Final Photos on Ipernity?

Another member of our tribe of cats! The daughter of a neighbours cat, she was born in the back of our workshop, and decided to stay with us. Obvious how she got her name! More play with the Nik Collection of Photoshop plugins running in Gimp, this time DFine, a quite sophisticated tool to control noise in digital pics. Still very much on the steep part of the learning curve with this !! Sony Alpha 100, 18-55mm Sony lens. Photofinished in Gimp.

This old barn in Naillat belongs to a friend, and is unusual insofar as it is built above, and incorporates, an outcrop of granite. Quite why it was built in this rather peculiar manner is a mystery, but it is still in use after countless years ! Taken with a new toy, a little secondhand Sony DSLR, and converted to monochrome using Silver Efex, which I have finally got working in Gimp. I don't think SE is that different to G'mic, but it certainly has a more user friendly interface! Sony Alpha 100, 18-55mm Sony lens. Photofinished in Gimp using Silver Efex.

Citroën bought the Maserati company in 1968, hoping to use Maserati's experience of high performance engines, to produce a sports version of the Citroën DS. Two years later the Citroën SM was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, and went on sale in France near the end of 1970. Despite it's modern styling and innovative features, and a top speed of 220km/h (140mph), it was not a commercial success, perhaps because the comparatively large engine (for Europe) options of 2.7 or 3.0l V6, meant that they were heavily taxed in France.(They were also extremely complex, and so quickly became very expensive to maintain !!) Maserati later used the same basic engine design in the Merak and Bi-Turbo, and Citroën used much of the technology in the more successful CX model. Production ended in 1975, when Peugeot SA took over the now bankrupt Citroën. 2.1 mPX Canon Digital Ixus, photofinished in Gimp.

1935 Talbot T120 4 door Saloon, probably a 3.5L OHV straight six engine. Talbot- Darraq was formed by the merger of two very early Anglo-French car makers, and they had factories in both Suresnes, near Paris, and London. They took over the ailing Sunbeam Motors of Wolverhampton, England, in 1920, forming Sunbeam-Talbot-Darraq. The Darraq name was gradually dropped, and Sunbeam Talbot was eventually taken over by the Rootes Group of Coventry in 1935. Fond memories, because for a brief time in the early 1960's, I owned a 1936 3½ litre Talbot BG110, one of the last two ever built. It was assembled at the Rootes factory in Coventry, and fitted with a James Young aluminium drop-head coupe body, identical to that fitted to the 4¼ Litre MX Series Bentley. Those were the Days !! 2.1 mPX Canon Digital Ixus, photofinished in Gimp.

Following on from the last pic, I mentioned the successor, the Citroën Grande Lux, (I posted a photo some time ago): , which was not so very different, but the Traction Avant was what took Citroën into the big time ! This TA is probably from the forties/fifties, although they didn't change much over the years. There was no need - it was such an advanced design when it was launched in 1934, that it wasn't superceded until the even more avant garde Citroën DS came along in 1955. Front wheel drive, monocoque body, radial ply tyres, torsion bar suspension, - they weren't the first in any of them, but TA's were arguably the first to get it all together in a single model! They were mainly built in the Citroën factory in Paris, but were also assembled in Belgium and Denmark, and right hand drive versions were built at Citroën's English factory in Slough, Bucks. I drove one occasionally in the early sixties, and they were comfortable, confidence inspiring cars, and though not particularly fast, they could cover the ground at a respectable pace, due to the excellent road holding and brakes, and the fuel consumption was very modest, by the standards of the day. 1958 Fed 2C, f2.8/50mm Industar26M lens, x2 yellow filter. Polypan F@100 in homemade D76H 1+1, 10mins @21C

Seen a t a classic car show a couple of years ago, this Renault tourer still has the radiator mounted behind the engine, giving the classic smooth front, so I suppose it's from before 1928. I could not find out anything about this car, but I think it is an 18HP model. Olympus AF10, f2.8/35mm Olymus lens. Polypan F in Thornton's Two bath, 5+5 mins @21C. Scanned@2400dpi on Epson V500

The western doorway is at the base of the tower, which was begun around 1200, but the decoration around the arch looks to be a little later. Whatever, it's ornamental masonry to a high standard, and matched by the elaborate ironwork on the doors, which are seemingly much later. The church was restored in the 19th century by the architect G.E. Street, so the hinges might even date from that time. 1960 Kodak 66, f4.5/75mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma 400 in Thornton's Two Bath, 6+6mins@21C.

This 19th century public house was originally called the Queen Victoria, but since everyone refers to it simply as "The Queen Vic", it was re-named just that, when it was re-vamped ! A nice restoration, but spoilt by the air conditioning units on the main facade. Canon Ixus 960is

Another Ensign, this time an 820, takes 6x9 or 6x6 frames on 120 or 620 film. The title refers to the fact that I fitted it with a Schneider Xenar lens in a Compur shutter, which came from a very tired Kodak Vollenda, and replaced the damaged Ensar shutter and lens originally fitted. The result is quite good, but I don't use it much, - again, nowhere for a rangefinder !! Canon Ixus 960is