I’ve been out and about with the camera less this week due to demanding dog duties and the relative lack of freedom imposed by how far the dog can walk. The radius is more limited at the moment while we get him used to walking and lead-work.
So I’m revisiting some old haunts and re-taking some photos of old favourites and trying them with new development.
I love this mannequin behind the frosted glass for some reason. It is at the side of Beehive in Creek Road, recommended if you like retro clothes and accessories (and we do). Sadly the cafe part has gone. Which is a crying shame because the coffee was really good.
Just around the corner is an entrance to St Alfege’s graveyard. Tis an excellent place for Gizmo to practise being off the lead as well as having some unusual and slightly bizarre features.
I’m always struck by how benignly ‘animated’ this sentinal gravestone appears. It is opposite the entrance and reminds me very much (on a larger scale) of the little shrines in Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away which is a fave film of mine (in fact anything by Studio Ghibli rates highly for me).
Many of the gravestones have been lifted and placed around the perimiter to make more of a park. One of the unusual aspects of the graveyard is that the top end contains a children’s playground. I don’t think I’ve ever seen children playing there though.
The swing was just shifting slightly in the breeze which was annoying, I might as well have camera shake…
The diagonals appeal to me and the framing of the swing. I’m consciously trying to frame the main subject of the photograph off-centre. I find this easier using a rangefinder camera and manual focus lenses. Autofocus, especially when coupled to the shutter button, makes me lazy and encourages me to centre-frame (stationary) subjects unless I can be arsed with shifting the focus-points on the DSLR, an awkward thumb manoeuvre for me at least because with the DSLR viewfinder being centred on the cam, the rear of the camera is braced on my face. Auto-exposure doesn’t help either. It is so much easier with the rangefinder. Focus, expose and shift slightly. Press the shutter… bingo.
Here’s the opposite of the swing, all swirls and circles.
The sun finally came out with some interesting shadows. Sadly I’d run through the film by then and forgotton to bring any more.
The only thing missing are the children.
I took the M6 with the CV 35/1.2 Nokton using Tri-X. Developed in T-Max Dev which is new for me. I picked up a 500ml bottle cheaply recently just to give it a whirl. I’m fairly impressed though, the grain of the Tri-X seems more under control than my usual combinations although I had to up the contrast on the scans.
by skinnyvoice
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