Display Change in Gallery in the Gardens Buxton

I changed my display yesterday in Gallery in the Gardens in Pavilion Gardens Buxton. Several new hand-printed darkroom silver gelatin pictures as well as lots of small mounted darkroom prints at £5 and £15. I'm still being very cautious because of Covid-19 so it's been a long time since it was last updated, it was pleasing to do it at last! 

New Peak District Images on DaveButcher.co.uk

I have been catching up with scanning my negatives and have added several new Peak District images to my davebutcher.co.uk.


Included this time are Buxton, Hartington, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Tideswell, Mam Tor, Robin Hoods Stride and the Roaches.

Buxton Grin Low Trees in Winter, near Solomon's Temple, Peak District; 565807

Solomon's Temple and Runner in Snow, Peak District

Chapel-en-le-Frith Church Brow, Peak District

Chapel-en-le-Frith Terrace Road

Mam Tor from Rushup Edge in Summer, between Edale and Castleton

Hartington Village in Winter; 566010

View from Old Mermaid Inn to Hen Cloud, Roaches and Ramshaw Rocks

Tideswell Church, Cathedral of the Peak, from Church yard

Robin Hoods Stride between Youlgreave and Elton

Budapest Photo Trip November 2018

Jan and I had a short trip to Budapest in November 2018, flying out from London Heathrow on a Saturday, returning on a Monday. That gave me one full day plus late afternoon/early evening on our arrival day and the morning of our last day for photography.

I have been cutting back on the camera equipment that I take on these short trips so I just took 2 Mamiya 7 camera bodies (that's one to use and a spare!), 3 lenses and a Sekonic spot meter. For lenses I had a 43mm, 80mm and 150mm.

Before leaving I had arranged a hand search of my Ilford film at Heathrow so that it wasn't put through the hand luggage x-ray scanner. I took 20 rolls of Ilford 100 Delta and 15 rolls of Ilford 400 Delta, all 120 roll film of course giving 10 negatives of 7x6cm per roll. The staff were very efficient and helpful, as usual. In the end I exposed just 13 rolls, 10 of 100 Delta and 3 of 400 Delta. With a bit more sunshine I would have used another 4 or 5 rolls so I had plenty to spare.

The flight was about 2.5 hours and we were met at the airport by Judit, an ex-colleague and friend of Jan's. Her husband Bollacj drove us to our hotel in Budapest city centre. I needed to rest my bad back for an hour or so before starting taking photographs.

As usual I had already checked out the locations I wanted to visit for photos using Google Earth and Google Street View. A few things were added as you can't predict every shot beforehand but mostly I stuck to my list.

Here are some of the views that I took with my Mamiya 7 film camera. I haven't had time to process the films yet so these images here were all taken on my Motorola Moto-X phone to give an idea of what I took on the proper camera. They'll look much better as proper black and white film images!

On our way back Jan had to work hard to convince the hand luggage X-Ray scanner team at Budapest Airport to let us have a hand search of my film. They finally agreed so all was well. In the last few years the only airport that we've used that refused a hand search of my films was Manchester, even when the request was made in writing well in advance. The other 20-odd airports around the world that we've used have all agreed, mostly very willingly when asked.


Buda Castle View over Chain Bridge

Chain Bridge from Buda Castle at Night

Buda Castle

Buda Castle

Matthias Church

Matthias Church

Matthias Church

St Stephens Basilica

Budapest Heroes' Square

Hungarian Parliament Building and Statue

Hungarian Parliament Building

Hungarian Parliament Building with Chain Bridge on right

Not your normal bus route - look closely!

Budapest Airport

Cotswold Photography

It was a good day in the Cotswolds for photographs today.

We were lucky and our old friends Carol and Al looked after us, with Al doing the driving.

The days photography started on Painswick Beacon with good views to the Forest of Dean but poor views to Gloucester and the Malverns. From here we went down into the village of Painswick to take the Yew trees in the churchyard. Had sunshine and heavy rain showers but managed a few shots down the rows of trees in the graveyard.

Then to the pretty little village of Minchinhampton and a few shots in the centre and around the church.

We had lunch in the busy village of Tetbury, in the Snooty Fox (good beer), but no pictures;j there were too many cars and people.

From Tetbury it was on to Malmesbury and some photos around the old streets and the very impressive Abbey, part of which was in ruins.

The next stop was Castle Combe. I can't remember ever visiting this pretty village and took shots down and up the main narrow street. I also wanted views back to the village from the river. The river bank with the best view was private so I jumped down into the river bed and waded along in the shallow water until I could see the shot I wanted. Thankfully I was wearing my walking boots, not the usual trainers, and managed to keep my feet dry. Nice clouds!

