View Full Version : This damn rain!
I spent the good part of last evening and night starting on my darkroom - finally!!
So while the clouds weren't in the sky, I managed to move a HUGE Beseler CB-7 enlarger (for 4x5 up to massive enlargements) into the shed, along with the other darkroom bits and pieces that were stored in my room.
I just about managed one ok-ish 10x8 FB print from a 4x5 neg (the one of the Leica IIIc + Summicron.. lost the scan of the neg right now), but otherwise realised to make full use of the 4x5 enlarger.... I need to take more photo's!!!!
This rain is a real mood-killer, I'm stuck inside when I could be out shooting something, then developing it, then printing a nice copy to pin up on my bare bedroom walls!
So I'm not a fan of the rain, I haven't taken a photo since the RFF day out a few weeks back. Not only that, but every one of my cameras has film in it...ready to shoot... so I can't even be a camera-fondler!! :eek:
Oh, and I realised I'm out of paper developing and fixing chemicals :bang:
Anyone else finding their plans thwarted by this weather system??
oftheherd
07-25-2007, 04:21
Well, if you can find a way to do it, send it to the US east coast area. We are rather short on it.
And remember, it keeps down the dust in the darkroom. :D :D
Me.
This is just ridiculous, beyond a ****ing joke now.
All that PanF+ we bought, have used only two rolls on the one sunny day since :)
Ah well, this is the beggining of the end of the world, it won't happen like the films.
Kully,
We need to wait for the weather to clear up well enough for me to come to Reading and grab the rest of the darkroom stuff from you without getting drenched too!
I only just bulk rolled 20-odd cans from a single box. Even then it was to kill some time while it was raining outside!!
oftheherd,
Gladly!
Oh, and I'm more worried about my makeshift insulation of newpaper and bin bags (originally to test for light leaks... good enough to stay for the moment) will hold up if the rain gets any worse!
Ash
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/weather/st_swithins_day.shtml
it rained this year, few more days to go...
Noel
mr_phillip
07-25-2007, 04:34
>> All that PanF+ we bought, have used only two rolls on the one sunny day since
I can sympathize. In April, which was just glorious here, I went out and bought a load of ADOX CHS 25 thinking we'd finally have enough light to use this film without needing a tripod. Since then we've just seen relentless, unshifting gray drizzle. At least we've not been flooded though.
Dear British friends, I have seen a terrible report on TV about the bad weather conditions in some areas: I do hope you are safe and that you are not suffering for this terrible situation. I wish you better days very soon.
I'd be fine with all the Pan F+ iff I had studio space. I'd simply rig up the flashes and use it happily as a studio film (as recommended by RJ Lam a while ago).
Noel, that's a fair month or so left until the rain subsides :(
I love rainy days. What better chance to try high-ISO films like 1600 & 3200? Night shoots in the rain are fun, too.
I went out during the typhoon that hit here 2 weeks ago:
http://life-electronic.net/blog/?p=276
http://life-electronic.net/blog/?p=279
But Japan is nice! England sucks!
And. Typhoons are cool (if you survive), a constant, putrid, drizzle is super crap.
Greyhoundman!!!
"The Great English Countryside"
- that's what you want to see, but we need a nice warm summer for that :D
Don't worry, an English passport is a fiver from most corner shops. You'll be fine :)
It would be great to meet you if you managed to arrange a trip over - so long as you pick the right time and I'm not out of the country!!
If you ever hear someone say they love the rainy season in Japan, politely excuse yourself and run like hell--they are barking mad. It is constantly hot and humid and then it rains lightly but almost without end. Mold grows in your house and it is like living in a bowl of soup. Thank god it is almost over and we can start to experience the relatively benign typhoon season.
G-man they say one can be obtained much faster if you cough up the bucks for an expediter.
I left Tokyo hours before the last Typhoon hit. They also had an earth quake
the same week-end. Not funny.
If it rains shoot color.
Roland.
If you ever hear someone say they love the rainy season in Japan, politely excuse yourself and run like hell--they are barking mad. It is constantly hot and humid and then it rains lightly but almost without end. Mold grows in your house and it is like living in a bowl of soup. Thank god it is almost over and we can start to experience the relatively benign typhoon season.
