Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
This is not the first photo I’ve taken of this restaurant in the (increasingly gentrified) Kelham Island area of the city, but it’s the only one I’ve taken with the Bronica ETRSi.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Fujifilm Pro 400H.
Taken on 7 July 2019
The two tractors on the right look pretty happy, but the one on the left is looking more ominous. Tractor 800, or T-800 for short, has probably been sent back in time to kill John Connor.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 30 June 2019
I’ve been out much of this evening taking photos of two actors in Victorian dress in the old General Cemetery in Sheffield (organised by the photographic society of which I’m a member). I will hopefully post some of the results at some point. Anyway, I’m now quite tired and so this is going to be a short post. In fact I feel a little bit like the chap in today’s photo looks.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 30 June 2019
More bric-a-brac from the steam rally.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 30 June 2019
At the steam rally last weekend, apart from the various steam engines and classic vehicles on display, there were a number of flea-market type stalls dotted around the arena (as well as some stalls selling new goods). These are always interesting to browse, both as a potential source of a bargain*, or to provide interesting material for a photograph or two. The stalls at the rally were no exception, and today’s photo is one of several that I took of the wares on display. It could perhaps be argued that these pool balls (and chalk cubes) would have been better shot using a colour film but I’d already finished the roll of Ektachrome by the time I spotted these and, anyway, I really like the contrasty look the HP5+ has rendered.
*One stall had a box of camera gear. This was mostly flashes and the like, but for the price of a few pounds I managed to pick up some close-up lenses for my Yashica Mat, a Pentax Espio 140M compact 35mm camera, and an 80-200mm Tamron zoom lens with a Canon FD Adaptall adapter. I don’t have any Canon SLRs, but the lens is in very clean condition so I’ll either hang on to it in case I do find a suitable body at some stage, or pass it on to someone else. The close-up lenses were a particular bargain for just £1!
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 30 June 2019
As well as all the steam engines, the steam rally I attended last weekend also had a good selection of vintage cars, trucks and bikes, including the odd import. Here’s the hood of a Lincoln Continental. I’m afraid my car knowledge is lacking – I like to photograph them, but my knowledge extends little beyond that aspec – so I don’t know which year this model is from.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 30 June 2019
A quickie post today, but here are three more shots from the test roll of expired Tri-X that I put through the Bronica ETRSi this week.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Tri-X (expired).
Taken on 4 July 2019
As a treat for my birthday this year, I decided to get myself a Bronica ETRSi. I’d been thinking about a different aspect-ratio medium format camera for some time (and almost bought one a few months back), so my birthday seemed a good time to take the plunge. The camera I got is in nice condition and came with the 75mm Zenzanon f/2.8 lens, the speed-grip, and the AEII prism finder. The camera is very heavy in comparison with any others I own and, especially when the lens hood is fitted, looks like I’m carrying a movie camera around with me!
The camera came fitted with the standard, plain ground-glass focussing screen. While this is in pristine condition, I found that it was very difficult to finesse my focusing – especially when using wider apertures at closer distances. However, I managed to find a split-prism finder that someone had advertised as faulty and scratched, so I took the plunge and took a chance on it. The new focusing screen works fine and, while it’s certainly seen some action and gained a number of battle scars in its time, it’s still nice and bright and the focussing is much, much easier with the split prism.
I took a few family shots last week and decided to finsh off my test roll this lunchtime so headed out to the nearby village of Ridgeway for a short walk and to shoot the remaining six frames. While the camera is very weighty, the speed-grip makes it pretty comfortable to handle in both landscape and portrait orientations, and I had no problems controlling it.
I dropped the film off on my way back to work and was very fortunate when the lab were able to process it before they closed this afternoon, so a big thanks and shout-out to the great people at Peak Imaging.
Here are three of the shots that I’ve scanned and uploaded.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Tri-X (expired).
Taken on 4 July 2019
This was one of a number of vintage buses and trucks at the steam rally I attended at the weekend. I was framing up the shot when these two old fellas wandered into the picture and, I think, improved it.
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Ektachrome.
Taken on 30 June 2019
This chap was performing some maintenance or repairs on the tyre of this engine. I’m not sure what the tyre is actually made of – I know that they can have solid rubber tyres, but this one looked to be laminated in some way and some of it peeled off in a layer as I observed. Perhaps that’s just the way rubber tyres of this sort are constructed, or perhaps it was made of some other material?
Nikon F80, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 D & Kodak Ektachrome.
Taken on 30 June 2019
Steel City Snapper photography 