Gimme Five

Andysnap

Andysnap

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Andy Grant
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Just a thought from an idle moment prompted by Nick's thread about the print Joxby did for him.

I reckon that in all the thousands of film shots I've taken in the past 4 or 5 years, there are maybe 5 that I'm really happy with, i.e happy enough to have printed professionally and framed and hanging on the wall. So I thought that I might start a thread where people could post there bestest shots, doesn't matter how many, it might be 1 but at the most 5 and they don't have to be the most technically perfect. It might be the sentimental value that makes them the best or it might be that you just nailed it.....

Anyway just a thought, no rush, whenever you're ready. I'll post mine in a bit. (y)
 
I think this may depress me, when I consider the time taken and only producing a few really good photos.... I'll have a think tonight!
 
Even Ansell Adams thought that 12 good images a year was a good haul so we shouldn't get too depressed. ;)
 
Well I'm lucky as many of my shots are on family shelves as they are not perfectionists...so if they are happy I'm happy ;)
 
I'll post my fave 5 if you don't mind... like you say the reasons aren't always because they're the best technically but reminders of great days out or when everything just felt 'right' in the moment. That's why I love photography because just looking for these five has reminded me again of the fun I had going to the places and the people I met in doing so.

I guess I have a bunch of fave pics taken on my 'go to' camera, the R-D1 (which I still think of as a film camera with a memory card!) but these are all on fillum.

This one because it was my first visit to the city of York and I was with my best mate. I ended up moving to York a few years later and this picture hangs in my kitchen as a reminder. I also love dogs!!
Man with funny dogs Coolscan by Christopher Hiscocks, on Flickr


This because I basically got lucky with a lens on eBay and I remember being so pleased when I took my first roll with it. Also, because I love dogs!!!
Nellie Listening by Christopher Hiscocks, on Flickr


This was on a field trip to Italy with my school. I took 30 kids there and my Leica kept me sane.
Road corner by Christopher Hiscocks, on Flickr

It's nothing special but it's the first serious film picture I took after getting into photography. Importantly t was taken with my grandfather's Braun Paxette which he gave to me that year. Since then as you know I've built up quite the collection! I took my digi with me on this trip and honestly didn't expect the FP4 loaded in the paxette to even work but when I got the prints back from snappy snaps I was absolutely gobsmacked. I really haven't felt anything like the rush!! It felt like magic and gave me some faith in meterless film camera use.

Durdle Door coast by Christopher Hiscocks, on Flickr


I just felt horrid one week working from home and decided to get of my arse and go out. I jumped in the car with my OM1 and headed for the hills. The weather was horrible too but I felt great by the time I got home. This particular picture reminds me of how photography can be a superb 'escape'
Idol Rock 3 by Christopher Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
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An excellent start Chris and some lovely shots.
 
TheBigYin said:
I'd be happy with one photo ever that I thought was good... after 35+ years of abject failure i'm still trying though...
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I knew you'd say that. There must be some photos that give you some pleasure? As I said at the top they don't have to be technically brilliant just ones you can look back on with fondness or that give you the pleasure of a memory.
 
Brilliant start Chris and really liking the history behind the shots and your reasons for taking them.

As my print that @joxby printed for me and Andy pointed out quite often your best shots are not technically perfect or even of great interest to other people but for the photographer that took it it captured a moment in more ways than one.
 
Well if shots are being shown I was pleased when my son had this done by a lab and it hangs on a wall and shame I didn't get the eyes spot on in focus...amazing what a lab can do from a 35mm shot using a Canon 28mm lens and .I'll have to take it out to better light as my flash copy ruins it (RH side)

My grandaughter and I call her Lolapop mind you she is 8 years old now and might start objecting, and this shot is called Lolalipstick
 
OK, here's mine.

Seth Lakeman at the Hard Rock Café Manchester. Nikon F3, Nikon E Series 50mm, Fuji Provia 400.
This is pretty much the only film gig shot that ever worked and it really sums up Seth's performance and what a brilliant night we had.
Seth4 by Andy, on Flickr

The Girl in the Crowd. Minolta Hi-matic on Agfa Vista 200.
A grab shot which worked. I saw this young lady looking lost in the crowd and managed to get a quick shot. It works for me because of the look on her face and the fact that she seems separated from the milling crowd around her.
The-Girl-in-the-Crowd-b&w-blur by Andy, on Flickr

Tonquin Beach, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. Fuji GW690 on Kodak Ektar.
I waited for hours on numerous nights to get this and it finally all came together.
Tonquin-Beach-Sunset2 by Andy, on Flickr

Mamiya C330f, Mamiya Sekor 55mm f3.5 on Fuji Acros 100
Just one of those times when it all worked how I imagined it would and the reason why I love my Mamiya and its superb lenses.
Book-&-Candle2-close-up by Andy, on Flickr

Same set up as above and the same reason for choosing it.
White-rose-b&w by Andy, on Flickr

It seems to me that most of my shots are chosen for technical reasons. I do have a fair few shots of family and friends and although I enjoy them they don't light my fire like a technically good shot does. I'm emotionally dead inside.......:D
 
My 5 in no particular order.

