# 253 – Return To Dinorwic – Film Shots

I’d promised myself that I’d shoot more film in 2012, so the first proper opportunity I had was Dinorwic. As described in previous posts, I took along a digital compact, and two film cameras. Not ideal, but at least the X10 is small enough to slip into a waist bag and is out of the way.  I hate neckstraps on cameras, so I have wrist straps on my SLR’s which is fine when you’re using one, but when you’ve got two, it become a pain in the arse. Still, you make your bed and you’ve got to sleep in it.

In the two cameras I used two different types of film – Kodak Ektar 100 in the F80 with a 28-105 lens, and Kodak BW400CN in the F100 with a 20mm lens. Ektar I’ve used before on my last visit and was quite pleased with the results, while I’ve been using chromogenic black and white films such as BW400CN, XP2 and the like for years, if nothing else for convenience as they are C41 process.

I’d originally though about using the colour film to bring out the colours in the scenes I shot, but the colour pallete of Dinorwic is so limited, that I wouldn’t have taken many shots if I’d have stuck to that plan. So, I ended up using them both side by side. In retrospect, Ektar was probably too slow a film for the conditions as it’s speed is 100 ISO, and at times I was struggling for light as I was not using a tripod. No such problems with the BW400, especially with the short focal length lens.

Would be nice to have had two F100′s, it’s just a nicer camera to handle than the F80, which arguably is a bit small for me. Not that I’ve got excessively large hands, just that the F100 fits better.

I do like the Colour shots, and was surprised at how well it managed to cope with how well it handled the light, although, colour negative film does have very good dynamic range.

Interestingly, the feedback I’ve had seems to favour the black and white ones.

# 252 – Return To Dinorwic – Details

Something I try to do when exploring somewhere is to go close in and pick out the smaller details. Not only does it give some variety to the wider landscapes and architectural shots, it allows for a bit more creativity and to look closer at textures, shapes, etc. If you read the Geotopoi blog, some of these may look familiar!

# 251 – Return To Dinorwic – Compressor House

Now this was an interesting surprise. I’d previously only explored the upper levels of the quarry, but down in the lower levels was another compressor house. It was not as exposed as the Australia Level building, and as  such was in better condition. It was also much more accessible as it had a decent footpath running past it. Well, decent in as much as it was recognisable as a footpath and wasn’t at a 35 degree angle for a mile, but was still pretty damned steep, between the hairpin bends. Still, it did make it less arduous to get to and from, and was a worthwhile diversion on the way out of the quarry.

It was of a similar layout to the upper plant, with two compressors in adjacent buildings.

# 250- Return To Dinorwic – Australia Level Part 2

Throwing caution to the not inconsiderable wind, I decided to continue wandering along the Australia level, if nothing else to see if there was a less difficult way down. Seeing some buidlings ahead, I wandered over to see what they were. Various bits of scrap littered the grass outside which piqued my curiousity, and inside I found some quite substantial machinery. This was a large industrial compressor that was used to generate compressed air for the upper levels of the quarry, to power penumatic drills for drilling the rock. All round the quarry was evidence of the steel pipes that took this air to where it was needed, and I hadn’t realised just what they were.

The machinery was quite substantial, and I did wonder why it hadn’t been broken up for scrap and shipped back down the incline when the quarry closed. Maybe the cost of doing that was more than the scrap value back in 1969, but the opportunity was missed and now it will likely be there forever.

Big compressor. I remember making a miniature version of this in the machine shop at college. It was only 6 inches high, whereas this thing was about 12 feet high.

Not a steam engine, but a compressor.

As I wandered, I noticed the shattered remains of some steps down to the gallery below. Carefully picking my way down what was now just a slope covered in slate rubble, I quickly realised that although there was another winding house and incline on this slope, I’d no idea where it went to, or if it would take me back to where I wanted to be. Erring on the side of caution, I decided to return the way I came.

Making my way back to the incline, I braved the slippery, near 45 degree incline, with it’s wet slate and grass. Using my two walking poles to reach ahead of me, I scrambled down with only one slip. Not sure if it was any slower coming down, but it was certainly less physically demanding.

A smaller inclined plane used to connect to an intermediate level.

Could I get back down in this direction? I found out later that yes I could, but the route down looked only marginally less precarious than the C3 incline.

# 249 – Return To Dinorwic – Australia Level Part 1

Climbing the incline is hard work. I’d put the angle somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees, and although there are some crumbling stone steps in sections, the rest of it is a combination of grass and loose slate. The gradient is relentless, and unless you are a Nepalese Sherpa or are seriously fit, it’s probably impossible to do in one go without a break. As I struggled to the top of the incline in increasingly wet and windy conditions, I felt a degree of satisfaction at having made it to the top. Distance wise, it’s probably less than a mile top to bottom and I felt a little foolish for not having made it last time. I don’t think I realised just how close I was in 2009, but that’s hindsight for you.

Line Shafting

As I left the shelter of the winding house, I realised just how wet and wild it was, with the rain blowing almost horizontally past me. I made for the saw mill for some shelter, but the lack of a roof afforded me only limited respite. Instead, I wandered into a small building next door, which had no windows and the majority of it’s roof left. Perching on a rock on the floor I ate my well deserved dinner and rested my aching legs in the relative dryness of the little building.