I am really glad living in Hokkaido ... :rolleyes: 25 to 29 degrees, low humidity and blue sky since weeks ...
Maddoc sounds too beautiful--any work up there for English language editors? :-)
... the bad news about Hokkaido is the job market situation. You could give it a try at the university here in Sapporo but otherwise I guess ... :(
So I suspected, Ash sorry for the hijacking your thread-- Back to the English rain.
Not sure if I posted it already - this is last Friday. A friend atop a bubbling drain cover on the flooded road in Calne! She doesn't always look this scary :eek:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y43/second-belated/DSC001721.jpg
Digicams serve some purpose :)
Heh :), has she just seen a floater wrapped in bog roll floating past?
That's what happened here in Maidenhead (quesy smiley)
sepiareverb
07-25-2007, 09:57
Yikes! I guess it's your turn. We've had all but a few days this past month that it didn't rain at least part of the day- several days all day steady. Finally, since Saturday we've had some sun at long last- I've taken advantage of the sun and started building our new front steps, so not much shooting for me. They literally fell apart- no more putting it off!
Ash, are you sure there's any countryside left?! Last time I saw the news it seemed all had washed away.
England never seems to get a break. It washes away in the Summer rains, and then in Winter people freeze to death. How are Spring and Autumn there? :)
We had some blistering hot days in Spring :D
Last year's summer was great too. It all depends really. More often than not there are awful weather systems, and now and then there's a heat wave.
There's some countryside left, you just gotta know where to find it :)
Don't start worrying until the animals start lining up two by two. Until then, keep on good terms with all friends with long beards and big boats. :D
The weather is so bad this year (in the UK) that I have decided to go somewhere else for a holiday next year, Italy Venice.....wish i had gone this year!
I am hoping to go to visit Japan after I have finished my studies, probably 2009, finances depending. That has been one of my lifelong amitions.
Still, one plus, if it wasnt raining all the time, I probably wouldnt be posting here...not sure if thats a blessing though!!
Thea
sepiareverb
07-25-2007, 12:38
Ash- just heard on the radio just how much rain you're talking about- that's crazy. We haven't had that much all at once- 3" in one day was our biggest around here. 'Bermuda Highs' today and tomorrow- hope they get over your way soon.
350D_user
07-25-2007, 12:45
People are seeming to forget, we've had two years of drought in the UK.
topoxforddoc
07-25-2007, 12:46
Ash,
At least you're 40 miles south of the real action. Here in rainswept Gloucsetershire, we have no mains water (and none for at least 7 days) and many of my friends awill be cleaning up their houses when the water subsides. At work (I'm a surgeon) we have cancelled everything except for emergencies. Tomorrow I'm driving 50 miles to another hospital to operate on my cancer patients. I'll take my camera though, just in case!!
Charlie
Michael I.
07-25-2007, 13:03
I like rain(but look where I live).
Sounds terrible over there right now! Please try and stay safe, rangefinders do not do so well under water :)
SCOTFORTHLAD
07-25-2007, 13:18
Here in Wales I live on a hillside a couple of hundred feet above the lower parts of the City,and smugly watch the rain running briskly down the street,Hoping all the while that the forest on the slopes above the house doesn't start to follow it.
We generally have 30+ inches per year,but had 2inches in 24 hours the Friday before last.No flooding thankfully.
It's a shock to think of up to 2 weeks without mains water for people not far away in Gloucestershire.
Brian.
People are seeming to forget, we've had two years of drought in the UK.
You mean after the floods of the past few years.
350D_user
07-25-2007, 14:47
You mean after the floods of the past few years.
Well, that's one explanation for the low water levels in the UKs reservoirs, for two years running.
How do I remember? When I first started working for the company I'm still with, two years ago, I remember having to tolerate 30+C temperatures. And last summer, I decided to shave my head (an activity that stopped when autumn took hold).
