Canon EOS 30 and Ilford Delta 400

I guess when it comes to a choice in cameras my preference might be described as being for “modern classics”. The Canon EOS 30 fits this description well. I’ll do a post on the camera sometime soon, but for now lets just say it’s one that I grab most often when I’m out for a walk or want the camera to take the strain. I have the more recent 40mm STM lens, and that focal length seems to fit me well these days. The same could be said of Delta 400, I use it more than any other emulsion at the moment.

Almost every morning I walk past this block which is now housing and divided into apartments.

In the past this was a foundry. Lott and Walne have been described as engineers, agricultural manufacturers and iron works. A lot of the iron work around Dorchester passed through these buildings. Many of the manhole covers, and drain grills in the town were made there and many still carry their name. They also produced lock gates, some still survive in the small Dorset village of Throop, near to the old mill. They also produced agricultural products, such as ploughs, watercarts, horse shoes, and especially water pumps. They survived until about 1955.

I developed the roll of Delta 400 in my usual mix of Ilford Ilfosol at 1+9, but at the slightly higher temperature of 24 degrees, as less cooling was needed due to the heatwave! I had also used a yellow filter that gave me just a little in the sky.

The swans tend to mate for life, and these have been on the mill stream for at least the last 3 years. They seem to have seven cygnets, every year, and often, loose two along the way somehow. This year I am happy to report there are still seven at this later stage – I hope they all mature.