MorseBlog

Last year I was watching a Steve O'nions' video where he used a Horsman 6x12 roll filmback on his Intrepid 4x5. I had picked up years ago an old 6x9 MPP filmback that I have used on the Intrepid I have. I am a sucker for the panoramic format (I really enjoy shooting a Fuji G617.) so when I saw the 6x12 I thought that might be something I could use.  With rollfilm backs on a 4x5 the inevitable question why not just crop the 4x5 image? The usual response is economics. 120 film is cheaper than the 4x5 equivalent. Processing is easier to find as well and more affordable.  I researched 6x12 backs and stumbled across the SINAR film backs and the Zoom model in particular. These backs fit like a sheet film holder and so do not require the ground glass to be removed for each image. The Zoom model allows one to shoot a variety of formats on the same roll of film. This means 6x12, 6x9, 6x8, 6x6, and 6x4.5. I am a sucker for versatility and fortunately at the time I found one for sale fo...

I had recently received my developed film from an earlier trip to Monk's Wood. I liked one image a lot but I got sloppy with the focus and so what could have been a really good image is mostly a disappointment. So yesterday evening I thought 'I'll go back for a quick trip and try and re-take that image'. The light looked promising that afternoon but I got of to a late start and by the time I parked the sun was well down. I quickly donned the gear and rushed off.  I arrived and the sun had washed off the meadow grass and was creeping up the trees on the edge of the meadow. They glowed with an intense orange while some clouds picked up the light as well. I rush over to the subject tree and see what I feared had happened. In the intervening week the wind had stripped the leaves of my tree!  Not wanting to get skunked I found an aspen and thought I could catch some of the glow of the setting  sun as well. I worked fast to compose and focus the image. The bright sky meant ei...

I returned again this morning before dawn two weeks from my last visit. Even as I walked the trails by my headlamp I could see the place was radically different. Hardly a leaf left on a tree, though the aspen by the roadside is hanging in there. I had hoped for frost or mist or fog but misread the weather report and had instead a humid morning with light thin clouds and was entirely overdressed for the temperature.  I just bought a box of 48 sheets of expired Ektachrome 100S that the seller says was stored refrigerated so I decided to take the risk. Part of the reason to be out was to ascertain the quality of the film.  I walked a great distance in the dark and ended up on the western edge of one of the lakes. The sun was coming up through clouds and I thought I would try again a lake-side image again. I haven't had too much luck with these as it is difficult to find a place free enough of foliage to get a got composition.  As I set up fo...

It seems I am making regular rounds to my 3 local woodlands. Each has a unique character and rather than being repetitive I find new areas to explore afresh in some and comfort in the familiar places of ones I know better. Of course these woodlands change all the time, with the seasons, the weather. If one looks carefully enough and is sensitive to subtleties there is change all around.  This morning it is Monk’s Wood. Growing up a a hillside on determinedly clay soil it is markedly different from the he two fen woodlands of Holme and Woodwalton. These latter two are pancake flat being in the drained marshes of the fens. They are also relatively new.  The silver birches of Holme would not have turned up until after the draining of the fens as they prefer well drained soil. The nearby area of Whittlesey is the last of the fenlands to be drained so the forest is perhaps 150 years old.  Woodwalton Fen was purchased by Charles Rothschild in 1910 as a nature reserve. I am not ...

I slept in on this Sunday morning and probably missed the best of the fog. By mid-day there was still some fog around the house and I had the chance to venture out for a couple of hours. I drove down to Holme Fen if only because I hadn’t been there the longest.  When I arrived there were lots of parked cars; more than I have ever seen before. The weather was dry so I can hardly blame them. I went out to the eastern-most coverts as I haven’t been to then in a while and the forest opens up in a few areas so I might exploit the fog there better.  By the time I got out the fog seemed to be slacking and didn’t provide as much mood as I had hoped. The autumn was moving on and many of the silver birch leaves were turning from yellow-green to a more orange brown color.  Gone now is the tyranny of green; to such an extent the eye thirsts for fresh green growth amongst the mostly brown bracken and naked tree limbs. The oaks however hold onto their leaves; for now at least. I pass t...

I almost didn't bother getting out of bed when the alarm sounded at 5:30AM. The weather report indicated clouds and some rain. Not promising and I have been through a lot of film this past week. However I thought there won't be much color left soon as I heaved myself out of bed and walked quietly downstairs.  I found the cafetiere washed it out and boiled the kettle. Meanwhile I got into my insulted hiking trousers, found the dry pair of boots and some dry socks. Made the coffee and filled the thermos. I stealthily went out the door with my pack, thermos and boots. I placed these in the boot of the car. It feels unseasonably warm. It is very dark with some light through the partings of the clouds. Venus shines brightly through a gap and the waning sliver of moon glows behind some thin clouds. There is a thin fog but not terribly promising.  I make the drive in silence. I really don't like the radio to break the relative quiet of my mood in...

The last few days have been poor photography-wise. A lot of wind and some rain have been blowing through England the last few days. It is disheartening to see the leaves stripped from many of the trees around my house. It seems the fall season of color will be short and strange this year.  I did get out this afternoon. I was feeling anxious (perhaps the upcoming American election) so thought a walk in the woods with a camera would help. I decided on Holme Fen as I had not been there for a week.  As I drove down the sky was bright and nearly cloudless near my home. However by the time I arrived clouds thickened over Holme Fen. This was a shame as the justification of bringing a camera on a windy day was the hope of some bright sunlight to keep shutter speeds up. I brought the Mamiya 645 Pro and had 2 frames of the Ilford 3200 Pro film I was shooting at ISO 1600 as an experiment in faster black and white. I plan to write up this experience when I finish the roll and get it devel...

I was looking forward to this morning for the last couple of days. The gale that has been blowing winds is finally done and a high pressure was due to park itself over the area. Finally we would have the first frost of the year (extremely late historically) and perhaps some fog. So I scraped the windshield (windscreen) and bundled myself into the care at 5:30am. The sky was deep blue with just a rim of orange on the eastern horizon. Venus was up as was the moon along with a couple of wisps of cloud. It was dead still.  It didn't feel that cold when I got out of the car. There was frost but the sense was it was barely freezing and hadn't been that cold for very long. I had been vacillating about where to go amongst my 3 local choices. I settled on Woodwalton Fen on the theory that with lots of water about the place perhaps that would improve chances of fog. On the way I didn't see any signs of fog patches so probably any choice was bound to disappoint on that front.  I pulle...