Medium Format Photography Book Started

I started working on the Medium Format Photography book today. I’m using a Yashicamat 124-G and a crude, bare-bones Holga 120N. Both use 120 film. All of the photographs will be taken with Tri-X. I have to use an external light meter with the 124-G since the original batteries were the mercury type and are no longer available. There’s really no point in using a light meter with the Holga except for reference.

Using the Holga is going to be a challenge. There is really no way to control exposure other than keeping your finger on the shutter release for a longer or shorter time. I shot the first roll about a half hour ago in direct sunlight. The light meter read f8 at 1/250 so I tried to click the shutter pretty fast.

I love this blurb that’s on the Holga box and have it pinned on the cork board above my drawing table.

 

It stretches the truth a bit. It’s going to take some time and a lot of film to dial in the Holga. I hope it’s worth it. I’ll be posting updates along the way.

 

Film: A Sight Return

Last month Barb and I went to the Royal Oak Art Fair at Memorial Park. I was interested in the photographers, what they offered and what equipment they used (Canon, mostly).

One photographer’s work in particular caught my eye, and I’m sorry I didn’t get his card or remember his name otherwise I’d mention it here. His photographs were truly stunning. All of them were black and white, silky, silvery and deeply saturated. I asked him what he used. He said he shot 120 film exclusively on a Mamiya.

I used to shoot film, 35mm on a Canon F1 and 120 (medium format) film on a Yashica Mat-124G. I still own both cameras, so I found my neglected 124G, cleaned it, bought some 120 Tri-X and took it with us on vacation a couple of weeks ago in Grand Haven, Michigan.

The Yashica Mat-124G is a twin lens reflex camera. You look down the the top of the camera and through the top lens. The lower lens exposes the film. Being medium format, the negative size is 2 1/4” by 2 1/4”. The format is square, but if you don’t like that or if the square format doesn’t work for a particular composition a print can always be cropped during development.

Here’s a scanned print from 1980 from Grand Central Station in New York City shot with the 124G using Tri-X developed in Rodinal. Notice the ad for the TV show Barney Miller. The print isn’t square since shot lent itself to more horizontal lines.

The 124G takes a 1.3v battery which was dead on my camera. Luckily I have an old Sekonic light meter that still works, so I depended on that.  I prefer working with a light meter anyway.

I forgot what a delight and a challenge it is shooting with the 124G. I had to find the shots, adjust the tripod, use the light meter, set the apeture and shutter speed (keeping depth of field in mind), and focus using the little magnifier. Time literally slowed down for me. It was great and for the first time in a long time I felt like I was potentially producing art, instead of merely taking a photograph. I shot 12 exposures in the old house we rented.

I don’t have any chemicals or a developing tank for the negatives, but I plan on buying everything within the next week or so. I’m looking forward to developing the negatives and making contract prints, but it may take a while. I will post whatever comes out here.

If you’re thinking about either getting into film photography or going back to it, a used 124G is a great camera to consider. I’ve seen them run between $200 and $300.  Here are some links to check out for more information:

http://istillshootfilm.org/post/66810081483/yashica-mat-124g-medium-format-tlr-camera-review

http://mattsclassiccameras.com/yashicamat_124.html