Inflate-Deflate... daytime on the beach, August '22

It seems a little odd, given this post is going up in early December, to be posting a project with a photoshoot done with inflatables on a beach during a heatwave, but hey-ho.  On a previous trip to Wales, I (Ben) tried to add some more shots to the "Inflate-Deflate" project with a new set of underwater, daylight pics.  It sort-of worked; even though the sea was ridiculously calm, there was a lot of peer-pressure against not only going in the sea with inflatables, but even having them at all.

The heatwave in August meant it was nice enough to go on the beach early in the morning when it was very quiet; indeed, it was getting too hot by mid-afternoon for us to even stay on the beach, so a morning of paddling and play on the sand then going somewhere shady and cooler after lunch was ideal.

Every other time in the last three years we'd been to this beach, the sea was flat as a puddle and clear as gin.  Typically, the morning we rocked up with all the gubbins for the shoot, an incoming storm front out in the Irish Sea meant there were waves, and the water was full of swirling sand and seaweed, not terrific for the sorts of shots I had planned.

Still, having dragged all the stuff down from the car park, it seemed a shame to not to try and get some photographs.  So whilst Amy, Younger and Middle Childs had a swim, me and Elder Child set to pumping up the large, transparent, multi-coloured ball which I'd been intending to use for the underwater shots.

I really like this toy as a photography prop; I first used one of these in a fashion shoot at Uni, and you can get some really interesting effects with them.

Going for a slightly abstract close-up.  I really liked the effect of the colours on the sand, when backlit.

The ones I was happiest with were shooting through the ball.  What's more, almost all these were shot using a phone, as I hadn't planned to use the SLR, prioritising the underwater pics.

I ended up sending a few of these shots off for an Open Call too.  As another variation on the "Inflate-Deflate" project, I think there's mileage with some more experimentation with these.  The above one almost looks like a photoshopped filter over the top of a pic with the beach huts.

A fun half-hours worth of pics resulted.  We probably could have done more, but the wind was picking up and Elder Child was getting tired of chasing the ball around the sand every time a gust caught it.  Plus a little girl from a family who'd set up nearby was looking enviously at it, and we were getting death-glares off her mother who I heard explaining why, no, inflatables in the sea were a dangerous idea darling, etc.  In any case, I thought it would probably be a good idea to get in the sea, so photos achieved, I left Elder Child boredly deflating the ball, and went to help Amy with her own underwater shots in the sea...

 

Hornby Pic of the Year 2022 shoot

Back in October, I (Ben) heard that Hornby were hosting a competition for 'Model Shot of the Year'.  I thought it might be a tad cheeky entering the competition, being as I'd won a Hornby competition in 2022, but still thought it might be worth entering, and anyway, it motivated me to do some miniatures pics as a distraction from a busy period at work.

Lacking anything else, I decided to dig 'Spon Lane' out of storage.  It wasn't in too bad a condition, just needed a couple of wires re-soldering.  Annoyingly, only one of the humidifiers still worked though, so steam effects would be a bit limited compared to the last time I'd shot with it a couple of years ago.

I had a couple of newer models from the Hornby range, on one side for a possible magazine project, so I dug them out for the shoot.  First off, some night pics.

With the steam generator playing up, I shot some without, trying greyscale as well as colour.

With a tight deadline (because we'd been to Wales, I only had three nights in which to shoot, edit, and send-off the pics).  And with my current shift pattern at work, that meant about 40 mins of morning daylight before diving out to work.

Steam generator poking into the set a bit.

So yeah, I didn't get selected for the competition, but I was happy I was able to get some more shots.  At some point I'd love to do another, slightly larger, photo set based on this one with a few more angles available... a job for next year perhaps.

Bradford Industrial Museum, October 2022

A Saturday in November saw us at the Bradford Industrial Museum with a couple of hours to kill whilst waiting for The Childs, so apart from just enjoying a walk around the place, I (Ben) decided to see how the new phone camera would cope with the place.

The museum was surprisingly busy for an Autumn Saturday, and they fired up the machines.

One advantage of the phone was that it could get in nice and close to the machines for some fairly abstract shots.  It should be pointed out, I wasn't daft enough to do this with any of the running gear.

I was able to reach the camera into places the SLR couldn't manage; I'd tried this with a previous visit here years ago, but thought I'd have another go.

I like the odd patches of colour amongst the metal tones.

And that was that; it's good the museum has been able to keep going in these times of funding cut-backs, and it still manages to provide some interesting angles and locations for photography.  We'll have to see if there are any special events on next year, and make a return visit.

 

Autumn on the Ffestiniog Railway, 2022

Autumn can be both a good, and a bad, time for railway photography up in North Wales.  There tend to be fewer trains, and depending on the weather, pics can either be dull or glorious as the trees go over.

Early on in the holidays, I (Ben) took a walk around Tanybwlch with The Childs.  The day was a bit gloomy when we arrived, so Tuppaware skies all round- that said, having made the effort to go, we tried to make the best of it.  "Palmerston" brings up the rear of an afternoon train heading for Porthmadog, whilst we bought drinks at the station cafe.

Things had brightened up a bit by the time we got up into the woods themselves, as "Lyd" trundles around the curves.  Annoyingly the sun came out mere seconds after the train had passed...

"Merddin Emrys" a little later, and a little nearer the station.  Very happy with this shot, even if it is becoming a bit of a common shot by other photographers in the mags.  I tried to get a slightly different shot by scrambling through the undergrowth away from the path, and make the most of the autumn shades...

Towards the end of the week, I had a free morning, so went out to a spot I used to use a lot about 10 years back near Penrhydeudraeth.  The last time I came this way was about six years back.

It was surprising how quickly the trees had grown up around the area; the first time I came to this bit in the mid 2000's it was all trees, then they were felled, and now the fresh planting is really kicking into gear.

My first location was somewhere I'd first used back in about 2004, a former forestry level crossing.  Nice for low-angle shoots through the gates, but a little bland, surroundings-wise.

Incidentally, here's what it looked like when I used to come here, back in the day.  I rather liked it, when it was a railway threading through the trees.  I can't remember the exact date, it may have been 2004 or 2005, and it was "Prince" and "Merddin Emrys" on a train to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

I reckoned I'd need to make the most of the woodland location, given the dull sky, so pressed on towards Cei Mawr embankment.

This is a properly impressive bit of engineering, though needs a scramble to get to it.

Waiting for the train.

The first one came up, with "Pamlerston" piloting "Merddin Emrys" on a 'Mountain Spirit'.  Not a terrific shot, the camera struggled a bit with the lighting.  Normally wouldn't be too much of an issue, but with only two trains that morning, it was rather annoying that this shot didn't work out.

I'd sussed the right settings when "Lyd" came up half an hour later.  My last Ffestiniog shot of 2022, hopefully I'll be able to get back up there early next year though...

A quick stop at the Llangollen Railway, October '22

Back in the half-term, we made a quick stop at the Llangollen Railway whilst en-route to Porthmadog.  It was unplanned (we needed somewhere for a brew and a leg-stretch, and Llangollen itself was rammed), but a stop at Carrog Station gave us a nice break.  As a happy bonus, a DMU was ticking over in the platform.

Always love the view from a First-Generation unit.  There's something great about being able to look out from the passenger area over the driver's shoulder.  

We waited for the passengers to board, mainly so the cafe would quieten down, and it gave me a chance to get some pics of the DMU pulling out.

Second November in a row with a visit to Llangollen; I'm hoping to hit it properly for a visit during a gala weekend next year.  In the meantime, it provided a very pleasant place to stop off for a couple of hours.