Balnahanaid

Balnahanaid, Glenlyon
Originally uploaded by Lyonheart

The weather looks worse than it felt. It was really a fairly pleasant afternoon. I used my Orange Red filter to bring out the dramatic clouds and framed the shot to see the farm through the wall. For me this captures the feel of Glenlyon at this point.

Jonathan

Jonathan
Originally uploaded by Lyonheart

An early photograph of my youngest son. Taken in 1981. Shot on Ilford PanF. Not sure what the developer was but it was almost certainly Ilford. I used to develop them in the bathroom in our flat using Paterson tanks.

If You Go Down To The Woods Today...

Chanterelles
Originally uploaded by Lyonheart

You will find Chanterelles and more funghi than you can shake a stick at. Though I'm never quite sure why one would want to shake a stick at anything.

Whatever The Weather

So the forecast is poor, but what the hell. We're going to head north for a few days. I plan to take the Ebony and the Nikon 35mm, the D200 and the F3. It will be good to get some fresh views. I might even see the sea.

Yesterday I went to a Scottish Downhill Mountain Bike event. Got some good shots on the D200. Very hard to catch the sense of energy and motion. I prefer the "blurred" shots.

Last night we heard a bird scratching and fluttering against the window. It was a newly fledged wren from our nest. A saw two of them and mum was chirping excitedly from the undergrowth. I also discovered that a blackbird has decided to set up home in the scented rose bush by the front door. Not the most convenient spot. At least she'll have some peace for a couple of days while we are away.

Jenny

I was able to get a good shot of Jenny Wren as she brought insects to her chicks. It involved hanging out the upstairs window to a dangerous extent. But the shot was worth it. Because Jamie had borrowed my Nikon 18-200 I had to use the Sigma 24-70. I always feel it's a bit soft. I may try again this morning with the Nikon.

Cave Dweller

On Sunday I discovered that an old house martin nest at the front of the house had an unusual resident. A wren has taken up residence and is feeding her family of chicks. We sat in the afternoon sun and marvelled at this thumb sized bundle of energy bustling back and forwards with endless beak-fulls of food. I've never heard of such a thing before. Amazing. If she's still there on Saturday I'll try to photograph her.

A very annoying thing I discovered on Sunday was that I had misloaded some darkslides. I tried to develop my river photos from last week. I was using up the last of my DDX developer. When I unloaded the dark slides I discovered that the negatives were loaded with the emulsion facing away from the lens. I didn't even bother running them through the process. I new they would be poor quality and binned them. It was just four sheets but at 65p a sheet it is still irritating.

So I developed the shots I took on HP5 on Saturday. The negatives look fine. I've decided to concentrate on the Delta 100 for the next while. The HP5 is good for portrait work where shorter exposures helps. But I don't need it most of the time. I've loaded up most of the darkslides with the Delta 100 - the right way around! I've only got four HP5 shots left. I plan to order some more film, the Delta 100, for when I'm off next week.

Small World

It was so warm and sunny. Macro called. The old quarry pools drew me in. Dragonflies and damselflies. The early ones. A Four Spotted Chaser, and a Large Red Damselfly. Baby newts amongst the Common Sundew drew the eye. They tried to hide from me, and the sun, in the shade of the bog plants. On the sundew a trapped crane fly stared back. Motionless in the glaring light. Held by sticky dew drops. Waiting. Red means danger.

Low Flow

It was a hot and sunny Saturday. We sat in the sun by the burn. The world breezed by. Carole sat and read. I walked the Ebony up the stony bed, only possible because of the low summer flow. Interesting rocks abounded. I picked up two interesting stones for my collection.

The sun dipped behind clouds now and then allowing some shots with the Ebony. Black and white, HP5. Not the ideal choice of film as the light was bright. Delta 100 would have been better. But the negatives look OK.

Greta

Last week I discovered that a pair of the Spotted Flycatchers which frequent the garden had set up home under the wood shelter. I call the female Greta, as she just wants to be alone. She sits pretty tight unless anything dramatic happens - like cutting wood. We try to give her as much space as possible. She's in a hard to photograph spot, but is a delight to have around.

