I got a bit obsessed with the gorgeous big viewfinders of TLRs so I grabbed myself a Yashica Mat 124 G on eBay from a guy in Nepal (couldn’t quite afford a Rolleiflex…).
I shot a test roll in London back in December, hence the Christmas theme, but only just got round to developing it myself in the darkroom at the Students’ Union. It was my first time developing medium format but it went surprisingly well until I dropped the negatives onto the dirty floor whilst hanging them up to dry…
This is definitely my favorite of the bunch, taken at Covent Garden, 1 second exposure with the camera rested on the handrail.
Not sure if I like this composition as much.
I found the waist-level viewfinder to be much more stable than an eye-level viewfinder on an SLR though, so I managed this shot of the London Eye after dusk without camera shake ruining it – must’ve been 1/8th or slower.
The carousel proved more tricky though – it was too dark for a short enough exposure to freeze the movement, but I couldn’t hand hold a long enough exposure to blur it sufficiently.
These were developed in Ilfotec HC diluted 1+31, using vinegar for stop because the darkroom were out of proper stop chemical, 4 inversions per minute. I scanned them on a Canon CanoScan 9000F which my advisor has in his office & doesn’t mind me borrowing – much better results than my last solution!
I suspect the large amount of dust is largely due to me dropping them on the floor… will have to be more careful next time!
Yo… Nice to see someone else with a Yashi. They are a great camera and in my own opinion better bang for buck than a Rolly and less hassle than a Mamiya.
Greats shots… It was good to bump into the post as I was trying to work out what scanner to get so I could start shooting the medium format again.
Have fun with the camera.
Thanks
s.