The beginnings ...

This morning I opened the box with collection of my old negatives. Some of them from 2008/2009. Yes, that was the moment when I started my adventure with analogue photography. About 2 years earlier this medium became my form of so called visual expression. Surprised? 

No, I wasn’t born with camera ;) I got my first one (smena 8m) when I was about 8 years old but after exposing a few frames, film broke in the camera. It was never processed and I  didn’t bother to use smena again.

It’s all started rather about 2007/08. Initially street mixed with architecture. Modernist concrete structures were always my favourite subjects since then…. approached in a bit different way than I do it now. 

Here you can see short series of frames exposed around Berkeley Library in 2009. All mages on Fuji NCN400 black and white C41 film, Mamiya C330 Pro.

I didn’t process negatives myself back then. I decided to play with a few months later. And then it was like a flood …. Roll after roll, cameras, experiments and so on…

Below photographs are ‘remastered’ if I can say that. I rescanned all frames in higher resolution using much better scanner and software than I had available 10 years ago.

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

© Artur Sikora

Thank you!

Pigeon House..

Following the path described in previous post 'Baths' I would like to show here a few more of my old photographs which are research materials only but still worth a look.
Before my several visits to Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock baths I snicked into completely different structure - Victorian power station also known as a Pigeon House, where electricity strted to be generated in 1903.  
This plant was decommissioned in 1976, when new power station Poolbeg (still known locally as the Pigeon House) was constructed. .
You can have a look at a few more images from that place I posted here straight after my visit about 4 years ago. Here is the LINK 
This place has an amazing potential for everyone who likes exploring and industrial photography. The only limitation is an access ...officially forbidden and what's comes with it - very limited amount of time you can spend there if you manage to get inside.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Baths...

Back in 2009/2010 I was working on a small documentary project. That was a moment when I decided to step back into college after almost 10 years.
This time just for one year. Photography and Digital Imaging at NCAD - very good course I would recommend to anyone who would like to extend his knowledge about visual art, history of photography and first of all learn how to approach every single project. That was the reason why I decided to be there.
As a self-taught photographer working already a couple of years I wanted to learn something more then just a technicalities or basic knowledge about composition which was a big part of my architectural education (years before).
PDI course gave me all of it. Beside that I met a lot of fantastic people.
Also for the last two years I was invited to run a darkroom part of this course with new students. Another fantastic experience.

Lets get back to the gist of this post - mentioned documentary project. Doing a research I focused on abandoned places and traces. 
I would like to show here two of them - Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock Baths. Both built in 19 century when bathing started to be very popular.
I never showed before most of these images but I think they are worth a look and it’s an interesting documentary material especially when Blackrock Baths don’t exist anymore.
Lots of historical photographs and information is available online so I will focus here only on its visual part. These are only research materials and were not used in the final project.

The Blackrock baths built beside the Blackrock train station were provided for by the railway company in 1839. They could accommodate up to 1000 spectators and were well known for swimming galas and water polo.

Blackrock Baths were closed in late 1980s and then dismantled due to lack of maintenance. In 2012 they were demolished.

Dun Laoghaire Baths. This very popular place at the time it was built in 1843. 
'There was a range of bathing options including sea and fresh water, hot and cold baths. Children had their own pond and paddling pools and there was medical baths. These included sulphur, seaweed and Russian and hot sea-water.' 
(info. Abandoned Ireland)
Now it is abandoned and decayed after it’s closure in the end of 1990s.
There are however plans for its restoration. 

Stepping into each part of these objects was very emotional as always in such a situation. These are disappearing structures with great history.

All above photographs were taken with my beloved back then Mamiya C330 Professional with 80mm 2.8 lens and Ilford FP4+ (as far as I remember).