Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
This is Foss Bridge in York. This particular structure dates to 1812, but it replaced an earlier wooden bridge. I thought it looked nice in the winter light.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 20 December 2023
Another look at The Shambles, that is.
Three more shots of York’s most famous street, this time taken with the convenience of the compact little Olympus XA3. The Yashica Mat 124G can produce great pictures, but there’s something freeing about using a small point-and-shoot camera, and the XA3 has been my constant companion for the past few months, just sat in my coat pocket waiting for a picture to present itself while I’m out..
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 20 December 2023
Clifford’s Tower dates to 1245, although a wooden fortification stood atop the raised earthwork mound before then, but was replaced after it burnt down. Archaeological evidence shows activity on the site dating back to the Romans.
I didn’t visit the tower during this trip to York, nor have I visited it on the several other visits to the city over the past few decades. I did get to climb it on a trip when I was a child when visiting with my parents. I can’t remember how old I was and remember little about the trip apart from walking along the city walls, and going to the National Railway Museum. I guess my dad will have a few photos somewhere, and maybe I’ll try and find those one day.
Both the pictures posted here are a little fuzzy for some reason. No other shots from the roll exhibit the same issue, so I don’t know what’s happened there.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 20 December 2023
This building, standing in the middle of the Shambles market in York, dates back to the 14th century in the oldest part of its structure. It was originally two separate buildings which, over the centuries, have become interconnected and now form a single property.
The building has been in commercial use since 1830 and has been host to a chemist’s shop, a hatters, a cafe, and is now home to Gert and Henry’s restaurant.
Olympus XA3 & Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 9mins @ 20°
Taken on 20 December 2023
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.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
A couple more late festive photos from York. There are a lot of baubles decorating this jewellery shop!
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
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 ;).
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
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.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
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.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
Another of those square shots that I had to crop due to people being in frame at either side.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+ @800asa. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°
Taken on 16 December 2023
Steel City Snapper photography 