Then it was back to Painswick for better light on the Yew trees and church. I hadn't been able to take any shots of the church earlier because of the grey sky and poor light. Found a pyramid memorial in the graveyard to put in the shot with the spire. Haven't sold many graveyard shots so just an interesting shot to take!

The days photography ended back on Painswick Beacon. The clouds were spectacular so I switched from the dark yellow filter to an orange one to make the sky more dramatic. The only other filter I used today was a yellow-green one while taking the yew trees.

Quite a day. A total of 8 rolls of film (10 shots to a roll). The first Cotswold images for my picture library.

Busy Day and Cotswolds Weekend

Jolly busy today. Started with scanning a few local negs and editing for printing, then across to my dentist just under an hour away in Cheshire (a dentist is for life not just for Christmas)!

Followed this by calling in at the Ilford Lab Direct facility at the Harman Technology factory a couple of miles from dentist. This is where all of the Ilford black and white films and papers are made.

I had 8 new image files to drop off for printing onto silver gelatine paper and needed some others reprinting. Neil the manager offered to try and print Monday as I'm a little behind at the moment.

From Mobberley it was home to edit a new magazine advert needed for copy deadline of Monday.

Then I was picked up and driven to a committee meeting of the High Peak Artists Association who run the Gallery in the Gardens in Buxton where my work is sold. I'm the secretary of the committee.

This went on a bit longer than expected but fortunately Jan had dinner completely under control, as usual.

Thank goodness we have a relaxing weekend planned with friends in Upton St Leonards near Gloucester. Monday night I'm giving another lecture to Cotswold Monochrome who happen to hold their meetings within 200 yards of where our friends live.

Hope the weather is good. I still have almost no pictures of the Cotswolds. It should be great for black and white but you need the right light.

Cobbles and Broads

I made it home from Norfolk about 7.15pm tonight, almost 5h from Wroxham as delayed near Newark and had to divert.

Took some more photos around Norwich this morning on a very warm blue sky day. It was back to the Castle as the light was different to that in those I took yesterday evening.

Then on to Cathedral, followed by a stroll along the river bank to Elm Hill, an old narrow cobbled street with some old buildings. Finished about 11.45am with a shot of the Forum, a very modern building.

Then it was east and a bit north to Thurne for some windmills and boats on the Norfolk Broads. I also stopped in Horning and tried to stop in Wroxham but both were overrun with people so I didn't take a single shot.

Running private darkroom courses on the next 2 days. Will try and fit in a walk or two over Easter break as well as preparing for retail show at RHS Wisley next weekend.

Trip to the Flat Lands

I'm in Norwich tonight. Didn't need to worry about journey, no hold-ups so here in time to take some photos of castle in evening light and the old Royal Arcade shopping mall.

Then it was straight over to give a lecture to the Norwich Photo Society. Very friendly, large, chatty audience, including people from neighbouring clubs too, so the evening flew by. Sold lots of books too which makes it more worthwhile travelling this distance.

Hoping for good weather tomorrow and more photos around the city before taking the long way round so that I can take some Norfolk Broads photos to fill a gap in my picture library.

London Photography Trip Completed

Our 3 days in London taking photographs are over and we are driving back up the M1 to Derbyshire.

We covered a lot of ground, walking everywhere. I have lots of shots of places not previously included in my web library. I took 35 rolls (10 shots per film) and will have Ilford Lab Direct process them to save me a day.

Had a bit of rain last night so unsure how pictures will come out. The shots needed the camera lens pointing up as rain was falling so with up to 40 second exposures the image may be soft or distorted. Shame as it was around the striking Gherkin and Lloyds buildings. Also took Leadenhall Market but this should be fine as under cover.

Some shots impossible because of various obstructions like building work in Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Albert Bridge, near Big Ben, the Victoria roundabout outside Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and a host of other places. If they ever finish it I'm sure it will be fine!

Unspectacular lighting today but managed a few new locations. These included Cleopatra's Needle, Westminster Abbey, Admiralty Arch, Burlington Arcade, Lincolns Inn and some old style phone boxes grouped together.

One thing is for sure, it has become much more difficult taking pictures in London if you intend to try and sell them. You need permission or a permit in so many places. Some of these cost money which a freelance like me can't afford.

The restrictions also have an impact on the historical record; I'm taking photographs on archival silver gelatin film to make traditional prints that could last for hundreds of years but I haven't been able to take the shots so the records will have a bias to personal snapshots which are not restricted in these locations, assuming they are archived at all.

