SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW: Recently Added Galleries and Collections

Fred the Bulldog, London, 15/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:49:43 GMT

Fred!

What a magnificent beast, probably the BIGGEST bulldog I've ever seen. Huge and solid and a little bit smelly. Such girth!

Got a great shot of his bum too when he got fed up posing. Seems he is a minor celeb too...

When I was younger we NEVER saw bulldogs, they were a sort of mythical dog, only ever seen in books and cartoons, now I see them everywhere. There is one on our estate that rides a skateboard and another in Greenwich that plays football. These are star dogs with unexpected talents.

Just a shame about the fkn Churchill advert.

Leica IIf RD, Summitar 50 f/2. Focussing quickly is still a challenge, though to be fair, nobody would call Fred 'fast moving' lol. Faster than a brick wall though and he certainly whipped round quickly enough when he decided the interview was over.

Fomapan 100, DD-X 6.5 mins

Kings Cross & Farringdon, London, 15/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:23:55 GMT

Leica IIf RD, Summitar 50 f/2

Fomapan 100, DD-X 6.5 mins

Tate Modern, London, 15/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:10:05 GMT

Available light! Cheated slightly & used the Sekonic L-558. Well, you would too if it was in your bag.

Leica IIf RD, Summarit 50 f/2

Fomapan 100, DD-X 6.5 mins

Greenwich shapes and shadows, London, 12/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:11:28 GMT

Today we were mainly doing shapes and shadows, doorways, windows and spires.

Sunny and contrasty. The Elmar shows some signs of flare in a few of the photos even with the FIKUS hood on the end. Some good effects though (I think).

Just about getting the hang of the parallax correction, kept forgetting to adjust the VIOOH finder...

Some of these photos seem kind of timeless and I find the 'softness' of the Elmar very pleasing for this kind of subject. But I have never been a particular slave to sharpness heh.

No luck with a fast moving cat either. Must learn to pre-focus more effectively or forget animals.

Leica IIf, Elmar 90 f/4

Fomopan 100 (inexpensive Czech emulsion), DD-X 7 mins. There is nothing on the web that I could find to indicate timings for this combo, not even the Massive Dev Chart, so it was a bit of guesswork to get the timing right, duh. Hopefully if this text gets spidered it will help somebody else looking for timings.

British Museum, London, 09/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:39:34 GMT

Late afternoon, low light even in the atrium. It is a strange 'flat' soft light too, like being *inside* a lightbox. Forced to use f/2 or f/2.8 on the Summitar 50 - not its sharpest focal length as can be seen.

However, I like the slight dreaminess of the softness though there is more centre sharpness than I expected. It is considerably less clinical than (for example) my Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8.

I also like the bokeh, nice to see in this 60 year old lens.

Having a few probs with the developing still. I'm now using a Kinderman stainless steel tank & Hewes wire reels but I keep finding dots on the scanned negs which points to an agitation issue. I'm beginning to wonder if it might be the scanner though, it probably needs an overhaul and a clean since it is 'getting on a bit'.

Leica IIf RD, Summitar 50 f/2, Delta 100, DD-X 12mins

British Museum II, 11/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:34:19 GMT

I contunue to be fascinated by the patterns and textures and soft light of the atrium.

These were taken with an uncoated 1936 'thin' Elmar 90 f/4, mostly between f/4 and f/8.

leica IIf RD, Delta 400, DD-X 8 mins

Poole/Bournemouth 07/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 09:11:48 GMT

Poole harbour and Bournemouth Pier

Rain, sun and wind

Leica IIf RD, Summitar 50 f/2, Delta 100, DD-X 12mins. Used the SOOPD 'barn door' hood on the Summitar to avoid the flare - the sun, when out, was harshly bright and getting lower as the afternoon wore on.

That hood is paradoxically a thing of beauty in my eyes although I can appreciate its ugliness. It looks more like a hood on an old school movie camera and it certainly attracts attention!

Exposure & dev slightly bolloxed. Working on this...

Deptford High St, London, 05/11/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:53:00 GMT

Structures & eggs

Poking around in The Deptford Project

Delta 100, Leica IIf RD, Summitar f/2.0, DD-X 12m

Flat cloudy day, low contrast.

Some problems with the lack of parallax correction...

IIf test,Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich 28/10/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Just testing the Leica IIf RD with an Elmar 3.5 RD

Delta 100, DD-X 12m pp'd in LightZone

Loving this 52 yr old camera and the Elmar lens. It is a mechanical jewel. Total ego trip of course, particularly when a couple of American tourists tooled up with D3's, 14-24s and a sh*tload of gear just gawped.

I'm totally sold on rangefinders, particularly this one. I enjoyed using the Kiev 4 (FSU Contax clone) and the Zorki 4 (FSU Leica rip) but this Leica IIf RD blows my socks away (and blows away the FSU cameras too).

Ooooohhhh, it makes me feel good when I think of the images I've seen made by this camera and its siblings by other photographers over the past 70 years. If I could come even close...

Why else does it feel so good? Getting back to basics I suppose. No meter, so sunny f/16 rule, and therefore having to really think about exposure. The fidgetiness of loading it, focussing in the rangefinder and composing in the viewfinder, cocking the shutter before setting the shutter speed, changing the aperture with my fingernail on the diminutive collapsible Elmar... I could go on.

Fast it aint but it slows me down and makes me *think*. It is the antithesis of the modern DSLR and in my opinion the modern stuff (lenses excepted), with all of its convenience, is not even a close 2nd compared to the sheer *joy* of using this little piece of history. Enuff already!

Kit and Cuong, Mr Chungs, 25/10/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:47:00 GMT

Taken on an F4s with 85mm f/1.4 at f/1.4.

Handheld using available light (very little) and consequently ridiculous low shutter speeds (1/10th - 1/15th).