My faveourite portrait shot. Shot in a small studio that folded a couple of weeks later which was annoying. I'd shot this model before a few times so got to know her quite well, then suggested we do a 40's style hollywood thing which she was up for. Done on an SQ-B, cant remember the film, delta 100 probably. Due to the studio going this was the last studio session i did and i really need to get back into them again as it was a lot of fun, especially when you got to know the models and they ended up quite relaxed with you.



I like most of my flower shots a lot but these 2 are amongst my faves. A happy accident. Loading the spool i think the tail end of the film scratched along the top of the frames below it in development leaving this really nice effect. A little processing later to clean up the scratches and noise and quite a pleasent image popped out.
Medium format delta or fp4


Last months entry and, for me, one of the best images ive ever made. Im so happy with the outcome. I just thought "what if" one day and stuck 2 negatives on top of each other in the scanner and ended up with this lovely impressionistic effect. Im going to get this one printed large and framed up. 35mm agfa vista poundland special.


A walk around Mousehole, there is this little artists workbench. Annoyingly the artist himself poked his head out the studio door when i was setting up my 5x4 to see what was going on , he then proceeded to stand right in front of the bench pretending to work until i left! But i got this 1 frame off before he got in the way. The mottled light and shadow make this for me. 5x4 Fomapan.


And where i went just after the above shot. A little pathway leading up out of the back of Mousehole. Ive no idea why i like this shot, "misty" water usually leaves me cold. But I just really like looking at it. I think the static nature of the steps and hedge tone down the movement of the water. 5x4 again, on some old fomapan.
 
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Tell you what Brian, it doesn't matter what others think. This is a thread for your favourite shots, for whatever reason.

And I'll tell you something else, this is a cracker, what a little tinker. :D(y)

Andy
 
What a great idea for a thread :)


A very hard task to choose 5 favourites, but 5 of SOME of my favourites from the last 1-2 years are:


01.jpg


Lisbon. Shot with a Minolta X700, with a Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7
This is one of my favourite shots of all time. Strolling along the Oriente area of Lisbon, I saw the scene unfold, and thought it would make a good shot.


02.jpg


Chester. Shot with a Leica CL, with a Voigtlander Nokton SC 40mm f/1.4
I was doing some street photography per usual, came across the escalators leading into the shopping centre. Waited until a single person was on them, and luckily he turned and looked over his shoulder and I got the shot. I think it works well.


03.jpg


London. Shot with a Leica CL, with a Voigtlander Nokton SC 40mm f/1.4
My better half had something to do with the creation of the ceramic poppies, and wanted to visit the display at The Tower of London. We went down for the day, and this was one of the shots I took.


04.jpg


Seville. Shot with a Minolta X700, with a Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7
Whilst on holiday and wandering around Seville, my better half nipped into the shop to grab a drink. I saw this guy looking a bit bored and forlorn outside.


05.jpg


Lisbon. Shot with a 1953 Zeiss Ikon Nettar.
I decided on one trip to Lisbon to take the Nettar with me. I thought with a 100 ISO film, narrow aperture, 1/200th speed, lots of guaranteed sunlight - I should hopefully get some half decent shots. I was over the moon with the set I took. It shows that no matter what age or type of camera you have, with a bit of understanding of the kit (and some luck) you should be able to get photos you'll be happy with. In good light, I LOVE this camera for street photography.


Cheers,
Shane :)
 
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Andysnap said:
Tell you what Brian, it doesn't matter what others think. This is a thread for your favourite shots, for whatever reason.

And I'll tell you something else, this is a cracker, what a little tinker. :D(y)

Andy
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Thanks Andy..I only had boys and am fascinated in how different a girl (my grandaughter) can be from girlie tantrums to playing with make up.
 
Thanks, Andy. I've just had a good ten minutes looking through my Lightroom catalogue, having a little bit of an epiphany. It turns out that my favourite shots - the ones with the biggest emotional kick - aren't the technically perfect ones. They aren't the medium format ones, as much as I like those. A couple of them are Vista stand developed in Rodinal! I've been thinking a lot recently about what inspires me, and which art makes me feel good, and this little thread has helped a lot.


1) Technically *very* far from perfect. It's Vista pushed to 800 and stand-developed in Rodinal, taken with an XA2, because why not? Grainy, lacking in definition, but I love the way the buildings blend into the sky, the ethereal atmosphere. There's basically no way I could have taken this on digital, I don't think.

