jenna Maree left that evening having offloaded 80 boxes of prawns at the local market to head out into the north sea to fish for a further few days.

A New Year a New Start.

( Jim and Ruben of Black Bic Biro )

Good afternoon and good day to you all. Well it is now 2008 and it looks to be a bumper year. Much will be happening and over the year I hope to build up my portfolio for my university application! Watch this space for folio additions.

Sadly due to hardware failure's I have been unable to keep this blog updated as I intended however as it is a new year I feel I can make amends and update this as it should be.
The year 2007 certainly ended with a bang with Miriam and I spending New Year in Edinburgh..
The day before we headed south (the 28th) there was a fantastic gig being held at the Norscot Angling Club where Shetland's premier Indie band Black Bic Biro were playing along side Shetland/Edinburgh rockers Little Green Machine and Edinburgh's City City Beat.
As Miriam was playing with BBB that night and I was unable to get tickets ( I left it too late) I was determined to get in.
Armed with my camera, a gobby mouth, 20 quid and a bit of charm I managed to blag myself and two friends jin. I could write for an eternity about what a brilliant night it was but I shant.
I shall keep it short and sweet

(Miriam Brett, Guest artist with Black Bic Biro)

Having only heard Black Bic Biro on a cd I was a little apprehensive about what to expect in regards to them playing live and with their style of music not what I'd normally listen to I was also somewhat sceptical about whether or not I would enjoy it. It turned out that I was not to be disappointed and that not only was their live perfomance most exciting it was evident as to why people think of them with such high regard. And bear in mind, these guys are all 18! Absolutely fanstastic! Roll on another gig!

Up next on the line up were City City Beat who with there shoeless shenanigings and topless tunananisms played a solid set that had everyone jumping! I really look forward to hearing them again.

Finally it was Little Green Machine to end the night, the grand finale and as ever they did not disappoint. Cat Myers was a demon on the drums and often appeared in a psychotic state; truly one with the beats. As ever Jack Sandison and Arthur Nicholson were on perfect form and at times it seemed not a single person was still within the building.
According to their bebo page they are currently producing a new EP and if it is anything like their previous album it will certainly be a must buy!

So all in all its been a mighty fine start to the year and with much anticipation for the comming months its certainly going to be a fun time.

Callyshang... Most certainly not a commotion :)

Callyshang

(Miriam, Kirsten and Liam)

As this site is about photography and there has been a distinct lack of updates over the past few months (Apologies for that) I decided it was time to set myself a project or two. One idea that I got was to do a profile of one of the bands that my girlfriend Miriam Brett plays in. Having never done a profile of anything before I didn’t and still don’t have a clue where to begin.

Over a period of time I hope to get a good selection of photos of this group; Band practice, Socialising and ultimately anything leading up to the gig and of course photos from the sessions.

(Liam Smith)

I feel it is appropriate to give a brief introduction of this group before I continue.
The band are called Callyshang and consist of 6 musicians under the age of 18 and having had the pleasure of being at one of their practices I can only feel this band may go a long way in a very short space of time.

The band consists of:
Miriam Brett (Young Fiddler of the Year 2007)
Kirsten Henry (Fiddle )
Jaqueline Jamieson (Fiddle, Saxaphone)
Garry Smith (Bass, PA, Guitar)
Liam Smith (Guitar, Mandolin)
Bobby Sutherland (Percussion and Piano)

(Gary and Miriam)

Drawing their inspiration from iconic folk groups such as Bongshang, Fiddlers Bid, Filska, Shooglenifty and Terrafolk, they combine traditional folk music and modern contemporary sounds into a transient blend that is much needed in todays folk scene.

Although the members are young and the group in its infancy they are a joy to listen to and it’s not just their technical process that stands out, it’s their love for the music that they play and not only can it be heard, it can be felt, resonating from the heart.

So keep an eye or should that be thy ears open for this group for they sure as hell put on a good performance!

(Kirsten Henry)