Of the photographs I made during our visit to York in December, the one posted here today is probably the one I like most. Technically it’s good, being sharp, well exposed and, thankfully, not showing any real sign of the low contrast that affected many of the other pictures on the two rolls I shot.
But really I just like the picture. The western side of York Minster looks enormous, looming above the streets. There’s a power to the scale of the building and it’s really quite amazing to consider the architecture, engineering, craftsmanship, and sheer art that went into the construction of these buildings.
This shot (and several others on the rolls I shot in York) showed notable loss of contrast due to the haze in my Yashicamat’s lens (hence the reason I’ve been seeking a replacement). Some work in Lightroom has done a relatively good job of bringing back a bit of punch to the image.
My wife and I visited York in December to see the Christmas markets. As always tends to be the case at these things, the wares on offer were not cheap! That didn’t put us off buying some treats, and we came away with selections of cheeses and biscuits and other bits and pieces. It also seems set in law that there must be a stall selling bratwurst cooked over a charcoal fire at all these markets. I had a concoction of bratwurst, chips, and various toppings for my lunch, but there was some sort of jam stuff on there too which wasn’t really to my taste and I wish I’d just had a sausage in a bun instead.
Wandering round York city centre I took some pictures where I could with my Yashicamat 124G (and a few with my Olympus XA-3 which was tucked in my jacket pocket). It was pretty busy and trying to get pictures without someone walking into frame while I set up the shot or (more annoyingly) just as I pressed the shutter, was difficult.
The two shots here were taken at The Shambles, York’s famous medieval shopping street. This quaint street with it’s hundreds-of-year-old buildings is busy at the best of times as a tourist trap, but is made even busier by the fact of having a Harry Potter shop at one end, and The York Ghost Merchants at the other.
It’s the latter shop from which the two bowler-hatted gentlemen featured in today’s pictures were from. There was a queue of at least fifty people waiting to go into the shop to acquire their very own unique ghost (including a lot of overseas tourists. These spooky figurines are clearly popular!), so these people (of which there were at least four) were acting as crowd-control in the very narrow and very busy street.
The first shot was taken from close to minimum focus distance with me backed right up against the window of a baker’s shop. The second doesn’t look too busy, but you’ll notice that it’s cropped from the Yashica’s usual square format. This is because I has perhaps a quarter of a second to photograph the guy outside the shop before the crowds closed in again. There are people entering and exiting frame at the left and right of the full frame version.
Rother Valley Country Park lies within walking distance of my home. It can be quite photogenic but familiarity has bred, if not contempt, then a certain boredom towards it’s possibilities. Like most man made lakes and reservoirs (the lake used to be an open cast coal mine) there’s a certain artificial feel to the place. I guess that over time this will lessen and the place will feel more an more part of a natural landscape (although it’s now been over forty years since the park first opened).
Despite my lack of inspiration, it’s still a great place to go if the conditions are good, especially mist or ice, as it gives it a distinct atmosphere and look that isn’t present at other times.
The two shots published here were taken on a frosty morning in late November last year just as the sun was rising, and I stood stepping between feet to keep warm while I waited for the sun to rise and start to cast light on the scenery. It was worth my time though, I think.
The second shot has been cropped. The top of the frame featured the lines of the cable-powered waterski circuit that occupies this end of the lake.
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.
When testing a new (to me) camera, I should do this somewhere close to home and not, I repeat NOT, drive right out into the Peak District National Park to do so…
This is what I did today, with the intent of shooting a roll or two through my new Yashicamat 124G. I’d already taken a couple of pictures with the camera earlier this week and all had appeared ok, so I went out to the Derwent Dams to finish the roll (and maybe shoot another if things went well).
Everything started out ok although, despite Google Map’s promise of it being “not too busy” the main car park was full when I arrived, necessitating me finding a spot about a half mile away instead and then walking back to where I wanted to be. The walk is pleasant enough though, and part of it can be made beside the reservoir. A little downstream from Derwent Dam I spotted a nice photographic composition looking down towards Ladybower Reservoir. I took the first picture with no issues and then framed up another shot. However, when I pressed the shutter release nothing happened. I was momentarily puzzled – had I not wound the camera on after the last shot? Had I accidentally tripped the shutter? I wound on to the next frame and was able to take the shot successfully.
Slowly working my way up to Derwent Dam and then up the valley towards Howden Dam, I was able to take a number of shots without issue. An then it happened again. By now I was sure that it wasn’t my memory or an accident at fault, and started wondering if there was something set up on the camera that might be causing it. I couldn’t think of anything though and, having shot several hundred photos with my old Yashicamat 124G, didn’t feel that operator error was likely to blame.
I finished up the first roll and then made the decision to load another. I felt that, if I needed to return the camera as faulty, shooting another roll would reinforce the evidence I had of a fault. So I set off up a very steep footpath that led back to where I started, but halfway up the valley side. The first shot from the new roll was fine. The second gave me the same non-firing shutter problem. The third worked ok. I then decided to focus for a while on not having a heart attack during the uphill hike (I need to get back to the gym!). After quite a while I came upon a nice scene – an old and slightly rusty Landrover parked on the trail. Framing everything up I pressed the shutter and… it didn’t fire. What’s more, it would not fire at all now, even advancing the film and re-cocking the shutter several times. The button would depress, but the shutter would not fire.
At this point I decided enough was enough and that the camera would have to be returned. I managed to get a photo of the Landrover using my Olympus XA-3 which I had in my coat pocket. Annoyingly, after this, I found some very attractive woodland scenes that would have suited the Yashicamat perfectly, but which I couldn’t take proper advantage of. I took a couple of shots with the little Olympus, but I suspect the slow shutter speed it gave me will probably result in camera shake on the photos.
I’m hoping that the photos I did manage to take on the first roll will turn out ok, even if there will be two or three blank frames. I’m also going to try to re-wind the other roll in my changing bag. It’s Tri-X so not that cheap, With luck I might be able to use the remainder in another camera.
But this week will see me return the faulty Yashicamat and start my hunt for a replacement.
TLDR: Today’s picture has absolutely nothing to do with the above. The light is nice though, yes? 🙂
Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Kodak Gold. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted using Negative Lab Pro.
Steel City Snapper photography 