Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana

Ensign Ful-Vue (grey)

So, here’s the new addition to the ol’ camera collection, an Ensign Ful-Vue II (c.1953). In 1953 Ensign introduced coloured versions of the camera to celebrate the Queen’s Coronation. “Called Ful-Vue ‘a la mode’ they came in red, white and blue, very patriotic, and were advertised as fashion accessories. A clear plastic case came with the camera presumably to allow others to admire your matching handbag and camera.” [ensign-demon.co.uk]

White? Not really. Grey? Pretty much. Green? Some times, yes. A Flickr member commented on its look of an underwater camera, that he almost expects to see a ship’s compass through the top lens. I think there is something about it that does rather resemble a submarine or one of those old diving helmets. It’s a very interesting design, and has a wonderfully large viewfinder which I intend to get some TtV shots with. The whole thing needs a teeny bit of TLC, but as far as I can tell it’s still in working order so I should be able to get some test film out of it at some point.

As some of you may already know, I purchased a Halina-Prefect in January this year, and after finishing a test roll of 120 film it sat, undeveloped, on my bookcase ever since. Well, I finally sent the film off to a very kind retired-photographer who was willing to develop it for me and the photographs you see here are just a few from the contact sheets. When I bought the camera (only for a few pennies) I didn’t know if it was still in working order, so I was very pleased this morning to open the envelope and find actual photographs inside.

Narrowboats on Leeds canal

Narrowboat on Leeds canal

Sign

Gnomes

You can read more about the Halina-Prefect here

"I have two friends. A good one and a bad one. And then there’s my brother. He might not be quite as friendly as I am, but he’s OK..."

Following the spectacular images posted of the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, Boston.com continues to take my breath away (and distract me from doing anything remotely productive) with a new collection of disturbing, yet highly poignant photographs documenting the effects of the BP Oil Spill:

A Greenpeace activist steps through oil on a beach along the Gulf of Mexico on May 20, 2010 near Venice, Louisiana. (John Moore/Getty Images)

A dragonfly tries to clean itself as it is stuck to marsh grass covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in Garden Island Bay on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana near Venice on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Crews try to clean an island covered in oil on the south part of East Bay May 23, 2010. (REUTERS/Daniel Beltra/Greenpeace)

A shrimp boat is used to collect oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, Louisiana on May 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

See the rest here (39 images in total)

I’m half awake.
You know, when you’re somewhat aware of the conscious world surrounding you but you still don’t have any control over your eyelids and you don’t really know where your arms or your legs are.

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

-Neil Gaiman

I’ve been meaning  to have a go at some moon photography. There are some fantastic examples out there.
It must be said that I’ve refused to buy myself a telescope for years, because I’m the kind of person who would get obsessed with staring in to space and would eventually find myself locked in a padded cell somewhere. The universe fascinates me. Too much. And that giant rock in the sky is no exception. I am, after all, a Cancerian. So I decided that if I wasn’t going to buy a telescope, it wouldn’t do any harm to take some photographs and, besides, I was interested to find out what a 300mm lens could produce. The result isn’t too bad for a hand held shot. You can clearly see the Aristarchus, Copernicus, and Tycho Craters, which seems like a pretty good result. In fact, I was surprised how much detail you can get when you give it a go.