Down By The River

Last night I took the Ebony down to the river to photograph some of the rocks. I haven't developed anything yet so I'm not sure how it will come out.

The riverside was peaceful and pleasant after the hot sun of the day. I didn't see a soul. As I started to leave I noticed a small colony of newts on one of the ponds. It was too dark to photograph them and I didn't have the right gear with me anyway. I promised myself I would return in the morning. Which is exactly what I did.

In the morning light I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the newts on the D200. And I also identified them as Palmate Newts. Beautiful little creatures about 7cm long.

Cheap Lens

I got a Nikon 135mm 3.5 lens for £34 on eBay. Very nice. It turned up last night and is in good condition for its age. The focus feels a bit stiff but that will loosen off as it's used. It has probably sat neglected for many years. I plan to try it on the F3 for some casual portrait work. I'm still on the lookout for a cheap 85mm or 105mm.

River Rocks

The electronic messaging equipment had to be checked. This meant driving to the foot of the glen to get a signal for the mobile phone and Blackberry. So I sat in the early sun, in the Land Rover, chatting to my colleagues who were, sadly, having to work. Luckily things went well and I quickly turned to walk by the river.

The brightness wasn't ideal for photography but the shapes of the rocks by the river caught my eye. I promised to come back with the 4x5 when the light is better.

Grey Start

It's a dull grey start this morning. Those nice people at the BBC say that it's going to be a lovely afternoon.

I have no plan this morning, except I do need to get some arborio rice for tonight's risotto. We have some friends coming round. This is great but does mean I'll have to shift the Jobo CPP film developer from the kitchen table. I wish I had a dedicated darkroom.

When I wandered by the river last night I took the F3 with me. But it's got PanF 50 loaded so it was a bit dull for photographs. Perhaps I need multiple backs....

Early Sun

I set off in the early sunshine with my camera. The light was hazy. I love this time of the morning. The wildlife is undisturbed and the combination of light and dew dazzles the senses.

I almost lost the angle finder from my camera. I dropped it after using it to shoot some bluebells close to the ground. Thankfully my path was evident from the dew so I re-traced my steps and found it. Thank goodness. It's too expensive to lose.

The bluebells are just starting in the woods near the house and I couldn't see much to photograph. So I wandered down to the river just to see the light on the water. I watched the Dipper and the Grey Wagtail and meandered home contented.

Light Tight

Development of the HP5 roll from my Yashica post the light seal upgrade confirms all is OK. It's light tight. Very pleased with myself and may celebrate with a small whisky later.

Primroses

The weather wasn't great but I persevered. Primroses aplenty. They are just going over and cried out to be photographed. I used the D200 with my Sigma 10-20mm lens, rather then going down the "macro" route. I wanted to create the sort of looming effect and a sense of being down amongst the undergrowth.

Verdance

I woke early. Anticipation of the day always excites me, here, in Glenlyon. The weather is grey and mist hangs on the birch woods. The new coat of their fresh green leaves is dulled by the flatness of the light. There is a spring lushness around. Not the heavy, torpid obesity of the dark summer greens, but a soft verdance. It comes through despite the light.

It's amazing how much the plants have shot up in the last two weeks. Last night the verges were hanging with a wide variety of plants and flowers, all eager to grab the best of the light.

I need to try and capture that during today and tomorrow. Oh, and I'm pretty sure "verdance" is a word, and if it isn't, it should be.

Snatched Shots

Our last weekend was busy. My youngest son and his friends visited. I got little time for photography. Just some snatched shots.

The sun shone and we sat outside glorying in the warmth. I even spent a day clearing up the rest of the fallen tree branches and having a bonfire.

On Saturday morning I took the Yashica with me as I walked down to the river in the early light. I shot off most of a roll of HP5. Too fast for the bright sun really and I wished I had some PanF in the camera. Loading the film last weekend and not using it till this weekend was the problem. One advantage of digital is the ability to choose a different film speed between shots. No concept of having to change film.

I also finished off the roll of HP5 in the F3 so I have two rolls to process this weekend.

