Photographing Storm Ashley with Hasselblad 500c
When Storm Babet hit the UK last year and seemingly everywhere was labeled with yellow weather warnings we jumped in our car and drove toward the red weather warnings…
Lobster Shop at Johnshaven during Storm Babet || Leica M11 + Zeiss Biogon 2.8 35mm
Cowie Harbour at Stonehaven during Storm Babet || Leica M11 + Zeiss Biogon 2.8 35mm
Definitely not the safest of things to do, but what can I say… Anyway.
Cowie Harbour at Stonehaven during Storm Babet || Leica M11 + Zeiss Biogon 2.8 35mm
Weirdly, a year to the day since then, Storm Ashley was in full swing throughout the UK and I wanted some more photos.
We set our sights much closer to home this time, mostly due to not having much fuel in the car to warrant such a long drive, so we drove to Largs. It was cold and windy, but the sea was comparatively tame. Still, it was a good excuse to use the Hasselblad.
Largs during Storm Ashley || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
Largs during Storm Ashley || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
After a few minutes we decided to drive home via the coastal road, so headed down toward Ardrossan. On the way, there’s a rock poking out the sea just off the coast with ‘Jesus Saves’ painted on it, and I am sort of obsessed with it.
During Storm Ashely at Jesus Saves rock off the A78 || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
I went onto the sands to attempt a clearer photo, but I actually prefer the distant one above. On the beach though, the reeds were thoroughly battered by the wind.
Reed taking a battering during Storm Ashley || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
The light was fading quick, but we had time for one more stop at Ardrossan before it became too dark. As we arrived, I was struggling to find a photo, but a lad with some fishing gear was just riding down the road and stopped near by. Perfect timing.
He did his thing and didn’t seem to mind me grabbing a few photos.
I absolutely love this one, and it is easily my favourite from the roll. The tripod was maxed out, risking some serious shake from the wind, but the height allowed you to see the sea from over the wall for some added context of the weather conditions, and that makes it for me.
Caleb fishing during Storm Ashley. Ardrossan || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
I kinda dig this one, too. Unsure how well you can see the details on the blog, but with the photo blown up you can clearly see the rain and spray that has just come over the wall from the waves which is a nice detail.
Caleb fishing during Storm Ashley. Ardrossan || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
By this point the light had become all but unusable, and I had one shot left of the roll so I introduced myself and asked Caleb if he’d mind me grabbing a quick portrait. That’s not generally something I would do, but I felt like trying something new and I wanted to finish the roll off!
Caleb || Hasselblad 500c + Planar 80mm + Portra 800 (expired)
I don’t particularly care for critical sharpness, but shooting this portrait wide open on the hasselblad was definitely a challenge due to time constraints (I didn’t want to disrupt Caleb more than I was) and I could barely see through the groundglass. So it’s a little forward focused.
I’d probably have managed a clearer portrait by closing the lens down a stop (or maybe even two and allowing a slower shutter speed due to Caleb being stood still). Even then, I’d probably be less bothered by the forward focusing if I’d have at least gotten the full rod in the frame - just missed it by a fraction!
All film dev & scanned by Gulabi.
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