18 months ago, I set about putting together the ”a day in the life of a “ project. The narrative/idea behind this project was to shoot and document individuals who live and work by the coast. At the time, I thought the project might have some legs to it but I was never really sure to what level. The overwhelming interest since setting this project up has gone through the roof. When I started to dig a little deeper, I soon realised that the projects lifespan was endless in terms on its content as there are so many interesting people out there. The project will continues to evolve week by week and month by month as I add further content.
Read the full stories of those who live and work by the coast here: www.adayinthelifeofa.co.uk/ourlives/
the 10 shot project....
Im constantly looking for new ideas and projects to shoot at the moment. I generally start with a rough idea in my head, then look on line for some further inspiration and then think how I might display that project. However, this project needed to be about other photographers rather than me. Its also a project I wanted to share and it was super easy to find someone to collaborate with, Gareth Morton. A cracking film photographer who will bring a wealth of his knowledge to the project.
So, here’s the idea I came up with. The “ten shot project”. Ten shots, one theme, chosen by yourself and then submitted for review by way of our site. A social platform where we can share your work for all to see.
Im trying.....
When I set about putting this project together, imaging was never my concern in terms of the finished result, it was always the writing/copy aspect of it that I feared the most. Writing for me doesn’t come easily . I know what I want to say but when it comes down to banging the copy out, It takes me a huge amount of time to put these stories together. Ive had to learn and learn fast. I have a supportive other half that corrects and proof reads the final drafts but its down to me to rely these stories to you guys. Along the way I sort guidance and help from others that write for a living and thats been quite helpful. Lizzie aka “The Cornish Bird” offered me advice as well as suggested a few individuals that might work for the project.
A big thank you to Lizzie and to my other half and to those of you who have corrected me along the way. RD
The "Power Geek" 35mm film
No doubt you’ll remember the £1 film that Poundland so kindly gave us. The Agfa Vista 200. Well, it appears that Poundland noticed the sales success of that film so much that they have decided to produce a film of their own, the “Power Geek 35mm film” . Thats how they’ve branded it !! Not a huge amount of information on the packaging other than ISO 200, CN-16 processing and 10 exposures, yes, 10 exposures. That leads me to believe that these films might of been destine for the disposable camera market judging by the plastic casing they sit in. I reckon Poundland bought up the stock and badged themselves.
I contacted Poundland direct to see if I can get any more info on the films stock but their email back gave me nothing other than the info that’s on the box - not very helpful really. Anyway, Ive rolled off a few shots to give you some indication of colour and quality and the results are pretty good if Im honest. The enclosed images were shot on the lovely little point and shoot Olympus Trip 35mm, a David Bailey favourite.
There's more to Levy than meets the eye
Step aside, step aside, I urge you please, distance yourselves from what the tourists see
Harbour views isn’t just coffee and cake, stainless steel fittings and posh fish and chips
Look further, look further, there’s more to be seen, Porthlevens beauty isn’t just skin deep.
Harboured boats, such as “Sharon Tracey”, granite steps and multi coloured bunting,
rusting ladders, piles of ropes, sea defences protected by big black guns.
Porthleven, Porthleven there’s so much to see, beyond the facade of cornish cream teas.
There’s colour everywhere, in different forms, from window displays to murals on walls.
seagulls, even a black and white bull and cow, keeping an eye on us and looking rather profound.
Red curtains hiding some galvanised steps, a closed container and a place to rest
Porthleven, Porthleven, you’ve so much to offer, just look around more and then discover the other,
look further, look further than the end of your nose,
and you’ll see how Levy begins to unfold
Don’t forget the pier in its granite splendour, view it from angles that local postcards don’t cover,
victorian railings, deep brown in colour, guard those who wish to go much further,
mix up with film to give a different prospective
on how Levys pier will look when it’s printed.
Porthleven, Porthleven, its a pleasure to shoot you,
when you see something else that the normal might not do
RD
First roll of TMax
Im a massive fan of black and white film but Ive never shot a roll of Kodaks Tmax 400 before. I generally swing towards Ilfords HP5 & FP4. They’ve delivered for me time after time but more recently Ive seen some decent imaging using Tmax so enclosed are a few examples of the results I got. All shot on my Hassy 500 and the roll was expired - 2009
I think Tmax lends itself well to portrait shots and lower light levels where these images were taken. I like the fine grain it gives but I think I’ll need to shoot a few more rolls first to see if Im convinced that its a regular film for me.
Skate - re discovering what Id lost
Its been a number of years since Ive shot skate on a commercial or leisure basis. A passion I thought Id lost until this weekend. A meeting with the king of old school skate earlier in the week, Mr Matt Perham pushed me on. We had a chat about old times and decided that it was time to re kindle the buzz we both use to get laying down a trick and capturing it. The thing I remember most about Matt and how we use to shoot was we shot and rode stuff thats others didn’t and rode lines that other couldn’t, something Matt was ace at and still is
So, the location - thats was so obvious given the fact that we had access to one of the best indoor skate venues in the country, Mount Hawke. Hours before the park opened Matt and I sessioned the place. Matts not like any other skaters Ive shot. He knows what tricks he wants to put down the night before plus a little of adlib thrown into the mix and dials them back to back. A bit a machine if Im honest and a real pleasure to shoot. Today you resorted my faith in shooting skate again Matt. May there be many more days……
Enclosed are a selection of a few of the shots we put together. No flashes, no photoshop, no lightroom just real images shot the way it should be, real and grainy…. Camera: Leica Q & Leica M6.
