I know what you are thinking. Stick with me!

2021 was a pretty torrid year for everyone, some even more so than others. By the time Christmas had come and gone, I think it fair to say that I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. Christmas is my favourite time of the year but I was on a restricted diet which meant that I couldn’t really gorge myself as I usually do. Tricia, my long suffering wife, still managed to produce an excellent meal but it wasn’t really the same. We even went to bed early on New Years Eve! By now, if you haven’t already given up, I guess that you have got the picture!

As we steamed full speed ahead into 2022, I was obviously in need of a project to inspire me and lift the gloom. I came up with the idea of ‘Drive-by Shooting’. I am sure that this isn’t a novel concept and has almost certainly been done before. Before you all think that I have totally flipped and that you will be coming to visit me in Corfu Prison, I had better explain!

I decided that I would drive a route that I regularly take and simply photograph anything that took my fancy. To make it slightly more challenging, I decided to take one camera with one lens and one roll of film. My choice of camera was my Fuji GSW690 MkIII which has a fixed Fujinon f5.6/65mm lens and shoots eight 6x9cm frames on 120 film. It is one of my favourite cameras that I use far less than I should and so I decided to treat it to a roll of my favourite black and white film – Ilford Delta 100 Professional. I was also armed with my Christmas present from Tricia, a Sekonic L-308X light meter! There’s no built in light meter on the fully mechanical GSW 690!

I decided that my route would be short and decided to drive towards Kassiopi. As it turned out, I headed up to St Georges from Kassiopi before returning home.

My first stop was the fish farm at Imerolia. I must confess that the result of the first shots that I took there cannot be described as stellar and will not appear in this post! From there, I decided that I would pay a visit to Imerolia harbour.

Imerolia harbour has bean cleaned up and it now appears very sterile to me. All the old wrecked boats or boats under repair have vanished. It used to be a treasure trove for amateur photographers like me. I think that I must have previously photographed just about every boat there from just about every angle! I had to find something different.

Bollards! No that is not a euphemism or even me swearing. (As if I would! ) There are a number of bollards used for mooring vessels. I say ‘vessels’ deliberately as they look big enough to moor an ocean liner. As with everything made of steel or iron near to the sea, they attract rust and I was taken by what I can only describe as their patina. I ended up taking two shots. One simply of a bollard and the shadow cast by it and the other, making the most of the wide angle lens, of another bollard with Kassiopi in the distance. I left there feeling a little happier.

I arrived at Kassiopi and parked between the church and the harbour. Decisions, decisions. The church won! Again, it is somewhere that I am familiar with but there is a very peaceful garden between the church and the road. Surprisingly, I have seen it but never been in there. It was very peaceful and provided the source of my fifth shot.

It was then that I decided to head to St Georges which has some stunning views overlooking Kassiopi. I ignored the views and instead, headed to the derelict church. I was thwarted by the gate being locked but I decided that I would attempt one shot over the gate. Again, I wasn’t too disappointed. My next shot was taken about 100 metres back down the road and was simply of a landscape with a few scrubby looking trees and cleared land. You can make of that what you will! I headed towards home with one frame left to shoot. As I got to Apraos, I spotted a family friend tidying up one of her family’s villas. It was a good excuse for a chat. Even better, it was a good excuse to take my final shot of the deserted beach looking towards Kalamaki. I don’t consider it one of my best but those familiar with the area might like to see it out of season.

That’s it! I processed the film next day. For those interested. I developed it in TMax and subsequently scanned the negatives on my Epson V600 scanner. Dust removal and minor adjustments were completed in PhotoLab 5 Elite.

I have enjoyed this short project and may well repeat it. I was delayed as we had five days of rain forecast. Still, I did have a few vintage cameras that I must introduce you to! Watch this space!

As always, comments and criticisms are welcome.