Week 23, British by the Sea

So this will be my 3rd Car Show posting here on 52Rolls.  I suspect it will be my last for a little while, till maybe a big end of season show.  This particular show though is a favorite of mine, hosted by the MG Club of CT at Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford CT.  This is a glorious mansion right on Long Island Sound and the show is always near the end of May/early June when our local weather is about as perfect as you could want.  Mid-70s (F, about 24C) sunny, the grass hasn’t turned brown and the Spring flowers are still sending wonderful aromas through the air.

It is a car show featuring all British cars of all marques, obviously lots of MGs, with Triumphs, Austin-Healeys, Jaguars, Rovers, Minis, Lotus, Sunbeams, and this year’s featured marque, Riley.  I took three cameras, my Canon EOS3, my Balda Beltica, and my Graphflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic.  The color film is either expired Fuji Super-G (1999) or Fuji Xtra 200.  The B&W 35mm is Eastman Double-X 5222, and the large format is Fuji Neopan Acros 100.  On the Canon I had a circular polarizing filter and could have used it on the other two as well, but live and learn.  I developed the 5222 in Ilfosol 3, 1+14 for 6 mins @ 20c.  I’ll put these and overflow shots into my flickr album.

First the Speed Graphic shots.  I developed these using a mod45 insert into a Paterson three reel tank, using Rodinal 1+90 semi-stand for 1 hour.  This was the first time I shot this camera hand-held, using the Kalart rangefinder.  I basically Sunny 16’ed the exposures (f16, 1/100) since it was such a bright day.  They turned out pretty dense and the focus is a little soft, but I had a great time carrying the Speed Graphic around.  I had a lot of people comment on the camera and ask if I could still get film for it, others I saw pointing at me as I set up a shot, poking their neighbors.  Kind of a hoot.

Healeys, Speed Graphic

Jaguars, Speed Graphic

Triumphs, Speed Graphic

Daimler SP250, Speed Graphic

This last car is pretty rare, and as many British car shows as I’ve been to over the years on both coasts, I’ve never seen one in person.  So I took three shots of it with three different films.

Daimler SP250, Canon EOS 3, Fuji 200

Daimler SP250, Canon EOS 3, Eastman Double-X 5222

Minis, Balda Beltica Fuji 200

Mini, Canon EOS 3, Fuji 200

TVR Griffith, Balda Beltica, Fuji 200

The Griffith is also a pretty rare car.  Griffith was an small auto-maker on Long Island that would get TVR bodies from England and fit them with high-performance Ford 302 V-8s.  The dad of one of my good friends worked there and likely helped build this particular car.

MGBs, Balda Beltica, Fuji 200

Land Rovers, Canon EOS 3, Fuji 200

1933 MG Midget, Canon EOS 3, Fuji 200

Bugeye Sprite, Canon EOS 3, Fuji Super-G

The last shot was the only one I liked from the roll of Super-G.  Since it is expired, it is hit-or-miss with the quality.  Sometimes outstanding, sometimes, meh.  I do like how the guy is framed by the rollbar in this shot.

So for my next week, I’m kind of at a loss as to what I’ll shoot.  A new state park opened near me on the grounds of what used to be a local resort.  It was popular in the 40s-60s but began to decline and eventually shuttered operations.  Both my brothers worked there in the 80s, but based on their stories of management, I avoided the place.  But it is located in a pretty part of the state near the confluence of two rivers, so might make for some interesting nature shots.  I might try hauling the Speed Graphic out again, perhaps loaded with some color film.  Or my buddies and I are thinking of going to one of the local casinos, so perhaps I’ll load up some CineStill and get some shots inside.  They have some incredible colors and a huge glass sculpture that could make for some interesting shots.