5 Frames with a Retinette 1B and Lomochrome Metropolis – Patina at Lullingstone Castle

Situated in the Darenth Valley in north-west Kent Lullingstone Castle is a rare survivor, a manor house and grounds that have remained in the same family for centuries, since 1497 in fact. While it has no doubt been difficult to sustain this independent existence and various parts of the original estate have been sold off over the years the house and its surrounding 120 acres of grounds remain as family property.

In recent years the 20th generation current heir, Tom Hart Dyck, has taken steps to safeguard this autonomy for the future. As an infectiously enthusiastic horticulturist he first jotted down a plan for a world garden when, while plant hunting in Panama, he became a kidnap victim and was held hostage in the Colombian jungle. An incident very much in the family tradition, the colourful lives of past Hart Dycks, some of whom are laid to rest around the parish church adjacent to house, make them seem prototypes for the characters played by Alec Guinness in the Ealing film ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’. The eventual creation of Lullingstone World Garden was subsequently the subject of two television documentary series. The garden is laid out in the form of a map and thousands of species of flora are displayed in settings appropriate to their natural environment.

As well as the income generated by visitors to the garden footfall is further increased by the hosting of a summer series of events in the grounds. One of these is the Patina Classic Car Show.

The Patina Classic Car Show

Classic cars often appear as subject matter in 35mmc posts. This is understandable as they are very photogenic. Usually it is in the form of shiny exotic models in all their pristine glory, but occasionally an abandoned wreck appears. However, as with many things there is a middle way and this where Patina comes in. It is, to quote its purpose, ‘a celebration of beloved classic and vintage cars. It is a festival for the unpresentable cars we love and drive regularly. Even those cars that are limping along and held together by love and hope are welcome’. For all of which read rusty but running. Organised by the Waterloo Classics Car Club it is now in its third year at Lullingstone Castle and looks to become a permanent fixture in the calendar of events there.

As my Austin A30 fits Patina’s criteria I attended the inaugural show with her but since then she has been laid up waiting patiently waiting for me to pluck up the courage to tackle her troublesome gearbox. So classic carless for the time being I went along the this year’s show to seek inspiration and to indulge in some fun photography. Classic carless but not classic cameraless, I decided to take my Retinette 1B and for reasons explained below loaded it with what may seem a strange choice of film, Lomochrome Metropolis.

The Kodak Retinette 1B and Lomochrome Metropolis

The Retinette series (1939-1966) ran roughly concurrently with the the more illustrious Retina system range and can be regarded in today’s terminology as a consumer version of the latter. Both were products of Kodak AG Stuttgart. Mine is an example of the Retinette 1B Type 37 which was in production 1960-1963 and which, coincidentally, fits nicely in the middle of what is usually considered the classic car time-line.

Consumer model it may have been but some good things went into its make-up: Rodenstock lens (45mm f2.8), Prontor shutter and Gossen meter. The whole ensemble typifies solid German build quality and has just the right weight to enable it to be handled with confidence. That said, mine had been sitting untested in a display cabinet for many years. The meter proved to be wayward and the lens may be starting to show signs of haze.

Lomochrome Metropolis. The name implies that it is intended for urban photography and Lullingstone Castle so nestled in a downland valley that you’re lucky to get a phone signal there cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered urban let alone a metropolis. Although not usually a colour film user I’d bought a roll of it while visiting The Photographers’ Gallery. From what I’d seen of results from it the colour rendition, or sometimes lack of it, appealed to me. I rather liked the muted look of the shifts of colour reminiscent of aged transparencies or faded machine produced prints of family snapshots. Shabby old cars parked up in a field might just be the subject matter with which to try it out. Given the doubtful accuracy of the Retinette’s meter the almost too good to be true latitude of 100-400 ISO might also prove to be an advantage.

The Five Frames

Detail shots and people proved to be the photographic order of the the day as since the inaugural event the show has become increasingly popular and was well attended by both entrants and visitors.

As with all car shows there’s a lot of questioning and answering to be done….

….and a lot of peering under bonnets.

It’s all quite exhausting really.

Suitably rested and refreshed many obviously took the opportunity to visit the garden.

Final Words

To a lesser or greater extent most of the images exhibited softness. This may either be a characteristic of the film or due to that incipient haziness of the lens. In spite of this there were few outright failures and I was spoilt for choice to pick five frames representative, warts and all, of the event and how the camera and film performed. In the end I chose five around which a narrative of sorts could be cobbled together.

Thanks for reading.

Much more information about Lullingstone Castle and The World Garden can be found on their website.

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