JamesT

2 hours ago, Ryewolf said:

Nicely caught Gareth. According to Homeprides website Fred was introduced in 1964 and is still being used.

Wasn't it McDougall's then?

I'd forgotten the name but I do remember him. IIRC you could send in 6 labels and 1/- in postage stamps (or something like that) to get one.

2 hours ago, Hatter said:

Hi James.  How do you convert your film images to digital for posting?  Scanned negatives or print first then scan the print? 

I just scan the negatives, a flatbed for medium & large format and a film scanner for 35mm. (For colour I usually use the lab scans).

Then tweak in RawTherapee.

Thanks everyone.

I noticed the IR-ness too, but I'm not sure where it came from, the film was FP4+ which while it has good red sensitivity doesn't really go into the IR and none of the images used a red filter (1 & 3 were with CP to cut down the reflections looking into the Sun, and 2 didn't use a filter at all).

Mostly a test run with another new toy, a Bronica SQ-A (6x6 format camera, otherwise quite similar to the ETRS). The Letcombe Brook is a chalk stream that starts near Letcombe Basset and flows into the Childrey Brook just North of East Hanney.

Letcombe Basset Cress Beds

Two of the brook in the BBOWT Letcombe Valley reserve.

The problem with the replacement sky is that the lighting direction becomes wrong on the planes. While it's not extreme, it is apparent on careful examination.

This (I think) is probably the hardest thing to get right in composite images.

Another relevant article from about a year ago on 35mmc https://www.35mmc.com/06/06/2022/hiking-the-uncanny-valley-by-don-goodman-wilson/ .

@AndyandhazelThere is also a back plate on the tender so I guess they could have stretched a tarp between them.

On 02/05/2023 at 23:47, Ryewolf said:

Great to see these really old engines still running and in steam when so many were cut up for scrap.

It's an interesting story. The Furness railway bought several of these 0-4-0 tender engines in the 1860's, but within 10 years they were obsolete, and so were sold to some of the local iron works as factory engines where they were converted to saddle tanks and worked for the better part of 100 years. The Furness Railway trust has two, this one and a slightly newer one that they are restoring to the saddle tank form. They're based in Preston at the Ribblesdale railway, but No. 20 spends most of the time touring.

The oldest working steam locomotive in the UK had been visiting Didcot and I went over there on Sunday. This is from the first B/W roll (there are more for later if they are any good including some in colour).

On 17/04/2023 at 01:15, Ryewolf said:

Thanks Clicker, this particular engine was on loan, today was it's last day running on the ELR.

Heading to West Somerset next, then home.

A carrion crow feeding in the bank at Farmoor reservoir.

I think Lady of Legend has to be one of my favourite stream engines.

Great light there.

23 hours ago, Clicker said:

Well just goes to show ... size  doesn't matter ... you must be really pleased to see that  you've created a habitat  for that little newt ...

Indeed, it was an exciting moment. I dug the pond about three years ago, in the hope that the frogs that I often saw in the garden would use it (as they have), but had no expectation that they would be joined by newts.

Yes, it's easier in a small pond, mine's only about 1m² and maybe 40cm deep at the deep end. That was about a much as I could manage with a mattock and a shovel.

Another not-so-great quality shot from the pond, but a record shot of a first.

I'd just been carefully scraping some of the duckweed off (to avoid disturbing the frog spawn) and saw this fellow. There were at least two, but I couldn't get the phone to focus, and by the time I had got a proper camera one had hidden.

Very peaceful, in contrast to its history.

Given how recently-closed it must have been I'm surprised it wasn't hastily brought back into use to help meet the demand for munitions in 1914.

First batch of the year, I had walked up the garden and heard a plop. About 3 days later than last year.

Not the best quality. Not sure if its the OnePlus 5T camera or the Ubports camera app.

Great to see her with a bit of room to stretch her legs.

A super set of an iconic engine, both as the start of the "Classic" Great Western look, and also as a magnificent example of reconstruction of a lost class.

According to my N. American bird book, they are in the family of Cardinalidae, cardinals and grosbeaks. You must be quite near the western limit of their range Mark, I never saw them either in Colorado or New Mexico.

3 hours ago, markknittle61 said:

I moved a little on the last one

 

Still, impressive to catch it letting go.

They're typically native of warmer climes than ours. I used to get one species (I don't recall which, but they weren't as colourful as yours) when working in San Diego back in the late '80's.

12 hours ago, Ryewolf said:

makes me wonder just what happened...

The beech fork had grown around the birch trunk, and then at some point the beech branch split away from its trunk and in the process shattered the birch tree. It was just chance that the bit of the birch embedded in the beech ended up close to the standing part. There were quite a few birch logs around from where it had shattered. I did take a shot at longer range but that's on the other camera that I had and I've not finished that film.

1 hour ago, Clicker said:

Sometimes folks have little knowledge of the work required to reproduce good images  for printing from slides and the sheer amount of work involved

And even the most basic scans on a home scanner are monumentally tedious for any significant number as the slide have to be loaded individually.

Sole Common Pond

Them's the breaks

Granary under restoration

Interesting to see the old pillars and caps intended to keep out the damp and the rats.

All shot on FP4+ with the Kiev-60.