Although St John the Baptist church is not far from my house, I’d never been past it and didn’t know it existed. Over the last few weeks we were invited to both a wedding and a christening at this lovely church, and I vowed to return with my largest camera to do it justice. The church standsContinue reading “St John the Baptist, Frenchay”
Author Archives: Jonathan
Bentley Mark VI
Some of our friends got married recently, and their wedding car was a Bentley Mark VI. I’m no classic car buff but this vehicle was beautifully built, maintained, and polished, and well-worthy of a picture or two. Photographs taken on Frenchay Common, Bristol.
New large format lenses
Recently I’ve had an inkling to dabble in large format portraiture rather than medium format. In particular I’ve wanted to try using older lenses with their various flaws. So far my only large format lenses have been high-quality Schneider lenses of (relatively) modern design and wide-to-normal focal lengths, so I decided to pick up some old lenses.Continue reading “New large format lenses”
The Black Dog – behind the scenes
Last week I published a picture entitled The Black Dog, which was a reflective piece on the subject of depression. I’ve had a few people ask how it was done, and while a magician never reveals his tricks, fortunately I am a photographer rather than a magician, so here goes. In order for this ideaContinue reading “The Black Dog – behind the scenes”
The Black Dog
This week’s Photo Challenge was entitled The Black Dog and it asked participants to take a picture on the theme of depression. This is my entry. This is a self-portrait with a two-second exposure time so I could move my head and blur my face. The negative was taken with a large format camera (myContinue reading “The Black Dog”
Camera sounds
A couple of members of the Vintage Camera Collectors group persuaded me to concentrate on where my two main hobbies (photography and audio recording) meet, and record the sounds of some of my cameras. Quite a lot of my cameras currently have film in them so I started with just a small selection. Unfortunately allContinue reading “Camera sounds”
Developing your own film
Processing your own black & white film is not too difficult and very rewarding, but lots of people don’t know quite where to start. This guide will help you get set up, get the right equipment on a budget, and be well on your way to developing your first film. Equipment There are various kits availableContinue reading “Developing your own film”
Voigtländer focus table
This Voigtländer Bessa 6×9 from around 1947 has an embossed metal table on the back which allows the photographer to calculate the depth of field based on the aperture and the focus distance. It’s still as accurate today as it ever was, provided you are using a 110mm lens. If you’re not sure how to read theContinue reading “Voigtländer focus table”
Photographic innovations
Photography has been around for a long time now and a lot of cool things have been invented or discovered as side-effects of photography. There are many websites about the history of photography which will give a complete picture (excuse the pun) but I wanted to pick out my favourite innovation of each decade sinceContinue reading “Photographic innovations”
Netham weir
Netham weir is a place I’ve been to regularly before. The water level is very variable due to the tidal Avon and often you can’t see the weir at all. This time, I checked the tide times and waited for a dry day when I would expect the greatest drop. As I hoped, the waterContinue reading “Netham weir”
Jonathan Gazeley 