Last of the Kodachromes: Part 3

Winter in the Orchard

The very last Kodachrome film I had was shot on a winter's day at the end of December 2010. It went in the post to the USA on my birthday, the 20th, which meant it had just 10 days to reach the processing lab for the facility for processing this type of film was closed.



I'd held onto this last film during the whole of November and most of December. We had snow, which was picturesque, but we didn't have sunshine with blue skies to liven everything up until that last week-end.



I've taken photographs of these old Cherry Trees before. They stand almost broken and certainly twisted in a small field off the beaten track close to Hof ter Saksen. I suppose they were once part of a proper Orchard. They do still blossom but I'm not sure they fruit as I'm generally away in early summer.



From time to time when I visit the field is used for Heifers. This is problematic as they are very curious and will lumber over if I nip under the fence to take some shots. I don't like to be in the field with them as they seem like unruly adolescents.



Last year I was disappointed to discover that the farmer had felled a couple of the trees which were, in fact, dead. I still liked them though as they had interesting shapes,

Last of the Kodachromes: Part 2

A New Pond

Whilst wandering about my usual haunt at Hof ter Saksen near my home I discovered a new pond. New for me I mean. It's just a small space: a lot smaller than the ponds I usually visit in the Nature Reserve close by. This pond looks less managed and is overgrown with reeds and bushes on its banks. I'm hoping that come the spring it will be a good place to spot Dragonflies and Damselflies. It will be interesting to discover whether this pond is frequented by different species than the larger pond.



I shall probably have to take my wellies as well as the ground around the pond is marshy. I'm already looking forward to it.



Although the pond is small it may also provide an opportunity to spy on some birds. I've already seen a Grey Heron here and it's possible that the local Kingfishers pay a visit.

Garden News

Spring has broken out all over the garden and some trees are already in blossom. The Almond is already well in flower and one of the Blackthorns has come out. Meanwhile the peach, one of the Plums and one of the Pears are just about to show.



The danger is when trees blossom early that they can get caught by a late frost and that their is not enough bees and other insects to do the pollinating.



I've finished my building projects for the time being: I've made two planters (for raspberries), two long thin Cold Frames, two square Cold Frames (these all use recycled plastic parts for the lids from an old Cold Frame),  two square raised beds, five long raised beds, one extra large raised bed (for Potatoes) and a box to surround the Rhubarb. some of these are already populated: with Garlic, Red Onions, White Onions, Broccoli and Cauliflowers. The Cold Frames are housing seed pots with Dwarf Beans, Runner Beans and Peas. Next month I shall build four more raised beds. By then it will be time to plant Carrots, Parsnips, Leeks and Chicory. All these are new ventures for me. As last year I shall also grow Tomatoes, Courgettes and Peppers in the raised beds I bought a couple of years ago.



In the garden the spring flowers continue to make a good show: plenty of Narcissus, Tulips, Hyacinth, Grape Hyacinth, Anemones and other bulbs. Almost everything is in bud and ready to leaf. Exciting times after the long winter.

Last of the Kodachromes: Part 1

Winter in the Park

Kodachrome film was discontinued  at the end of 2009. The film wasn't processed using the common E6 process for colour film but used a special process. This meant the film had to be sent away for processing in special labs. These were spread around the world but as the use of this film declined so the labs closed. Dwayne's Photo in Kansas, USA, was the last, and this closed it's Kodachrome processing facility in December 2010.



When I first heard the news about Kodachrome I didn't pay much attention as I usually shot digital and I believed I didn't have any Kodachrome film in my fridge. I was wrong. About 5 years ago as digital started to replace film many of the older style camera and photography shops started to close. I was still shooting a lot of film at the time and I went around many of these shops picking up old stocks of film as I went. Some of them were past there sell-by-date, but this just meant I got an even cheaper price.



I eventually stacked up quite a collection of film which I store in a fridge in the shed. I have both 120 and 35mm film to use up.



Eventually I paid attention to the Kodachrome story and decided I'd better look and see. I found 5 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film. It was already October 2010. I'd better get on the case, shoot the film, and get it to the lab on time.

Spring in the Garden

 
First Dafffodils

Over the past couple of weeks the Snowdrops and Crocus have made a good show in the garden. The theory is that a hard winter is good for the bulbs. Today the first Daffodils opened in both the back and front garden. Apparently they are three weeks later than last year!



