A FCKD UP ROLL OF VELVIA 50
This roll of Fuji Velvia lay in a camera for about 7 years. An Asahi Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR. It’s a great camera still works pretty flawlessly, the lens are perfect, so full of character and I have one of the radioactive ones, a Takumar 85mm f1.7. Some of the coating are made from thorium. Didn’t use it very often what with one thing and another. I think this roll of film was expired in the 90’s and then seven years in the camera has totally cooked it. Chemically it is highly degraded and some colour layers are hardly even present, it is overwhelmingly Magenta in real life. However, after some faffing around with colour sliders I made it in to this set. I’m pretty keen on it to be fair, these are created from long, drawn out circumstance, chemical degradation, real places and photons.
Pretty FCKNG dreamy no? _______________________________. Authentic as FCK!!!
This one is a winner and by a long shot. This makes me so proud to be Scottish!
This quad, with it’s custom lighting array, one gold wheel, full racks and custom fence and gaffer air intake baffle. It’s perfect! Look at it’s stance, it’s character, this thing is so ready to go mud plugging. The ubiquitous Citroen Berlingo to the left, with a Fergurson T25 front wheel leaning against it. The oxy-acetylene torch and bottle to the right, with heavy duty chain and car bettery. Tucked in the corner a Passat TDI undergoing major engine surgery, I ran the numberplate on this and it ran until 2018. I think this photo was taken around 2014/5.
The fck up’s from the film degradation has allowed me to find colour tones I would never have found if it had come out as expected. I love the rusty, purple in the foreground along with the swirly blur of that lovely Asahi lens. The gold wheel of that quad and the gradations on the Berlingo are sublime. The titanium of the Passat, just so sublime.
This photo was taken at Balnakiel a cold war, early warning radar base built in the mid fifties. It is now a craft village and is host to a chocolate company, an incredibly exuberant and florid man, who makes scrap metal sculptures in the same room as he runs his hair salon. Balnakiel was a MacKay strong hold and the big house was built here in 1744. The grave yard here is so cool, very, very old graves at it, the church was built in 1619. The MOD still own the peninsula to the North, Fairaid Head, there is radar and a conning tower, the Cape Wrath bombing range is still very much active. This peninsula has vast sand dunes to the west and sharp rock to the east, great for an explore and it has the added interest of a herd of beach cows.
The river at Balnakiel House (McKay Lord of Reay)
THIS IS FILTHY!!! I love it. Somehow this looks more like the weather than it was.
The opposite side of building in the Quad picture. Some sort of pump and three boats. Behind me and out of shot a J reg Toyota Land Cruiser.
A pano of three 35mm frames stitched together in the computer. Again… FILTHY MAGIC!
This is the road pass down to Durness, I believe it’s called Carn Leacach but I’m sure the locals call it something else.
No idea where this slightly reclaimed croft house is. Interesting to note the breeze block wall, it was probably turned in to a garage in the 80’s…
Your friend and mine Buachaille Etive Mòr. This is a star trail shot, though you can hardly see the stars. I took this at the same time I recorded the rutting stag that is the lead vocalist on The Assynt Bone Cave Chillout
The hazing is a result of under exposure due to reciprocity failure, it being dark and the fact the lens ended up covered in frost. I believe the exposure would be somewhere in the region of 4 hours.
This is a banger, the soft grainyness and the colour harmony in the reflection are absolute chef’s kiss..
A pano for the Metal band Electric Sun Defence. This shows how magenta the film looks in real life before any attempt at colour correction.
Suilven from Cam Loch. Just moved the magenta hue slider about till it pleased me. These colour positive film strips are genuinely beautiful on the light table.
The highlights on the loch here are so tasty. I will steal these shapes and put them in a painting one day.
Is this what magic looks like? I can really zone out to this one ;)
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT, A SELECTION OF REALLY MANGLED PHOTOS, DERIVED FROM CLAPPED OUT & ABANDONED ANALOGUE GEAR. I AM PLEASED TO HAVE FOUND THESE COLOURS… AND I AM USING THE CAMERA AGAIN… IT’S GOT CHARISMA.
COULDN’T RECREATE THIS IF I TRIED.
✴
IF YOU’VE GOT THIS FAR, THANKS FOR READING.
AND A BIG THANKS TO THOSE WHO ARE DONATING, THIS HELPS SO MUCH WITH THE COSTS OF FUEL AND FILM.
✴With Gratitude
