fishing - an integral part of Cornish life

If you live by the Cornish coast, then you’ll know how fishing forms an integral part of our Cornish lives. From the commercial crab fisherman lifting their catch 10 miles off shore, to the sardine ring net fisherman circling Mounts Bay. Thens there the one or two crewed independent small boat fishermen who line catch Bass and Mackerel. Don’t forget those shoreside support guys too.
The skilled net makers. Sadly this has become a dying skill but there are still a few of them out there. You’ll also find a whole team of guys and girls who support are fishermen once on shore. They too form an integral part of the industry.

Ive been fortunate enough to of been allowed aboard these commercial vessels and the captains and crew have aloud me to capture all that I see. This is a dangerous industry but the fishermen that work these waters are well trained in order to help them along the way. Commercial fishing is a super tough industry to work in and only tough men and women need apply. Below are just a few of the shots Ive taken overtime. All on film and all real. A big thank you once again to all of those who allowed me to capture them

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5 frames, one theme - Auschwitz

Auschwitz is one of those trips I’ve being saying I’ll get round to one day and last month I finally got there. I arrived with an open view on what I wanted to shoot, or should I say what I was allowed to shoot. There are some parts of Auschwitz you simply cannot take images of and we all have to respect that. My vision was simple, 5 documented frames that for me summed up what Auschwitz was all about.

Black and white film for me was the right choice. Kodak’s Double X was perfect for the brief as its a high contrast stock and has a classic period documentary aspect to it, grainy.

Image 1: One of the remaining train wagons from that period that were used to transport the jews to Auschwitz.

Image 2: Clearly there was no escape as electric fences and watch towers surrounded the camp

Image 3: The most basic and impersonal spaces resembling cattle sheds. I leave to judge what they were used for

Image 4: Photographed, documented, the lucky ones were put to work but mainly all of them were put to death

Image 5: The twin fenced walk way that lead you to Dr Josef Mengele’s experimental buildings. Your fate unsure other than the final outcome

My article is not meant in any way to shock you, but more so to remind us all of that terrible Holocaust during WW2. I urge you all to visit the site and experience what I did alongside others. It beggars belief that human life can be regarded as so worthless.

what 50p got me on the camera front

Im still amazed at what turns up at car boots these days on the photographic front. From old slides to box brownies and even the occasional real find like a Leica. However, on this occasion my latest find was this cracking little Kodak Pocket Instamatic 100. In its original box plus a set of flashes at a price of 50p, yes, 50p - a steal!!

So, given the fact that the camera didn’t come with a film, I went on line to that well known auction site and purchased a 110 cartridge of Kodacolor II at a cost of £9.00. The film arrived in the most amazing condition inside and out bearing in mind it expired back in 1974. It looked as if it had just come off the shelves.

At this stage, Im now into £9.50 for the camera and film, and yes I did check before hand as regards getting a 110 film developed and here in the UK too. Give the fact that this film of C41 is nearly 50 years old, I don’t expect that the film will be stable on the colour front and I’d expect some colour shifts, but that expired film for you. i might be lucky though.

The film is 12 exposures with an ASA of 80. With that in mind I’ll be shooting in bright sunshine with a little luck. With regards to the subject matter Ive chosen for this, it will be Sicily, somewhere Ive not shot before…… I’ll keep you posted

Shooting Kodak Vision 250 3 D

For those of you who are uncertain as to what Kodak Vision 3 is, its a 35mm colour negative film originally made for motion pictures. The film's standard development process is ECN2 and Im told it can also be processed using the C-41 process. Double check that. I chose to go down the ECN2 route which is more costly one and you’ll need to search out someone in the UK who does specialist processing. I used Nik & Trick ( www.ntphotoworks.com), excellent service I might add. You’ll need to wait a little longer than the standard 2/3 days turn around time on this stock though. Factor in say 2/3 weeks to get your shots back.

So, the first set of images here are from the first roll I shot. I had no real subject matter in mind at the time other than to just roll off the film at whatever

Camera: Konica Hexar

Roll 2
On this occasion, i looked for more variety and colour to further test this stock and I found subjects that it suits, and perhaps others that it doesn’t. For me, the portrait shot below is fine in its composition but I can see yellow and slight green ish tones to it.
Given I know the subject well, the skin tones and studio walls colours, are not correct.

Further evidence of those yellow and green ish tones are highlighted here when I shot this image in low light conditions. The film was shot at stock and the light reading was fine, its just Vision3 that gives it these tones especially in low light

So, is it a stock Id shoot again? Hell yes! I like the fact that Vision3 for me seems to offer colours and tones that other stocks don’t as such. It’s never going to be one of my top 5 stocks but I will continue to shoot it

Please note: All of the images contained within this post and other posts, and on my site are free from Photoshop, Lightroom and presets. All my imaging is real

Sicilian colours & tones

Regardless of wherever I am in the world, I’ll always have a camera and a roll of film with me. At the same time, which every country Im traveling or visiting, I’ll always be on the look out for colour, something Im automatically drawn to. The more vivid the colours the better and that’s why I pre select my film stocks in advance to ensure I get the best out of what I shoot. I will of course capture the odd travel related image, as above and shot on Kodak Gold 200, but I generally like to seek out a varied range of subjects that interest me.

