More Baby Photos

This is the 2nd roll shot with the Baby Bessa. This one shoots 12 6cm x 6cm negatives on each roll of medium format film. It is a little unusual taking square photos, it can make framing the shot more of a challenge, but at least you never have to turn the camera on its end to get a shot.

English Bridge

I shoot this view of the English Bridge frequently, it looks different every time, and I’m usually using a different camera so get different results. This one, you might have noticed, isn’t square – there was some horrible lens flare on the bottom half of the shot, so I cropped it (and some off the top for balance).

Shrewsbury Castle

This is another ‘stock view’. As you can see the framing is off – the viewfinder on this camera is rather primitive (a hole in a piece of metal!) and I’m not yet used to it, I often cut the top off a shot. This could have done with more sky and less road.

St Mary’s Church #1

Another one that could have done with less ground. This church photographs beautifully when the sun hits it just right.

Fish Street

I really like this street for photographing, especially with the light catching the details on the medieval building on the left. This is about the 10th attempt so far!

These shots taken with 1938 Voigtlander ‘Baby’ Bessa 66, Fomapan 100 B&W 120 film.

Advertisement

My First Bessa Photos

It’s always a bit of a gamble buying cameras from eBay, you’re never sure what hidden faults quirks the camera might have, especially if the camera from 1937.  I’ve recently bought another old Voigtlander folding camera, like the Baby Bessa but larger. This one takes 9cm by 6cm negatives (with an optional film plate to enable you to take 4.5cm by 6cm photos).

The first roll would tell me if the camera worked, if there were any light leaks in the bellows, and if the shutter speeds were anything like they were designed for.

Kingsland Bridge

As you can see, it all works fine! The one disadvantage with taking 9×6 photos, is you only get 8 shots on a roll.

Welsh Bridge

Porthill Bridge, Boathouse

These photos shot with Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros.