From Llangrannog to Castell Newydd Emlyn

Icon, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The rich colour of this building in Newcastle Emlyn (Castell Newydd Emlyn) seemed like a great opportunity to use some Velvia. I'm unsure of what the little paintless space's significance is here, but to me it looked like a little house icon.

It's one of those compositions that I'm quite sure pleases no one but me, but I really like the window, the colour and the "icon" filling out that space in the bottom of frame.

Path and Bench, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is the final shot from my walk along the clifftop path at Llangrannog - this is the bench you see in the earlier black and white shot.

Here, it's shot in the lustrous colour of the D70, using the wide end (18mm) of the Nikkor 18-70 AF-S G DX. The trigger for a lot of these shots was the amazing wispy clouds you see above the foreground here - I like the accent they lend to this composition.

Fishing, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The final shot from Wales for today is another from Newcatle Emlyn, just along the path by the left of the castle is this wonderful spot. The missus and the nippers are looking in those little pools at some tiny fish that were darting about in there.

By the Seaside

By the Seaside #2, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is probably my favourite thing from my time in Wales, if not my favourite thing so far this year.

I LOVE this shot.

For me this evokes holidays anywhere by the sea in Britain, the neat tablecloths, the HP Sauce ready to enhance a morning fried breakfast, the view over the beach parking to the sea... I like the reflection that hints at this establishment's prime location on the prom. I love the fact that the Adox film has given this a timeless feel.

It could be better of course - had I had the nerve, I'd have sneaked in and rotated the HP Sauce so the label showed, instead of the jarringly modern barcode, and perhaps I could have found the owner of the car in the reflection and asked them to move it.

By the Seaside #1, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Another, more straightforwardly evocative shot of the seaside here. The placement of flags is the result of an incredibly complex game that my son was playing with them. I could not explain how they ended up in the configuration they did, but I'm sure it all makes sense to eight year olds.

Shadow, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is a detail of the Gate and gatepost at Brynifor Cottage, where we were staying (in Penbontrhydyfothau). I took lots of versions of this (or lots in terms of film shooting anyway, which equates to three frames). I liked this one best.

Gate, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Of course, midway through shooting the wall and gatepost, my daughter walked back to the house, which made for a far better shot in any case. This is simply scanned in, no pp has been done on it at all. I have to say, the CHS50 looks really good in this, and the other shots from the roll. The vignetting is that present on the original negative from the Vivitar lens.

Door, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Lastly (and correct chronologically too, for once) is this picture of a gently flaking door in Newport (Pembrokeshire). There'll be more from Newport over the next few days, as it's an astonishingly beautiful place.

Us Against the World

Us Against the World, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

I thought I'd start today's page of context with this shot, chronologically after the others, but my favourite of today's uploads. It was taken using Adox CHS50, courtesy of Steve and developed in R09 (Rodinal old formula). It's wonderful stuff, very textural developed this way, and I've a powerful hankering to shoot more, and perhaps develop some in ID11.

The picture is of the beach at Aberystwyth, and shows my nippers messing about in the sea. What better way to while away the afternoon?

There's a huge compositional nod here to the work of an artist called Pippa Darbyshire, whose paintings of the Somme estuary I saw a few years ago. She composes with layers of colour and tone in these pictures, forming horizontal layers that ascend the canvas. I'm conscious quite often of attempting something similar with certain scenes. My being based in Manchester and its suburbs also means that the novelty of having a visible horizon for once has something to do with the desire to make it a major compositional element too.

The feeling I wanted to evoke was something of the awe I feel at times of parental responsibility - there are times when the world seems to be an awfully large place, and my children terribly small.

Pony Express, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The second, and last film shot for today is this one, of my daughter at the amusements in New Quay (Cei Newydd). Sometimes, you might almost think she doesn't like having her picture taken.

This shot is HP5+ developed in Ilfotec DD-X, a great combination, in my view. Looking at this now, it's evident that a colour film (or digital) would have been way better for this, but moments pass, and sometimes it's more important to get something than to wait for something perfect.

Groynes #1, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.


Groynes #2, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

These two digital shots both show the beach at Aberaeron. I can't help feeling that there are better shots than these in the textures of the pebbles and metal here, and I shot variants on the same theme last year too, and I'm sure I'll still be looking for the perfect take on this many years hence.


Harbour, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Last, and possibly least is this view of the harbour at Aberaeron. I liked the strong verticals of the poles marking the harbour entrance, and the dramatic sky over the sea.

Signs

Signs, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This assemblage of trackside stuff (sorry, I don't know the correct terminology) caught my eye on the way out of the workshops, and I thought it worthy of a photo.

I like the tones, and the shapes very much, and although the colours were nicely rusty, I think the B&W treatment via Ilford HP5+ suits it (good job too, as this is the only shot I took). This shot also marks a return to metered exposure, as it was taken after the shot of 6880's cab (below).


6880, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This shot shows the cab of 6880, Betton Grange. This is an unusual project, as so far as I understand, this loco never existed. None of the Great Western "Grange" class locomotives escaped the cutters torch. So the 6880 society is building this Grange class engine as a new build - you can find more information here. (Note that their website is undergoing some work, so not all linked content exists - their "About Us" page, which I've linked to here, does though).


Pro Patria, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Sometimes, it's nice to be reminded of a simple thing's virtue - this was shot with the 50mm f/1.8 AF-N. Not bad for £60 worth of second hand lens.

Llangollen seems to be popular with riders of scooters and motorcycles alike, and this patriotically decorated Lambretta caught my eye.


Museum, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Lastly, here's something from along the canal towpath, another view of the Llangollen Motor Museum's fuel tank, advertising their presence to the traveller.

Weekly Competition - Year Two, Week 38

The Gate, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

One of the things I try to do when I have film processed in time, or a suitable digital shot to hand, is enter the DVD Forums' weekly photography competition. One of the great things about this is the motivation it gives to pick up the camera and go out looking for things to photograph, although with 3 or 4 films still to scan, that motivation doesn't seem to be lacking here at the moment.

This week's entry is the shot above, "The Gate". Over the week that this picture has been voted on, I've warmed to it somewhat. I submitted this because I'd not processed the roll of HP5+ with the shots I had in mind as my first choices on it, my Elitechrome 100 was still at the lab and this was the strongest digital contender.

Whilst the shot has some elements usually to be found in the stuff I shoot (the idea of a landscape, but with things that are not conventionally beautiful in it, and the use of a wide angle to accentuate perspective), when I decided to submit it, this picture was very much a second choice. Perhaps with that in mind, I gave it a bit of a clichéd treatment, with a moody B&W conversion, and even a frame (something I never, ever do).

At the time, and probably blinded by the fact that my first choices were still undeveloped), I saw it as a rather predictable, crowd pleasing picture, although it did end up garnering a third place.

I have to confess that I still don't like it as much as "Pegs or "Path" (or for that matter, other entries that have sunk without trace in the voting, which probably says as much about my eye for a shot as anything else) but I don't actually dislike it anymore.

The picture was taken in Carrog on the other side of the Carrog Bridge. Walking back from the viewpoint you see in the shot, there's a large field that's ideal for sitting by the river and letting the world go by.

My children and neices spent a happy hour skimming stones instead though.