Author: David A Lockwood

Amateur photographer with an interest in Prehistory (Rock Art).

Khawr Barr al Hikman.

Barr al Hikman.

Khawr Barr al Hikman, is one of if not the largest khawr in Oman and very important for birds, because the area is rather isolated and sparsely populated.
A total of 119 species has been recorded according to ′Bird Life International’ and the area is proposed as a national nature reserve (288,000 ha).
It is in the Ash Sharqiyah: الشرقية‎ / Al Wusta : الوسطى‎ area of Oman.

The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn

A very interesting book on ‘The Autochrome Lumière’ which was a very early colour process patented in 1903.

It is an additive colour ‘screen-plate’ process: the medium contains a glass plate, with a random mosaic of microscopic grains of potato starch and lampblack filling the space between grains. This was covered by a form of shellac on which was spread an impermeable black-and-white, panchromatic silver halide emulsion. The grains are a mixture dyed orange, green and violet, which act as colour filters.

The plate is processed in a similar manner to slide film.

 

A philanthropist ‘Albert Kahn’ embarked on an ambitious project to create a colour photographic record from some 50 countries. His collection of around 72,000 Autochromes had been largely forgotten, this book helps to redress that.

The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn: Colour Photographs from a Lost Age.

ISBN-10: 978-1846074585.

The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn.

Why I use film and chemicals.

Traditional Black & White photography here in Oman using film, chemicals and silver gelatin papers does not get the following that I think it should.

The problem being not the lack of photographers, there are some very good ones; but of equipment and supplies, as most outlets just stock ‘digital’ materials with the comment that “there is not the demand”.

If it is not stocked there will not be the demand…!

I bring most of my paper and raw powder chemicals back from visits to the UK; postage charges getting them delivered is outrageous.

As for darkroom equipment – well all I can say is that I am thankful that I have all I need. It was collected over the early years when photography did not involve electronic equipment that at the very least requires a computer, monitor and printer.

Cameras; who thought of doing away with the viewfinder on some of them…. and if you have tried looking at the screen on a mobile phone in sunlight, well need I say more.

Scanners are about my limit, I have a Canon 9950F for 6×6 and larger, along with a Plustek 7600i for 35mm, which was a lovely gift from my wife at the beginning of the year.

Photography has now joined with consumer electronics ‘there is always a better model coming in the next six months’. Try selling a Nikon D3 for a good price twelve months after it was bought.

End of rant……

Freya Stark.

Freya Stark – Passionate Nomad by Jane Fletcher Geniesse.

 

Freya Stark – now she was a lady we do not see much of these days, of Polish/German English descent. Made Dame of the British Empire in 1972.

To quote The New York Times –

Dame Freya’s books about the Middle East and nearby countries were called lucid, spontaneous and elegant and were lauded for imparting an inspired sense of both history and people. The consensus of reviewers was that she wrote with spirit, authority and humour and that she was a consummate traveller because of her fearlessness, candour, charm, idealism and streak of naïveté.

And to quote her –

“One can only really travel if one lets oneself go and takes what every place brings without trying to turn it into a healthy private pattern of one’s own and I suppose that is the difference between travel and tourism”   – Freya Stark

Weston Euro-Master light meter.

Meters

I have this thing for old well-engineered equipment that is not meant to fail six months after the warranty runs out. Hence the Nikon F2, F4 and Bronica S2a cameras.

This includes my light meters, the Pentax digital spotmeter and a really nice Weston Euro-master.

The Weston Euro-master was made until 1984 I think, it has a look and feel that denotes quality and can be found for very little money on the used market.

Have a look at this link that opens a site dedicated to the meter: westonmaster

The advantage of my own darkroom.

Another from Shams – I love that place….

I spent several years working on Jebel Shams and had a great time; it is one of the most spectacularly scenic places in Oman, especially on the very top!….

The same image on Kodak Panalure paper – sadly no more!

Kodak Panalure was an example of a panchromatic black-and-white paper which was discontinued in 2005; it gave the advantage of being able to print colour materials in nearly ‘true’ black and white. The problem with using conventional B&W paper or converting digital colour images into B&W is that the tonal range gets changed; it is very hard to reproduce what would be obtained from true B&W film. A little like Mp3 files verses true analogue vinyl recordings. (Sorry that is another subject altogether)