Cheers to Ciaran & Alex for sorting it…
Finally, into print....
Ive been shooting various print based media over the years on the digital front and have been happy with the published results. Im given a brief, shoot it then submit the images to the magazine editors. Then it goes off to the design team and then between them they select the images that best suit the feature/brief requirements. All of which are always digital images which Im happy to provide. However, lately Ive been dropping a few medium format images into the mix to see if the guys pick up on their value. I don't mention Ive added film shots to the digital ones Ive submitted, I just like to see if they pick up on the quality of those images. It doesn't have to be megapixel quality, it really doesn't. Medium format images or 35mm images if they are well shot and composed can deliver.....
Finally its paid off. Admittedly its only one shot but its in the magazine. Result....
Camera: Hasselblad 500 C/M Film: Fujichrome Velvia 100 - expired
How do you view your slides? digi or old school...
How do you view your slides these days? Digi or old school? Well, I reckon that the vast majority of us will use a computer screen. We've become completely reliant on our desktops in the digital world that we've created. However, for me, it'll always be the old school route, with a projector.
I remember as a kid returning home from family holidays and pestering my father to get the holiday snaps processed. His choice when it came to shoot 35mm was always slide. Once he got them developed we would sit down and view the good, the bad and the somewhat indifferent. The magic of displaying those images onto a large white wall or screen for me was magical. Fully displayed for all of us to see....... The slide projectors that I was so familiar with all those years ago are now appearing at car boot sales all over the UK. I've several myself but nothing really along the lines of this little gem I picked up today.
A Minolta Mini 35. The price, £8, yep, £8. Now, you purchase from a car boat at your peril and believe to a certain extent what the seller will tells you in terms of does it work. Yes will always be their reply. So, you'll only really know if thats the case when you get it home.
So, I got home, plugged it in, and nothing!! Oh dear. I wasn't disheartened. I replaced the fuse and she fired up. Happy days......
A more detailed look
tHE 35 came in its original box with the instruction leaflet, wired up with the factory plug on it and a lovely little bakerlite switch. In addition to that was the Minolta autochanger. A manual functional slide holder capable of holding 20 slides at a time. Everything in its box as it would of come out of the factory all those years ago.
The Mini's design was simple yet functional, durable and compact and a great little find........ RD
the early bird catches the artist
As soon as the sun rises during the summer, Im generally up and out to look for something to shoot. We have some great natural down here in Cornwall and first thing in the morning you can capture some great stuff. What I didn't expect to capture that morning was Alan Furneaux, a local artist sitting dock side in painting away
I seem to be making a bit of a habit of this. Some time back I happened to come across another artist further up the road painting a similar scene. That turned out to be Ken Howard. Anyhow, I started chatting to Alan and it turned out he knows Ken really well. Small world.
I did ask Alans permission to grab a few shots whilst he was painting away. I have a connection with real and vivid colours, and watching Alan laying down colour was a treat.
A big thanks to Alan for allowing me to shoot away - You can find out a little more of Alans work on line here - www.alanfurneaux.com
Leica Q - dust on the sensor issue
Leica Q sensor issue
Read MoreMy first roll of Velvia - but mistakes were made......
I shot this roll of film the same way as I shoot most rolls of film. Dropped into my Hassy and reeled off the 12 shots. Once Id shot it, I sent it off to the guys at Ag Photolab and then got a message from them to say the roll I sent was a roll of E6 slide film, not a roll of C41 I so often send them. Opps....
The film in question was Fujichrome Velvia 50. This roll, like all my other rolls of film that Im currently shooting was expired. I don't often make adjustments with expired film unless I feel I need to do so. I like to see what age has done to the film, if anything. Anyhow, the Velvia box speed for this roll was ISO50, but then, I notice my second mistake. I take all my light reading through my M6 and set the Leica's ISO dail accordingly to which film Im using. However, half way through shooting this roll, I discovered I'd set it to 150, yet another mistake by me and given that error it would now seem that my final results will be pretty well under exposed. What an idiot !! I always check the details of what film Im loading into my camera to ensure its the correct choice for me with regards the subject matter thats I'll be shooting that day but on this occasion Id clearly had one of those moments and forgotten the basic's. It certainly wont happen again
Today, the negatives's came back. Were they under exposed? Not in the slightest. In fact, for me, all 12 are on the money. Outstanding on the colour front which is great for me and in addition to that, there pin sharp - Ive just found a new love, shooting Fujichrome Velvia 50.
