I’ve been busy this week on all sorts of fronts, Ipswich, Ashford and London and burning the candle processing 5 more rolls of Kodak Portra 400 developed by Peak Imaging.

When I first got access to Muntons site I was drawn to this emergency generator. I loved the faded blue paint, and doesn’t blue fade. Anyone who has ever painted a South or West facing door with blue will see this effect over time. This side of the generator housing faces due West. Anyway part of my Wednesday testing at UCS was to see how many 6×6 negatives I could scan on the Chromagraph 3400 in 5 hours. This was one of twenty and that was a tad too many if the truth be told but it was an experiment to get metrics on throughput. I’ve dry scanned the negative also so I know where artefacts have been introduced as part of the process. This had quite a few unwanted spots to remove but the result to my eye is very pleasing.

The wet middle ground is the site of the old A block that doubled up as a temporary resting place for US Airforce personnel killed in combat.

This to my eye is one of the best images I have ever made. Light is everything, as is circumstance. If the river had been running at normal levels this would not be the same at all and Portra 400 has pulled out the sky just as I recall it. Test prints at 14.5 inches square are stunning. I am convinced that this is something Constable would have painted if he were about with his easel and sketchpad today. This is very much an Edgelands image and very true to my medium format rendition of Edgelands subject matter. The difference between flat bed and drum scans is massive.

It has to be said that Peak Imaging are at the top of their game in processing quality and turnaround times. I am well impressed with both large and medium format development done to date.

It was great to meet and talk to visitors at the Edgelands exhibition today. I love it when people want to know about the work and how it is made and it is gratifying that youngsters are keen to look and learn also. Only two weeks left now and then it all comes down but I’m glad I have got new stuff captured and I’m still enjoying every minute of making the extended series.