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Hooray, hooray, it's a holi-, holiday. Lots of fun, for everyone, it's a holi-, holiday! Well not today... but tomorrow! Tomorrow morning I, along with Liam and his friend, will be motoring down the A9, past Perth, Dunblane and Stirling, before heading along the A811 through Kippen, Buchlyvie, and past Flanders Moss to Drymen, Gartocharn and Balloch. Then we will take the High Road along the banks of Loch Lomond, passing Luss on our way to Tarbet, where we will cut across to Arrochar at the head of Loch Long, then up Glen Croe to the Rest and be Thankful. After that, we will follow the single-track Lochgoilhead road, and head through Hell's Glen, joining the main road again at Ardno on the east bank of Loch Fyne - directly opposite Dunderave Castle. We will carry on to Strachur, where we will follow the road to Leanach. Here we will be hitting the single-track road again as we continue hugging the shore of Loch Fyne. We will be stopping for a while at Castle Lachlan before continuing to Otter Ferry, where we leave Loch Fyne and head across the hills to Glendaruel, and from thence to Colintraive and the ferry to Rhubodach and the Isle of Bute. Assuming we don't get stuck behind caravans (and we almost certainly will), the journey should take about four hours. It's not the quickest way to get to Bute, but it is the nicest. The alternative is to take the A9 to Stirling, then the M9 to Glasgow, then the M8 to Greenock and the A8 to Wemyss Bay (about two hours' drive) - but where are the Lochs!?! So... the weather forecast is good and the sun will be shining. I'm looking forward to it. On an altogether different note, yesterday Gavin loaned me a couple of M42 fit lenses that he has on an old SLR. I must admit that I wasn't expecting too much from them, as I heard that they won't focus properly on the Nikon, and that they have to be stopped down before they produce any sort of usable image. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that they produce excellent images! They may not be pinsharp, and the bokeh might be a little rough, but I am delighted with the results so far. Yesterday I only used the Carl Zeiss lens, and once I got used to its limitations, I was very happy with the images I got. Today was the turn of the Helios - a very strangely configured lens. I must admit that it took some getting used to, and I was slightly disappointed at its inability to focus on anything more than 10 feet away. Despite these minor flaws, the lens is superb at macro and portrait distances, and is capable of producing some excellent images. Now I am in the market for any old M42s - if you have some that you no longer use, then please get in touch with me and we will see if we can do a deal!

Last year I must have been taking drugs!


More images taken with the Helios lens


The M42 lenses