With the insanely small depth of field 'tis a mystery any of these are even usable...

Delta 400 developed in DD-X 8mins

Good meal though :)

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 23/10/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:59:00 GMT

Old school...

Have just got got a 30yr old Kiev 4a (Former Soviet Union Contax IIIa clone) off fleabay for next to nothing. Fingers crossed I've been lucky, no light leaks, it seems to work OK etc etc. The Jupiter 53mm f/2.0 is clean, has no fungus and appears sharp.

Biggest problem is my film developing, the negs are not the best I've ever produced but I'm just getting practiced again after a 30 year break.

Best of all - NO METERING. I just used the sunny f/16 rule. Really quite liberating and slows me down (a lot).

My eyes are less good than they used to be and I am beginning to have to come to terms with the fact that a lack of dioptre adjustment is a problem. However, despite the absence, the bright rangefinder is a (literally) brilliant focussing aid with my eyesight.

I like walking around with this chunk of FSU history round my neck. Greenwich is full of tourists bristling with the latest DSLRs and accessories and it gives me a kick to be using an 16 Rouble rangefinder.

Film/dev details: Delta 400, APH 09 14 mins. Possibly too long developing judging by some of the harsh contrast. The lack of a dust free environment doesn't help either.

Scanned on a Nikon LS40, pp'd in LightZone

Amsterdam, Holland, 1981 (yes 1981)

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:23:00 GMT

Mayflower Garage, London, 13/09/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:21:00 GMT

This is the first film I've developed for about 30 years... so there are one or two errors.

Using the F4S, 35-70 f/2.8 with Ilford Delta 400

Chemistry - Adox APH 09

Alliance for Choice demo, Parliament Square, London, 08/10/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Northern Ireland pro-choice demonstration

Turned out not to be allowed under SOCPA legislation hence the photos towards the end.

The met dithered when they saw Diane Abbott, MP - 'I need my eyes testing' said one copper.

Which begs the question, does Diane not know SOCPA rules in her own backyard?

Deptford contrails... Britain from below, London, 28/09/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:18:00 GMT

Britain from *below* part 158

Well, IMHO a more emphatic demonstration than something like Andrew Marr's crappy high speed GPS mapping of aeroplane flights featured in 'Britain from above' on the BBC recently.

And a fairly graphic example of all the shit there is above us. I'm calling it 'Britain from below' because we all get dumped on one way or another.

On the other hand, this is the view from our flat and it certainly beats watching uberdorks such as the dreadful Andrew Marr (or any other TV for that matter).

Greenwich miscellany, London, 27/09/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:28:00 GMT

Tis a beautiful day in Greenwich. Probably one of the 3 days we have had sun in the UK this 'Summer'... Oh yeah, it is Autumn, must have missed the glorious UK sun over August. Not.

A fairly random collection, ho hum. Just had to get out and take some photos

Some of these exposures are messed up. For some reason the sky photos are f/2.8... what was I thinking?

I blame my knee.

But I like to think someone was leaving kisses in the sky for me. I *really* like to think that.

The inside shots are from the National Maritime Museum. The NMM has the most beautiful available light through the HUGE glass roof and possibly the *worst* coffee I've ever had the misfortune to drink. From PAUL, I was expecting their usual quality 'Americano' only to be served with something akin to warm piss pumped out of a vacuum flask such as those seen at corporate gigs half way through a meeting - and just as exciting.

Let me quote from their literature (emphasis mine)...

In 1889, a small local bakery opened in Lille. Four generations later, one family's love of good food and passionate commitment to the best traditional baking methods have established the PAUL name throughout France and, increasingly, around the world [...] Add excellent coffee, tea and hot chocolate and friendly, knowledgeable staff and it's easy to see why PAUL bakeries are the favourite destination of local food lovers.

All I can say is *bollox*, but I would wouldn't I.

Greenwich Wheel after dark, 26-27/09/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:22:00 GMT

Why isn't this a permanent fixture?

It is (was) absolutely beautiful.

Just got here in time before it got dismantled. Originally we went up on the wheel when it first opened but failed to take photos (see below, too shit-scared due to extenuating circumstances).

When *on* the wheel, I didn't realise when stuck at the top, gondola waving alarmingly in a stiff breeze, that there was an airshow at London City Airport.

A huge WW2 bomber bellyflopped over the Thames and turned 90 degrees (on the vertical) towards us.

I don't usually succumb to 9/11 shit but all of us thought 'Oh no...'

It was a VERY scary moment, mainly because of the decontextualised weirdness of seeing an ancient bomber heading towards us at speed, on its side like in a Dambusters film, and we being stuck up in the air like patsy targets.

As a Londoner, I've never been up the London Eye for this very reason... The Greenwich Eye seemed smaller and more manageable somehow.

Oh, the irony. Of course it didn't help being as stoned as a badly-paranoid-stoned-thing at the 'height' of the action.

I'd been meaning to get here after dark and was finally kicked into action by the realisation that it would NO LONGER BE THERE after the 28th September. What I missed, due to a reprise of the previous mental state (lol) was that there was a whole Greenwich 'Olympiad' celebration with a candle-lit walk up to the observatory. And unless they recreate the beautiful weather and light it is a moment I missed.

F*cking photography.

Barney RIP

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:33:00 GMT

Barney has gone on a new trip...

New owners, new life. Very sad for us but very happy that somebody else will be caring for him

Mayflower Garage, London 13/09/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:07:00 GMT

Greenwich shore, London, 06/08/2008

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:19:00 GMT

More from the F4

Ilford Delta 400

Nikkor 35-70 f/2.8 AF-D

The tide was a really long way out, even revealing an old anchor stuck in the mud.

Now I'm awaiting yellow & red filters to increase contrast.