Five images from the golf course (strictly speaking a pitch and putt course for the pedantic).
Spot the ball!
The first is my one and only attempt at an action shot with the KMZ FT2. An overly ambitious exercise … which worked! The photo-gods were smiling on me that day. The following fore! (sorry, couldn’t resist) are all more orthodox panoramic landscapes. The course is on the north coast of Cornwall and to a non-golfer truly is a good walk, spoilt. The scenery is fabulous and the views stunning. Fortunately I wasn’t playing, simply acting as caddy for my wife, or “carrying the wife’s sticks” as it was affectionately termed by her little (six foot six at least) brother.
I had a big issue with light leaks with my Cornish panoramic films through the KMZ FT2. Unfortunately, the family-orientated nature of the twelve days meant I wasn’t able to follow all my usual procedures so I cannot determine what the reason was. I’m back home now so the next few rolls will be very carefully handled and full notes kept.
The film used was Fomapan 100 and I developed all three rolls that I used in Cornwall using Pyrocat-HD as part of my ongoing project. Despite the light leaks however I was very pleased with those that did turn out; this film and developer combination is doing me proud.
My recent trip to Cornwall didn’t follow the plan I’d in mind photographically hence no blog posts whilst I’ve been away. I took thirty rolls of film … and used three! Family-wise it was a great success however. To start my rather reduced Cornwall blog posts however here’s a few from the DJI Mini 3 Pro. Truth to tell the locals weren’t very friendly to a responsible, certified and properly qualified drone pilot – but passive-aggressive simply washes over me these days.
Yesterday whilst running errands I took a quick drive through Halifax and up to Mount Tabor to check out a couple of locations for some panoramic film photography. Despite being retired I still only get limited opportunities for “serious” photography so it’s good to have a few ideas tucked away ready to follow up when the right conditions coincide with some free time.
I didn’t make any photographs apart from the one above which I made with the ever-present Fuji X100T and used for my 366 project/challenge.
I have to confess that when it comes to my digital photography I am totally disorganised. Until two days ago my Fuji X100T contained images going back to late 2022. Since I installed Lightroom on my tablet however I’ve been slowly mending my ways and for that matter have taken a lot more care of my mobile editing too.
Today’s single frame comes from my recent Scottish trip and is from our wanders on Tuesday along Glen Etive. This location provided numerous opportunities for drone photography and whilst I did get a few high wind warnings we were lucky enough to create some very pleasing imagery.
I no longer maintain a fleet of drones but the Mini 3 Pro, which is my one remaining flying camera, has tackled everything I’ve needed it to with aplomb.
Watch out for more single images over the next week or so as I tidy up the photo album on my tablet.
My Fuji X-T1 is not your run of the mill mirrorless digital camera, it has a secret beneath its cool, somewhat worn black exterior. A few years back I had it modified so that it now captures the full spectrum of light through UV, visible and infrared depending on what filters you employ on the lens. I’ve shared images from this camera many times in the past and its inclusion on the Wolds trip was very much a last minute impulse. As I was taking the 50-140 from the cupboard to finish packing I saw the X-T1 and popped it in the bag too.
I wasn’t sure that I’d use the camera as I was already taking the Fuji X-T3, along with a medium format film camera and the diminutive drone, all of whom have shared their results over the last few posts. As it turned out conditions on the Friday rendered the X-T1 redundant but I did make a few images on the Thursday afternoon during our recce mission which I will share here
Over-packing is something that I’m very prone to so I was pleased to have used the X-T1, albeit for just a few images, as it “justified” its inclusion. However, if I’m totally honest it wasn’t a vital piece of kit especially as I was carrying infrared film for the Chroma SIX:17 too. That said, digital infrared adds a completely different dimension to a photographic trip and had the Friday been blue skies and white fluffy clouds I suspect that the X-T1 would have been my most-used camera this trip.
