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Some shots from my Yashica A

daniirwan
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daniirwan

daniirwan

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<p>Hi all! I think this *might* be my 1st post here, but I'm not sure. See, I've been hanging around this forum for quite awhile now and reading the posts here has become a routine part of my day. All I can say is that I think this forum is awesome and that there's a bunch of real helpful & knowledgeable people around :)<br>

Ok, with that out of the way, I'd like to share some pictures with you...it'll be my 1st time posting photos on photo.net, so bear with me. A bit of background info: I'm a 29 year old guy running around with a 50 year old camera :) The Yashica A is the oldest camera I have in my collection as of now, apart from an Auto Takumar lens that was produced in 1958 =) I really enjoy using this camera, and I'm in love with the big negatives I end up with. The viewfinder is kinda dark and has some fair amount of vignetting, and it's basically quite useless if I want to shoot at night, but apart from that...I'd say that the A is my favorite camera right now.<br>

So without further ado, here are several photos that I took using my Yashica A TLR, all on Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160 film. Hope you guys enjoy it & tell me what you think. Constructive criticisms are always welcome & appreciated.</p>

<p>1.The rocks on the beach at Redang Island, Malaysia<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3581162821_19590da3ca.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>2. A child's chair, left in a decrepit, abandoned building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/3641959820_e514ca7994.jpg" alt="" width="496" height="500" /></p>

<p>3. An old man, siiting all by his lonesome in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. He was eating oranges =)<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3659290835_e441f31feb.jpg" alt="" width="496" height="500" /></p>

<p>4. A portrait of my friend, Izwan and his much beloved Canonet.<br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/3678480010_30252c0d3e.jpg" alt="" width="491" height="500" /></p>

<p>5. A shot along a pontoon jetty, Redang Island, Malaysia.<br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3598758776_991747cf87.jpg" alt="" width="494" height="500" /></p>

<p>There's quite a few more photos that I took with the A on my Flickr, have a look if you're interested:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani_irwan/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani_irwan/</a></p>

<p>I'm halfway through my 1st roll of B&W film that I've put in the A sometime last week (Kodak TMAX 400). Needless to say I can't wait to get that developed! =)</p>

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silverscape

silverscape

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<p>hey Dani, welcome to the group! Nice pictures! The Classic Cameras forum is almost a little club by itself. It's a lot more laid back than the other forums. This is mostly where I hang out when I'm on Photo.net.</p>

<p>And we sound a lot alike! It's nice to see someone else around my age using vintage cameras. You'd be surprised though, there are actually quite a few other young people that hang out here and are really into traditional photography. Pretty much every single film camera I own right now was made LONG before I was born. You should see the looks I get when I'm out shooting with my Argus C3 or a folding camera! :) <br /><br />I have a Yashica A too, and it's one of my favorite medium format cameras. You're right, there is something awesome about the huge negatives you get with 120 film. And the pictures are so amazingly sharp. I remember the first time I used my Yashica A...I was shooting some landscape photos with Kodak Plus-X (I develop my own B&W film and prints) and when I developed the pictures, I just couldn't believe how sharp and detailed everything was. It feels like it draws you in and you see things that you didn't even know were there when you took the picture!</p>

<p>I don't get seem to get any vignetting on my Yashica A though, and the view screen looks pretty clear. I wonder if you might need to clean the mirror or screen on yours? The Yashica A was the first TLR I used, and I know one thing that drove me crazy was how everything was reversed because of the mirror! You know, I thought I was turning the camera right, but I'm actually turning left! It took me a while to get used to that and all my pictures were a little crooked for a while!</p>

<p>The oldest camera I have is a Brownie 2A. It's from the early 1920's! But it still works great, and it takes surprisingly good pictures. It's supposed to use 116 film, which isn't available anymore, but you can easily modify a 120 spool just by putting a spacer on the end of the spool.</p>

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chuck_foreman1

chuck_foreman1

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Welcome Dani,

 

It is really cool to use a TLR. I've been getting away from up somewhat but your candid shots are really nice. I like this style of street photography. And Like Ralf said, we love seeing other parts of the world.

My first TLR/MF camera is/was the Yashica D. You can't really beat the features and they're relatively

still in-expensive.

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daniirwan

daniirwan

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<p>Thank you so much to all, glad you guys like it =) I'll definitely be posting up more in the future...boy can't wait to be done with my 1st roll of TMax from the A...</p>

<p>@Chris: Thanks for the welcome, and thanks for commenting on my photos on Flickr. It's great to find a kindred young soul who likes using vintage cameras =) I definitely do like hanging out here. I practically browse through this forum every night before I go to sleep...drives the wife bonkers, I tell you =) Haha, you got that right Chris! People do give me weird looks/glances whenever I'm out and about with my old cameras..but I get a fair share of compliments too, so it all balances out. And wow, you have a Yashica A too?! That's awesome! Yeah, I can't believe how great of a camera the A is. You know, when I was about to buy mine, a friend told me that it wasn't worth it...because of the limited shutter speeds, knob advance/rewind, etc etc...but still I went ahead and got it. Guess he didn't know any better..and this is definitely a gem of a camera. Regarding my dark WLF, I recently got it CLA'd Chris, so I think mine is naturally dark :( I'm jealous that you have a brighter WLF..oh well. And I commend you on doing your own developing/printing..I have yet to venture into those, no space for an enlarger at my place. But I think I'll try my hand at developing sometime in the near future. You have a Brownie 2A? Cool..I have heard lots & lots about the Brownies, but don't have one as of yet...next on my wishlist is a Kowa Kalloflex or a Argus 75! =D</p>

<p>@Jeff: Yes Jeff, I agree with you...but not just versus 35mm I think. A friend of mine has a Hasselblad 500 C/M, and if you put my photos taken with the A and his pictures taken with the 'blad side by side, I think I'd be hard pressed to determine which was taken using which camera! And the A costs a fraction of the 'blad too!</p>

<p>@Louise: Thanks so much! You're one of the regulars here whose posts I really enjoy reading =)</p>

<p>@Ralf: I really appreciate your comment, Ralf..thank you.</p>

<p>@Chuck: Thanks a lot, I highly value your input!</p>

<p> </p>

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golden

golden

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<p>very nice pics dani, i had a yashica c and a yashicamat, but sold both of them to help finance some other toys. I really like the chair image, that would look awsome in black and white, also your street shots are great. keep up the good work.</p>
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