In part one I covered our first two days aboard M.S. Bolette and showed my phone camera shots. Part two was all aboout the Frugal Film Project and sightseeing in Kirkwall and Stornoway. This week it's all about sharing my photos shot with my Nikon F801S on Agent Shadow 400 and Kentmere 400 35mm B&W film. I carried my cameras pretty much everywhere whilst on board ship and certainly when we went ashore. I wasn't alone either as there was a few fellow photographers aboard M.S. Bolette.
Most people these days are content to use their phone cameras to capture their holiday memories with, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. Remember the cheesy adage, the best camera is the one you have with you. I like to be prepared and to be honest there's still things I wish I had taken. A tripod for starters. However, when travelling you have to be aware of the weight you are carrying around with you. I was maxed out on my hand luggage.....
We sailed from Stornoway at 9:30 on Monday night and took a leisurely pace down The Minch to our first scenic destination, the Small Isles of Rhum, Eigg and Muck. I had arisen from my very comfortable bed early to try to ensure I didn't miss out on the scenic isles, but sadly nobody told Mother Nature we were coming and the seas got a little choppy to say the least. We also started the day with dark low clouds that were sure to help me take some of the moodiest photos I have ever shot. Maybe Mother Nature had the right idea after all?
As we slowly sailed through the scenic small isles, Mother Nature finally blessed us with sunshine as we approached Bac Beag, also known as Dutch Cap after the conical head wear of The Netherlands which it resembles, and Staffa with Fingals Cave in its sheer south facing columnar basalt cliffs. This is what I was really wanting to see as I have an interest in the volcanoes of Iceland.
I know, your wondering why I am studying Icelandic volcanoes in Scotland. 60 million years ago, Scotland and Northern Ireland were part of Greenland. It is thought that hot spots, also called mantle plumes, rose up and began the long process of opening up the North Atlantic Ocean from the south, northwards. The columnar basalt cliffs of Staffa, and Giants Causeway on the northern shore of Northern Ireland, are the visible traces today of the violent eruptions and earthquakes that shook the earth apart all those millennia ago.
Those Tectonic movements continue today with the recent eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula on Iceland over 1,000 miles to the north west. The North Atlantic Igneous Province can be traced from Scotland and beneath the Greenland Ice Cap to modern day Iceland. It shows the path the tectonic plates of Europe and North America have taken over those 60 million years. With Staffa slowly fading into the distance as we headed back to Liverpool I put my camera away. I had taken a lot of photos both film and digital and I enjoyed the rest of our last full day aboard Bolette with my family.
I developed both rolls of Agent Shadow 400 and a roll of Kentmere 400 a few days after we arrived home in Bellini Euro HC 1+31 dilution B for 6 minutes at 22 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised it the next day with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens. Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed my RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.
When I hung my film to dry I could see the damage 2 trips through an x-ray scanner had done to my Agent Shadow 400. I lost the first few frames as they were totally ruined. However, all was not lost as the rest of both films was reasonably well exposed and very much useable. My roll of Kentmere 400 was fine.
Editing them was a long process. I was taking photos from early morning, not long after sunrise, as the weather went from one extreme to another through the day. Photos of Rhum, Eigg and Muck are certainly as dark and foreboding as they were in real life. Thankfully my shots of Dutch Cap/Bac Beag, Staffa and Fingal's Cave turned out well enough as the clouds had finally blown over and we were treated to sunshine for the rest of the day.
Here's a few of my favourite B&W film photos of our cruise shot on Kentmere 400 and Agent Shadow 400. I wasn't sure I would capture the conditions, but I surprised myself and got a decent payoff at the end. The place I really wanted to see, Staffa and Fingal's Cave has been on my bucket list for a while and now I have been there, I wouldn't mind going again at some point.
I shot four rolls of film in total, not a bad result to be fair considering I was also using my digital options. Come back next week when I share my photos shot with my DSLR. For this weeks film photos here's a few favourites from the three rolls I shot with my Nikon F801S. The first four are of our Ship and Kirkwall, 5-8 are Stornoway and The Small Isles and 9 - 12 are Dutch Cap and Staffa. I have placed my favourites from all three rolls of film shot with my Nikon F801S in albums on Flickr for you enjoy via the links below. I hope you enjoy them.
Nikon F801S - Agent Shadow - Cruise pt 1
Nikon F801S - Agent Shadow - Cruise pt 2
Nikon F801S - Kentmere 400 - Cruise pt 3
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