February's Roll of Agfa Vista

Month two.

February 2020.

Agfa Vista 200 aka Pountdland film.

It's May, we're well into lockdown, my house is full of screaming kids, barking dogs and a wife intent  on decorating every room in the house all in.......NOW!

When I used to develop my own film, it always took me a while to get round to doing it, now I get it shop developed but it still takes me ages to scan and digitise the negatives.
Month's after shooting February's roll I'm trying to find time to share the images with the world.

Armed with a roll of Agfa Vista, the trusty Poundland film, of which I've still got a few rolls left in the freezer and my £10 Canon EOS 600 SLR let February begin.

One Sunday afternoon we decided to all jump in the car and take the dogs for a walk around The Walks in Kings Lynn. A perfect way to tire out a toddler and a perfect excuse to record some memories on film for me.

The day was a golden and warm one for winter; great weather for a 2 year old to explore his surroundings.

Using my trusty 24-105L zoom lens made following Charlie around on his travels a breeze.

It's not a lens I use much, typically only for newspaper work but when it does good it does really good.

You can't take a child to a park without going to the park.

And sometimes I get things wrong.
Faced with this backlight, with the sun behind Laura I dialled in some over exposure to combat it but it seems it wasn't enough.

With either a light leak or seriously blown out highlights right at the top of the frame.

My next trip out was meeting up with Jasmine & Lee in Shouldham Warren.

When I'd got the 'proper' shot's of them celebrating valentines together I pulled out my film camera attached to my 24-70L lens and shot a few frames.

Shot wide open I missed focus on the last frame but the film aesthetics are still lovely!

Another month, more growing up, Florence tried food for the 1st time.
Why not document the moment.

And Charlie wanted to steal the limelight as always.

One miserable day outside, Charlie & I were stuck in doors watching Bing, probably, when I looked outside and it was snowing.

Quick!

Charlie grab your wellies.

We only went as far as the driveway but Charlie had a great time experiencing snow for the 1st time.

Whereas, I've never liked the cold white stuff, I was happy to go back in the warm.

So that was February's roll and February's fun.

A few mishaps but that's what it's all about. When you can't check a shot on the back of a camera you have to wait and see what you've got and it's sometimes it's what you've missed.

I've still got a handful of Agfa Vista left in the freezer and I'm looking forward to shooting it again.

I've now got to get my arse in gear and scan March.

See you next month.

Hidden troubles in Spalding

As I've said previously, don't let your images collect virtual dust.

Don't let things become stale. Push yourself. I really am sitting here right now, MacBook on my lap, headphones on, trying to think of a long term project that can keep me interested and push me to do something different.

I've got one idea. I've now just got to put my hand up in the class room that is social media and say "ummm, would anyone be interested in.........." and hope that I get at least one "yes" back. Although it wouldn't be much of long term project with just one sitting or session.

Anyway, something that always seems to interest me is the beauty in the decay; the things that people don't see or more like don't want to see.

A homeless persons home

I come across a lot of shelters and beds in derelict buildings but this one was a real surprise. Its in a tiny little space down the side of a building with no shelter over head. 

Life can hit you hard.

I do however draw the line there. I will not photograph a homeless person as an easy street photography target. I wonder which is worse though? Photographing the easy still target in the gutter or invading someone's space whilst maybe they're away from their shelter?

This photowalk was a cold jaunt around Spalding, early 2017, I'm sure after a hospital appointment. Looking for alley ways and detritus, thankfully in the market towns around me both are plentiful, the latter the local councils may not be so thankful for.

What I do remember from the start of the year was reading an article about Stephen Shore; a pioneer in 1970's colour photography. Being someone who has always had a liking for all things black and white, vivid colour images of all things that would now been seen as retro were fresh in mind as I walked past this empty Royal Mail building with serious........red!

From Russia with love. To Stamford with art.

Don't go thinking that I've been to Russia. Or, by all means, you can go thinking that I have been to Russia, think all you like. I haven't.

However the camera used for these images has been to Russia, in fact it came from Russia.

The Kiev 4 was produced between 1947 - 1987. So I might have been 2 years old when was mine was made, might have?

I paid £5 for the camera and 50mm f2 lens attached. Half of me thinks I paid £5 too much for it. The trouble is I haven't decided if the camera is faulty or not. After about frame number 30 of a 24 exposure roll of Agfa Vista, I thought f@£* it! it's not winding on. Only to develop the film and to discover that it was.

Confused.com.

Granted, like many cameras, I only ever shoot one roll of film before the camera gathers dust in the drawer or gets sold on. So I have no hard evidence whether the camera is faulty or not, it seems I either wasn't counting exposures correctly or its fine?

On to the experience. Its a great camera, its solid, heavy and using the rangefinder is a pleasure with the focus wheel on the top of the body. Im not sure I had the 'Contax Hold' down to a T though as each time I put my eye to the viewfinder I saw my finger.

The photos for this blog were taken on New Years Eve in Stamford, Lincolnshire.
I was surprised to find street art and so I really should go back and search out some more.

Street Art by Snik https://www.facebook.com/snikarts/

The roll of Agfa Vista was my worst home developed roll so far. A truly awful amount of water marks had initially ruined the roll. Until I read that a little bit of breath and a lens cloth is the best way to get rid of it.

I do wonder if my chemicals are reaching their use by???
Maybe I did something that made the process very 'soapy'?

I've got a few rolls waiting to be developed in my fridge.
Theres only one way to find out if the chemicals are still good to use.