Vanishing Point

Back outside, the wind had not relented, and I began to get concerned. Although it wasn’t strong enough (yet) to blow me off the edge, I still had to get back down again, and the incline was not only exposed and very slippery, but also relatively narrow and with little if anything to hold onto. Still, I was here now, I thought, make the most of it while I can, and then get the hell off this mountain.

There are lots of gaps in the interior wall, presumably for east access to the railway lines that ran in the building.

The saw mill was much bigger than I’d realised, and other than the lack of slates on the roof, was reasonably intact, with all the cutting tables still there, blades still on the saws, and all the line shafting still in place.

Teeth

Alone on the exposed galleries, it made me appreciate the harsh working and living conditions faced by the quarry workers in years gone by. Sure, the wind was strong when I was up there, but it wasn’t strong enough to cause me any problems. But the prospect of being up there in really bad weather was scary, especially given the lack of warm, waterproof clothing like I was wearing. Reg Jones book on the quarry tells of the miners just putting sackcloth over their shoulders.

Come home to a real fire? I’m sure that this would have been most welcoming on a wet and windy day.

Several things struck me about this building. First, that such a large factory would be built 1000 feet up a mountain seemed slightly mad, although I can see the logic in finishing the slates up here so that disposal of the waste would be easier, and second, that all this had been left to just rust away. I know that there was an auction of all the plant once the quarry closed, I can only presume that the equipment was either out of date or it was uneconomic or just too damned difficult to bring back down the hill. Either way, it’s going to be up there now until it just falls apart, which will probably be hundreds of years off!

# 248 – Return To Dinorwic – The Inclined Plane

Like my previous visit, the quarry was shrouded in mist, only this time it didn’t clear. This trip though I was determined to reach the Australia level as well as see a few other bits and bats I’d not seen before. Not knowing the ‘easier’ way, I simply went straight up the fearsome C3 incline again, but rather than explore the intermediate galleries, I made my way to the halfway gallery for a rest and a mooch, before the assault on the steep incline. I believe there are some steps in the western side of the quarry which would have taken me there, but although I’ve since been told of their whereabouts, ascending the incline was an excellent substitute for my regular Friday afternoon visit to the gym!

Unlike last time, I brought along two walking poles, a really handy thing to have on a steep climb (although they got in the way a bit when I was taking pictures), and with their help, plus an improved level of fitness over my 2009 visit, I reached the top of the two inclines. Worryingly, the wind was picking up, and the rain starting to come down quite hard – another lesson learned from last time was to pack waterproofs although proper walking gear is essential if visiting the quarry anyway.

Not much had changed from my visit three years ago, other than one of the rubbish wagons I photographed last time had now been pushed / blown down a slope (which would have taken some doing).

Suitably rested, I made for the really difficult section of the incline!

#224 – Calshot

Here’s one I wasn’t aware of, probably because it’s not in an advanced state of decay! This is the SS Calshot, a tug tender built at, and  used on, Southampton docks during the era of the great ocean liners – Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Normandie, United States, etc. Although it was open to the public, I didn’t get chance to go onboard unfortunately. It looks in reasonable cosmetic condition, but apparently requires more work before it takes up position in a new museum on the docks in 2015. Some more info and pics here:

http://www.tugtendercalshot.com/

http://www.classictugs.co.uk/tug_tender_calshot_restoration.html

 

 

# 204 – ticket to Ryde 2

OK, here’s a few more of the PS Ryde in the Isle Of Wight. I’d like to have taken a longer, closer look, but that just wasn’t possible in the circumstances unfortunately.

The hull is in a terrible state. Note that it’s rusted through in places – mind you the ship was built in the 1930′s so is older than the Duke Of Lancaster which is also beached.

The chimney now lies on the dock alongside the ship. The steam engines are apparently still onboard the ship, and their preservation has been mooted, even if the rest of the ship is scrapped.

 

# 171 – Beamish Part 2 – Abstracts

I’ve recently been re-re-reading ‘How To Take Your Photography To The Next Level’ by George Barr. It’s an enjoyable book that I dip into every now and again, and while I’d describe the author as an accomplished rather than an inspirational photographer, I do enjoy his abstracts, particularly of mechanical stuff.

With that in mind, I decided to see what abstracts I could find, as I’d taken along my lightweight 28-105mm zoom which has a useful trick up its sleeve – the ability to focus really close up. Abstracts are something I enjoy doing, I enjoy the challenge of looking at something and thinking ‘what else could this be’, ‘how can I look at this differently’, ‘what would it look like close up’ and other such questions. Do the photographs always work? Hell no. But it’s nice to do something different as record shot of some of these things are rather dull.

Although I’ve a tendency to convert maybe too many of my photographs to black and white, I’ve decided to keep these in colour.

Hanging iron things. Not too sure what they were.

Textures.

This looked like an iron trough, but that sounds somewhat over-engineered. I suspect it may once have been the shell of a boiler?