Chatting to a fellow photographer before this trip he enquired what camera (singular) I was taking and was somewhat perplexed when I shared the proposed kit list (none of which made the trip but that’s another story). He pondered how I could switch between formats and types of photography whilst out; surely I’d spend more time trying to decide what to use than actually using them. Whilst I could see the point I have to say it never fazes me. I tend not to duplicate formats when packing so if I view the scene and decide it suits a panoramic format for example I’ve only one such camera with me, the Chroma SIX:17 this trip. If it’s a scene which needs exploring and experimenting then it’s the digital camera for that job. For the same reason I try not to take too many lenses, choice can be the death of creativity at times, the paralysis that occurs when overwhelmed by choices.
So, there you have it. One and a half days, three cameras, two rolls of film, interesting conditions and several drone flights produced a good mix of images which I’m well pleased with. There may well be a bonus post later today with some iPhone sweep panoramas but other than that my trip to the Lincolnshire Wolds is now fully documented. I still have some RAW files to look at but I’m pretty sure that I’ve shared a representative sample in this series of posts.
Several years ago I moved first from Canon to Nikon and then a few years later to Fuji, a process I discussed at the time and which became rather academic a few years back when I returned to the film photography niche. However, I do still use both digital and film albeit the number of times I take out a digital camera is far eclipsed by the number of outings my various film cameras enjoy. However, for my Lincolnshire Wolds visit I took a selection including film, the drone and now it’s the turn of the Fuji X-T3 to be showcased.
I arrived at Dave’s house at lunchtime on the Thursday and after a brew and a catch-up (we’d not met in person since pre-pandemic) we set out in his van to catch the last few hours of daylight. A recce in readiness for the full day Friday was our objective. However, it didn’t go to plan – in a great way. I’ve already shared the drone images from which the observant will note that we had a decent sunset although the sky kicked off properly once I’d packed the drone away and we’d set off for home. Well, we did pull over and I grabbed the X-T3 and I’ve started this post with one of those images.
A gentler start to our first foray into the Wolds
I’ve written before about the need to know your gear so well that the camera seems to disappear into the background and I’m very lucky that I still retain the muscle memory from when the X-T3 was my daily carry. One thing I didn’t realise until Dave asked whether I’d captured anything decent was that I’d not checked the LCD screen previews at all during the first hour we were out. That’s clearly a habit that using film cameras has “cured” me of!
We were blessed with some fabulous light and interesting skies across the two trips
I started the afternoon firmly in a black & white frame of mind, not surprising given how much black and white film I’ve got through this year (don’t ask!). But when the sky kicked off as we drove home I swiftly moved into a more colourful outlook.
First it teased with a rainbow … whilst I was loading a roll of film into the SIX:17
Then it started quite subtly …
… and as we pulled away
So, our short recce in readiness for a full day out on the Friday started gently and ended in spectacular fashion. We headed home with some ideas for the following morning, a clear idea on the first location of the day … and a few images to get us off to a great start.
Watch this space for a selection of images captured with the Fuji X-T3 on the Friday. Meantime, I will leave you with my favourite X-T3 image from Thursday.
And that’s a wrap … back to the warmth and some tea!
I headed up to Marsden Moor a couple of mornings ago hoping to capture some aerial shots of the early morning light on the rocks at Buckstones Edge. It was bright and sunny at home but twenty minutes up the road I pulled into the carpark in a total whiteout. I put the drone up but even at four hundred feet above me there was nothing to see!
So, I headed back with visibility improving the closer I got to home. Stopping and retracing my steps (tyre tracks?) I found it was not improving along the Edges so with domestic responsibilities waiting I headed back.
I did stop part way home, whilst still out on the moors, and had another try. This was slightly more successful although the files did need a bit more work than usual to make them fit for posting. This was partly down to the conditions and partly down to the fact I’d set the exposure to minus one EV by mistake and hadn’t noticed until it was too late!
Deanshead, with Scammonden Water to the left
I can never resist a mono …
Looking up the B6114 towards Elland with Scammonden Water on the right
Down to the canal for the first time in months this morning. The “Blue Hour”, all fifteen minutes of it, passed whilst I was driving back to Elland from Halifax but I was delighted to find a moody sky and knew exactly where to go to take advantage of it.
The canal is one of my favourite sources of photographic inspiration and prior to last November I was down there several times a month. This was my first visit in almost three months and whilst I didn’t wander far from the car it was a real joy to be there. The moody mono being the icing on the cake.
Dave's Place 
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