travelogue Archives - IJM Photography

Stonehenge is something different for most people. For some it is a historical site in Wiltshire, and despite not being part of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, still remains pretty special. For some more “alternative” folks, it’s an ancient spiritual centre, and just happens to be on converging energy lines. For some it’s a day out with the children.

We had come back from a cruise that had taken us around the Canary islands, Lisbon, and Galicia in Spain. Thank you Mummy, and thank you Daddy! I think they felt guilty about us always coming up to see them in Northumberland, and wanted us to get a different holiday experience. Well, different it was! But that is a totally different story, and the photos can be found in the Olympus Trip 35 article.

So our ship docked at Southampton and we still were in the holiday mood. I remember as a small boy visiting Stonehenge, and thought it was “the” opportunity to introduce my family to the site.

It seemed slightly smaller than I remember it. As do most things if I’m going to be honest with you, but the majesty of the stones remained. As did the wonder at the fact that these stones had been dragged overland from Wales, and put into place, with the joints still being “rock solid” and down to the nearest millimetre. I work in a factory that does industrial woodworking and I know what we can do with modern tools and technology and yet here, this massive construction was put together using basic tools.

The children were just taking in the whole experience, and rather bemused at the sight of Japanese tourists being shoved around the site and taking the obligatory selfie. They also seem quite bemused by the amount of school groups being led around.

I preferred, as often as I do, to just take my time and take it all in and get some photos of the place. With the 40 mm zuiko lens I was getting some lovely environmental shots that you can see below.

My wife, however, was in tears. Crying her heart out. She later confided in me telling me how she just felt overcome with emotion. Maybe those lines of energy for those alternative folks might have something in them…

Welcome back to the film archives, and welcome back to Brittany, that gorgeous corner of France where my in-laws live. I think I might have let it be known that my French family love camping. Yes, they’re so in tents… I’ll just let that joke sink in for a couple of seconds. In 2016 I had begun “collecting” cameras. The photos from this Breton outing in Saint Cado were taken with the Kodak Retinette 1B, a little gem of a camera from the 1960s, and HP5 Plus film.

We’ll start with Saint Cado. It’s one of those picture-perfect postcard places. It’s not easy to take a bad photo of the place. It’s photogenic. It’s quaint. It has all the clichés of a small Brittany island in the Ria d’Etel, which is an inland sea connected to the Atlantic at the Barre d’Etel… I’m thinking lobster pots, oyster beds, black and white houses with slate roofs, a local Saint, a chapel to this local saint, who was actually from Wales of all places, and a miraculous fountain that fills up with every incoming tide. Yes, it’s one of those places… Did I mention that the bridge that links the island to the mainland is a Devil’s bridge? It is said that the devil demanded the soul of the first creature to cross it. The story relates that Saint-Cado, who was a shrewd fellow, put a cat on it! It is just gorgeous!

Let’s talk about the Kodak Retinette 1B. As I said in the introduction, it is a camera from the 1960s that uses zone focusing, and the 1B as opposed to the 1A has a selenium light meter that works a treat. Zone focusing is where you focus by zones. Mind-blowing, right? If I look at my lens, I will see a distance measurement that I will use as a guesstimate. I will move my aperture dial and let’s say I’m at F8, well everything from one F8 to the other F8 will be in focus. A lot of cameras from this period used this system, and it works. If you want to open right up to F2.8, then there are little rangefinders that you can put on the hot shoe mount and there you will be able to get an exact reading for the distance from your subject. Up to you…

Why use a camera that is over 60 years old? First of all, why not? It works. It’s simple to use. It doesn’t need a battery. You load your film and Bob’s your Uncle! Off you go to shoot your 36 exposures. It also looks pretty damned sexy hanging around your neck too… It actually looks so sexy that my son nicked mine, and I had to go and get another one. At the time of purchase I must have paid no more than £15, and even now it will cost you less than £50.

So there you have it – a charming little island, a vintage camera, and a roll of trusty HP5 Plus. This trip to Saint Cado was a reminder that sometimes, the best photos come from the simplest tools and the most unexpected places. And who knows, maybe those old film cameras aren’t just gathering dust in the attic – they might just be waiting to capture your next adventure. (But if you happen to see my son with a Kodak Retinette slung around his neck, please tell him to bring it back!)