I've found an old scrapbook with some of my early photographs in. They are all a bit loose, so I thought it would be a good idea to scan some in, throw a bit of Photoshop at them and save to disk. Then post them on the blog for your entertainment.
OK, my photography skills, and certainly the equipment available to me at the time (1980s I think) aren't anything to get excited about, but a look back the best part of four decades has to be interesting.
The original photo is just under four inches sqaure, and I'd guess was taken on an Instamatic using a 126 cartridge film.
What we see is a Class 58, one of my favourites, hauling MGR hoppers through Leamigton Spa station. At the time, these were bang up to date - we still saw 16 ton minerals trundling through. Merry-Go-Round was a bit revolutionary.
Sadly, the hoppers are gone. No idea where the loco is as I can't identify it, and the K8 phone box on the station platform is a memory. There's a good change, the DMU in platform One isn't around either. Even if it was, the buffer stops have been moved back along the siding so it now wouldn't get in the frame. You don't see platform trolleys nowadays either.
3 comments:
Hi Phil,
A wonderful photo. May not be the resolution of today's digital but it has its own unique atmosphere and mention of 126 cameras really takes me back! There a few things which stick out for me in this picture. The colours are a lot more muted then we tend to model and perhaps we become obsessed with neat ballasting. Looking at the way it has been laid through the station. I would say they have tried to emulate my model ballast skills!
Be interesting to see what else is in young Phil's scrap book.
Woody
Phil, yes, there is something nostalgic about “Instamatic” (126 format) prints from days gone by, when the world was still mostly analogue! There is also a feeling of reassurance when the scene is recognisable, even though changes have taken place over the years. I had a 126 format camera too when starting out, but I regret that I mostly used it (sparingly) on family holidays rather than capturing day-to-day life.
A lot can be done to improve old photos using tools around today, like the Topaz suite. It is also worth considering how you are scanning them. I rescan my old slides every ten years or so because technology improves so much. LOMO offer the Digital LIZA set up that I find more useful now than a traditional scanner.
Woody, bear in mind the colours aren't those you would have seen on the day, for a vast range of reasons. I must admit I did like using 126 format and I still regret not buying a Pentax Auto 110
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