A couple of Swans and a roll of FP4

 Its seems like an age since I last shot Ilford FP4, April of this year to be precise. With a trip to visit my daughter on the cards I loaded a roll of FP4 into my OM-2, packed a couple of lenses and my trusty Nikon D90 and toddled off to Yorkshire on the train. I haven't seen my daughter for almost 2 years (courtesy of you know who) and I hoped for nice weather so I could take a walk around the town where she lives and see what photographic opportunities presented themselves. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.

I spoke of Bolton Brickyard Ponds in a previous blog where I shared my digital images and spoke about being blessed with getting close to a family of swans. I also took a few images on FP4 and used an orange filter to try to tame the bright highlights at mid day. That decision proved to be the right one and I got some belters from the half a roll I shot at the ponds that day.

I didn't get a chance to take any more photo's on my trip so I took advantage of the next bout of sunny weather to shoot the remainder of the roll and another one for good measure back home in Wigan. A walk around the local farm roads and nature trails or a wander around Wigan and our glorious park has been my way of coping during the last 18 months. You can't beat fresh air and sunshine to blow away the lockdown blues.

I have learned an awful lot about film photography in that time too as I have beaten a 3 decade mental block and began developing my own black and white film. Whilst I may not be a true darkroom wizard, I process and print my images digitally, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing how my skills and my confidence as a photographer have progressed. As I write this I have taken another leap of faith and learned a new skill to add to my photography and will tell you more about it in the coming weeks.

Here's a few images from my walks with FP4 in my OM-2, they really do show the progress I have made with black and white film. My ability to read the light, choose the right filter and compose a shot is orders of magnitude better than when I first started my B&W odyssey. I feel I have finally shaken off the happy snapper tag and learned to appreciate the finer things photography has in store for me. As is now customary I have placed them in an album on Flickr for you to see them in full resolution. I hope you enjoy them.

Ilford FP4 and OM-2