So, film stock choice’s for this trip, Sicily in this case, were Ektar, Kodak Gold 200 and Portra 400. I took both 35mm and 120 as I enjoy shooting across most formats and it always good to see the slightest differences on 35, 6x6 & 6x7 with the same stocks.

The above shot as I remember was shot on my Pentax 6x7 with a roll of Portra. Shot about 6am that morning just as the sea mist was still sitting there giving the sky a slight grey tone to it which I liked. The shot would of course been somewhat different if I’d shot it about a hour later when the blue Sicilian sky opened up. Still, here the colour came through well

A classic example of Ektar here I think. A stock that loves vivid colours. It has a lovely richness to it and really shines once you capture striking colours and tones such as these Sicilian fishing nets. I shot this image on my Hassy, a camera which has the most outstanding 85mm Ziess lens Ive ever used. Super pin sharp time after time. By the way, I dont use Photoshop, nor do I use Lightroom, filters or other re touch software. I simply dont have it, never had it and I never will. As we photographers like to say, straight out of the box. Why shoot something then take it home and play around with it. Other opinions are available of course but these are mine

The gallery Ive enclosed below features a few more shots I took on this trip, on all formats with all those stocks I love to work with

Kodak Professional Portra 160NC review

Here’s a Kodak film stock that I only came across recently and being a lover of Portra in general, I simply had to try it.
I shoot a lot of Portra both on 35mm and medium format but I wanted to try NC on my 6x7 first, just to gauge it on a large negative fit. By the way, this roll of NC expired back in 1998.
I first picked a solid colour subject matter to see how it stood up. You’ll notice here that there is four blues, the double doors, the side shutter, the sea and the sky. All different shades of blue. To my eyes, there’s not colour separation at all and NC has performed really well given the fact that its over 20 years old

The next image was shot early doors just as the sun was coming up positioned slightly behind me. I picked this frame as I thought it would best represent a series of colours for a decent Portra test. Again, I think the film stood up really well the colours to me are classic Portra, perhaps more 160 than 400

I think it’s important to note here that I don’t use Photoshop, Lightroom or filters. I still struggle to understand that if you’re shooting film, you take all that time to compose the shot, get your light levels, shutter speed etc, you then take that image and change it, add and manipulate the hell out of it. If you shot it wrong in the first place, go back and do it again or learn from your mistakes.

Again, the colours here for a well expired film look really good and they are as I saw them. Clearly previous storage on his roll has been good or at least been kept away from heat etc.
On balance then, If i can get hold of some more of this stock, I certainly would. Its clearly Portra both on the quality and the colour front.

Please note: Other views and opinions are available but these are mine. Cheers….

The Four Points project - #thefourpoints

Projects for me will always be the main focus for my photography out side of my commercial work. Whilst work for me is a real joy, the projects keep me sane. They give me free control on what I want to shoot and to share with others. Finding the right style of project is challenging as it needs to fit my style of photography. What Im not trying to do here is replicate or copy ideas from others. I think with any project it has to carry some value and I think “the four points” project has that. I guess it will be down to you guys to see if it has.

Whats its all about?
The project content is all about the furtherest points of the UK. The furthest north, east, south and west of mainland Great Britain. My aim is to travel to all four point and document all that I see. the project will be shot of 35mm and 120 medium format film. I’ll take 3 days and travel over 2,300 miles to bring this project together.

What the end goal?
Thats simple. I’ll share it all with you on line through the usual social channels plus bring it all to print. I hope you’ll all find the time to follow my journey as I will be documenting the trip as I travel to the four points of the UK. RD

The Asahi Pentax 6x7 - a search for the right one

When I first decided to enter the world of medium format film, camera choice for me was key. I did find what I was looking for and I certainly made the right choice with the Hasselblad 500 CM. However, in the back of my mind at that time of that selection, the 6x7 did feature as a preferred choice but it was dismissed quite early on.

Moving forward a couple of years, I started to go through that phase like Im sure a lot of other photographers do where we begin to think about adding another camera to my collection. Do I really need one? will it improve my work?, nope, so why did I need the Pentax? If Im honest, Ive always loved the sear brutal look of the 6x7 and their retro design. What other camera has a wooden handle that size strapped to the side of it. I ask you.

So, I set about looking into all of the MF Pentax models, the Asahi 6x7, the Honeywell 6x7 ( its essentially the same as the Pentax 6x7, only marketed specifically to the USA) the 6x7 MLU (mirror lock up) the 67 and finally the 67ii. All very attractive in their own right but the Asahi for me was the most attractive in its design. A little further research into that model and it turned out that the MLU version was the more reliable one to have. Now, being the worst technical photographer in the world, I needed some help in the first instance and a big thank you to my on line technical guru, Gareth, for his impartial advice. His choice different to mine so I then set about finding the right one - what a quest!!

