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.
As another year comes to a close it’s time for my annual selection of favourite pictures, one from each month. As is always the case with these things, the list is based on my thoughts in the moment and the selection could easily change if I were to pick them yesterday or tomorrow.
Looking back through the year I was curious as to which camera has been used most for my photography. I thought there might be two or three contenders for the prize but, in actuality, there was a clear lead in the shape of my Bronica ETRSi, which has been used to shoot sixteen rolls of film in 2023. In distant second place was my Yashicamat 124G with six rolls (including one I developed today and have yet to scan), and then a tie for bronze between the Olympus Trip 35, and the Fujica GW690. I wonder which camera will be most used in 2024? Tune in this time next year!
January
Fujica GW690 Kodak Gold Converted to B&W in Lightroom
I struggled to get colours I was happy with using Negative Lab Pro for this roll. It usually works very well, but this roll was having none of it, so I resorted to a monochrome conversion.
Fujica GW690 Kodak Portra 400 NC (expired 2007) Lab Developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
November
Canon Sure Shot Z135 Kodak Gold Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.
December
Yashicamat 124G Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 @ 20° 10mins
I expect that December’s picture might be changed as I still have a bunch of other stuff to develop and scan, and there may be shots amongst those that I prefer.
So that’s another year’s round-up. Now onto 2024! Have a happy New Year everyone.
I was going to say that this post features the last of this year’s crop of autumnal pictures, but I have a few more on a roll of 35mm Kodak Gold still to be uploaded, so there will still be a few more to share (although I expect it will be after Christmas before that happens, unless I move them up the schedule).
The two pictures here were taken near the village of Barlow in Derbyshire, not too far from Chesterfield. I’ve driven past the lone tree pm a few occasions and noticed that it has a handy public footpath running through the field beside it. Whit it was the main reason I got out of the car with my camera, I think I prefer the first shot of the woodland, which has a nice selection of autumnal tones against the slightly hazy blue sky. The lone tree is ok, but I think there is a better photograph to be had.
I’ve managed to shoot (almost) a couple of rolls of 120 Ilford HP5+ this weekend during an overnight trip to York with my wife to visit the Christmas market. I’m not sure how they will turn out – I rarely make my best pictures when I’m out with someone else, and always feel like I’m rushing or missing things. I’ll hopefully get a chance to develop them soon though, so we shall see…
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC / Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
A few miles south from the Herdings Twin Towers that I posted about yesterday lies St. Peter’s church at Greenhill. The church was built in 1964/65, so is a relatively modern structure. It’s slightly squat spire always has an air of a witches’ hat, I think.
The early morning light was casting a beautiful glow onto the willow trees that grow beside the church. I don’t think my photograph does proper justice to the light.
Bronica ETRSi, Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8 PE & Kodak Portra 160. Lab developed, home scanned & converted with Negative Lab Pro.
Steel City Snapper photography 