Two Bath Developers

Chateau de La Roche. The Department of Creuse is not famous for it's chateaux - you need to go to the Loire to see the most beautiful examples, - but there are a few here, and this is an impressive building, by any standards Here is a view of the front facade of the chateau, which is surrounded by a very formal, strangely five-sided moat, ornamental, rather than defensive. The original building was built for Gabriel Foucauld, between 1533 and 1588, but only a little of this remains, and we are looking at a largely late 18thC rebuild, by the architect Pierre Berthomier, and the result of further restoration during the 19thC. Taken with a 1942 Voigtlander Bessa 66 some years ago, in fact the very first roll of film I exposed in the camera, which came from the late Robbe Keppens, in exchange for a very strange 35mm Agfa Flexilette! 1942 Voigtlander Bessa 66, f3.5/75mm Heliar lens, X2 yellow filter. Fomapan 100 @200 in Diafine, 4+4 mins @21C

Church and State! Here is the church seen from the main street, and you can see the way that it is the most prominent building in this part of town. The tower was built at the beginning of the 15thC, as much for a fortification as for religious purposes, and indeed, for some time it served as a prison during the middle ages, as well as the base camp of the feudal lord and his entourage! The houses are much later, 18thC I guess, and the one nearest us actually has a pathway to the church running beneath the bedrooms, although there are the remains of what I think was an old bakery behind, so maybe it was the baker's house - who knows! 1948 Kodak Tourist 120, f4.5/105mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma 400 in Thornton's Two Bath, 6 mins stand in A & B @21C Scanned @ 1200dpi on Epson V500.

The church of Saint Sulpice was built in Romanesque style in the 12th century, but has since been extensively altered, most notably by the the fortification of the choir and eastern gable sometime in the 14thC, and the construction of the massive tower around 1400. Like most of these small villages and towns in the area, the church is the dominant building, but there are quite a few other interesting old buildings in the town. More play with stand developing two baths, this time with the Kodak Tourist for transport! 1948 Kodak Tourist 120, f4.5/105mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma 400 in Thornton's Two Bath, 6 mins stand in A & B @21C Scanned @ 1200dpi on Epson V500.

Here is another of these elaborate dovecotes, this one in a nearby village . The house to which it belongs dates from the 18thC, so I imagine this is also of the same age. Quite why they were built in such an elaborate manner is a mystery, but they are very pretty, at least I think so! I tried developing this in Thornton's two bath without agitation, - just 30 seconds gentle inversions and then let stand for 6 1/2 minutes in bath A, drain and refill with B and stand for 5 minutes. The grain is smaller, but at the price of loss of edge definition, and the negs were a little over developed,so no real gain! Mamiya RB67 with 645 back, f4.5/65mm Sekor lens. Foma 100 in Thornton's 2 bath, 7+5mins @21C Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500

That's enough railways - for now! Notre Dame de la Reconnaissance, seen from the market place. Most of my local pictures tend to be of older buildings, but this church is relatively modern, built between 1905 and 1908. It replaced an older church, which was apparently beyond reasonable repair. Taken with a 1948 Kodak Reflex II, a beautifully made American camera, the first production TLR to have a fresnel screen viewfinder, and razor sharp lenses of an unusual design - the fact that is 620 means it doesn't get used as often as a 120 camera might, but it's a pleasure to use. 1948 Kodak Reflex II, f3.5/80mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Foma 100 in divided D23, 5+5mins @21C. Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500

In contrast to the previous picture, this is how the station at Parsac-Gouzon usually looks! It's a lonely little place, some way between the two towns of it's name, and I think only a couple of trains a day in each direction actually stop here. It is on the single track line from Guèret to Montluçon, which is part of a longer cross country route from Bordeaux to Lyon, although direct services between those cities have been suspended for some time while this section of the route is completely re-signalled 1948 Kodak Tourist I converted to 120, f4.5/105mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Shanghai GP3 in Divided D23, 5+5 mins @21C. Scanned @1200dpi on Epson 500

Following on from the last photo, this is how I travelled up to Montluçon! Of course, this is not the usual motive power used on this line, (!) but a special train going from Limoges, to the annual Festirail meeting in Montlucon. This locomotive was built by SFCM de Denain in 1932, for the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'Est, it was one of 42 locomotives built for hauling heavy suburban trains in the Greater Paris area, which it did until it was finally taken out of revenue service in 1967. Steam trains cannot go very far before they need to have their water supply refreshed, and here we have stopped at the little station of Parsac-Gouzon to re-fill the tanks, which also gives people a chance to walk about, - and take photos of the locomotive! 1948 Kodak Tourist I, f4.5/105mm Anaston lens, x2 yellow filter. Shanghai GP3 in Thornton's Two Bath, 4+4 mins @21C. Scanned @1200dpi on Epson 500

Another from the Tourist archives! Montluçon is considered to be "The Gateway to the Auvergne", although it is in the department of Allier - it is quite a classy place, so it is not a surprise to see high quality building here, but this is definitely in a league of it's own! I have no idea of the original purpose, - hotel, bank, insurance office, could be any of them, - nor when it was built, but what is certain is that it is one of the most accomplished examples of brickwork that I have seen! The diamond pattern is worked in a darker brick, and would be a challenge in a flat panel, but to have achieved this on the surface of a circular building, is indeed, a class act. Viewing the image at original size will show what I mean, and also demonstrate that the old Kodak is no slouch either! Taken with a 1948 Kodak Tourist 620, converted to 120 film. f4.5/105mm hard coated Kodak Anaston, X2 yellow filter, on Shanghai GP3 @200, developed in Thornton's Two Bath 5+5 mins @21C, and scanned @ 1200dpi on an Epson V500.

This former monastry building is well hidden, despite the fact that is quite close to the centre of the village. The Order of the Word Incarnate was founded by a priest who was born in Azerables, and the chapel was built in 1889, the work of a local architect, Léon Vallet. Following it's closure as a religious building in the 1960's, the main accomodation was turned into a retirement home, which has since moved to new premises, so these buildings were empty at the time this photo was taken, in 2011. 1948 Kodak Tourist 620, converted to 120, f4.5/105mm coated Anaston, X4 Orange filter. Rollei RPX 400 @ 1600, in Diafine 4 + 4 mins @ 21C. Scanned@1200dpi on Epson V500.