Ocean Liner

It's a cold morning, 19th January 1940. First Aer Lingus flight was departed from Collinstown Airport as it was called back then. But before...

British newsreel footage of the new airport at Collinstown,

Co Dublin under construction in 1939

...In 1936 Desmond FitzGerald with group of young architects started to work on the project of a new airport. Building influenced by the ideas of Le Corbusier was completed in 1940. Design of new at the time, four-storey terminal with horizontal windows, terraces, an observation and cafe deck is often likened to an ocean liner.
It was also Ireland’s first and the most important modernist structure.

During ‘The Emergency in Republic of Ireland’ as World War 2 was called that time in neutral Ireland, the Airport was mothballed. Also because of war and related to it restrictions project wasn't published until 1945 when war finished and Aer Lingus resumed its service. It was the reason why this Iconic building never got the recognition that it deserves.

External part of the building

The Old Terminal is a listed structure now. Its part still operates as a departure gates which makes this building one of the world’s oldest working airport terminals. The other part is a head office of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and a Met Eireann office.
...

Last Wednesday I had a chance to photograph this truly unique object. Long awaited moment. Permission was granted for the reception area and external part at the front of the building /photograph on the top/.
Here I would like to thank Ciara from DAA office and Carole, fiend of mine for all help.

Reception Area

In most cases limited access and time forcing me to take a rapid decision what to photograph and how to compose an image. Not easy with large format equipment. I have to add that usually I am visiting my subjects for the first time. Generally there is also not too many photographs available from those places (if at all) which normally could help to plan every trip and make a decisions beforehand.  This is the trickiest part of taking photographs for 'Unfulfilled Dreams'.  Each session however is very emotional and worth all the effort. 

When I entered foyer I knew exactly what I was going to focus on - staircase :)

This element of structure in many buildings is something very special and makes each of them unique.

Reception area itself is a wonderfully sculptured, very clean in its form and full of natural light space. Even fitted with lots of contemporary elements still keeps its genuine character...

Some standard technicalities at the end:

Sinar F2 with Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar-S 150mm 5.6 and Fomapan 4x5 100 developed traditionally in Caffenol-c-m. 

...forbidden place?

- ‘You could find much more interesting object for your images’
- ‘well, I know it’s bizarre but I really like it’
- ‘we all likes different things’

haha...that was a short but very suggestive conversation with a lady walking her dog on the beach two days ago. 

That was really weird feeling seeing people looking at me when I was photographing 

industrial area beside Dublin Port. They all have been there to enjoy the view behind my shoulders...I was the only 'freak' fascinated by the large chimneys and steal structures around them ;) Industrial landscapes can be attractive not only for people who are bored or tired with the things usually recognized as beautiful.
The mystery, desolation and power of such a places is something excessively appealing.
It’s a fantastic area however not very friendly ...
I am talking here about the energy of this place rather then anything else.

Last Saturday it was my third trip in there and not the last one I am afraid...
In-fact, I've been there with camera twice before - once over a year ago in the same place (photographs are somewhere on my facebook webpage) and second time in 2009 when I visited old Pigeon House (click HERE please to see photographs). 
The Power Station and all industrial objects around is located in Dublin Bay, close to Irishtown Nature Park and Sandymount Strand. Contrasty place - very nice seaside with Wicklow Mountains view, green, quite and attractive neighbourhood ...and a few hundreds meters away, behind high fens - industrial plants.

I live just a 15 minutes cycling from there so distance is not a problem. There is however something else which I don't really understand. Something which makes this place impossible to photograph in the way i want...
After my first trip I wasn't happy with taken photographs. It obviously wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. OK, fair enough.
I went there the following weekend and...another two hours of shooting wasted. Unexpected elements appears on most of the negatives which makes them useless.
...So third approach... and here we go again - this times 6 out of 12 negatives were incorrectly fitted in holders and photographs came out - let’s say not very straight. A few from the other 6 have mentioned before marks on them again...

Processing was done correctly, all chemicals were fresh and properly mixed. 

This time I took even a few sheets of different film then the one I am usually using...
I am shooting with large format for almost 2 years. I know that mistakes can happen especially with this type of equipment but not 3 times in the row...and It’s never happened to me before. Not in that way.

Strange coincidence...
I am just thinking - what is going on with this place? 

Dublin Port (fragment) and the area of Pigeon House Power Station*

*photograph from Google Maps

I may go there once again next weekend anyway.

Please note: presented here photographs are the only (out of about 30 taken during 3 visits) which are close enough to my idea how it should look like and they are technically OK...

The power of coffee

I just finished scanning negatives developed in “coffee”...certainly not the one I am drinking at the moment ;)
Caffenol is a home made film developer based on instant coffee (NOT decaf). Very new and exciting experiment even if such a way of developing is well known since while. I bought all ingredients after very short online research. I've had a some trouble finding washing soda but got it on ebay at last. Here i need to point very halpful websites: Caffenol blog and Maciek Lesniak Fotografia (in polish). Good set of information!

instant coffee, pure vitamin C powder, washing soda

Caffenol, once mixed is supposed to be used within half an hour. Storage is not recommended.  Well I didn't test it so far but I have to trust the experience of others.
I am using Paterson dev tank which holds 0.5 l of dilution for one 120 film so my proportions (for 0.5L dev) are as follows:

- 27g of washing soda
- 8g of vitamin C
- 20g of instant coffee

This gives me Caffenol-C-M - for medium fast film. Tested here on Ilford Pan F Plus 50 and Ilford FP4+ 125.
Recommended dev - 15min, 20°C.
Proportions are adjustable depending obviously on quantity needed.

ready developer, Caffenol-C-M

It rather smells bad (maybe because of instant coffee which is obviously a fake one ;D haha) and makes quite a mess when spilled. Dilution however is very easy to prepare, extremely cheap, very efficient and gives just wonderful results. Beside that it’s quite flexible. Usually I have to be careful with average developer. Sometimes 2° or 3°C makes a huge difference, even in tolerant black and white negatives. The same with proportions. During my tests I developed two different films in developer mixed in the same way, with the same time and almost the same temperature. I am a bit impatient so I decided to go with a few degrees warmer dilution (warmer water makes everything easier to mix) and 1 min shorter dev time then recommended (Pan F Plus 50 - 14min, 22°C, FP4+ 14min 23°C). Stop bath and fixing is exactly the same as with ordinary developer.
I must admit I am more then happy with the results.
Looks like I am gonna remove all other developers from my monthly (photo) shopping list.
So now just a few random photographs as a proof of my words:

Yashica Mat-124G with Yashinon 80mm 3.5,
Ilford Pan F Plus 50 in Caffenol-C-M 14min, 22°C

Yashica Mat-124G with Yashinon 80mm 3.5,
Ilford Pan F Plus 50 in Caffenol-C-M 14min, 22°C

Hasselblad 500C/M with Planar 80mm T* CF 2.8,
Ilford FP4+ in Caffenol-C-M 14min, 23°C