View attachment 38753



2) Same setup as the last one (same day). There's something about the tones I love here, too.

View attachment 38754


3) Vista, ME Super. I like the colours, the geometry, and the fact that I saw some promise in a fairly mundane scene. When I saw it pop up in the scanning software, it was like a vindication.

View attachment 38755

4) Again, the fact that I saw the scene as I walked past, stopped, and managed to capture it successfully. (I like the bold tones, too)

View attachment 38756

5) Lines, shapes, tones, reflections.

View attachment 38757

I guess where I'm going with this is that the more I shoot, the less I care about "faithful reproduction" (whatever that means). I went to an exhibition today of one of the local photography clubs. Lots of sharp, faithful reproductions of pretty scenes, that left me entirely cold.
 
Well I must do this neg again and an argument why MF is better than 35mm...I posted this about 4 years ago and one comment was "why did you include your Arthur Askey glasses" :D anyway I like it and is one of my favourites and did the print myself many moons ago.



Rollei SL66
 
I would probably pick a different 5 on another day, but here's todays fave five in no particular order:
View attachment 38776

The Sage is a great place to photograph, no restrictions, and I like the colours in this one. RZ67 and Provia 100F

View attachment 38781
Whitby at about 0400 on my birthday, no one else about but these fishermen on the boats. Canon T90 and Velvia 50. I had no choice but to use a 1s exposure but I like the motion blur.

View attachment 38777

Holy Island with the RZ67 and TMax 100. I have this one framed on the wall in my bedroom so it is one of the first things I see every day.



View attachment 38779

Hard to pick just one flower image but I have a fascination for these lillies and I was pleased with how the lighting (just one or maybe two anglepoise lamps) worked out and picked out the edge of the vase. This one is printed and hanging in my office/dump. It was taken on 35mm Rollei RPX100 film.

View attachment 38780

Finally an infrared image. The sculpture is the "Family of Man" by Barbara Hepworth and is at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It was shot in a Yashicamat with Ilford SFX200 film and an R72 filter, and after several attempts I was able to get a satisfactory darkroom print which is also framed in the office.
 
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This is an interesting idea! I've picked from those I had already marked as "5 star" over the past years, some scanned from old prints, and one more recent.



This was in my parents garden in 1969, back home for my sister's wedding. Taken with a Werra 1, metered off the Kodak box (presumably sunny 16). Composition is a bit carp but I really like the atmosphere, and it reminds me of the place even though no-one else in the household would have either seen it or been interested in it!



Christmas Day 1974, a guided walk up the Fox (or possibly Franz Josef) Glacier in South Island, New Zealand. We had woken that morning to news that a cyclone had totally destroyed Darwin. It was a surreal day. Pentax Electro Spotmatic, the one supposedly not sold outside Japan, on Kodachrome. Just love that really hard light and the huge contrast.



Scotland 1992, near Aviemore Highland Wildlife Park, I think. Pentax ME with an unknown ISO 100 colour negative film. Looks... lonely and blowy.



Mont St Michel, 1997. We went across on the ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo, four of us in the Fiat Uno (the previous year it had been 5, but one elected to stay at home this time). Pentax ME and a Kodak 200 film. Pretty clichéd, but the tide seemed to be just right to get this pic with almost no people in it. IIRC I got in trouble for not helping to mind the kids!



This was much more recent, January 2013, TriX in a Pentax MX (the charity shop one). Group walk on a cold misty day, this was one of my early shots in the "52" I did that year, and I got some valuable advice about cropping which really helped.
 
ChrisR said:
This was in my parents garden in 1969, back home for my sister's wedding. Taken with a Werra 1, metered off the Kodak box (presumably sunny 16). Composition is a bit carp but I really like the atmosphere, and it reminds me of the place even though no-one else in the household would have either seen it or been interested in it!
.
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I really like the spider web details in the first shot Chris. When you say "meter off the box" do you mean by reading the guidance printed on the box or do you mean using the inside of the box (maybe it was somewhere near a middle gray) to take a reading from with an external meter ?
 
Kevin Allan said:
I really like the spider web details in the first shot Chris. When you say "meter off the box" do you mean by reading the guidance printed on the box or do you mean using the inside of the box (maybe it was somewhere near a middle gray) to take a reading from with an external meter ?
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The former... the Werra didn't have a meter, and neither did I. I don't think I even knew that light meters existed! There was this bit of guidance on exposure printed on or inside the film box, which is all I used for 4 years, until I got my first Pentax Spotmatic. The guidance worked very well for black and white, and not too shabby for colour negative. I didn't try slide film until a bit later (but my wife had been using it in her cheap point and shoot 126 (?) camera and persuaded me to try it, she got some quite good results unmetered as well).
 
