Tag Archives: Yashica-mat

{Late Entry} Expired Film Day 2017

Oops, I did it again (many a blog entry starts this way actually.)

Like last year, I shot for Expired Film Day on March 15. Like last year, I waited awhile before getting the film developed, thus falling outside the deadline to submit photos to the Expired Film Day website. (OOPS!)

This year, I again used my Yashica-Mat TLR camera. I chose to shoot a roll of Kodak Pro 1000 film that expired in the year 2000. I don’t know what kind of magic the photo lab worked when they developed and scanned these photos for me, but I think they look very cool and prettier than I expected!

Yashica-Mat • Kodak Pro 1000, expired 2000
(I rated it as 200 when metering, to account for its age)

{Late Entry} Expired Film Day 2016

Much like my late entry for #BIFscale16, I am late turning in my Expired Film Day (EFD) photos. To explain what that is, here’s a quote from the EFD website:

Expired Film Day celebrates the joys of using film whose Use-By date has (preferably long-since) passed. One of the particular pleasures of being a film-using photographer in these modern times is the abundance of expired-but-still-probably-pretty-good film on the market, found in grandparents’ attics or at thrift stores, or sourced from the freezers of pros who’ve gone digital.

Expired film can be unpredictable: if you know how it was stored, it might be easy to compensate for its age, if that’s even necessary. If you don’t, your results could range from dark, to flat, to color-shifted and beyond. Many people today say the potential unpredictability of using film is part of what draws them to it over digital; using expired film takes the existing unpredictability of using film and compounds it.

I am no stranger to expired film. I probably like using it more than I should. I didn’t have to purposely buy out-of-date film in order to participate in Expired Film Day, because my fridge’s crisper drawer is usually well-stocked with several varieties. I was actually surprised I was able to take part in EFD, which took place on March 15, because I worked 9 hours that day. I thought my best chance of finishing a roll would be to shoot a roll of 120 in my Yashica-Mat, because that way I would only need to mange to take 12 photos instead of the 24-36 photos I’d have to take if I were using 35mm instead.

The film I chose was a roll of Fujichrome 64T slide film, which I would have cross-processed by the photo lab. I don’t know what the expiration date on it is, but judging from the results I got the previous time I shot a roll from the same batch of 64T, I figured it was WELL expired and probably not stored in good conditions. The results did not disappoint, since my expectations were that the results wouldn’t be predictable!

A 1959 Ford I photographed a couple of times for my daily photo project

Child’s chair

My dog Dilly, taking a nap

Mother’s things

“Lookin’ out my back door” (sorry, had to do it)

Heels (my fave shot from this batch)

Yashica-Mat • Fujichrome 64T, expiration date unknown • Cross-processed

And there ya have it! I hope Expired Film Day is an annual occurrence from now on and that I’ll be able to participate in it in a more timely manner next time!

Late Entry {BIFscale}

For long-time readers, you may remember my discussing redscale film a few times in the past. This February (and at least one February prior,) the leader of the #believeinfilm community has spear-headed a month of redscale photography, affectionately known as #BIFscale. I decided to participate this year, and I loaded my Yashica-Mat with a roll of Lomography Redscale XR 50-200 film. I loved the results I got from that combination of film and camera last time I used it, and it did not let me down this time either.

As you can tell, this isn’t February, and the #BIFscale16 photo contest allowed entries until March 15, but I didn’t manage to get my film developed by that date either! So consider this my late entry for #BIFscale16!

I kind of spent half a roll on this Impala while doing my daily photo project

I LOVE this! Happy Day cleaners in Midtown Memphis

Art supply center in Midtown

Instax mini from my daily photo project

As I was setting up this shot, my Yashica-Mat fell off the table and dented its waist level finder hood :'(

Checking the camera’s functionality after the aforementioned fall it took at the coffee shop

Yashica-Mat • Lomography Redscale XR 50-200 (shot mostly at 25 ISO)

{Red, Red, Red} Scale

You’ve seen redscale film a few times on this blog before. As a refresher, redscale film is regular film which is loaded into a camera and shot backwards, if you will. The light has to work extra hard to get to the side of the film that a photo is exposed onto, which also causes color shifts in the resulting photos. I usually do my own 35mm redscale film because it’s super easy. It’s possible to make redscale out of 120 (medium format) film, but it’s a little more tricky to DIY. Medium format film has “backing paper” on it, that keeps light from getting to it. The backing paper is what makes turning it into redscale more difficult, because you have to remove the tape holding the paper to the film, turn the film upside down, and retape it. The paper and film can curl up, making it even more difficult. Mind you, all this has to be done in a  completely dark room! All that to say this: Lomography makes redscale film in medium format, and I’d much rather buy theirs than try to mess with it myself.

The Lomography redscale film I bought is XR 50-200.  “XR” stands for “Extended range,” as they say it can be shot from ISOs 50-200, depending upon the effect you want to achieve. If you shoot the film as if the ISO is 200, you will get photos with tones of deep red and orange. That’s because the film is being vastly underexposed since the light is having to fight harder to get to the light sensitive (emulsion) side of the film. I, however, prefer to give the film as much light as possible. I chose to shoot this film rated at 50 (or thereabouts.) I wanted to have more muted color tones in my photos. Most people tend to shoot film like this in toy cameras, like a Holga or Diana. But I like to shoot redscale film in cameras where I have exposure control, like my Yashica-Mat (which I used for these photos.)

New red shoes for my birthday

(Hi there!)

1959 Ford Fordor I saw in Hernando, MS

I normally wouldn’t post such a blurry photo, and I was very disappointed that camera shake ruined it. But it was so lovely: on my birthday, my mom, my best friend, and I went to The Orpheum to see “Hook.” There was a little memorial to Robin Williams set up on on his star outside the theatre. I wish the photo had turned out better, but it’s still something I want to remember. Ya know?

My favorite place in Memphis…

In the foyer of The Orpheum.I had to guestimate the Bulb exposure for this, and I’m happy with how it turned out! 

Flower at my sister’s house (close-up filter used on the camera lens)

Yashica-Mat • Lomography XR 50-200 (shot at 50)

I have a couple more rolls of the Lomography XR 50-200, and I think I will try to shoot it at 25 ISO. The colors were a little more orange and red in some of the photos than I like!

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