Fairground and Fuji Instax

Hello All

Yesterday I went to Marsden Beach with a couple of friends from Consett Photographic Society.  Whilst they were busy taking photos, I played about with my new toy - a Fuji Instax !

This is an instant  film camera - wide format.  The Kodak Polaroids are very similar. Apparently  the Kodak Polaroids develop quite quickly, but the Fuji Instax takes a while.  Once I took a photo, I had to wait about 10 minutes for it to totally dry and develop.

Having said that, I didn't really mind.  It was a bit like magic, just watching the film develop before my eyes, and the colours getting deeper and deeper.

I have discovered that it works best when using it for longer ranges...it doesn't seem to like close up work !  Here's one of my photos (which I have scanned in) :

We moved onto South Shields beach and into the fairground. 

I love photographing stuff in fairgrounds - you can get good people pictures, great candid shots and loads of pics where the colour really pops !  Here is a selection from the day :

A Trip to South Shields

Hello All

Last week I went out to South Shields for the day with my friend Chris from the Camera Club.

It was a bit of a funny time for me...just found out that my work is undergoing yet another
re-structure, which means I have to re-apply for my job.

So, a trip out was just what the doctor ordered, and even better, I took my Kodak Brownie out on it's first outing.  Still have yet to get the negatives developed, so fingers crossed they come out OK !  I even tried a deliberate double-exposure !

I also took my little ol' Olympus SLR out with me.  South Shields was very very quiet and the weather was a bit dull.  Having said that, it was good that it was so quiet as it gave me a chance to practice some camera techniques without feeling too self-conscious.

This was a practice of water shots - I haven't really had much experience of capturing waves, but I don't think I did too bad a job on this one.

We then moved onto the fairground - apart from a few people, it was totally empty.  I did spot these women trying to keep warm - typical British Summer !

It's amazing what catches your eye !

Being empty, it gave us the opportunity to get shots we wouldn't normally get :

This is part of a face advertising the Ghost Train 

Moving away from the fairground, I asked Chris if he wouldn't mind blowing a few dandelions so I could capture the seeds flying in the wind.  God knows how many attempts we had before I got this shot !

We also spotted masses of snails on the walls of an old building,,,,

Walking back to the car park, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this stained knackered air vent....

Streetley Pier, Hartlepool

Hi All

On Tuesday, a couple of friends from Consett Photographic Society invited me out for the day to go to Hartlepool.

I've never been to Hartlepool, so I jumped at the chance.  You're probably thinking why ?  Well, I wanted to go and see the old pier at Streetley.

I've seen loads of photos of it, wanted to go and see it for ages....

The weather was great - nice and sunny.  It was great spending time on the beach.

Here's some pics of the pier :


I like this one - I haven't done anything to it - came out like this in the camera so was really pleased.  The only thing I don't like is the slant of the waterline - but I don't know how to straighten this in Photoshop yet.  One of the many techniques I have to learn !

I love wood in black and white...I like the grittiness of it.  Here's a section of the pier.

Here's a shot of the underneath of the pier.  I tried something on Photoshop on this shot.  I changed the sky in the corner, it was extremely light so changed it using selection tools.  I know it' not perfect, but I'm still learning :)

Some of you may know that I always like to take some shots of patterns or textures.  Here's a lovely pattern made by the sand.

I have a lot of other shots to look through, so will be posting some more on the blog and of course, you all know about my Flickr site !

Ambling around Amble

Hi Folks

Here are few pics I took recently on a trip to Amble, starting with gulls !

The rest of the day was spent walking around the beach - it's amazing how much crap you can find :

 A message for the police force ?



After that, some harbour and boat shots :