Jonathan

A letter to Top Gear

The result of an idle thought. Dear Top Gear, I’m trying to imagine how a car would handle if mounted on bicycle wheels. I wager that some sturdy mountain bike wheels would take the weight of a light car, and that it could probably be driven forward. I bet the spokes would disintegrate as soonContinue reading “A letter to Top Gear”

Building a home darkroom

I have worked with film for some time now. From day one I developed my own black & white film at home. This doesn’t take up too much room, so I was able to do it in the bathroom (which is completely internal, with no window). More recently, I got into printing my negatives ratherContinue reading “Building a home darkroom”

A foggy graveyard

Your guide to buying a digital compact camera

Most of the photography articles on this site are about advanced cameras and techniques. But recently someone asked me for advice on buying a compact camera for a holiday, so I decided to write this guide. Hopefully it will be useful. Lens There’s a lot to know about lenses, and they have a huge impactContinue reading “Your guide to buying a digital compact camera”

The Roman Baths

For Hannah’s birthday we visited Bath, and spent a large part of the day at the Roman Baths. I took my “new” Zorki-4 Soviet rangefinder to try it out. Here’s the birthday girl herself. This Roman chap stands in the shadow of the Abbey. And a few interior shots of the baths, to try andContinue reading “The Roman Baths”

Long telephoto lenses

If you want to take photos at the so-called “super telephoto” range, then you have a few options. They have relative costs and relative merits. Let’s go through the main ones. Genuine super telephoto lens I’m a Canon shooter, so I will refer to the Canon lenses – but the same applies to Nikon, SonyContinue reading “Long telephoto lenses”

Enlarger bulbs for the Durst C35

Today I bought and collected a second-hand Durst C35 enlarger. It needed a new bulb, and the manual says very little about bulbs except you must use a MELAMP 55. Users in some forums, including this one, say that compatible bulbs are difficult to find, or expensive. A little research tells me that the correctContinue reading “Enlarger bulbs for the Durst C35”

Christmasses past

I’ve been wondering what to shoot for the Victoriana Photo Challenge. Today, in Bath, the perfect opportunity presented itself as we passed a Victorian-style sweet shop. Unfortunately I was only carrying a Soviet camera without a flash, but I managed to grab Hannah’s phone for this photo.

Night traffic

I spent much of today trying to think of things I could go out and shoot, to try out my new Zorki rangefinder. Unfortunately it got dark and I missed my chance, but it also gave me an idea. I used the aerial photo view of Google Maps to try and find pedestrian-friendly bridges thatContinue reading “Night traffic”

More of Winter at Oldbury Court

I posted the other day with some pictures of frost, fog and ice from Oldbury Court. I actually shot most of a second film on the same day, and I’ve only just finished and processed it. I think these pictures are even better than the last lot, and probably some of my favourite photos ofContinue reading “More of Winter at Oldbury Court”