The window at North mimms church
Ilford XP2, 35mm film
Nikon FM2n
50mm f1.8 lens
The wonderful darks and contrasts in this shot is one of the biggest reasons I want to have a small go at using film again.
I will never use film again as my main medium but I am going to include it in a planned way for the most appropriate subjects and with black and white film only.
New Film photography category 
It has been some time since I loaded a film into this old camera and shot all of 36 exposures and then sent it off to be processed or had a go myself.
For many years I have been using Nikon/fujifilm digital equipment and photoshop to process all resulting images but in the last few week I had a request to scan some old slides and film, I had a Minolta film scanner in the loft so down it came and I set it up again.
After I finished doing this work for them I left the scanner sitting there and kept looking at it for a little time then I found lots of my old film stock. I could not resist the need to see them again so I scanned many of them back in to my pc.
The only remaining film camera I had was a fully manual Nikon Fm2n that I also had in the loft. So I realised that a return to using film is well within my grasp. This along with my father’s old Agfa camera (Post…) will be great fun to use.
I have created a new film photography category on my blog menu in order to share this journey with you as I hopefully begin to enjoy this form of photography again. I hope also that you find this area useful if you want to do the same.
Nigel
The sea is a hungry dog,
Giant and grey.
He rolls on the beach all day.
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws
Hour upon hour he gnaws
The rumbling, tumbling stones,
And ‘Bones, bones, bones, bones! ‘
The giant sea-dog moans,
Licking his greasy paws.
And when the night wind roars
And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,
He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,
Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
And howls and hollos long and loud.
But on quiet days in May or June,
When even the grasses on the dune
Play no more their reedy tune,
With his head between his paws
He lies on the sandy shores,
So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
The sea is a hungry dog,
Giant and grey.
He rolls on the beach all day.
With his clashing teeth and shaggy jaws
Hour upon hour he gnaws
The rumbling, tumbling stones,
And ‘Bones, bones, bones, bones! ‘
The giant sea-dog moans,
Licking his greasy paws.
And when the night wind roars
And the moon rocks in the stormy cloud,
He bounds to his feet and snuffs and sniffs,
Shaking his wet sides over the cliffs,
And howls and hollos long and loud.
But on quiet days in May or June,
When even the grasses on the dune
Play no more their reedy tune,
With his head between his paws
He lies on the sandy shores,
So quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.
James Reeves
Molly our 10 year old Golden retriever
My mother loved Golden retrievers, we owned cats….
She would always say that you should never truly trust someone who’s not into pets, while I don’t hold to this I kinda get what she was talking about.
You don’t have to own a pet to love them in fact you can show you love them by being honest to yourself if your not in a position to look after them correctly. You are then free to love and look after other peoples pets.
But just how good are they for us, well I found this article and it look like they are very very good for us!
http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/petsandstress.htm
When thinking of ways to reduce stress in life, usually techniques like meditation, yoga and journaling come to mind. These are great techniques, to be sure. But getting a new best friend can also have many stress relieving and health benefits. While human friends provide great social support and come with some fabulous benefits, this article focuses on the benefits of furry friends: cats and dogs! Research shows that, unless you’re someone who really dislikes animals or is absolutely too busy to care for one properly, pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people! Here are more health benefits of pets:
Pets Can Improve Your Mood:
For those who love animals, it’s virtually impossible to stay in a bad mood when a pair of loving puppy eyes meets yours, or when a super-soft cat rubs up against your hand. Research supports the mood-enhancing benefits of pets. A recent study found that men with AIDS were less likely to suffer from depression if they owned a pet. (According to one study, men with AIDS who did not own a pet were about three times more likely to report symptoms of depression than men who did not have AIDS. But men with AIDS who had pets were only about 50 percent more likely to report symptoms of depression, as compared to men in the study who did not have AIDS.)
Pets Control Blood Pressure Better Than Drugs:
Yes, it’s true. While ACE inhibiting drugs can generally reduce blood pressure, they aren’t as effective on controlling spikes in blood pressure due to stress and tension. However, in a recent study, groups of hypertensive New York stockbrokers who got dogs or cats were found to have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who didn’t get pets. When they heard of the results, most of those in the non-pet group went out and got pets!
