06-10-25 - Site Spotlight Weekly
This week has been a very slow and painful week in terms of photography. I've had problems with my monitor which has caused me to take a break at an important time. I've been doing some testing lenses and I have been photographing and doing work for some people. I have been thinking about plans for the future as well. All changes and updates listed here are from Monday 6th October 2025 - Sunday 12th October 2025!
Monday 6th October
Photographing and editing:
1.) I got a lot done but not very much at all at the same time. I spent a lot of time editing some images and scanning images so that I can upload them altogether. I also went to Seaton for a walk and took some photographs. It wasn’t very enjoyable because when I tried to photograph a dog, the owner got very angry at me. I finished off a roll of B&W with my Olympus 35DC so I shall send it to get developed soon. I also took some Polaroids with my SX-70 Sonar however it is very prone to overexposure. I haven’t used it for so long it’s probably going to take another pack to get back into it.Tuesday 7th October
Just editing:
1.) I spent the whole day just editing and scanning. I got a lot scanned and now I only have one roll of film to edit. I will be busy tomorrow but when I get home I should be able to quickly edit the Rolland then bulk upload them.Wednesday 8th October
A busy and frustrating day:
Lot’s of things happened today which made it frustrating and so I will go over it below.1.) I was due to see a friend but we were unable to meet. That was a bit upsetting but it’s okay because I had other things to do while in Exeter.2.) I picked up a roll of B&W Film that had finished developing and I also dropped off a roll of B&W to be developed. I thought once I got home later on I could scan them and then tomorrow edit I could edit them if I didn’t have time to get it all done today.3.) I purchased a roll of B&W Film and planned to shoot many images yesterday but I didn’t have time as I was due to be picked up. I did though, start the roll with my Olympus OM-20. This is a test roll, to be able to test out a different lens. The lens is a 70-210mm f/4.5 lens by Sigma with a 1:3.5 macro functionality. This is my first time using a lens like this for any real work. 4.) I went to Ikea and picked up a desk mount for my desk. This is important because it will allow me to save much more space on my desk. 5.) After Ikea I picked up my new lot of film that had finished developing and so I went home. I planned to build the desk mount and it wouldn’t take long or so I thought originally. 6.) While building it, it came the time to attach it to my desk and then I came to find out that it didn’t actually fit on my desk… I ended up having to saw a part of my desk. This took me to almost 10pm because I didn’t have the right tools. Okay, so now I’ve got space to attach the desk mount to the desk and things will go smoothly from here. Wrong again… It turns out that the actual mount doesn’t even fit onto my monitor… I have had to purchase a secondary adapter from eBay and then it should fit.Unluckily it may not be ere for a few days. It says it should be delivered anytime between tomorrow, the Thursday 9th - Tuesday 14th. What this means is that my office is out of commission until then. No scanning film because I cant use my scanner, no monitor because I can’t use my monitor. Sure, I could try to edit but it’s going to be as pain with only my small screen. My workflow usually consists of having multiple tabs open at all times. It’s annoying but having a big monitor does make this easier because I have more free real estate. Because of this I may have to go without doing any work for a few days unless my adapter comes soon. Friday I will be busy anyway because I am out doing some jobs for people and I will be out on Saturday again but I am really hoping things go back to normal soon.Thursday 7th October
Day of shooting and uploading new content:
1.) Unfortunately my package containing the Mount Adapter for mounting my Monitor onto a Desk has not arrived. I do not even think that it has been dispatched yet. 2.) I went out for a meal in Lyme Regis and it was very delicious. My Cousin and her partner owns the restaurant. It is called Sandro’s and I would highly recommend it. 3.) After the meal I walked around Lyme Regis, looked int the antique shop and I finished off the roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400. I may send that in to be developed on Saturday but let’s wait and see shall we. 4.) After I got home I decided to finish removing dirt and hairs from some of my B&W Films. It is all done now. 5.) More galleries have been added; This roll is for Kodak Gold 800 (Roll 1) that I shot in Exeter in 2023
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Kodak Gold 800
This roll is for Kentmere Pan 400 (Roll 9) that I shot in Seoul, South Korea in 2023
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Kentmere Pan 400
This roll is for Ilford HP5 Plus 400 (Roll 13) that I shot in both Sidmouth and in Seaton in 2023. This would actually be the last roll of film that I would shoot in 2023.
