Wollaton Hall Deer Park

 Last week I spoke about our recent trip to Nottingham to visit a dear friend and spent an afternoon in Wollaton Hall & Deer Park, a stately home on the outskirts of the city that is open to the public and is home to a sizeable herd of Deer. Long time readers will know I have seen a Deer near my home just once and I didn't get a photo as I was just as startled as the Deer. I figured I needed to go to where I could photograph some Deer minding their own business.

I had travelled light and had just one roll of Wonderpan loaded in my Minolta Dynax 4, however I had also decided to give my Nokia phone camera a try in case my film skills deserted me. It happens to the best of us and I haven't really paid much attention to my phone camera over the years. This was an opportunity to change that.

The humble phone camera has come a long way since the heady days of the early years of the 21st century when you were lucky to have a couple of mega pixels of resolution to produce photos you could just about print at 6x4 and so noisy you might as well have shot film. Oh the irony.

Now they are the point and shoot we all have in our pocket and they killed the point and shoot camera market stone cold dead. Most videos produced by tik tokers and a sizeable number of you tubers are shot with phone cameras to a decently high standard. My Nokia G42 phone has a good mix of manual and automated controls and I used it on this day as a point and shoot. I used the buit in level guide to help me get my photos straight and let my phone camera do the rest.

We split our afternoon between the Deer and the Hall and to be honest we should have gone in the morning and made a day of it. There's so much to see inside the hall that it's hard to take it all in over one or two hours in the afternoon. Entrance to the park and the hall is free, but there are gift shops where you can buy souvenirs and and make donations to help support the upkeep of this jewel in Nottingham's storied history.

Wollaton Hall was originally built in the 1580's for Sir Francis Whilloughby and over the centuries has been home to Barons, Businessmen and Batman. The hall was used as the location of Wayne Manor in the Christopher Nolan film, Batman - The Dark Knight Rises. It's also 5 miles north of Gotham, the town that lent its name to Gotham City in the Batman canon. The local council bought Wollaton hall in 1925 and it has been open to the public ever since. You can find out more about Wollaton Hall by clicking the link below.

I used my phone camera for some shots of the Deer and all my shots of the Hall, both inside and out. It's filled with artefacts, stuffed animals and a wonderful exhibit of microscopic sculptures done by Dr Willard Wigan MBE. Many of the sculptures are inside the eye of a sewing needle and took weeks of dilligent work to complete. It was making my eyes hurt just trying to comprehend the skills it took to do them.

We stayed in the hall until closing time and we gave a big thank you to the staff who looked after us during our visit. My wife isn't as nimble as she once was and uses a walking aid that doubles as a seat when we are out and about. The Staff made sure we got in and out of the building using the disabled persons lift and were on hand if anyone wanted to ask them questions about the hall and the exhibits. Next time we visit we will be spending a day there.

Here are a few of my favourite phone cam photos I took during our visit. My Nokia G42 phone camera proved to be a very handy point and shoot on the day and I was happy to let it do the heavy lifting. It didn't do too bad to be fair. As always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit and you can also plan your visit to Wollaton Hall using the links below. I hope you enjoy them.

Wollaton Hall.org.uk 
Wollaton Hall & Deer Park - Nokia G42

Wollaton Hall and Deer Park on WonderPan 400

 My wife and I had the sad duty to attend the funeral of a dear friend in Nottingham at the beginning of July and we planned on staying for a day or two to have a look around and give our friend Kay some company in her time of grief. I travelled light and took one camera, my Minolta Dynax 4 with 28-80mm kit lens, and one roll of film, Wonderpan 400 from Analogue Wonderland, just on the off chance I got to see something worth pointing a camera at.

The day after saying farewell to our friend Jeff, who passed away after a few years of deteriorating health, we decided to go out for a walk with his wife, Kay, to help her start this new stage of her life as best we could. Kay suggested we visit Wollaton Hall Gardens and Deer Park, a huge country park and stately home on the outskirts of Nottingham that is open to the public. We reckoned it would be nice to get some fresh air, so I picked up my camera and off we went.

I have seen Deer up close only a couple of times in my life and just once in over 20 years near my home. To be able to see some reasonably close was an offer I couldn't pass up. I was also regretting tavelling light. I instantly knew my 70-210mm beercan lens was the bare minimum I should have had, yet I only had the one lens, my 28-80 kit lens. I had to play this smartly and try not to get myself in a pickle.

If this was in the Highlands of Scotland, I wouldn't have got this close to the Deer. They are truly wild up there and you don't argue with a big Deer. However, the Deer at Wollaton Hall have become accustomed to the presence of the humans who visit them and there are plenty of signs giving advice on keeping yourself and the Deer safe. I took care to keep a safe distance and really wished I had taken my 70-210mm zoom.