Pets Encourage You To Get Out And Exercise:
Whether we walk our dogs because they need it, or are more likely to enjoy a walk when we have companionship, dog owners do spend more time walking than non-pet owners, at least if we live in an urban setting. Because exercise is good for stress management and overall health, owning a dog can be credited with increasing these benefits.
Pets Can Help With Social Support:
When we’re out walking, having a dog with us can make us more approachable and give people a reason to stop and talk, thereby increasing the number of people we meet, giving us an opportunity to increase our network of friends and acquaintances, which also has great stress management benefits.
Pets Stave Off Loneliness and Provide Unconditional Love:
Pets can be there for you in ways that people can’t. They can offer love and companionship, and can also enjoy comfortable silences, keep secrets and are excellent snugglers. And they could be the best antidote to loneliness. In fact, research shows that nursing home residents reported less loneliness when visited by dogs than when they spent time with other people! All these benefits can reduce the amount of stress people experience in response to feelings of social isolation and lack of social support from people.
Pets Can Reduce Stress—Sometimes More Than People:
While we all know the power of talking about your problems with a good friend who’s also a good listener, recent research shows that spending time with a pet may be even better! Recent research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present! (This may be partially due to the fact that pets don’t judge us; they just love us.)
It’s important to realize that owning a pet isn’t for everyone. Pets do come with additional work and responsibility, which can bring its own stress. However, for most people, the benefits of having a pet outweigh the drawbacks. Having a furry best friend can reduce stress in your life and bring you support when times get tough.
Trees, herbs, and plants are very important to Druids. They represent their sacred alphabet, they are used for healing, and many Druids name themselves after trees. Trees are the connection between the realms. Ireland was said to be divided into four lands, each occupied by a sacred tree with a fifth tree at the center.
The five most important trees are the oak, rowan, birch, apple, and yew:
The oak is connected with strength, protection, and stability. Some say that the very word Druid derives from duir, the old word for oak.
The rowan is useful for protection, youth, and prophecy.
The birch is symbolic of beginnings, renewal, regeneration, and cleansing. It is also associated with the bard.
The apple tree is the tree of life and is said to reside at the center of the otherworld.
The yew is associated with death and decay because it is very poisonous, but this unique evergreen tree also lives for thousands of years. It is related to the ovate and is frequently found near sacred wells.
Other trees, such as the ash, willow, and hawthorn also frequently appear in mythology and legend.
Foremost among the herbs and plants most revered by Druids is mistletoe. Mistletoe is a parasite frequently found growing on oaks. It is said that mistletoe, which grows off trees rather than from roots in the earth, must never be allowed to touch the earth. It is sometimes called all-heal, but it is poisonous, so use it with caution. Verbena, or vervain, is gathered at Midsummer, whereas mistletoe is gathered at Midwinter. It is used as an offering to the gods. It is also considered a cure-all and is said to ward against evil spirits.
HERB ROBERT, GERANIUM ROBERTIANUM
This herb has been used in medicine for centuries, although in the 20th century, particularly in Portugal it was hailed as a folk cancer remedy when the powdered leaves were taken with a raw, fresh egg yolk. Of course this has not been proven to work. Dioscorides described it and it was known to the old herbalists, who used it mainly for blood problems, as the stalks and leaves turn bright red in autumn, a sign to these old herbalists that it was good for the blood.
This plant is known by around a hundred names some of which refer to other plants more often, such as bloodwort (red dock), and red robin (not ragged robin) and cranesbill, which is native to the US and poisonous. However Stinking Bob is a name given to this herb which is unique to it, and refers to the smell given off by its bruised leaves. It is also called the Fox Geranium, some say because of its “foxy” smell after rain. It is native to hedgerows and woodland in Europe the British isles included, and to temperate Asia as it grows as far east as Japan and in the Himalayan regions.
No one really knows how it became Herb Robert, although there are several contenders for being its namesake, including Robert Duke of Normandy, who died in 1134, St Robert of Molesme, a French monk who died in 1110, and Robin Goodfellow or Puck, the mischievous elf who has a role in Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The Latin name Robertianum might be a corruption of ruber meaning red, rather than referring to any specific Robert, Robin or Rupert, names that seemed to have been linked to this plant.
