Rather than venture to the local one, I took a longer trip into Manchester City centre - its was a warm if not sunny day and the wind rushing was reviving. Both I and the car needed our batteries charged so it felt a wise move. The car, an ancient Mark I MX5, started on first attempt and we both enjoyed a trip along quiet Sunday afternoon roads.

Car washed, I decided rather than go home directly I would try and accomplish two things in this otherwise unproductive day and so I drove off to Pollard Street and to see the old warehouse district of Manchester and finish a roll of Portra 400 that was sitting in my Mamiya 220.

So much of Manchester has been gentrified, and in a very bland way; the historic buildings have gone replaced with bland two bedroom apartment buildings bought by people who will never live in them. Underneath each block a predictable set of shops; the brands reflecting the relative wealth of the area but not meaningfully different. And so you have to walk a little further to find old Manchester.

The industrial unit, the car breakers, the shuttered doors behind which no one is quite clear what happens. But its a working area - its not abandoned - its just not been sterilised. There are no yoga studies, no bubble-tea shops.

I developed these photographs the same day, using my CPE2 and Cinestill’s 2 bath - a little exhausted but still delivering. The muted colours of this combination reflect this areas transition - its almost caught between its vibrant past and an uncertain future. Its in stasis - no one knows quite what to do with - will it vanish or be repurposed?

This is perhaps my favourite - work was in progress but has, for some time, halted. Will it begin again? As I was taking this a man approached and commented on my camera and wondered why I would take such a photograph. My answer to these questions, when I am taking the image of the mundane, the broken or another scene not traditionally viewed as photogenic; is always the same - ‘Soon it will be gone’.

I was here for about an hour. He was the only person I saw. Quite, desolate and vulnerable - this place could be gone in months, certainly years as the creep of the developers encroaches. It also made me wonder - where is the new epicentre of decay? If we keep pushing outwards from city centres what is being left behind?

Maybe, nature will take over? Like a mini Pripyat - no one ventures any more and so nature begins to take over - moving through the iron and the metal. Surely a more befitting end than a matcha shop…

Hope you enjoy this few pics from what turned out to be not such a bad Sunday afternoon.

However, in December I visited again and, staying in the Standard hotel above the Highline I looked out across the Hudson to see something I hadnt seen before. A quick Google told me this was Little Island.

Pier 55

So I learnt that this new feature was created from the old Pier 55, and designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Its an undulating, organic structure that is built on concrete ‘tulips’ that emerge from the murky waters of the Hudson to create winding paths, layered gardens and features an open-air amphitheatre.

Sadly, so much snow, so much of it was closed - but I loved strolling under and over it and I hope you enjoy some of the snaps I took. Good old HP5+ in Olympus Stylus and Holga.

Everyone else wanted to ski, so I jumped into an Uber and headed off to Saranac which turned out to be one of those places that quietly reveals itself the longer you wander. Nestled in the Adirondacks, Saranac Lake has this layered character, part rugged mountain town, part historic retreat. I found myself drawn to the reflections on the water, the texture of old cure cottages from its tuberculosis sanatorium era (although sadly the museum and old labs were closed), and the way the light settles over the lake in late afternoon. The town was busy, lots of snow sweeping, and I enjoyed a lunch at Bitters & Bones - before walking around the quieter areas.

The Cure

Saranac Lake’s identity is inseparable from its history as a tuberculosis treatment center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau arrived in the 1870s seeking relief from his own tuberculosis, he began promoting the “rest cure” lots of fresh mountain air, good nutrition, and extended periods of rest. He later founded the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, one of the first institutions in the United States dedicated to TB treatment. Word spread quickly, and Saranac Lake transformed into a health destination, drawing patients from across the country who came in search of recovery in the crisp Adirondack climate.

Out of this movement grew the distinctive “cure houses” that still define much of the village’s architecture today. These were private homes adapted to accommodate patients, often featuring long enclosed porches known as “cure porches,” where residents would spend hours bundled in blankets, resting in the open air year-round. Walking past them now, you can still see the generous windows and airy verandas that were designed with healing in mind. They stand as quiet reminders of a time when illness reshaped the town’s economy, architecture, and community life, leaving behind a built landscape that tells a deeply human story of resilience and hope.

Snowmobiles!

Anyone who is anyone has a snowmobile to get round town - although some streets had banked snow to prevent teenagers speeding down them! We had to have a go! We came across an abandonded potatoe farm with old machinery and vehicles.

