FALLING SOMEWHERE AS RAIN

  Another day, another strange lens to add to my growing collection. The PZO Janpol Color-K 55/5.6, is a Polish enlarger lens, with integral colour CMYK filters built in. I had first seen this oddity online, possibly in the hands of an inspirational french experimental photographer - Mathieu Stern . Stern first came to my attention many years ago, when I began to use projector or found lenses on my camera, to achieve various effects. He has recently written an ebook on the use and customisation of projector lenses, but is very active on social media, especially Youtube, with his weird and wonderful techniques. The Janpol lens is a 55mm with a max aperture of 5.6 and a minimum of 16, with three stops. On each side is a knob which when rotated, moves an internal colour filter into position. The knobs have gradations of effect and can be used in tandem. It dates from 1965 and was intended for enlargers using 35mm film and also for copy work. The standard M42 mount meant it was a...

  Ebay really is the world's attic and its quite amazing what turns up for sale. On a quiet day last week, a random trawl through the Photographic section for russian and soviet lenses revealed something described as 'Super Interesting Russian Enlarger Lens M42'. It was reasonably priced, but I made an offer, as sometimes the information in a listing can be misleading or wrong, so I didn't want to risk buying another paperweight. My offer was accepted and a few days later a small package arrived. The lens itself is quite small, about an inch and a half in diameter, with a flared aluminium cone adapting it to the M42 thread. Aperture is controlled by a three stop slider on the front and a small yellow/green filter screws in over the lens. The only markings on it were the three stops, all in cyrillic. I initially mounted it on a focussing helicoid and then on the Samsung to M42 adaptor, but the flange distance was too great and I couldnt achieve focus. So I took off the h...

The City of London is truly iconic, with a wealth of landmarks and instantly recognisable buildings, which even people who have never visited the capital can identify. I first visited London when I was at secondary school in the early seventies and something about it hooked me even then. In all probability, it was the colours and furious activity of the city, red buses, black cabs, neon lights all of it packaged and produced to catch the tourists eye in the form of gifts and souvenirs just waiting to be taken home. Since then I have visited London many times and each time seen a different aspect to it, from the darkened streets near the docks, to the heart of theatreland, the rush of Oxford Street and the bohemian stalls of Soho. Probably my favourite visit so far has been the Notting Hill and Portobello Road area, with the long stretch of market stalls, quaint shops and beautiful houses. Even though I have only seen a tiny fraction of the capital, it still evokes a certain nostalgia a...

After settling in to the caravan, the unusual heatwave we had been experiencing, broke overnight with a fierce thunderstorm and torrential rain. However morning brought another fine day and the prospect of exploring further afield. The area around the Swale had been famously documented in the thirties by Ella Pontefract, author of six books on the Yorkshire Dales. The books included a series of walks, which encompassed local historical sites and areas of interest. One such walk was a three mile round trip, starting in the tiny village of Keld and visiting a range of stunning waterfalls and a remarkable ruined building called Crackpot Hall. Pontefract recorded the presence of a 'feral child' who she had met whilst exploring the area. The child became the subject of local legend and was investigated on several occasions, including by the BBC Radio 3 programme 'Between the Ears'. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nr54x   With the legend in mind, we set off for Keld, a re...