Virtue is its Own Reward

Virtue is its Own Reward, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This photo is 10th July in the photo a day for July challenge. I walked down to the Manchester International Festival on this Monday, and took a few shots of the "Chilled Summer Treats" beach huts. I really liked the way this was set up, with specially painted benches, beach huts, and sounds from the sea (gulls, waves etc) piped out over the PA. It all seemed a bit incongruous in the Manchester rain, but pleasant nonetheless.

My only gripe with the festival would be how unfriendly it seemed to be to photographers. I was challenged at the Heston Blumenthal thing (although by a very pleasant chap who did let me snap some shots of the beach huts), and turned down flat at one of the musical events - the latter being a shame, as there was some great material there. Which isn't to say that anyone was unpleasant, it was just slightly disappointing that so many great opportunities went begging (neither event had an accredited photographer working them so far as I could tell).

In the same week, I was shooting at the "Wild in Art" event on Albert Square, who could not have been more welcoming and co-operative, and I found the comparison quite telling.

The shots from this day were all ok, but would have worked far better in colour. With that in mind, I decided to go for something of a "street" shot, with the arrangement of recycling bins and advertisement making for a message of sorts, I thought.

Ropes, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

The shot for the 11th is this one - I had no chance of grabbing my lunchtime shot on this day, and so had a mooch around the house looking for stuff to photograph. Those of you who follow my stream will recognise this as a fairly lazy shot, as I've done it before, twice in fact. I have, however, until now, not shot it on home developed black and white (or slide film, or C41, for that matter), so here it is.

My progress today means that the frame counter on the F3 stands at 17, and the FE at 16. I took absolutely nothing in Manchester today, but I did wander about the house and, mirabile dictu, managed to come up with some original shots too.

Locked

Locks, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Three different takes (and hopefully sufficiently different takes) on one subject today, shot with three different cameras.

The first is above, a detail of the locks holding this shed door secure against malefactors. The film in use here (for it is a film shot) is Fujichrome Velvia RVP, and as you might notice, it's quite a contrasty, saturated film.

Door, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Next up is a digital shot of the door as a whole - I took similar detail views to the others in this post with the D70 too, but have to be honest and say that both the Velvia and Adox blew them away in terms of the texture and contrast rendered. I thought it might be interesting to show the difference, and the larger whole from which the details are taken though.

Hinge and Shadows, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Bookending this post is another detail shot, this time of one of the door's hinges. I think I have this shot on Velvia and digital too. I chose this Adox CHS25 shot over them because of the shadows, and because it's just lovely, lovely film, and I offer thanks yet again to The Wishy for introducing me to it.

In both film shots, I have to add that in this case they're pretty much as they came off the scanner (resizing for the web being the only post processing) even the fabulously bonkers saturation of the Velvia shot is all there in the original slide.

In't film brilliant?

I Hate Sundays

I Hate Sundays, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is the photo for 8th July in the photo a day for July challenge. Sundays (and Saturdays, for that matter), are always tricky for me photographically, as I tend not to do much that's terribly photogenic. I did do the ironing, though, and thought I might attempt to show some of my distaste[1] for that chore in this still life.

Showing household objects that we're (most of us) at least passingly familiar with in a way that makes one slightly uneasy is a tricky thing to do, so I've gone for an off angle, and an exposure that emphasises the harshness of the lines (hopefully).

[1] Although the time flies with a Curb Your Enthusiasm DVD on, so it's not all bad

The Penguins Know, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

On Monday the 9th, I was back at the "Wild in Art" exhibition on Albert Square, hoping to see the finished Hippo (I didn't know it had already been sold at that time). I did potter 'round with the Nikon EM and some Fuji Superia (still not finished that roll yet), and rattled off some black and white too (works well on penguins).

I should offer a large amount of thanks to the gentleman running the exhibition stand both times I arrived, who was kind enough to let me snap away, and take some pictures from inside the enclosure.

I had two possibles for this day, both from the Nikon F3, but in the end plumped for this view of an artist decorated penguin and a "regular" penguin.

Beside the Seaside

Beside the Seaside, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Another favourite from New Quay, this time taken by the F90x on Fujichrome Velvia RVP.

