Medium Format Journey; Mamiya 645

  Ilford HP5 Plus
  Mamiya 645

For as long as I can remember in my interest in photography, I had wanted a medium format camera. It is quite some time since I purchased my first, a Mamiya 645 from eBay. I must have run four or five films through it before someone suggested to me that I might have the film in the wrong way round? I was effectively exposing the backing paper. Not a right lot of bloody use? By the time I had learnt to load film correctly in the 645 I had lost much interest in carrying the heavy camera around. Another reason I lost interest was the winding on of the film. There was a problem with the wind-on mechanism, which made it feel as if it was slipping. While I never ended up with overlapped exposures, some did appear closer than others on the film and to stop the fell of it slipping, I had to wind it on pressing in on the back of the camera. I was glad to see the back of it, and it went in part trade against a Fuji X100 Black. I wasn’t without medium format for long though, there is just something about the quality and the feel of a picture taken on film. Deny it if you wish, but ‘photographers’ haven’t spent hours trying to replicate the feel of film on digital in Lightroom presets for nothing. My medium format itch was cured with a Yashica 124G which is I use frequently enough for now.

with files like this, who needs digital?

47593 Galloway Princess
47593 Galloway Princess
Carlisle Kingmoor Open Day 2011

Despite the problems I had with my Mamiya I did have a few successful rolls through, and my first post showing images from the 645 is here “film photography scanning film of the 120 medium format variety”. These frames here in this post show some images from my ‘other’ hobby, while attending an open-day at Carlisle Kingmoor Depot operated by Direct Rail Services, or DRS.

The film used is Ilford HP5 Plus, being exposed in 2011, and developed July 2017. The files have been scanned on an Epson 4490, and there is no manipulation of the files whatsoever, apart from spotting for dust etc. I am a novice when it comes to scanning, so using Digital ICE is beyond me, and in my opinion, it softens the files. I have scanned to the edges of the frame so it is possible to see how I framed the photo, and there is no cropping. I am yet to find a website dedicated to the technology of scanning, and the comparisons of software, hardware and combinations thereof. I will get round to my own experimentation, eventually! However, with files like this, who needs digital?

37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy
37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy, Carisle Kingmoor.
Depot Open Day, 2011
57012
57012
Carlisle Kingmoor OPen Day, 2011
37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy
37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy, Carisle Kingmoor.
Deopot Open Day, 2011
37229 Jonty Jarvis
27229 Jonty Jarvis
Carlisle Kingmoor Open Day 2011
57012
57012
Carlisle Kingmoor Open Day, 2011
37423 Spirit of the Lakes
37423 Spirit of the Lakes
Carlisle Kingmoor Open Day, 2011
57008 Telford International Railfreight Park June - 2009
57008 Telford International Railfreight Park June – 2009
Carlisle Kingmoor Depot Open Day 2011
37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy
37610 T.S. (Ted) Cassidy, Carisle Kingmoor.
Deopot Open Day, 2011

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