I don’t know about you but I’m definitely feeling the burn with Lockdown 3! Hope you’re all doing ok out there! One thing I’ve been doing with my time (time?what’s time?) Ok on the rare occasions that I have time… I’m checking off some of those “I really must take some photos of that one day” places that I have listed in my brain. Do you do this too? These are places which you might pass once or twice or maybe it’s somewhere you visit everyday and something about it speaks to you…. well on more than one occasion I have been caught out when these places have been demolished/rebuilt or otherwise spoiled (photographically speaking) and one such place which has been on my ‘to shoot’ list was this old gas works just outside Huddersfield Town centre - oh the glamour!!
I recall seeing quite a few of these things knocking around in my youth - but not so much these days, and this one certainly has the air of a place that if it’s not too careful could end up on the literal scrap heap of history! It’s certainly an enjoyable architectural/structural subject which inspired me to shoot it in a ‘new topographic’ style - finding the beauty in the banal and the extra-ordinary in the ordinary!
I was keen to take my ARAX CM out for a spin, in part because I just love shooting with the thing, also I thought that 6X6 square format would suit this subject and I wanted to undertake a very technical test…. I’ve been experiencing some annoying light leaks with this camera, most likely source is where the interchangeable film back joins the body, so to be doubly sure I used some black electrical tape around the join to make sure - and voila! No light leaks! I’ve ordered some replacement seals and time permitting (ha) I might write a ‘how to’ on the repair job (assuming I don’t knacker it further in the process of course)!
I shot 1 roll of Ilford HP5 rated at 1000 ISO - it was an overcast day with even and plentiful available light, perfect conditions really! So why did I want to push the film to 1000?? I hear you cry! Well two reasons, firstly that extra speed allows me to stop the lens down whilst still maintaining a reasonable shutter speed, this allowed me to get more of the structure in focus which I think suits this subject better (I know that the ‘I only shoot wide open’ brigade will recoil in horror at this idea but hey - fuck them)!
I don’t think a blurry background would suit this subject and in some of these frames I want the backdrop to form a part of the composition too. Secondly - HP5 just sings when it’s pushed! It’s such a flexible film stock I very rarely shoot it at 400 it’s usually around 1000 or 1600 I find it works best for me.
And just look at the details! Beautiful!! That pealing paint work in the foreground, the decaying dome in the middle distance and the framework forming the background - I love these shots!
Composition wise I just keep things fairly simple really - my main challenge is that the structure itself is surrounded by a modern metal fence so to shoot these I had to stick the camera through gaps in the fence!
I really enjoy shooting square format especially for subjects like this it prompts you to work the angles for an interesting composition, similarly using the 80mm Biometar lens (equivalent to a standard 50mm) was another compositional prompt to isolate elements of the scene - I was tempted to bring a wide angle lens with me too but on reflection I’m glad I didn’t - less is definitely more! (Says the man who owns too many cameras)
I’m very happy with how these have turned out - I’d like to try printing some of these in the darkroom (yes I am planning my very own darkroom - watch this space)!
So there we are, finding the beauty in the everyday! I hope that this structure remains a part of the skyline in this part of town for a long time to come but whatever happens in the future I’ve ticked this one off my ‘must shoot it one day’ list!
