Road Transport

Taken some years ago at a local classic car event, this is a 40HP chain driven vehicle, - the same model was sold in England but with shaft drive. Considering it is over 100 years old, it looks remarkably conventional. (except it has no windscreen wipers!) Due to carelessness, this frame was hopelessly underexposed, but although the neg was very thin, I managed to get this tolerable image 1953 Agfa Ventura 66 Deluxe, f4.5/85mm Solinar lens. Fomapan 400 @800 in Caffenol C, 18mins @ 21C.

We live on the lower western slopes of the Massif Central, so the occasional heavy storm is not a big surprise, but I thought these pics of a storm this afternoon might be interesting! A small stream has developed by the side of the old Citroen!! Canon Digital Ixus 960is. Photofinished in Gimp.

Last of these "Old Guéret" pics with the Vollenda, this is the old market place, and gives some idea of the way many small towns in rural France look in the 21st century! A nice blend of tradition and modernism, I like the way the modern frontages of, say, Marrionaud or Le Balto, have been inserted into the much older buildings. Cars are an ever present feature of course, - although many small towns are now designating pedestrian only areas, it's hard to strike a balance between conservation and commercial need, especially when, as here, the shops are part of an historic area. 1935 Kodak Vollenda 620, f4.5/105mm Schneider Xenar lens, x2 yellow filter. Fomapan Ultra 400 in D76H 1+1, 13mins @21C. Scanned @1200dpi on Epson V500

Taken earlier this year when I was trying stand development with two bath developers. This redundant farm cart is used as a permanent floral display outside the local church, but of course, in February there are no flowers ! Interesting that this design was so common in many Euoropean countries - this one is French, but almost identical ones were once seen in Britain, Spain, Holland, and Germany. Mamiya ZM Quartz, f2.8/35mm Sekor E lens, x2 yellow filter. Polypan F in Thornton's Two Bath, 15sec agitation and then stand for 6mins stand in both bath A & B. Scanned @2400dpi on Epson V500

The old Citröen is the most common target for my test shots ! From a 6x11 negative taken with a 1930's Kodak Vigilant 616 converted to 120, testing for light leaks, and developed in divided D23.

Over half a million of these 2½ ton trucks were built between 1941 and 1945 in GM's Pontiac and Chevrolet plants. There were numerous variants - this one is an open cab CCKW, which, I think, means it is a 1941 design, has all-wheel drive, a conventional cab, and duplex rear axles ! Canon Digital Ixus V2, monochrome in Picasa.

Designed during WW2 by the visionary French engineer Jean-Albert Grégoire (1899-1992). Built largely from aluminium, it had an air-cooled flat twin engine, front wheel drive, and all round independent suspension. Sold originally in 1946 as the AFG Dyna, the design was bought by the Panhard company, and production of this model continued until 1954, when a successor, the Dyna Z was introduced. Canon Digital Ixus V2, monochrome in Picasa.

Hotchkiss 686 (or 680?). Produced between 1936 and 1952, - not sure when this one was built. More famous for their armaments than cars, the company was founded by the American gunsmith, Benjamin B Hotchkiss, who emigrated to France in 1867. Always luxury cars, they could not survive the economic austerity of post-war France, and despite a merger with Delahaye, another luxury car maker, production ended in the mid 1950's, athough they continued to build Willys Jeeps under licence for another decade. Canon Digital Ixus V2

1940's DeSoto two door coupe. I don't imagine there are many of these left anywhere, and very few in Europe. This one was probably on holiday in France, because it is right hand drive, and has British registration plates and licence disc ! Founded in 1928 by Walter Chrysler, in Detroit, Michigan, DeSoto was named after the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, thought to be the first European to have crossed the Mississippi river, in 1541. Canon Digital Ixus V2