This set of inflatable boats, and the Union Jack dinghy in particular caught my eye. They're set up outside a gift shop near the Mariner restaurant and takeaway. There's something about the optimistic, bright colours of the boats against that foreboding sky that brings back many summer holidays in Britain from my youth :)

Rust, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Colour and texture are the keys in this digital image, which is the base of one of the harbour arm markers in New Quay. The concrete, its discolouration by rust, and the sea all seemed to combine to make an interesting picture.

The Queen of New Quay, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Lastly, we have another Velvia image, this time from the racks of kayaks (I think that's the correct name) stored just by the lifeboat station. The bright, primary coloured plastic cries out for a highly saturated film, and Velvia is more than happy to step up. It's quite a nice showcase for the capability of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF-N, which can be a really nice lens at times.

Late Developer

Late Developer, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Today's Photo a Day for July effort was taken shortly after developing (or possibly between inversions, I forget) the test roll of Arista Pro 50 I ran off last Saturday, and finished the roll of Agfa APX 400 that I'd shot in the first week of the challenge.

It seems a fitting picture to end this first batch with, to me. In the frame you can see the shadows from my drainer, my winchester bottle of fixer, the Bertolli jar I use for stop bath, my G-Shock watch (the countdown timer being handy for development timing) and the jug I put my fixer in when I'm testing it on the film leader.

The shots on the roll of Arista from this day are what I'd describe as "The World of My Garden". I tend to start weekends with grandiose plans for getting to places and photographing interesting things, and end up stuck inside because of the sodding rain. Still, maybe tomorrow...

Speaking of which, no development tonight, as the F3 is on 32, and the FE on 35. I found my close up filter today, and have been experimenting with it a little on the 135/2.8 Series E, and 100/2.8 Series E. Stuff certainly looked ok through the viewfinder, so I'm hopeful that finished rolls tomorrow may reveal some nice shots.

The Artist and the Hippo

The Artist and the Hippo, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

This is today's Photo a Day for July effort (actually taken on the 6th of July - shooting film means I'm posting a week behind).

This is a picture from an event in Albert Square, Manchester, that Wild in Art were running. As part of it they'd invited some local urban artists to decorate some of the larger animals, and one of them invited me along to have a look at the hippopotamus he'd been tasked with decorating.

As I only had the lunch hour to see it in, I never got to see the finished article, sadly - it sold before the end of the day, and should be on its way to its new owner in France even now. I've been nipped back a couple of times, and shot some frames of colour too (if I'm honest, probably more suitable for this). They won't form part of the photo a day challenge because the turnaround time of lab developed film isn't really fast enough unless I shoot a roll in two or three days.

In terms of current progress on the PaD, the F3 is at 29 frames, and the FE at 30. I should have a good portrait on the F3, hopefully, that can also be used in my White Suit project, and some nice detail of another work from Wild in Art (an elephant painted with a cityscape - a really amazing piece).

A Figure on the Quay

A Figure on the Quay, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

That figure being my daughter, as it goes...

This part of New Quay is just along the beach, by the Lifeboat Station - I have several frames of chains and texture filled concrete, at least partly because I had an inkling of just how good it would look on this Adox film.

I think this is my favourite, because of the happenstance of my daughter straying into shot (again).

Moorings, originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Another view of the mooring chains at New Quay, this time at the end where they're sunk into the sand. Again, the textural riches of Adox film in R09 really work for this, I think, and it's probably my favourite of today's Welsh photographs.

The Sea Was Angry That Day My Friends..., originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

We finish today with two digital shots - they're very similar, I'm afraid, but both show off what an odd day this was in terms of light. These were taken prior to the ones by the quay, and as you can see, it's pretty overcast; yet down by the quay I was getting usable shutter speeds with a 25ISO film. Odd.

This is my favourite of these two shots, my wife and son looking out over the harbour. The Tokina wide angle has given the cloud more drama (as if it needed it) and I think the two figures anchor the whole composition nicely.

...Like an Old Man in a Deli Trying to Send Back Soup., originally uploaded by John the Monkey.

Incidentally, there will be no prizes for spotting the Seinfeld reference in the titles, I'm afraid.