JamesT

Not the best shot in history, but it does show the "tadpole soup" that is now in the pond. and also some of the now-empty eggs.

There are also some tiny arthropods, that I only saw in the photo, by their relative brightness I think they are on the surface.

Any ideas @Paul?

A first few stills of Pendennis Castle. Bronica ETRS & Ilford FP4+.

Posing at the start of the day:

A Castle in the clouds:

Showing off on the demonstration line:

Cruising backwards on the demonstration line:

It's the first time I've taken medium format as the main camera to the railway centre (with the Coolpix P7100 for backup and movies).

There's still: the last few frames of one colour roll on its way to the lab and part of another colour and another B/W both still in the camera, so I hope there'll be a few more that are worthwhile.

12 hours ago, Ryewolf said:

There used to be a local nature reserve near to me that had lots of toads spawning but a deliberately induced invasive plant basically killed the reserve

That's a great shame, how did it happen?

Good news here though, they have started hatching. Too much sky reflection to get a photo, all I can really see is that some of the eggs are empty and there are little things wiggling just below the surface.

Been sleeping in? My pond has been full of spawn for a while now, though with the cold snap I'm not sure that was a good move.

A few clips of Pendennis Castle. The stills will need to wait till the films are processed.

Possibly the fourth most famous steam engine after Flying Scotsman, Mallard and UP 4014

I've never seen a shot of a damsel fly from directly below (or even above) before, a very different perspective when the wings vanish.

Segway Bus?

8 hours ago, Paul said:

The fomapan has excellent grain control, suits the scene.

I think it's more the format than the film or developer. 5x4 has about 15 times the area of 35mm/full frame or almost 4 times the linear scale.

Good to see you getting about a bit again.

Large format macro, the second is around 1:2 on the 5x4 film. Intrepid 5x4, Fomapan 200, Fujinon 135mm, f/45, first 1/15 second 1/8.

Often the best way to capture insects that don't like you to come close (most of them).

1 hour ago, CMunzel said:

Lovely to see there is frogspawn - a sign of ecosystem health.

Thanks Cheryl,

but wait, there's more:

in the little pond in the garden.

Last year there were lots of tadpoles but I didn't see any spawn (I think it was all under the escape cloth on the left in the top picture).

I bit bleak (especially as I forgot to take any gloves), but a few worthwhile shots:

Goldfinches:

Great Crested Grebe (bad hair day)

2 hours ago, Paul said:

Looks like it's settling into the next larval stage. Are you planning to keep it through to emergence?

Paul.

It certainly seems to have started to tie itself to the branch.

It may just be the way my eyes work, but all of the processed versions the edges of the clouds make me feel as if I'm seeing double, to the point where the original is the only one I can look at for any length of time without feeling a little queasy.

Yes, #3 is a nuthatch. Not seen one for ages.

Thanks everyone.

11 minutes ago, Les said:

I've managed several images of Woodpeckers over the last few years but only hanging from peanut feeders. Great kudos for getting on in a tree!

It was just a little way from a feeder, as was the blue tit.

Took the digital camera out to Chimney Meadows today. Not a lot about but I managed to a few decent shots.

Female StoneChat

Blue Tit:

Great Spotted Woodpecker:

Not sure which I like best, 1 or 4. It's between the waves in 1 and the sky in 4.

Very atmospheric.

(Whenever I try anything like that I just get murk).

@Denis Thanks. I agree that the bridge works a lot better, I think that the cliff might need a softer grade (I'd have to check my notes as to what I used, one was at 1 and the other at 0) and maybe a burn-in of the actual cliff face.

A couple of darkroom prints from a recent roll.

Cliff face at Dry Sandford pit:

Bridge on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Hungerford

Both printed from 6×4.5 negatives on FP4+ film to Ilford Multigrade (Rev V).

21 hours ago, stevedevil said:

It lacks a Punch really, With Mono & B&W contrast is a huge issue, this one is too flat,

In fact I lowered the contrast from the original scan, as I found the highlights too hard.

A little waterfall at the end of a pool at Dry Sandford Pit.

Bronica ETRS, 75mm, 1s, f/11, Ilford FP4+