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400
This roll is for Cinestill 800T (Roll 16) that I shot in Exeter and at home in 2024. This was also the last roll of Film that I would shoot in 2024
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Cinestill 800T
This roll is for Ilford HP5 Plus 400 (Roll 17) that I shot in Plymouth in 2025
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400
This roll is for Kodak Gold 200 (Roll 19) that I shot at home and in Honiton in 2025
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Kodak Gold 200
This roll is for Kodak ColorPlus 200 (Roll 20) that I shot in Axminster, in Honiton, in Shute and then in Sidmouth in 2025
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200
This roll is for Ilford HP5 Plus 400 (Roll 21) that I shot both in Exmouth and in Exeter in 2025
Included below is a button to the roll where I talk a little bit about it in more detail.You can click the button below which will take you directly to the film page where this roll along with all of my other rolls are located.Roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 400
This is all of my film now uploaded except for four rolls. The four rolls which are not up yet and the reasons why there are delays are;
1.) Harman Rescale - Roll 45 (Not up yet as this roll was part of a film swap. I haven’t received the film back yet. Once I have the film I will get it developed straight away as my number one priority.)
2.) Ilford FP4 Plus 125 - Roll 55 (Not yet scanned. I will scan it as soon as my office is back in commission.)
3.) Ilford XP2 Super 400 - Roll 58 (Not yet scanned. I will scan it as soon as my office is back in commission.)
4.) Ilford HP5 Plus 400 - Roll 59 (Not yet developed. Hopefully I will send it in to be developed on this Saturday however the plans could change. I am also doubtful that if I do bring it in on Saturday that it will not be done on Saturday and I may have to wait an extra week.
I am thinking that going forward, once I have those four films done and uploaded, that I will upload in order. I have been uploading different works in at different times and in different orders. The way I upload is not very structured and it is messy. This is because at first I wanted to share my most current work first and then slowly add my older and most previous work. Now I am at a stage where I pretty much have all of my film uploaded, of curse this grows the more I shoot but still, I only have four rolls of film left to upload and then I'm up to date until I of course shoot more film.Polaroids on the other hand, well i’m almost up to date with 2025’s Polaroids. I have one more Polaroid to shoot and then I can upload my most current pack of Polaroids. 2022’s Polaroids are completely uploaded however I still have 2023 and 2024’s lot of Polaroids to scan, edit and then upload. For reference, this is around 440 Polaroids just from 2023 and 2024. When it comes to editing polaroids, I don’t mean heavy edits, I just mean dust and hair removal, maybe boost contrast etc because Polaroids can come out as quite flat straight from the scanner. This takes time, maybe around 10 to 40 minutes on each Polaroid and even then, the results are not perfect. As for Digital, I am still on the fence on whether I should post them. I do not feel joy in shooting digital but then again, if I do decide to upload them then I have 2023 all the way to current Digital work from in 2025. I mentioned structure, however I am unsure on how to go about this when I have such a huge workload.Friday 10th October 2025
Slow day. Nothing of interest happened but I have some cool ideas going forward:
1.) It’s Friday morning right now and I do not see myself doing any work. I cannot and will not edit on my MacBook because it will just take longer than if I had my monitor up and running. I will also be busy soon so there is no point even starting anything now. The only thing I can do is adjust and make changes to my website. 2.) I am thinking of developing my own film again. What would help is if I had a bulk loader. I could load custom 12 exposure rolls of B&W Film and then develop those as practice until I have nailed exposure. This is because I do not want to waste an entire roll if I have bad chemicals or if I make a mistake. I am also thinking of going straight to a standard and normaL Patterson tank instead of sticking with the Lomo Daylight Developing Tank. Ideally I would want something like the Ago Film Processor or something similar. This would help make developing easier and faster and I can then feel comfortable using C-41 chemicals and then at some point E-6 chemicals. The only problem is that I do not have dedicated space to develop. I am thinking of my bathroom but im not sure if that will work given the limited space available. 3.) Coming off from the developing. I need space. I would like to have my own studio/darkroom/office space equipped with all the necessary equipment needed. I want to learn pinhole photography. Sure I can shoot the images and purchase the photographic paper and even build the camera but I do not have the space needed to develop. The same goes for darkroom printing. I would love to dive into that at some stage but I need a dedicated space and that, I do not have. I do think that this would benefit me in photography and I could then register as a business. I obviously would not put developmental services up right now because I have limited experience within developing but at least it would grant me practice and then I can work towards developing and darkroom printing as a future service. If the space is big enough I could also have my own studio in which I could do portraits for people. I could then work towards finally opening an online store for selling film and manage it from the office and then one day go to the city and open up a physical store/darkroom along with the studio space as well. 4.) I am thinking of creating a new page on my website titled something like “First Experiences and Testings” or “FEAT” for short. In the page, I would share my first time shooting a specific film stock or first time with a specific camera or testing out an old camera. I think that could be interesting. 