The Brecon Beacons

[Kei86]

Finally got a day off work with weather good enough to actually go out and use a camera, so I took the opportunity to test out the Mamiya RZ67. I also took the 810 along for the ride with the 20. I'm waiting for the films to dry after developing but judging by the looks of them, I slightly over compensated for the filter factor, leading to some mild over exposure. (B+W 090 light red 5x) It's not too far over though and being neg film, it's no issue anyway. The RZ was actually more comfortable to use and carry than I expected though it really, really slows down the process of taking images with the need to use the waist finder and separate light meter. Adding an AE prism would makes things much quicker and take the idiot out of guessing filter factors and remembering to factor in close focus bellows compensation too. (shame it adds nearly a kilo to the weight and stops it fitting in the camera bag)

These are a few of the shots off the 810.

1.
Tree Line by Kyle, on Flickr

2.
Beacons Car Park by Kyle, on Flickr

3.
Bare by Kyle, on Flickr

4.
Lone Tree by Kyle, on Flickr

5.
Down the Valley by Kyle, on Flickr

6.
Nant Crew by Kyle, on Flickr

The viewfinder of the RZ67. (the pop up magnifier is folded away)
View through RZ67 by Kyle, on Flickr

 

[shotokan101]

Lovely shots - and fair play to you - humping that beast around the Beacons must be pretty close to the SAS endrance run....

 

[Kei86]

The films have now finished drying but they have a slight bow which makes scanning a pain. (a few hours inside a heavy book should see to that) Looks like my wash temperature may have been a little too high though as there as signs of reticulation on the one film so I suspect the other will be the same. On a plus note, my exposures were all quite good and the camera seems to be working properly.

 

[Kei86]

Two scans from the film shots so far. Both done on a tripod as it should be. The other shots were all handheld and seem to be a little hit and miss, probably due to the rather strong winds and my top shutter speed of 1/400s. The strong granularity of these shots is caused by the reticulation of the film at the end of processing as I took it from ~20 degrees and gave it a wash in warmer water which must have been over 30 degrees causing the emulsion to expand faster than the base causing it to "craze".

7.
Blaen Taf Fawr by Kyle, on Flickr

8.
Nant Crew by Kyle, on Flickr

 

[Kei86]

Comments are welcome. I've finished scanning the two films and out of 20 shots, 8 were stuffed due to either camera shake or missed focus. Probably shake as it was extremely cold and very windy.

9.
Tall Trees by Kyle, on Flickr

10.
Blaen Taf Fawr by Kyle, on Flickr

11.
Blaen Taf Fawr by Kyle, on Flickr

12.
Blaen Taf Fawr Falls by Kyle, on Flickr

13.
Scarlet Waxcap by Kyle, on Flickr

14.
Beacons Reservoir by Kyle, on Flickr

15.
Beacons-4 by Kyle, on Flickr

16.
Fan Y Big by Kyle, on Flickr

 

[plloydie]

I like them all but particularly #16 Been there a few times myself.

 

[AMc]

Some good shots in there #10 and #16 stand out to me - I admire your energy in the walking and the technical effort too!

 

[Miss C DeVille]

Lovely photos...very atmospheric.

 

[Kei86]

Thanks all. Wasn't too bad considering that was my first go using the new camera. Next film I shoot should be a T-max 100 which should be significantly less grainy provided I process it right. I'm surprised reticulation is such a desired effect as it actually looks horrid when blown up huge.

 

[AMc]

I'm surprised reticulation is such a desired effect as it actually looks horrid when blown up huge.

One of my more recent shots was a taken handheld at 1/4 sec on my compact at night. It shows Norwich cathedral shrouded in smoke from the fireworks at the castle. It's grainy as hell and shows the shake - it's my most viewed picture in a couple of months

 

[Dancook]

Interest photos thanks for posting in particular 4 9 and 16 pipped my interest