TABLE D'HôTE

[Julian de'Courcy]

Today on the quay Andy poured a bucket of pilchards from his catch into a bag and handed them to me. Some, got eaten at lunch, the rest in the fridge for the next few days. Then came the troubling idea, what do you do with a bucket of pilchards ? I tend to cook them one way , yet photographically being an avid watcher of Master Chief I thought I'd expand my horizons and do Pilchards two ways, but it does appear I have a fixed menu for the next few days .




Sigma Dp2 M.

_P2M3131b by Julian de Courcy, on Flickr




Sigma DP1 M

_P1M3808m by Julian de Courcy, on Flickr

 

[Brian Moore]

There is something surrealhistic about these images, Julian,...in particular the color one, with what looks like ice. I like them very much. (Were those poor buggers alive at the time you took the pictures?)

 

[Pete Askew]

Stunning images Julian, especially the colour one.

I'm quite partial to pilchards too.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Braw, indeed. The colour one is very good, but I also like the ripples in the first. I don't think I've ever eaten a pilchard...

 

[Pete Askew]

You should ask Julian to post you a couple up!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yuk

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

There is something surrealhistic about these images, Julian,...in particular the colour one, with what looks like ice. I like them very much. (Were those poor buggers alive at the time you took the pictures?)

Thanks Brian comments are appreciated a lot. Yes ice. These are held in what are called ice tubs. Not sure of the weight they hold but the fishermen who's boats do not have ice machines or cool rooms on board, take away with them Ice tubs. They put about eighteen inches of ice in the tubs or a bit less, which are insulated including a lid, the catch then goes into the tubs with water, therefore being very cold will hold the fish for a few hours at an ideal temperature, not too cold to freeze them, but will keep them as fresh as possible while at sea . The water also allows them to float a bit and therefore the top ones are not squashing the ones at the bottom, as Pilchards herring and Mackerel are quite delicate fish. Depending how long they have been away , in this case only five hours , there is still plenty of ice still not melted. No the fish are no longer living when they come aboard.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Stunning images Julian, especially the colour one.

I'm quite partial to pilchards too.

Thank you Pete. I did eat a few today and just maybe one or two too many my stomach is telling me

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Braw, indeed. The colour one is very good, but I also like the ripples in the first. I don't think I've ever eaten a pilchard...

Thanking you Rob. Pilchards are grown up sardines so maybe you have eaten a baby one on toast at some point?

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Ah, yes, I do like eating babies!

 

[Glenn Clabo]

Wonderfully unique shots Julian. These guys are very abundant off our coast this year. It explains the concentration of whales that are being watched.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Wonderfully unique shots Julian. These guys are very abundant off our coast this year. It explains the concentration of whales that are being watched.

Thanks Glenn, after the winter storms the fishing throughout this year has been very poor, far below average. It is just now that the mackerel have arrived a few months late. The bay four weeks ago was empty,then at the end of July they started to be caught. Then last week an occurrence happened which was unknown to anyone. The outer harbour and inner harbour was boiling with fish. Emits (tourist) were catching boxes of them from the inside harbour, the mackerel were feeding on white bait, these white bait were being pushed onto a tiny beach inside the harbour and locals got buckets which they filled by scooping in the shallow water. At the moment all the small mackerel which at any time would be fetching ok money are not even moving from the market and being discarded as there is no market for them there is such an abundance. The mediums are as low as 30pence a kilo and large mackerel at £1 a kilo, which can be as much a £7 a kilo at some months of the year.

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

Here the mackerel is £4 a kilo. Great pictures and very familiar to me, living and breathing by the sea. Fish tend to get you sleepy Julian, but it is oh so good.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Here the mackerel is £4 a kilo. Great pictures and very familiar to me, living and breathing by the sea. Fish tend to get you sleepy Julian, but it is oh so good.

Thank you Ivar. I went out in a boat this evening for a few hours to few the red arrows do their display and a joyful time it was, even with a strong swell and the odd wave breaking the bow.

 

[Tom Dunne]

For some reason these images, especially the colour one, reminds me of some painting I might have seen in some gallery or other but I can't be sure. Fish always seem to have a terrified look in their little eyes and this is noticable in these two excellent images.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

For some reason these images, especially the colour one, reminds me of some painting I might have seen in some gallery or other but I can't be sure. Fish always seem to have a terrified look in their little eyes and this is noticable in these two excellent images.

Yes nothing is new and Fish have certainly taken pride of place in many still life painting. I was thinking along the same lines as you mention ,as these evolved and did lean to the painterly rather than photographic side when processing.

 

[Paul Lange]

Very nice, that second has a painterly feel about it. I wish they looked like that when you open the tin instead of those horrible carcases covered in oil or tomato puree.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Very nice, that second has a painterly feel about it. I wish they looked like that when you open the tin instead of those horrible carcases covered in oil or tomato puree.

Thanks Paul. I know what you mean about opening a tin, but they are handy to have in the cupboard for those days you are snowed in.

 

[Beth Carter]

by the time i see fish they're in a shop on ice or already cut up. never really seen them fresh in a bucket full of ice like this. but the local watermen are more into crabbing and beer. have to agree with tom, fish always have that creepy look in their eyes.

 

[Pete Askew]

A bit like a person who has been under water for a couple of day!