Peter_Jones
07-25-2007, 15:35
When I was a kid I remember summer rain that lasted a week at a time, a dry summer was exception rather than the rule. Got caught out in some proper rain (that bounces off the floor) on Monday when on the bike. Got soaked, I must be a bit masochistic with rain, always puts me in a good mood when soaked to the skin on a motorbike (in summer that is) :)
Feel sorry for those without clean water and flooded homes etc, sometimes living on Lancashire hills can be an advantage.
toyotadesigner
07-25-2007, 23:26
I'm really sorry for you poor guys in England. Have seen some news about the desaster. If I could I would love to trade 50% of the sun with 50% of your rain (and temperatures as well!). So all I can do is drive up north to the Atlantic coast where it is green, rains every third day, and where the temperatures are around 20° C compared to 36° down here.
A good mix would be better for all of us. Believe me, if you have the sun hitting you for 8 months and more, you can't stand it anymore after 3 years, especially if you don't have an aircon in your office, home and car. Every time I get into my car it feels like a melt down of my body - some 80° C in there after 20 minutes in the parking lot... <sigh>
I'm still looking for a region with a well balanced climate! Any ideas?
The rain and other climate feaures are not a problem, it is real nice here.
Our drains are pretty good, the rivers have a natural flood plain and we have built on it and farm it. When it floods every thing can stop, transport, tap water, electricity, bridges damaged or down, panic buying of tinned food and bottled water, (stealing from cars does not stop!).
My colleagues now pack a pair of wellies, walking boots, walking jacket,... in their auto... homes need a battery radio, and your car radio buttons need to be set to the local radio stations.
There are water level depth gauges (rulers) at strategic places to indicate where the previous floods got to. The abbey just 20miles south has not been flooded for 400 years, so this was the (last) big one, new mark on the ruler. Some people may have left the camera kit/computer/paino on the ground floor before they went to work... some people had the ground floor furniture stored in a skip in the garden already, from last weeks flood... Some people cannot get insurance or a home loan because of their area.
Some of my colleagues shower at work - for the moment.
Noel
ClaremontPhoto
07-26-2007, 00:24
I'm waiting for rain for some 'Wet' photos and umbrellas. But we have a drought here, and it won't rain for about another six months.
john neal
07-26-2007, 00:55
But Japan is nice!
"Nice" is a bit non-committal - Japan is beautiful / enigmatic / mysterious (and many other things). It can also be very hot & humid, which we would complain about if we had it here.
England sucks!
Well, lots of our "features" do - lager louts, taxes, refuse collection, the creeping growth of organised crime, etc - but the actual fabric of the countryside is outstanding. I'm off to the Lakes tomorrow, regardless of the weather.
It all depends on your point of view :)
You have to remember that Ash lives in Swindon :-)
Ian
Well, I'm very sorry about all the flooding out west, but as far as London is concerned (and me), this is the best summer we've had in years! ;)
Jin
You have to remember that Ash lives in Swindon :-)
Oh, Ash! I'm very sorry about that.
colin
Its not often that I think I'm lucky, living just about in the middle of the UK with no major water courses near by, but ...........
The one good thing about the rain around here is that there are some interesting plants starting to bear fruit. The attached image was taken near the local cricket pavillion.
john neal
07-26-2007, 04:29
You have to remember that Ash lives in Swindon :-)
Ian
That would explain a lot. I went there once, thanks to a breakdown on the M4 - visited both pubs and the fish & chip shop. Had to stay overnight in a dreadful hotel.
Worst place I have been after Patras in Greece (but that's another story!).
jesse1dog
07-26-2007, 04:32
It's been wet enough this 'Summer' in the valley and I don't know where all the water has gone to. My well isn't all that full which seems to indicate that the ground water level is still pretty low. The well water level doesn't seem to be much higher than it was this time last year. And all I use the water for is for the garden.
Just been out and got wet again!
Peter_Jones
07-26-2007, 04:33
Hey, Gid - where can I get one of those trees ? :D
If you ever hear someone say they love the rainy season in Japan, politely excuse yourself and run like hell--they are barking mad. ...
Perhaps I should have been clearer. I like the rain - NOT the rainy season. Today here it was F-ing awful.
When it rains then stops the humidity goes up to like 500% and it's unbearable. :(
Rainy days in spring and autumn are much better.
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