Sporti, shopping and Mr Selfridge.

Hooray, I got my Ilford Sporti photographs back this week.

My house!

Assorted sheds.

I had mixed results... some of them came out ok, the vast majority didn't! A few appeared to have something obscuring the lens, a classic schoolboy error. Some looked like the winding on thingy was not working properly creating interesting effects.

I am keen to try again though, this time I will make a note of the settings so I can rule out any issues there. I was most impressed with Peak Imaging for swift service and no sarcastic stickers telling me what a crap job I had done! (I used to work for Boots and I HATED those stickers but we had to use them).

My floristry course is fast approaching its end. I am very sad about this, what on earth will I do with my Tuesday evenings now? The last couple of classes have been spent creating planted designs... I made an outdoor planter that would have been cheaper to buy ready made and an indoor one which allowed me to indulge in fairies and butterflies as I created it for a friends birthday!

This week it's the planted design assessment and so I am taking it right back in time and creating a bottle garden. Fascinated by these for years, I have never owned one -probably because my track record with houseplants is abysmal. But hey, this one only has to survive the evening!!

Well, it's Sunday and tonight I have to find alternative entertainment as there is no Mr Selfridge :-( I don't normally watch costume dramas but I will admit to having enjoyed Mr Shellfish... I went out and bought the book which the series was based on this week, 'Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge' by Lindy Woodhead. So far it's a really interesting read, although those expecting a rip roaring story along the lines of the series will be disappointed. It's a look at the broader history of shopping here and in the US and the huge impact that Mr S had on changing the face of our favourite pastime. Some of these changes were massively positive - some of them were causing consternation back then and still do today (I am thinking especially of the buying out of smaller shops in order to expand). As a social history it makes for a great book, so maybe that's how I shall spend my vacant Sunday night spot tonight. Blanket, book and a bottle of red!

Snap!

Christmas Roses in the garden.

 

 

It's been a funny old week - work has been crazy busy and home has been pretty much the same! DD and I went to see the English National Ballet 'doing' Sleeping Beauty which was fabulous. The costumes were amazing and the dancing was wonderful. DD did however offer her opinion that the Russian State Ballet (who we saw last month) had more athletic blokes. I'm assuming she meant in the height and complexity of the jumps and not in any crude sense. Myself? I was impressed with them all!!

 

Film has arrived for my Ilford Sporti camera. It takes 120 film - a format I am not familiar with. Loading it was pretty straightforward. The instruction book really is written step by tiny step. However, I was a little confused by the bit which says to wind on the film until No 1 appears in the window. A line appeared first, was that No 1? I carried on winding, and winding and whoa.... perhaps I'd better take a picture before I wind right to the end. I lined up a classy shot of the house and 'snap'. Now, the Ilford Sporti is my type of camera. You set the dial to sunny or cloudy and then turn the wheel for 2-4 ft, 10-25ft or 25-infinity ft... simples! I wasn't sure if I was 25ft from the house or further so I took a few steps back to be sure. I wound on a bit and took another from a slightly different angle, continuing to wind I found some little flower shapes appear in the window, they got bigger until, Lo! A No 1!! I retook the house shot and confidently carried on winding until flowers and a No 2 appeared (not that kind of No 2). Now I am safe in the knowledge of what the numbers look like I can finish the film and check if the camera is actually working ok! Pictures to follow here in due course.

 

I have been reading and being inspired by a number of writers at the moment who use photography  to document their lives and explore what things mean to them. I am aware this sounds quite weird and airy fairy but it has struck a chord with me. The work of Susannah Conway in particular has been popping up in all sorts of strange coincidental ways. I was interested in her ideas about portraits, especially self portraits. I am generally the one behind the camera in my family and so pics of me are relatively rare. However, I do like having my photo taken but am usually disappointed with the results. They never seem to portray me how I think they should!! Now, I said this was a coincidental week, shifting through some old photographs this weekend I came across a self portrait of my Uncle. He never had a camera far from his hand and is responsible for the stacks of pictures I treasure from my childhood.

 



 

Ken's self portrait along with some shots of Bath Abbey taken by him.

 

This portrait struck me as just what a self portrait should be. It seems to capture him perfectly. I also found a shot he took of me which has always been a favourite - even if I do look like a moody little mare!

 

 

Anyway, I thought I'd have a crack at a self portrait, DH did look at me oddly as I stood in various bits of the garden taking snaps. 'You do realise you have the camera around the wrong way' he helpfully called! Luckily I didn't have to point out the same mistake with the chainsaw!

 

 

Best of the day - well, the shot with least chins!

 

So, what do people think? Self portraits - valid art form with something to say or just an excuse to appear in lots of photographs? I shall continue trying them out, who knows I might even end up with a shot I like!