Smallwood Vintage Rally

Got my negs back yesterday, so busy scanning now. Great service again from AG Photolab; sent by last post on Weds, processed and dispatched on Thursday and arrived back Friday lunchtime. As for the photos, nothing great amongst them, as expected. It's always an enjoyable day out but they don't half seem to cram things closely together on the rallyfield, so it's hard to try to frame things without clutter in the background.

First off, some shots from an Ensign Selfix 16-20 Model II with Ross Xpres lens, on Ilford XP2 (that had been in the camera around 6 months).

img370 by J White, on Flickr


img374 by J White, on Flickr


You can't beat a big Scammell as an imposing vehicle.
img377 by J White, on Flickr

From large to little, and a nice 1934 Austin 7 Ruby.
img378 by J White, on Flickr

The traction engines are always the stars of the show though, like this Fowler Showman's Engine.
img381 by J White, on Flickr

And finally... the 'lens flare challenge' shot, showing that the little 1950s folding 16-20 can apparently hold its own against the mighty Rolleiflex, and that's without a lens hood. :)

img380 by J White, on Flickr

Some colour shots to follow later.
 
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Got my negs back yesterday, so busy scanning now. Great service again from AG Photolab; sent by last post on Weds, processed and dispatched on Thursday and arrived back Friday lunchtime. As for the photos, nothing great amongst them, as expected. It's always an enjoyable day out but they don't half seem to cram things closely together on the rallyfield, so it's hard to try to frame things without clutter in the background.

First off, some shots from an Ensign Selfix 16-20 Model II with Ross Xpres lens, on Ilford XP2 (that had been in the camera around 6 months).

img370 by J White, on Flickr


img374 by J White, on Flickr


You can't beat a big Scammel for an imposing vehicle.
img377 by J White, on Flickr

From large to little, and a nice 1934 Austin 7 Ruby.
img378 by J White, on Flickr

The traction engines are always the stars of the show though, like this Fowler Showman's Engine.
img381 by J White, on Flickr

And finally... the 'lens flare challenge' shot, showing that the little 1950s folding 16-20 can apparently hold its own against the mighty Rolleiflex, and that's without a lens hood. :)

img380 by J White, on Flickr

Some colour shots to follow later.

Very sharp,nice collection.(y)
 
Very sharp,nice collection.(y)
Thanks. Yes, it's got a very sharp lens on it; the only thing I dislike about it is the shutter speed range, there's a quite a leap between 1/100 and the maximum of 1/300. Unfortunately, the shutter release button takes a bit of a press to get it to fire (a mechanical linkage system), which I find can cause the camera to move, resulting in blur if I'm not very careful. All the above were taken at 1/300 second to avoid that and I'm a bit loath to use it at slower speeds hand held now. Other than that, it's a cracking little camera, it fits in a coat pocket and gives 16 exposures on a roll - which is real economy compared to the 8 shots its big brother the 820 gives.
 
No little grey fergie ever looked like that except in a showroom! Throw a bit of mud on it, please, it's distressing... :D
 
There are a few LGFs still in proper use down here. Not on heavy duties but for a bit more than just show. There's also a lady with a pair of Field Marshalls who does LE-JoG for charity.
 
There are a few LGFs still in proper use down here. Not on heavy duties but for a bit more than just show. There's also a lady with a pair of Field Marshalls who does LE-JoG for charity.

While I was at College, way back in the mid 60s, I used to hitch hike from London to Somerset and back. One day I got picked up just outside Taunton and given a lift all the way to London by a guy whose job it was to buy up LGFs and ship them off to India, Africa and elsewhere. They were so practical, simple and repairable that they were very desirable in places with (then) less sophisticated local engineering. Mind you, this fellow also spun me a yarn hinting at having been a mercenary (Biafra?), so no idea how truthful he was!
 
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