By everything, I was initially thinking of the flora in the normally sunny county of Suffolk, which is both normally a sunny space but also 6 weeks late this year on account of abysmal weather. Weather that I made full advantage of in my 10 Minutes piece on gutter, grids and yellow lines.
Today is is precipitating as if were the occasion of a Glastonbury festival, but maybe the weather is a tad late. Yesterday began as a beautifully benign morning with me taking ‘le petit dejeuner’ on the lower patio – first time this year! Benign enough to take a trip out with the Toyo view camera. I had realised some stock was 6 weeks late on Monday so I loaded up 6 double dark slides with Fuji 160NS and Portra 400 and off I set looking for a water bowser in the sky. I saw this during the Winter in lashing rain but can I remember where? Somewhere between Martlesham and Woodbridge and Newbourn. Anyway did I find it? No. What I did discover in a most serendipitous way was a field full of poppies – yes much later than I expected but as idyllic as a rural idyll could be so 10 sheets of 5×4 Fuji 160NS where sacrificed to the rural, impressionist like viewpoint.
The 2 Portra 400 sheets were reserved for Building 140 at Foxhall. It is some years now since USAF people vacated these premises but how nature has taken over, and vandalism. I can remember seeing this place in its nakedly brutal posturing that was a constant reminder to the threat from the East when I first came to East Anglia in the late 1970’s. I don’t think the site is listed but the reason for shooting this was the ‘Aeronautics in East Anglia’ competition being promoted by EADT and Jessops. East Anglia is riddled with left over air bases and paraphernalia and these building are more a reminder of the threat we faced than any grounded aeroplane for me. Anyway, the biggest shock of the day was taking 6 double dark slides to a pro-lab for developing. UCS has shut down C41 processing for the summer and was I in for a shock!
£30 on the cost of the film and £44.64 for the development plus £16 petrol! Ideal metrics for Professional Practice modules next year.
I have every faith in the outcome subject to correct development as the scenes were well metered. The Minolta Spot Meter really does come into its own when shooting 5×4. So fingers crossed that these come out of the can OK. I might have to have a bash at trying C41 processing at home. No reason why not but just a question of temperature control.