A splash of colour

[P C Headland]

Taking a break from black and white film and vintage cameras, and given the nice blue skies, I decided it was time for some colour. I grabbed the Sigma SP2M and headed off on the e-bike.

On my ride into work, I'd spotted a couple of spots with some colourful concrete blocks, and a colourful wall. I thought the wall in particular would contrast nicely with the sky, and a graffiti-art wall would provide some opportunities. The site also had a bunch of large, colourful concrete "lego" blocks.

Big Boy's Lego

Double Wave Wall

Single Wave Wall

Graffiti Art

And close by is a waste management company that has stacks of yellow skips stacked outside:

Yellow Bins

For all it's limitations, or perhaps because of its limitations, I really enjoy using the Sigma. It's very slow to write the files and per full battery you get about the same number of images as you would on a 35mm film. There's just something about the way it renders details and colours. I really wish Sigma had come up with a modern successor to the Merrill series.

The other thing I recently found out is that the new Affinity (Canva's free, all-in-one Affinity Photo-Designer-Publisher upgrade/ replacement) can process the X3F files fairly decently now. The older Affinity Photo 2 would open the files, but the colours would be inconsistent across the frame.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2026!