Tag: Yashica Mat 124 G

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

First light – testing new cameras

fishyfisharcade4 Comments

Using a new film camera for the first time often brings me a sense of apprehension. Will it work as expected? Where should I test it? How much effort should I put into the pictures?

Even when buying a camera from a trusted source, there’s still a risk of some sort of fault. Most film cameras are getting long in the tooth – some very much so – so I tend to avoid travelling too far afield when using one for the first time. That way, even if there is a fault, I’ve not wasted too much time and, should I want to, I can probably re-visit the location to recreate the shots if necessary. The same goes for the time and effort spent composing a picture. Do I really want to wait for the perfect light, the perfect moment, when the picture might be blighted by a mechanical fault of some variety?

With regards the location aspect, the camera I used to take the pictures shared here today (and in the coming days) did let me down. It had a shutter issue which caused missed frames that I described in a previous post. As a result, I missed a number of photo opportunities at a location that I don’t travel to often (and the hike I did was one I’ve never undertaken before, so that was all new sights to me). This was obviously disappointing.

The road to the scrapyard

In terms of spending time on composing and timing shots with a new camera, I still try to do my best. I know that some people will test gear by shooting test cards or a fixed scene, but the thought of using a whole role of film on that sort of efficient and controlled testing doesn’t inspire me. I’d rather try to get pictures I’ll find artistically pleasing, even if there’s some risk that they might be lost.

I now have a replacement for the faulty camera, but I’ve yet to test it. I’m planning to do so this weekend. While I will still try to get the best shots I can, I’m certainly not risking a trip to a more distant location this time, so the new camera will see first light on a visit into town, or maybe in my local area. If all goes well, then it can become a trusted travel companion.

The two shots shared today were the first two on the roll and before I had realised there was a fault. I shot them on a walk in the local area during my lunch break, so only had time for a couple. Maybe if I’d had more time I’d have discovered the fault earlier and saved myself the later disappointment.

Looking to the other side

Yashicamat 124G & Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 8mins @ 20°

Taken on 9 January 2024

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The Shambles

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The Shambles is probably the most famous street in York. It’s buildings date in some cases back to the 14th century and it’s a big draw for tourists. There’s something undeniably attractive about it’s narrow, canyon-like passage, with an almost enclosed feeling due to the overhanging buildings.

The street gets its name from the fact that it used to be home to a significant number of butcher’s shops (“shambles” being an old name for such, apparently). I’m not sure that there are any butchers shops present any longer, but there is a shop that sells ghosts, and another full of Harry Potter paraphernalia.

This shot was taken quite early on a Sunday morning before the crowds of tourists began to fill it to capacity.

There are some more photos of The Shambles in this post I published back in 2017.

The Shambles

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Mulled wine and music reviews

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It feels a little odd to be posting Christmas photos when we’re fast approaching the end of January (already! How did that happen?!), but such is the delay with my working my way through my pictures. There might be a couple more to come yet too.

So far I’m keeping up with my plan to listen to unheard (by me) albums. My list of selections has swollen to a laughably unmanageable collection of over eight hundred titles meaning, if I stick to one per week, it’ll take me over fifteen years to get through them all (not accounting for me adding more!). We’ll see how it goes, eh? However I get on, I’ve started blogging my thoughts on each selection. Should you be interested, you can find those here on a new and imaginatively titled blog I started ;).

Mulled wine

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

The looming face

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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.

At Minster Gate

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Hot roasted chestnuts

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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.

https://flic.kr/p/2pscD5p

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Henry and his piano

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I took a few pictures of this guy busking beside York Minster. To quote his bio that can be seen in the photo:

“Hello 🙂

My name is Henry. Me and my piano have been travelling around the U.K. for the past few years in my van and busking.

This piano was going to be taken as rubbish before I rescued it and gave it a new life!

I aim to create quiet moments for people to reflect and connect during these strange times.

Hope you enjoy my original compositions.

Thanks for listening ❤”

He seems to get around a bit and has pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

I have no affiliation with Henry, but I did chuck a couple of quid in his case before I took these photos. 🙂

Henry and his piano-2
Henry and his piano

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Bowler hats and ghosts

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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.

Bowler hat
Keeping watch

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°

Taken on 16 December 2023