Scary moment this morning. My mind wandered back to this day 40 years ago when I set off to full time employment as a very junior Civil Servant ostensibly to while away a year being paid whilst I re-sat my failed A-levels. The world was such a different place in those days. Liverpool was still a thriving if not strike bound port with most of the North docks still working general cargo ships plus the massive Seaforth dock with all the new fangled Ro-Ro car transporters such as the Atlantic Conveyor and Causeway. Who was to know then that some 9 years later the Conveyor would suffer at the hands of the Argentines in the battle for the Falklands with the loss of its master and 11 other souls.

I was then stalled in my quest to become a professional photographer having deemed it necessary to gain a higher education qualification in order to pursue such a career. I was however diverted along the way by becoming a surveillence photographer for a short while and having a thoroughly satisfaying and varied career for a year that lasted just short of 25 years before management consultancy and data security plus systems development roles took their places in my multi-faceted diversion from the path I had hewn for myself.

Now I’m back on track. Just into the last year of the degree and shooting on a camera, the like of which  I thought died with my grandfather. It has taken 40 years to go go full cricle and beyond to find that I still have have so much to learn. I make mistakes but now the years of being an analyst force me into discovering why and identifying possible solutions. This past weekend has been superb in terms of early morning weather conditions to shoot large format film yet somehow I managed to get the development process wrong. Was this due to the new MOD54 insert, the change of developer from Acutol (no longer available) to FD10 or something in the water? I do not know yet but I shall prostrate myself before the senior technician today and seek his advice. I’ll also order some IlfotecDD-X pricey as it may seem as there only so many sheets of HP5+ 5×4 film I am prepared to waste. I am hoping the Ektar 100 sheets will come out OK as at least the exposure looked good having used the Minolta F spotmeter to grade my scenes.

Sunday’s bad example of development issues. Insufficient agitation I believe.

Monday’s attempt but slightly different atmospheric conditions. A true Autumn morning.

Neither are deserving of the effort put in. Must find the answer and improve.