Right now I am thinking of the weekend and the weather and what I might photograph. I put some PanF in the F3 so I will try and take some shots with this. I also ordered some Delta 100 because I pretty much just have PanF 50 and HP5 400 in 35mm. With the brighter days I need something in-between.

If the light is right, and I get up early enough, I will try and capture the bluebells in the woods. I could do this on digital or with the Ebony and some Velvia 50... who knows? Here's one of last year's shots with the Bluebells and some Greater Stitchwort.

Shotless

My Yashica Electro 35 GSN is waiting for patiently for me on a table by the door. I should have taken it out to shoot of a roll of film to test it. I know the camera works as I have already shot a film with it, but the light seals had deteriorated and were all gunky. I got the camera from eBay in mint condition (apart from the organic decay of the light seals) and I also ordered a light seal kit of materials from eBay.

It wasn't a huge job to clean and fix them up but it was a bit finicky. I brought the camera to Edinburgh with me this week thinking I'd snap some shots on the way to work to test the light seals but I've been too busy. Evenings have been a write off too as I've got in too late. So I'll just have to take it back with me to Glenlyon and try and shoot the roll of film on the weekend.

I'm also looking our for the rest of the summer visitors to our garden. I am waiting to see when our Spotted Flycatchers will arrive. They usually nest around the house or garden somewhere. They are a delight to watch as they perch and flitter and perch, catching insects on the wing. I like to watch them while I sit outside on the bench with a cup of tea.

Due Care and Attention

All in all it wasn't a great day for my large format efforts on Monday. I dropped the lens in the river, more on that shortly. When it fell it ruined one of the four negatives I had with me in two darkslides. And when I developed the remaining three B&W negatives on Monday evening I discovered that two of them had a problem.

The issue was that the "wide" section at the front of the bellows can sometimes fold slightly and cause a vignette with my Schneider 90mm lens. It is the Super Angulon and has a large rear element. I didn't take enough care seating the lens and the fold of the bellows was visible. I hadn't noticed the vignette when I composed, partly because it was so cold and my breath caused the ground glass to be covered in condensation so I had a tough enough job focussing it at all. Also, when I developed, one of the negs had scratches at one that I still can't explain.

All this says is that I need to slow down and pay more attention to the detail.

So I got one decent negative. All I have to do is get it scanned. But my scanner is not working.... and so it goes on.

At least I got some decent shots with the D200. Plus we went to the Highland Folk Museum which offered some great photo opportunities. I took a fair amount with my F3 on HP5 but I haven't developed it yet. Overall it was a good day.

The dropped 210mm lens and shutter seems to be OK. I opened the lens up and removed the shutter. I cleared the few small water drops with cotton buds and left it to dry on a radiator. I'll try it on the camera next weekend.

The housemartins arrived at the house on Monday. Swooping outside, it's good to see them back. Summer is coming.

Misty Morning

I woke early. There was a mist in the glen. I rose and hastily grabbed my cameras to try and capture it. Tossing the gear in the back of the Land Rover I drove along the river track. At the old sheep fold I pulled up and walked towards the river bank. I knew the trees would be reflected in the still river.

I snapped with my D200 and then went about setting up the 4x5.


It was a delight in the cool mist. The sun tried its best to burn through the mist. Blue skies glimpsed over grey seas and green trees.

At first I tried some B&W on Ilford Delta 100. The meter showed very flat contrast thanks to the mist. It was exactly what I had in mind.

A cuckoo called. My first of the year. Ian always says you can never hear the first cuckoo. Someone else has always heard one before you. It's true.

I climbed the old gate to get better access to the bank further upstream. Setting up the camera in the weeds I chose the 210mm lens to get the right size of image on the ground glass. All went well till I was ready to take the shot. As I clicked the lensboard fell from the camera. Despite my quickest reactions it splashed into the river. Instantly plunging my arm in the water I fished it out and waded to the shore, shaking water off of it as I went. I thought it would be ruined. Well, the shutter would be ruined rather than the lens.

I did my best to shake as much water clear as I could and headed off back to the house.