I've been shooting on film again for two or three years. I'm tempted to be alternative and upload some of my scratchy, dusty, XA2 50p camera snapshots, but I'm not going to. Instead I'm offering some of my b/w medium format attempts (and one 35mm).



Focus. I took this last summer in Wisbech. The guy was utterly focused on taking photos of the Clarkson Memorial statue, with his zoom digital bridge camera, so focused, that he didn't notice me walk up to him with the Bronica, nor even hear the mirror clunk. Taken on Ilford FP4 Plus. Reminds me of how excited my late father was to buy a digital camera, and how he wanted more "zoom".



Foolhardy. These guys were great. Quick snap at the local Xmas fair 2013. I was using a Pentax ME Super, and HP5+. They were a lot of fun, and I got a lucky duo portrait.



Portrait of a busker. He was absolutely engrossed in his song. I tried indicating that I'd like to take a photo, and tipped, but I don't think that he even saw me. The Bronica and HP5+. Some people run HP5+ down, but I think that it works here?



Poser. A quick portrait of our lurcher in the back yard. He has a lot of saluki in his heritage, which gives him a pretty girly face. I was trying out the S-18 extension tube on my Bronica. He can be nervy, and I think I scared him by commanding him still, so he pulled his ears back in submission, but it looks in the photo more like a glamorous pose. HP5+ again. Developed in Rodinal.




On the Naughty Step. These girls were great neighbours. Their characters came out well, and she was really telling us that she had been sent out on the naughty step. Even better - no fancy technology this time. I took it on a Kodak Brownie Reflex 20. Sort of a plastic toy TLR. The film was HP5+ rolled onto a 620 spindle.
 
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Terrific set, Paul, like 'em all, but particularly the busker. I'd never have guessed HP5 from that! Buttery smooth tones.
 
I guess this collection might be called my favourites.In no particular order with regard to camera film or place. :)

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


#5.


#6.
 
Okay - I'll play I guess...

as i've always said - I pretty much hate everything I've ever taken, be it film or digital (it's not just a photography thing though - I also dislike every song I've written, every story I've written, every picture I've drawn or painted, and even when I build or make something my eye is always drawn to the flaws in it, not to the overall big picture. I have Issues. I know I do. )

But, there are SOME pictures "in the can" that I can get past the hatred of the pictures technical flaws purely on the basis of the subject matter. And, Strangely for me, most of the shots are going to be people pictures. Simply put, they're pictures of people who are no longer with me...

First a couple from the last ever "family holiday" I took with my parents...

My Mother and Father "mugging for the camera"...

Strongwoman by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Tough Lie by The Big Yin, on Flickr


And A couple of a good friend, Martin, the guy who not only got me into photography in the first place, but pretty much dragged me into nearly every stupid situation i've found myself in my time on this earth...

First a shot from our trip to the Alps...

This is the look of someone who spent 3 days climbing Mont Blanc, only to get within 100 yards of the summit and be so spent from a day of what can be best described as altitude sickness and dysentry as to not be able to complete the route. (We'd only been off the bus from home 20 hours or so when we set off up the hill, so not exactly ideal acclimatisation) In best "Top Gear" tradition, I untied myself from the rope, grabbed his camera, the cine camera (yep, we were making a film of it!) and my own camera, and basically ran up to the summit, burned 2 rolls of colour in my camera, 2 rolls of B&W in his camera, and a entire spool of film in the cine rig. None of the films got back home, they were nicked from my tent a couple of days later, before I could post them home for processing later.

Martin-Chamonix by The Big Yin, on Flickr

and Second (and yes, I know I've posted this many, many times before...)

A behind the scenes shot from Martin's "Degree Piece" film, "Hedgehoggery" which was narrated by a certain Mr. W. Connolly....

The REAL Big Yin meets the Wee Yin by The Big Yin, on Flickr


And, to make up my Five, probably the only shot i've got from recent times, where what I "saw in my minds eye" came out of the camera somewhere close to the final result...

Jaume Plensa at Yorkshire Sculpture Park by The Big Yin, on Flickr
 
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Some winning images in here.

4 images for me, in no particular order :) I think I'm happy with these because these are all ones I waited ages for the light to be as best as it could have been. More importantly, these are how I imagined they would be when I made the photograph.

Godrevy Lighthouse, Portra 160, Cornwall by Jonathan Woods, on Flickr

Hollywell Bay, Cornwall by Jonathan Woods, on Flickr

Birling Gap, Sussex, Sunset by Jonathan Woods, on Flickr

Long exposure at Kimmeridge by Jonathan Woods, on Flickr
 
My goodness, I do like those. The light in the first is just fantastic, and the wet rim lighting on the stones in the last is amazing (and I don't normally much care for long exposures... but you've kept it at mysterious and well before milky :) ).
 
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