Ok, I know people must be bored looking at posts featuring images of Newcastle, Co.Down, but I never tire of visiting the town, and photographing its scenic setting, where mountains meet the sea, or as the songwriter Percy French would have said, “Where the Mountains of Mourne Sweep Down To The Sea.” Here’s the view that may have inspired the words of the famous song, an image of those very mountains, doing exactly that…
Kilmood is a small hamlet, a few miles from Comber, Co.Down. This picturesque little settlement consists basically of one single street, – Kilmmod Church Road, with rows of cute cottages.
I visited in July 2024, with the Nikon F100 Camera, and a roll of Fujifilm Neon Acros 100ISO film, which I later developed for 7 minutes in Fotospeed FD10
Continue reading Kilmood, Co.DownDerryboye Crossroads, in deepest Co.Down, where an Israeli flag has been raised on a lamppost!
Photographed with the Nikon FG20 camera on Ilford HP5 pushed to ISO800, and developed for nine minutes in FD10, 200mm lens.
Islandhill on 17th January 2024, tide out, bitter cold, but sunny.
Photographed with the Nikon FM3a, – two images with a 50mm lens at f/16, blended in Photoshop.
The old village pump at Crossgar, Co.Down. This rotary pump was installed around 1870, over the site of an existing well. The wall behind the cast iron pump rises into an arch, from which villagers could suspend a bucket to draw water from the former well. When the pump was installed, the arch was bricked up.
St Andrews Church (Church of Ireland) Balligan, near Ballywalter, Co.Down, on a bleak midwinter day.
Built in 1704, the church became famous for choral recitals and classical music, and was a popular venue. Choral Evensong was held on two Sundays each month until fairly recently.
Continue reading Balligan ChurchOn Wednesday 27th October (It’s 2023) the good citizens of Norn Iron were introduced to Big Aggie, or, more formally, Storm Agnes, the remnants of a gale blowing across the Atlantic, or somewhere! We were, apparently, spared the worst of it; that privilege was granted, so they say, to the people of the south west of England, but we did have lashing rain and some wind. Anyway, I was in Comber that day, with the Fujifilm X-T30 resting in the car seat beside me, and I had the photo-itch. (You know that urge you get to make a photo of something – anything…) but there was no way I was getting out of the car in THAT rain.
So, I was looking something, something that would appeal to me as an image, that I could shoot from the comfort of the driver’s seat! (Yes, I know, a total lack of dedication.. A REAL photographer would stand in the rain, la de da de da…)
I was to meet someone in Killinchy Street, – and I just happened to park opposite this…
I lifted the camera, and – there it is! My photo-itch was scratched! Later, on Flickr, the image was elevated to ‘explore’ status, – something I was really chuffed about!
Our Lady of the Assumption RC Church – a striking modern building situated on Downs Road, Newcastle, Co.Down.
Photographed with a Fujifilm X-T4 F=35mm, f/9 @ 1/125th sec on ISO400
The Old Post Office at Lisbane, near Comber, Co.Down, now a restaurant.
Photographed with the 40 year old Nikon FG20, on Ilford HP5, ISO400.
We have recently moved house. In our last home the water was full of impurities, and film developing was impossible. Negatives were destroyed with multiple little white flecks. Eventually I just gave up.
On Saturday I thought, to while away an hour or two, I’d look through my old darkroom kit and see what was still usable. I found an unopened bottle of Fotospeed developer, (use by 11/2011). It was the colour of black ink, so it was disposed of.
Continue reading Old Film, Old Chemicals, Old Man – and all in Working Order!
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