5.) I have finished updating pages within the “By Camera” section of my website with new content and i’ve started on an idea on how to make each page and gallery stand out more. Up until now I have included just solid colour with text over It as most thumbnails. This was quick and easy and at first I thought iy looked cleaner and more professional however I think I may have been wrong. Now I will include a photo from within said gallery as the thumbnail and put relevant information needed as the text. I am however, not going to be updating any pages with this new design as of yet. I think I may wait until I have a good amount of thumbnails and then I can update them in bulk. 6.) It is Friday evening as of right now. My packages still has not been dispatched. I doubt it will be here tomorrow and so I will have to start scanning and editing next week. Hopefully it will be here before Tuesday because I really need to get some work done. Saturday 11th October 2025
Out all day today but thinking about exciting pans for the future:
1.) I was out all day today in Exeter. I sent my films in to be developed and so I should get them back sometimes next week.2.) My package has still not been dispatched. Hopefully it comes on Monday or Tuesday but preferably on Monday. 3.) I have had a think about setting up a little stall in Colyton for the Christmas market. I may be a little bit too late now and so I may not get a space. Even more so now considering I still need to write out a plan of what I could sell and offer. But I do have some ideas. I could sell prints of my work. Not big prints. Maybe only 6x4 sized or I could sell maybe my work but as postcards. I could get a Fujifilm Instax Square Smartphone Photo Printer. That would allow people to send me their photos and I could print their photos as mini “Polaroids” or instant photos. I could offer my services for developing and sell film. Lomography sells reusable disposable cameras which are inexpensive and they come already pre-loaded with film. The good thing is they are reusable and so they don’t go to waste. I could make an offer such as “purchase the camera and your first roll is free to be developed”. Now of course, I can’t develop film as of yet but I have an idea. Previously I mentioned purchasing a bulk loader and an Ago Processor. Now hear me out, I could use the bulk loader to load custom 12 exposure rolls of film. I could use the Ago processor to develop the film and then if I make mistakes then I only lose 12 exposures. 12 exposures would be a perfect amount to test develop and learn to develop without losing a costly 36 exposure roll. I start off with B&W developing almost every day until I make no more mistakes. Then, when I think i’ve got the hang of it, I can then try my hand at Colour Developing. I do the same, try to develop a roll of film frequently enough until i’ve got the hang of Colour Film Developing as well. This could pay off in the long run. Now of course, if I aim to do this then I will need to make a few changes. I will need to change email addresses. Preferably to one that is shorter and custom to me. For this, I will need another domain name and then I can purchase a domain email address. After that, I can then create my business cards with the new email address on there. There is no point really in creating the business cards If I am unhappy with my current email address because then that would be a huge waste of money and it would be confusing to the customers because my email has changed and the old one on the business cards are no longer valid.I mentioned I needed space to develop but for now I could try to make some space in my bathroom if I move things around a bit. For simple 35mm and 120 Medium Format Developing, the current space may be of no issue as chemicals won’t take up too much space and the Ago Processor is not humungous. If I was thinking of darkroom printing right now then yes. current space would be quite a big problem. But for simple developing such as this, I think I will be alright. Now this is the plan, however the processor is not cheap. The bulk loader and reel of film is also not cheap and the chemicals are out of budget too at this current time. Now of course I could email the Christmas market and try to reserve a space first but then the problem arises because by the time I have the money for this plan, December will already be here and I won’t have had enough practice. So what I think I will do is wait until December of 2026 instead of this year. That would give me enough time to come up with a proper plan, gather the necessary materials and equipment needed and to grant me enough time and practice to bring this plan up into fruition.Sunday 12th October 2025
Slow day and thumbnail editing:
1.) Today has been a slow day. My package still has not been delivered nor has it been dispatched. It not arriving today is understandable because it is a Sunday but I would have thought it would at least be dispatched before today as I ordered it a few days ago.2.) I have been creating more thumbnails in photoshop to replace the solid colour thumbnails that I have shown on my website right now. I am debating on whether I should upload the ones I have or wait until they are all created and then upload in bulk. On one hand I very much want to see the changes now but on the other hand it will look more professional if I wait. Also, if I make some more changes half way through creating them then I can just make the adjustments without having to change them on the site again. I have created 9 so far out of the 57 or so that need to be changed. I think that if my package does not come tomorrow then I will continue with the thumbnails. It’s not like I can spend my time scanning or editing. 