Claythorpe Watermill

I went on an adventure with Dean this weekend and adventuring we did! It was my first time visiting Claythorpe Watermill and immediately I fell in love with the place, it's beautiful... even in the dreary weather.

As soon as we entered the grounds we had ten thousand chickens and roosters crowing and wandering around our feet. I don't know about you but I love these guys, they're so adorable and full of character. I took tons of photographs that day with my Pentax SLR and Instax 210, using my mobile for general other photographs.

Claythorpe Watermill is home to a range of small animals from marmosets and chipmunks to a lovely little red squirrel. It was entertaining enough in itself just to watch Dean react to the marmosets to be honest! He was pretty much besotted with them and I was a little bit worried I'd find them hidden in his coat on the drive home. We went through to the Wildfowl Garden and fed the ducks, black swan and the incredibly inquisitive crane. There were some absolutely gorgeous birds in there and it was nice to see them all just waddling around, quite contently. I wish I had taken a look at what the breeds were but I was far too distracted at the time by their adorable little faces and waddling feet.

There's a family of otters as well that came down to peer at us through the fencing after a while - they really do make the cutest noises! I love how it took one of them to get the courage to curiously come closer before they all then trotted along after one another.

Claythorpe Mill is such a lovely little place, I really do love it. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, the food was fantastic and the animals and birds were adorable - and well looked after! I really can't wait to go back in the Summer when it's a bit warmer. It would also make for a lovely family day out as well with the huge play area across the road (believe me, if it hadn't been raining, I would've been frolicking through it quite contently).

We went for a walk afterwards and strolled past a line of about 12 tractors, the drivers of which all saying hello. Everyone was so friendly! Following little signs we made our way across fields, over bridges and through tons of mud, feeling like little Hobbits going on an adventure the whole way. I'm proud that we didn't get lost to be honest! My sense of direction is atrocious but we made it back to the car eventually (after being pelted in the face by hailstones that is). I don't know what happened to Spring but it was bloody cold on Sunday, that's for sure!

Photography

Photography has always been something that has interested me. I studied it at college and absolutely loved the film side of it. There was just something so exciting about the whole process!

Developing your own film was of course highly nerve wracking - I mean if you did one little thing wrong then that's it, you've ruined the whole roll of film that you had just shot. It always filled me with dread turning those lights off and being plunged into absolute darkness whilst trying to blindly put everything where it was supposed to be. Luckily all of mine turned out well though - I think I would've had a minor meltdown if they hadn't!

The thing I loved most was being in the darkroom. It's one of the few things I actually miss from college. Just being able to experiment and manipulate the negatives to get all sorts of effects was exciting in itself and then seeing your photographs appear on the paper slowly before your eyes was fantastic. Trying to figure out which aperture would be best to use, how long to expose it for, which effect worked well with the subject, how to manipulate the image after it was dry and looking wonderful - I miss it all.

I find myself less inclined to use my Diana Mini because the results just aren't fantastic. It's just not the same when you can't print your own photographs - they end up looking lackluster and undefined. I would love to have my own darkroom. If I had my own house and the space this would definitely be something that I would invest in!

I can dream huh!

Pentax 35mm SLR

Heaven

Today the weather was so beautiful. Seriously, it's not even technically Spring yet and I was able to wear a strappy dress without a cardigan - it was heaven!

'An Ice Lolly?! Are you mad?' I hear you yell - Yes! It was actually warm enough for ice lollies, that in itself is a sign of a good day!

Becki and I decided to go for a walk. A two and a half hour walk. A walk that my legs are now paying for. Wow I'm unfit. It was so lovely though. We walked down South Sea Lane and then through Thorpe Park and down the beach. It was brilliant to see everybody out and about - a little bit of sunshine and the whole of Cleethorpes and Grimsby come out to play.

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I hate getting my cameras out in public so I tried to embrace my cameras today and although it was still hard not to feel just a little bit pretentious and a little hipster-like I did it and I really like the results. Note to self, try to stop caring about what others think.

I took both my Instax and Polaroid cameras with me (though this eventually murdered my back) and I did take plenty of photographs. The first few polaroids didn't exactly turn out to plan but I've emailed Impossible about that one to try and figure out what went wrong - maybe it's just how unpredictable the film is, it just seemed weird that it was only the first few shots that developed so badly and well... purple.

I will eventually post both the Instax and Polaroids on here though I can't promise when exactly.

The Small Things

I've fallen in love with music again over the past few months. The Used's new album looks like it is going to be truly amazing and I've preordered American Author's album also... the latter is just one of those albums that's wonderfully fun, you can't help but be happy listening to it.

Six of the songs have already been released and driving home from Leeds in the bright sunshine, sunglasses on with the American Authors and The Airborne Toxic Event blasting out was wonderful. It's the small things after all.

I've also recently fallen in love with the song below.




I want to be creative again. I am determined to get more use out of my cameras this year. I don't want to be afraid of pulling out my camera, I just want it to be second nature without feeling self-conscious. It may sound silly but sometimes I just feel like a tit. I may not be the most imaginative photographer and it even pains me greatly to experiment with destructive manipulations but it's something I enjoy and where is the harm in that?

I have plans, things to look forward to; no one but me can stop 2014 from being a fantastic year and I honestly plan to make the most of it!

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Just to clarify, this will be the permanent new name of this blog; 'Quinly' is no long affiliated with me, I have nothing to do with that blog or it's content.