Inside Dyrham with HP5

As if by magic the roll of Ilford Delta 100 ran out just as I reached the front door of Dyrham Park (House). It’s amazing how often this happens, it’s almost like subconsciously I’m shooting accordingly to make that happen. Of course there is nothing subconscious about it, it’s deliberate. If the film had approached it’s end earlier, I’d have arrived at the front door earlier and walked the gardens after! Anyway, a change to Ilford HP5 and in I went…

In houses like this I often find I can walk around quite quickly, some I find more interesting than others, but I’m not one to stop and ponder over each picture, pot or porcelain! I just like to wander about and photograph what catches my eye. I suppose I’m more interested in the atmosphere and form, rather than dates and names. Same for the paintings in such places, unless there is some particularly overriding reason, (for example my local National Trust has just had a Rembrandt on display), I find endless portraits of family members from 300 years ago quite boring on the whole! Below is an example that agrees with my yet to be diagnosed OCD!

I also find that “below stairs” generally holds more interest for me – how things were kept cool 300 years ago, rather than the fabric on the sofa for example! Point in case below, the internal dairy with a water fountain in the middle of the room!

Along with the change of film stock I changed the developer to suit. I like the combination of HP5 with D23, it keeps both the grain and the contrast at bay, and gives a look that I like. Apparently FX21 is also good with HP5, but I haven’t tried that yet, so decided to stick with the tried and tested for this roll.