I gently approached the first group I came across, a few Bucks with this years Antlers still covered with velvet. I took my time, stayed around 50 metres away and remained quiet and calm in the hope the Deer would see I was no threat to them, I was just another human with a camera. This seemed to work and I hoped my automatic, autofocus camera would not spook them with it's noisy motors. I took my first shot.

They didn't even bat an eyelid.

This made me feel a little more confident and I took a few photos before moving on to the group of Does in the next field. May to July is calving season and I kept my distance as I knew they would move away at the first sign of trouble. One small group moved, but a larger group stayed and didn't mind me taking my last few photos before I left them in peace to continue their foraging. 24 shots don't last long when you're enjoying some quality time with nature.

It's a priviledge to be able to photograph Deer in their own habitat. The fact the herd at Wollaton Hall are used to humans helped me a lot and encouraged me to want to return with longer lenses and maybe even my DSLR. I took quite a few photos with my phone camera, but it's a far cry from my Nikon D610. That one's coming with me next time along with my Tamron 70-300mm, AF Nikkor 24-120mm, my Nikon F801s and a spare lens to try to cover all the bases.

When I returned home, I developed my film in Kodak HC110 dilution B, 1+31, for 17 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700 and Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

I really enjoyed my encounter with the Deer at Wollaton Hall and you can too as it is open all year round. Just remember to take heed of the signs giving advice on how you can watch the Deer in a safe manner and share some quality time in their environment. You can find more information by visiting the Wollaton Hall website using the link below. Here's a few of my favourite film photos of the Deer and I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Wollaton Hall - WonderPan 400
Wollatonhall.org.uk

Woodland Photography with Harman Phoenix 200

 For my third roll of Harman Phoenix 200 I decided to change cameras and location to really test the dynamic range of the film in challenging conditions. Woodland photography. I loaded my roll of Harrman Phoenix 200 into my Minolta Hi-matic 7 rangefinder camera, set the camera to full auto, the film speed at 200 iso and went for a walk in my local woodland on a bright sunny day in May.

There's a patch of Bluebells that I'm not sure a lot of people visit, despite it being next to a footpath. It's not particularly densely populated with Bluebells, but it always puts on a show. I headed straight for at as it was the middle of Bluebell season and I didn't want to miss it, especially with the conditions being dry and bright sunshine was pushing columns of light through the canopy.

I knew I was taking a risk with using my Minolta Hi-Matic 7. It has a fixed 45mm f/1.8 lens that is perfect for street photography. However, I really should have used a different camera with a longer focal length to get closer to the flowers than I managed on this occasion. It wasn't a complete bust, I got some nice photos and got as close as I could to the Bluebells without falling over. I'm not good with my balance these days and struggled a bit, but I'm also a stubborn old bugger and got on with it as best as I could.

Once I was happy with my Bluebell photos, I headed to another part of the woodland to visit the old dead tree that local youngsters congregate next to for a few drinks and a laugh around a small camp fire. It's out of the way, does no harm to anyone and it keeps them out of mischief. They keep the area reasonably clean too.

The dead tree is still slowly collapsing, but the tiny sapling I first saw a couple of years ago is still alive. It is growing between the roots of the dead tree and making use of what light comes through the canopy above. It reminds me that the great cycle of life continues to find a way to keep going. The little sapling may not have grown much over the last couple of years, but it is growing. I was having so  much fun I soon finished my roll of film and headed home.

I sent my roll of Harman Phoenix 200 to Analogue Wonderland for developing along with my Sakura roll of Harman Phoenix and a roll of ColorPlus. When my film returned I scanned it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed my RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

I am rather impressed with how well Harman Phoenix 200 film responds to DSLR Scanning. My Nikon D700 has a legendary colour profile and dynamic range that is well suited to scanning negatives. Inverting the negative in Affinity Photo 2 gave me decent photos with just a few small adjustments needed to bring my vision to life.

I am also impressed with how Harman Phoenix 200 handled the high contrast between light and shade on a bright sunny day in the woods. The pools of light were bright without being blown out and the shadow areas were still full of detail. I took my time processing my roll of Harman Phoenix as I am still learning how to get the best from this film using my home scanning set up. Harman still have a way to go before we can say Harman Phoenix 200 is even approaching perfect, but they have made a great start. I have another roll to shoot in the coming weeks.

Here's a few favourites from my walk in the woodland to shoot Harman Phoenix 200 in my Minolta Hi-Matic 7 35mm rangefinder camera. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Harman Phoenix 200 - Minolta Hi-Matic 7

Frugal Film Project 2024 - June - 35mm

 I managed to get out and about well before the final day of the month in June. As luck would have it, the longest day of the year saw me head out around the local farm roads and footpaths on a fine evening with my Olympus OM101 loaded with a roll of Kentmere 400 B&W film.

