Sorry its been a while since my last post. We have been away on our narrowboat. For those of you not familiar with a UK narrowboat here’s a photo of ours (digital I’m afraid!)
This short trip was a prelude to our summer away and I had planned to use it to experiment with my various film cameras to try to decide which I would use on a regular basis and whether I could justify taking them all. As you can imagine space is at a premium and I have my alloted cupboard space!
I took my Bronica and accessories, the old Kodak pocket Junior and my Franka Solida. They were loaded with Ilford Delta 400 HP5 and FP4 plus the spare back on the Bronica had Ektar 100 colour print film in.
The weather was atrocious. We were away for a month and didn’t even bother to leave the marina for the first two weeks as it was so cold and worse from a narrowboat point of view, very windy. We eventually got out for a couple of weeks but the options for experimenting with the camera were somewhat limited but I did manage to shoot a film of B & W in the Bronica and in the Kodak.
We got back home last weekend and I’ve developed the films to mixed results. I’m disappointed in what I got out of the Kodak. It appears that there is a light leak in the bellows and this is showing on a majority of the negatives. I had thought I’d found the hole and patched it up before I went but either the patch failed or more have appeared. It’s hardly surprising given the age of the camera and the fast that its been in store for some 30 year’s unused. I could try again but think I’ll just concentrate on the other two. The Bronica is a super camera and I have a telephoto lens and an extension tube for macro work so it’s quite an all round system and I’ll use the Franka as a point and shoot as its so small when folded I can carry it all the time.
Here’s a selection of photos from the Bronica all shot on or near the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal. They are all straight out of the camera apart from the sepia toning and vignette on the steps – I’m afraid I haven’t even taken out the dust spots from the scanning!
Do ask if you have any queries.
HODMADOD PHOTOGRAPHY 