I haven't done a lot of work int he garden as yet. I have raked and scarified (put holes in it) the lawn and put something on it to kill off the moss which is prevalent. I've also given it a dose of calcium - essentially little chalk balls which dissolve in the rain. After a couple of weeks I'll rake up the dead moss and weeds and sprinkle some grass around to get in good shape. I can do nothing with the front lawn as I've Daffodils growing through it and I'll wait til these have finished before doing anything.



In the beds in the new garden (a guerrilla garden - not strictly our space) I've hoed some weeds out and can now see some signs of life. Plenty of poppies just starting and the Lupins starting to come through too.



All the fruit trees are budding nicely as are the soft fruit bushes, the Roses and the Clematis. The Tulips are coming though too. It'll be interesting to see how these fare as they tend to get smaller and smaller in each successive year.



Inside I have some seeds in trays; Sweet-peas, Cosmos, Zinnia, Rubeckia and Basil. Maybe I'll do some more this w/e.

Sale and Show

Gallery

The day of the show and Sale has been and gone and we are also back from our week in the Netherlands on the island of Texel. It's raining again has it has done for the past few days and the garden is soaking it up.

Our week away was dry though which was fortunate, what was less fortunate was the wind which proved very difficult to cycle with when against us and conversely very easy when it was on our backs.

But back to the show.



I was there at the gate at 7pm to be allocated a space and this year the organisers had provided a covered tent which you shared with another participant. I should point out that all the others at the show/sale were selling plants and I was the only exception. This has repercussions as I will explain.

After the place allocation I cycled back and forth bringing my show materials up. Perhaps I should explain that I don't drive and have in fact never driven, or even learnt to drive. This can be inconvenient, but I usually get along fine by Shank's Pony, a bicycle, or a canoe. I use trains wherever possible and am lucky enough to live in an area with superb public transport so I can make use of our local buses and trams too. I do of course have friends that help me out with lifts from time to time and I do resort to a taxi occasionally. Anyway on this day I only had to cycle a matter of minutes back and forth to get all I required at the show site, which was at Hof ter Saksen a newly restored Chateau with gardens in my local town of Beveren. My parents were here to help me too (as they were coming to Texel with us afterwards) and they helped carry the framed prints which were too large for the bike.

The weather on the day wasn't too great and we had a smattering of rain at the start and it got a bit gusty in the afternoon which played havoc with my easels!

I should say straight away that the day wasn't a success sales wise as I only sold four prints. I was, of course, disappointed. A major reason I believe was the nature of the day. People were expecting to spend a couple of euros on plants and had not anticipated spending a 100 euros or so on a print. However, the stall did attract a lot of attention and generally we always had people looking at the prints. I was giving away a publicity postcard so hopefully this will prove useful in the future. A further problem was the language. I don't speak Flemish (Dutch) so all my conversations were in English, which, although almost everyone speaks it, puts a slight barrier in the way. My partner Kristime was with me all day and so she was able to converse normally with those visiting the stall. I was generally pleased with the interest shown in the prints and I think I made the right decision to only show prints of local scenes.

Next I have to think of how to follow up this initial step and try to organise an exhibition in Hof ter Saksen itself or Kasteel Cortewalle or Hof ter Welle which are all local to me.

All in all I think I learnt a lot about preparing for a show and I learnt much from the day itself about interacting with potential clients. I was pleased with the presentation of my work, matted (with passe-partouts), labelled professionally and nicely bagged in clear film. I still think I can improve in one-on-one dialogues with potential clients.



A big thanks to all those that helped me in the preparation for the show and especially those that helped me on the day. Also a big thanks to those who purchased prints and those who visited my stall and showed an active interest. Many, many sincere thanks.

Hof ter Saksen cafe

Gallery

Did 2 24x30cm prints today and matted and mounted them at 40x50cm before framing them. they are now hanging in the Hof ter Saksen Cafe. I also printed and matted my Artist Statement/Warranty/Prices on 2 18x24cm mounted prints and hung those too. I also printed 10 copies of the material about butterflies and dragonflies to go into the Menus at the Cafe as well as the two sheets which duplicate the smaller prints above. I will be using these materials in the sale/show in two weeks time.

Garden

The Apples and Crab-Apples in themain back garden are now in blossom. they seem to be better than in previous years so lets hope we have a good crop. I'm still concerned about the apparent lack of bees. Maybe this is nornal though and I'm being paranoid.



Still good displays from the tulips and the Iberis is now flowering well. In the background everything seems to be growing apace.