Hope you enjoyed this little mooch through Saranac!

This was also my first time self scanning - to try and keep costs down, so much fiddling with the Epson V850 to try and get these right!

We took a stroll round the small village of Helford, hoping to visit the Holy Mackerel Cafe, but sadly it was shut. Nonetheless, the sky was bright and so I gave the Holga another dust off and tried out this Lomo Purple film.

The film takes green elements and pushes them to lavenders, magentas and deep purples, yellows can become pinks, reds will deepen (sometimes) but blues stay pretty much where they are. I would guess inspired by Aerochrome - but no where near that really…but then nowhere near the price or rarity!

So its a bit of fun for sure, and good to take out with you somewhere familiar - I’m not sure I’d use it for a one off visit - and definitely somewhere with some greens - otherwise the main effect will be missing, leaving you with odd and perhaps not very interesting results.

This was taken on our way back to Coverack, at the Goonhilly Earth Station, I think the effect works well here - the ‘otherworldly’ haze fits the subject matter; the grasses in the foreground taking up the purple. Probably my favourite from this roll. Overall? I enjoyed these - and I would use the film again - indeed, I have some 110 for the Lomomatic waiting….

Super 8

I also took a few feet of Super 8 footage while I was there - I’m really not very good at this at all, but I thought you might like to see it. I think I need a tripod - people have been nice and nice the ‘hand held’ look is fun - I think it just makes you a little sea sick! Anyway - a few seconds of this collection of these dishes for you…

However, I look at what people take on this £25 camera and I like what I see so I thought I would give it one more go. I thought that I would take it somewhere that, if the results were awful, I could easily go back and the scene would be largely the same, unaltered - something that didnt depend on weather, people or other unpredicted and unreplicable events.

My decision was helped by the pervasive grey lightless sky that we experienced both that day, and everday, during the trip. However, its England in October so there was not much surprise there.

So we ended up in Babbacombe Model Village near the town of Torquay, armed with a Holga and two rolls of Ilford Delta 400.

The village itself was opened in 1963 and covers around 4 acres largely depicting a “vision” of England in minature, football pitches, garden parties, the work of service personnel and even a protest! In all, about 400 models are shown and they are populated by 13,000 miniature people.

Each major installation has a whimisical name, for example here is Wombley Stadium.

Several of the models feature movement or “live action” including a fire breathing dragon and a house fire and there is a charming indoor exhibit of a Victorian Christmas. A little video here.

So how did the Holga do? Well, I actually wonder if that central sharpness with heavy soft focus actually works quite well - emphasising the minature nature of the subject - almost a tilt-shift but for pennies and part of the Holga’s inbuilt ‘charm’ and plastic lens (at least on my model).

So, overall I was pleased when I saw the results, but this may be a reflection of my low expectations! Let me know what you think? I surely think that using something like the F6 would not have worked, the perfection would have highlighted the ‘model’ nature of the scenary exposing it for what it was - rather than the softer view achieved here which I feel leans into the whimiscal and slightly less than perfect nature of the subject.

The Ilford Delta did what it had to do - and I will leave you with a few more examples, I do like the multiexposure on the oil protest piece!

I am also enjoying collecting postcards that depict places I have visited; but from a historical perspective. Finding contemporary postcards is very difficult, so few places seem to stock them and I rather enjoy a quick browse on eBay after a visit to see what things used to look like.

Model villages used to be a staple of, especially, English sea-side resorts - although few now exist. Are these something that you might find elsewhere? I cant recall seeing any on my travels, but have to confess I maybe was not looking! Let me know if there is one near you and if you’ve ever photographed it!

Do I love my Holga like everyone else now? No, but I dont hate it either.

Sadly, this market is slated for closure (see more later) - so given this might be the only time I get to shoot here, I took no chances and elected for some safe gear - the Nikon F6 and Ilford’s Delta 400 and CineStill 800t. While its a public market, the site is used by London restuarants to get their fish and seafood for the upcoming day; by 5.30AM the best has gone, by 6:00 AM, its pretty much done.

The place is bustling, smelly, and very wet - with frequent washdowns of the floor - so if you plan to visit - take some sturdy footwear. Apparently, the foul language of the vendors led to an expression of ‘billingsgate mouth’ or similar. I have to confess I’ve never heard of this - might be a very London thing - or not a thing….