It really was a glorious couple of days over the summer solstice as summer arrived with bright sunshine and hazy skies. I tried to take advantage of the skies by using an orange filter for all my photos on this walk and I paid another visit to the horses to say hello. 

The horses in the first field were a little stand-offish, but a couple of enterprising horses graciously posed for a photo in the hope a treat would follow. As I mentioned last week, I don't feed the horses, that's something their humans do as they know what the horses eat. I said my farewell to them and headed off to the next field.

In this field the horses were away at the far side of the field and it gave me a chance to try the long end of my Zuiko 35-70mm power focus lens. I set the zoom to 70mm and operated the wheel on the back of the camera to set the focus to infinity and grabbed a couple of long shots.

To get to the third and final field I had to head to the top of the hill where the horses were happily grazing in the evening sunshine. Along the way I visited my favourite tree on the spoil heap and captured some wild flowers at the side of the footpath. It was whilst doing this I started having trouble with the power focus. Oh Oh! Was my second camera about to fail?

I checked the state of the batteries and the beep noise assured me there was power there, but the indicator light didn't light up. I was skeptical after what happened earlier in the year and decided to fit some new batteries that I brought with me just in case. Thanfully it appeared to do the trick and my camera was working properly again.

When I reached the horses they had congragated together and gave me a chance to get a couple of shots to finish my roll of Kentmere 400 film. I really enjoyed my walk in the evening sunshine and despite having to change batteries, I also enjoyed using my Olympus OM101. I packed it in my bag and headed off home. The long way of course, I had another couple of cameras with me to shoot for future blogs.

I developed my film a day later in HC110 dilution E 1+47 for 9 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had to hanging to dry in my bathroom on a balmy afternoon. It didn't take long and later that evening I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I orocessed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

I like the photos I got this month, the orange filter definitely helped bring some detail to the haze in the sky as did the longer develoment time. I am falling for Kentmere 400 developed with HC110 dilution E 1+47. It seems to me to be the sweet spot for this film, but other folk may have their own favourite developer and time for it.

I am finally getting a good run with my Olympus OM101. It likes to keep me on my toes, as this months battery swap shows, but I am beginning to get the hang of it. I hope the second half of 2024 goes well, but I am taking nothing for granted. The one exception is Olympus' fine optics.

The 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 Power Focus has all of Olypmus skills in it and it's a shame it only works on this camera. I'm tempted to use one of my Olympus manual focus lenses at some point and make some use of the manual adapter that came with the camera. I also have a 50mm f/2 that came with the camera that I can use for the project I have come to love taking part in. I enjoy using the zoom lens, It's right in the sweet spot for a mid range zoom, but it would be rude not to use the 50mm power focus prime lens.

Here's a few of my favourite shots taken in June with my Olympus OM101 on Kentmere 400 black and white film for the Frugal Film Project 2024. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 35mm album on Flickr that you can visit by clicking the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - June - 35mm

Frugal Film Project 2024 - June - 120 medium format

 This month marks one year since I became the proud owner of Baldy the Baldax and I have used this wonderful 1930's folding camera for the Frugal Film Project for 12 consecutive months. We have shared high points and a few low ones during that time, but one thing I do know, Balda made beautiful cameras. I own a few cameras that gave me less grief and have been placed on the "naughty shelf", but not Baldy. A grim determination to succeed has been my motivation for the last 12 months.

For my June roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 black and white film I went for a wander around town re-visiting locations I have photographed many times, but this day was different. I knew Baldy had lasted a whole year and I couldn't be happier. We had some half decent light to play with for a change too and I'm hoping for more as the summer progresses. I really was enjoying my walk and, as is all too often when your'e having fun, time flew by. I finished my roll Ilford HP5+ 400 black and white film and headed home.

I have also made that tough decision of whether or not to bring on super sub. I'm keeping going with Baldy to see if I can make it to a whole calendar year and call 2024 the Year of Baldy the Baldax. I'm having fun, I have accepted that I'm never going to get a full roll of perfect pictures from Baldy the Baldax and I'm fine with that. Baldy is 90 years young and still going strong. I don't want to retire it to the display shelf just yet, we have more adventures ahead of us.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 medium format film in HC110 dilution B 1+31 for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed my RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

I enjoyed shooting my June roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 with Baldy the Baldax for the Frugal Film Project 2024. I trusted my instincts, eyballed the light, made an educated guess for my settings and it was a lot of fun. They aren't perfect, but that's all part of the charm of using a 90 year old camera. It was £49 well spent at the time and long may it continue. Here's a few of my favourites from the roll. As always, I have posted them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 - 120 album on Flickr that you can visit by clicking the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - June - 120