The other problem is that it isn't obvious who to ask for permission even when I want to. At City Hall the very helpful security manager explained that there were 4 or 5 different organisations to ask around there and the boundaries between them all is not obvious.

Take me back to the hills, I mostly know what I can do there!

London Photography Weekend

We are in the Prince Albert a couple of hundred yards south of the Albert Bridge, opposite Battersea Park in London. The Good Old Boy beer is going down quite well; just waiting for the second pint to arrive.

Took lots of shots yesterday from Southwark to Canary Wharf. Included Millenium footbridge, St Pauls from river, Tower Bridge, Shad Thames, etc. Didn't quite make it to Greenwich before light went.

Tried to take photos at New City Hall of the striking building shapes but was stopped by security. Fortunately, he offered to take me to Security to get formal permission to take photos there. Couldn't sort as didn't have my public liability insurance docs but will do when get home so can use the 2 shots I did take before being stopped and go back for more later in year.

We walked a lot of the Thames Path but retired to Wetherspoons for quick bite to eat and a pint before starting the night shots with Tower Bridge. Then on to Globe Theatre and Millenium footbridge.

The day ended at 9.30pm at the hotel in Southwark, a long day with a lot of walking as I was up at 4.30am to catch 6.30 train from Macclesfield to London.

Today we headed west along the Thames, taking the Oxo Tower first of all then the Golden Jubilee Pedestrian bridges (great cables!) at Hungerford Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, the MI6 building, Battersea Power Station, Chelsea and Albert Bridges.

The Albert Bridge was top of my shooting list as I have been asked several times for photos of it but it's being refurbished so looks a real mess. Guess we will have to come back for that one.

Sun's out. Must dash.
Dave

Dodgy Weather Forecasts for Peak District Course!

Yesterday was the last day of the 3 day course for Clive and Alex and we were looking forward to the best weather of the 3 days with BBC and Met Office forecasts of sunny spells all day. In fact we had sleet, hail and rain in the morning with 25mph winds making it feel much colder than the 8C that the thermometer showed. The afternoon was better but not the blue sky we expected.

Having taken lots of waterfalls on the first 2 days I planned to spend much of this 3rd day taking extensive views from the tops. We started on Combs Moss, a large moor with steep cliffs in places and a high vantage point for us (up to 1700 feet) and views over hills, hill farms and lakes. Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived the rain blew in which was sleet on the top where we sheltered for a few minutes. There was a short break in the weather and we managed some views with sunny patches on the hills. Then back to the car before it closed in again. High Edge and Chrome Hill were next on the list. Coming down from High Edge wwe had stinging hail and a strong wind which nearly ripped the door off the RAV4 when I opened it. Some nice light towards Chrome Hill before this though. We sheltered a few minutes in the car before venturing out for a shot along the spine of Chrome Hill. Nice light here and we made it back to the car in the dry! The rest of the day was dry, thank goodness!

Next stop was Chelmorton and the Church Inn for lunch, a traditional pub with good food and beer. Clive and Alex made it their main meal as they had to return to London when we finished in a few hours time. After lunch we made our way behind the pub onto Chelmorton Low, the local hill with impressive views. From here we went towards Tideswell and Litton for Peter Stone. I was surprised by the amount of water in the the bottom of Cressbrook Dale, over a foot deep in places. Nice light in the dale and several frisky ponies running about for extra interest. Stopped off below Mam Tor on the way back for a quick shot of the ridge leading away to Lose Hill with nice light.

In the end it was a pretty good afternoon despite the forecast!
Overall, we had a good 3 days with lots of changing light making for some dramatic images. Both Clive and Alex have lots of good shots and were good company.

Today I was in the darkroom processing 19 rolls of film from the Lakes. Should have done them sooner or sent them to Ilford to save time. Anyway they are done now. Some good ones too.

Walking to Buxton tomorrow for a day in the Pavilion Gardens Gallery. Will take precaution of not looking at weather forecast so that I'm not disappointed!

Article in Black & White Photography Magazine

If you want to see some of my photos from my recent trip to Ireland and read a bit of the background to the trip then you need to read my article in the current issue (September 2009) of Black & White Photography magazine. It is 4 pages long, with 7 photographs, and describes the trip from the planning stage to returning to the UK after completing the whistle stop tour. It includes shots of Dublin at night, Carrauntoohil (Irelands highest mountain) and the Dingle Peninsula. Hope you enjoy reading it.
Dave Butcher