The “Market rights” of the City of London covering Billingsgate date back to 1327, under a charter from Edward III. This charter restricted rival markets from being set up within about 6 miles of the City, and originally it was a general market trading in corn, coal, iron, wine, salt, pottery, and more. But by 1698 – an Act of Parliament made Billingsgate “a free and open market for all sorts of fish whatsoever,” and hence it became a ‘fish only’ market.

The market moved to its current location in 1982 from its former lcoation closer to the city centre, and, while the current market is in Tower Hamlets, the City of London still owns the operation, paying the borough a nominal rent - famously cited as “the gift of one fish”

Delta used up I did the a swap back to CineStill - I wonder about this choice, maybe a Porta 400 would be better for these internals? Loading film on the F6 is never easy as it should begiven the little plastic lip, and better done out of sight less you be labelled as ‘all the gear and no idea’ !! If no one is watching - I get it right every time!

Part of the permit regulations are that you ask permission of each vendor to take pictures of their produce or themselves. Happy to say that not one person objected, and seemed pleased to see photographs of their work being taken; I saw only one other photographer there; he arrived just as I was leaving and I suspect he may have got some great ‘clean up’ shots - as there was little left in the way of fish!

My lasting thought about this shoot, especially as I look back at the images now, is that the fish were fun, but it was the people that made it. I loved the mix of the pure organic forms of the seafood, juxtaposed with the steel and concrete of the space - and the vendors - the only moving pieces, acting perhaps as guardians of both.

The market is due to be closed in 2027, and there is no alternative proposed currently; so if you’d like to experience this - get it in your diary.

More info on the website, thanks for reading - and I hope it was interesting!

Website

View from near Cloughton I, August 2025, Sprocket Rocket, Candido 400 35mm

These are some of the pics that I took. I had to scan them myself to make sure that I got the sprockets in, but love the effect and panoramic nature of these that you can achieve on 35mm film. The film was developed by TheFilmSafe - highly recommended if you are in the UK and they have a great same day service for those who are inpatient!

View from near Cloughton II, August 2025, Sprocket Rocket, Candido 400 35mm

I used Candido 400 colour film here and did a little editing in Lightroom to get the look and feel I wanted using NegativeLab Pro. The first one I feel is the best, with an almost classical British lanscape artist feel to it!

View from Cloughton Wyke, August 2025, Sprocket Rocket, Candido 400 35mm

Its really difficult to show these panoramics on an Instagram post - it just doesn’t do them justice - especially as you either have to make them very small, or scroll them over several pages, so its great to be able to show the whole frames here.

Near Dalby Forest, August 2025, Sprocket Rocket, Candido 400 35mm

I do like the panoramic format and I’ll post a few more from my BelAir medium format and the hateful Horizon T220 (I’ll explain why its so hateful in that post!!).

For this camera I’m going to try some more landscapes and also some muti-exposure shots to see what trouble I can get into there!! You should also take a look at this excellent article my Matt Loves Cameras - lots of Sprocket shots and a great deal of detail

Matt Loves Cameras

Lomography Sprocket Rocket review with pictures

2010 was not a great year for film photography, but among all the doom and gloom, one shining light stood proud like a lighthouse on the horizon: Lomography Society International…

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10 months ago · 23 likes · 20 comments · Matt Murray

The Sprocket Rocket

For those of you interested here is a little spiel on the camera itself.

The Lomography Sprocket Rocket is a unique panoramic 35mm film camera that stands out for its retro design and creative output most notably, its ability to expose the film’s sprocket holes, giving each frame a distinctive, full-negative aesthetic. Released by Lomography in the early 2010s, the Sprocket Rocket was designed to embody the spirit of experimental analog photography, encouraging users to embrace imperfections, wide compositions, and the tactile joy of shooting film.

Technically, the Sprocket Rocket features a wide-angle 30mm lens, with a fixed aperture of f/10.8 and two shutter speeds: “N” (1/100s) for daylight shooting and “B” (Bulb mode) for long exposures. It accepts standard 35mm film, but unlike most 35mm cameras, it creates panoramic negatives (72 x 35mm) that extend across the sprocket holes, resulting in images that are nearly twice the width of a standard frame.

The film is manually wound using a knob, allowing for techniques like intentional overlapping, double exposures, and frame blending. The lens is plastic, in keeping with Lomography’s tradition of prioritizing character and mood over sharpness or precision resulting in images with noticeable vignetting, distortion, and soft corners that many photographers find charming and expressive.

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