The last Harewood House photos

So amazingly I think that I have shared this entire roll of photos from Harewood House here now (we won’t mention how long that took me haha) and I’m really quite delighted about that, as I think its only the 2nd time ever that this has happened. I can’t decide if this is because I have 1) improved my ratio of good photos per roll or 2) I have lowered my expectations of what a good photo actually is (ha!) - ultimately though I decided on 3) it doesnt really matter.

Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Kodak TMax P3200
Location: Harewood House, Leeds

Around Where I Live

I had a quick search in my archives and Squarespace informs me that I haven’t shared an official post in this series since 2017. I feel a little in a daze at the moment, like the last 2/3/4 years have passed me by in a hazy blur. I wonder if its grief, illness, pandemic-ness… and came to the conclusion that its all of it. I remember reading once that when someone you love so much dies, a part of you just stops moving forward whilst the rest of you keeps going through time… maybe that part of me was bigger than I anticipated.

Anyway, I’m very lucky to love where I live, expecially during lockdowns and isolations lately - it really is a lovely place with amazing history, access to nature and I love sharing photos of it. So here are a few more for you.

Camera: Olympus OM-10
Film: Fuji Superia 200

Along the canal

These were taken last September - and honestly, I can not wait for warmer weather and longer walks. I’ve always been quite sensitive to the cold but this winter that combined with CFS/ME led to the worst cold intolerance I’ve ever experienced. Any temperature drop and I was sluggish, unable to regulate my temperature properly and at the very worst, barely functioning at all.

Bring on the warm weather and a functioning body again!

Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Fuji Colour 200
Location: Leeds/Liverpool Canal, Leeds

Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles

These photos are from the first rolls of films that I developed myself last year - and as such, they are full of all the beginner mistakes that you make when starting something new. These particular photos have ‘bubbles’ on them, left behind by the chemicals as the film dried after developing. I didn’t realise at the time that there was an optional stage of ‘wetting agent’ that would have stopped this which is frustrating, but here we are.

Funnily enough, I’ve now run out of all the other chemicals I had, and now I have a big bottle of wetting agent just sat in a cupboard haha. We live, we experiment and we learn right!

I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to develop my own films again - on one hand, it was a really tactile, methodical process that I enjoyed doing - and the feeling of seeing the photos that you took straight from the tank was pretty awesome (I must also add that the feeling of a blank roll from the tank is also incredibly gut wrenching - high highs and low lows this film business) . On the other hand, I now have my ME/CFS diagnosis and on top of working full time and all my other hobbies (crochet, knitting, reading and cuddling my cats) developing my own film just seems like something thats easier and less effort to outsource now. (Chronic illness, the gift that keeps giving). I guess I wouldn’t say I would never do it again, just not in a hurry.

If you want an accurate reflection of how this film looks when done right, this is not the post (haha) however I will refer you to this review on Emulsive.

Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Kodak TMax P3200
Location: Harewood House, Leeds