After searching the usual on line avenues of enquiries, it soon became quite apparent that the Japanese market was the best option for me as the UK’s examples were very average and extremely limited in supply. If you are in the market for a 6x7, or should I say a really good example of a 6x7, then Japan is the place to look. Not only that but after speaking direct to a few Japanese Pentax retailers, their very knowledgeable on all of the Pentax models.

My search took me a number of weeks as I couldn’t find a camera with a lens as a package that fitted the bill. Either the camera’s body was not a mint example, thats what I was after, or the lens with the camera had haze, fogging or mould etc.
That then meant the only option for me was to spend a little more money and buy separately. After some further searching I found a mint body, and it really is, the lens was next. Servicing was also super important for me when required and I managed to find a UK based Pentax experienced engineer who gave me some solid advice on which lens to get in his experience, thank you Parmath.. The 105mm lens so Im told is one of the best lenses ever made, but the SMC version is the one to have. Parmeth lost me a little on the technical reasons why but he takes them apart and has decades of experience working on them so his help was invaluable.

Finally, I managed to track down a truly excellent 105mm SMC lens so I now have the complete package. Now, if Im looking to buy another decent camera at any point, there’s always a certain number of prerequisite that I like to take into consideration.
In the event of me selling or moving on any of my kit at a later date, how attractive to a potential purchaser will my camera be. So buying the best example I possible can for the right money is key. Secondly, the more attractive and desirable models will be the ones to have so I take that into consideration too.

To summarise then. Ive now got what I set out to buy, a cracking example of a Asahi Pentax 6x7. Yes, I did pay a little more money by buying separate but I got what I wanted. Will it make me a better photographer, certainly not. I have to put my knowledge and shooting skills into it first and then see if it might produce another element to my work. The larger 6x7 negative will certainly do something to the viewing aspect of the images I produce and perhaps I’ll take that into consideration when shooting with the Asahi. Off to the gym now to build up those guns so I can lift this beast, hell!!

One final note if I may. If you’re looking to get a service done on a 6x7 and your based in the UK, look no further than Asahi Photo. Ask for Peter. He offer excellent advice and is able to service all of the 6x7’s

Some data for you guys that might be helpful if you’re looking at grabbing one:

• Asahi Pentax 6×7 – the original model, launched in 1969 (first generation)

• Asahi Pentax 6×7 (MLU) – with a mirror lock-up mechanism, launched in 1976 (second generation)

• Pentax 67 – with minor cosmetic changes, launched in 1990 (third generation)

• Pentax 67II – the fourth generation model, launched in 1999

Please note: Other views and opinions are available but these are mine…

Shearing away - big skills and tough work

I got the opportunity recently to shoot a team of sheep shearers carrying out the difficult and tough work that they undertake for a living. Id seen the odd sheep sheared in the past of TV but when you come to see it in real life, hell, what a skill. These guys really work for their money.

You’ve no idea just how sharp their shearers are. Its only the skill of the shearer that the sheep dont end up with cuts all over. The inexperienced Im told do make those type of errors but learn from each sheep they shear. There’s a certain way to hold these shearers which only comes with further experience.

Each sheep is counted in and counted back out again. A counter is placed close by so each shearer can claim their rewards,
one price per sheep sheared. Im told that a pretty good average shear for a highly experienced sheep shearer is somewhere in the region of the 300 mark. Watching these guys is tiring work, i cant imagine how their backs must feel.

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Sadly the market for the sheep’s wool has nearly collapsed. This is due to the current issues we’ve been facing of late. The biggest market for this wool is China and the carpet makers of the world. Once these fleeces were all bagged up, they are heading for mass storage until the markets shifts and the demand grows again

going fully expired- Part one

Ive only just realised that over the last few months, Ive been shooting nothing other than expired film. Now there's nothing wrong with that as the results you can get from expired stock can often be as good as up to date film. So, with that in mind I have now decided to shoot only expired film. I currently have 40 plus rolls in the fridge dating from 1992 to 2012. With regards to their previous storage conditions which can be key, I can only go on the info I was given (fridge stored) at the time when I bought them on line. Thats part of the gamble you take when shooting expired film....

 Fujicolor Reala 100
Fuji NPS 120 film ISO160
Fuji chrome Velvia RVP120
Fujicolor Pro 400H
 Fujicolor NPH 400
 Fujifilm Superia x-tra 400
Kodak Tmax 400

Enclosed are the first few images for this project (part one) which were shot on on Hasselblad 500C/M. All of these were shot at standard box speed with no adjustments

Kodak Porta 160

Kodak Ektar 160

Kodak Ektar

Kodak Porta 160