The leaves of Herb Robert are the main part of the plant used for medicinal purposes and an infusion of these has been drunk and used as a wash for the skin, and for inflammation of the eyes. A poultice of the leaves has been used to relieve hardened breasts, to increase lactation in nursing mothers, to relieve irritated skin and the pain of rheumatism and reduce bruising, as well as being applied to herpes sores and ulcers. The infusion can also be used for the same external purposes.
Wild Woodbine
Joan McBreen
Wild woodbine was beyond my reach
in the thick hedges round Lough Gill.
The heavy scent filled the house for days
when my father brought it in
and it stayed fresh far longer
then meadowsweet.
Because I loved the delicate
pink and white wild rose
he picked it too, cursing the thorns, muttering
“it dies too soon,
you’d be better leaving it alone”.
Yet once, when my mother
swept its petals from the floor
I saw him rescue one
and place it carefully
in the small wallet
where he kept her photograph.
A day with Black and white film.
Nikon FM2n, Ilford’s HP5
Nigel Borrington
Some years ago myself and my brother and a friend Neil, headed to Hampton court to do some photography. It was the first time I had loaded Black and white film into my Nikon FM2 camera in a location like this so full of colour from the June flowers on display.
However Neil owned his own black and white dark room so Ilford’s HP5 it was. We spent about four hours at Hampton Court and then some hours processing the film making some prints and drinking a lot from what I can remember.
The images here are some of the results, I cannot find anything else. The prints are long gone so I have scanned any negatives I can find.
I am more than happy with these images and it’s very interesting to look back and think about what I felt made a good image way back then.
Nikon FM2n, Ilford’s HP5
Nigel Borrington
Nikon D7000, 70-300 vr lens
Last Year I posted this image Spring Rabbit, well they are back in the same field and looking as fruitful as ever. Although this little one looks like something almost had him for dinner. Notice the bite out of his ear….
Fuji X100
Irish landscape photography, Nigel Borrington
Glenbeg,Youghal, Co Cork
If you took-up my offer of a seat over the last weekend then this is the view from the window..
Fuji X100
Irish landscape photography, Nigel Borrington
Glenbeg,Youghal, Co Cork
Glenbeg is a small cove just east of Youghal on the south coast of Ireland and Its a special little place that I hope to return to this year for some more picture….
Nigel Borrington 
Pilgrim Hill
Pilgrim Hill – A Movie about the true side of farming life
Yesterday I watched a great review about a new film Pilgrim hill that has been made by young film maker Gerard Barrett in the above video he talks to RTE’s Nationwide about Pilgrim Hill. In cinemas April 12th 2013. Pilgrim Hill is the debut film from Gerard Barrett, winner of the 2013 Irish Film and Television Academy Rising Star Award.
“Jimmy Walsh is a farmer in rural Ireland. Like the landscape he inhabits, his life is bleak and hard. Looking after an ageing sick father, life is passing him by as he comes to terms with his changing circumstances. Loneliness and isolation are his continual companions, along with his modest herd of cattle.
A young twenty something neighbour is one of the only links Jimmy has to the real world. In him, Jimmy sees what he could have been, as he realizes what he is, a middle aged bachelor farmer with vanishing opportunities and on the verge of living the rest of his life alone on the side of a cold un-nourishing hill.
A final blow is dealt to Jimmy when it seems that life can’t get any worse. He is barely able to articulate his situation, yet his honesty and vulnerability speak to the loneliness that haunts the human condition in all of us”
In and around the area I live in Ireland, Co.Kilkenny there are many Jimmy walsh’s including members of my own family.
Sean a family friend is one of them, older than Jimmy but he will have travelled through many of the same things in his time.
Many of these farmers never got married and lived out their lives in remote places like this farm Burnchurch in Co.Tipperary.
Watching the review of the film last night, I wondered why these men’s lives have not been shown and received much more coverage than they have. Many other nation like the America have shown the hard lives their own famers have lived on the screen for many years, it time these mens live got the same exposure, please go a watch this movie if you can.
Nigel
Share this:
Posted by nigel borrington | April 12, 2013 | Categories: Comment, Forgotten places | Tags: farming, Gerard Barrett, Ireland, irish farming, irish film, Irish life, Irish photography, Kilkenny, Pilgrim hill | 9 Comments