I bought an old Hasselblad 500CM a few years ago, found in a secondhand camera shop in Hong Kong. I thought it would be a good way to learn a completely manual camera and really have a good try at Medium Format (6x6 in this case) photography. I have managed to work out the intricacies of light meters and focusing through a finder that is essentially backwards. I love the results I can get from this camera - especially the depth of field and levels of detail that the Carl Zeiss lenses can give. It weighs a ton and sounds like a component in a factory when the shutter goes off - a unique thing and guaranteed to get the attention of anyone nearby.
I have used many different film types and have some frames on this post using all kinds, so here we go - let me know what you think. I will post some more shots over time from this and other camera systems that I have.
Possibly one of my all time favourite shots. Taken inside the old Victoria Prison in Central Hong Kong. rarely were the public allowed into this 150 year old place, but I got lucky. This is (was) a dentists chair in the medical wing. Fuji ACROS 100 B&W film.
A frame from my first roll with the Hasselblad. This is the junction of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road on a busy weekday - this guy was running a red light. Fuji PRO160C colour negative film.
Up near the border with the Peoples Republic of China proper in Hong Kong, there are a number of old abandoned Hakka villages. My favourite of Luk Keng. This is one of the old terrace houses in that village. Fuji Velvia 100 positive film.
Another house in Luk Keng. Fuji Provia 100 positive film.
My beautiful laundrette. On a side street near Canal Street in Causeway Bay Hong Kong. Fuji ACROS 100 B&W film.
At the Eastern end of Hong Kong harbour is the fishing village of Lei Yue Mun. I used to have seafood dinners there when the old Kai Tak Airport was still open and got deafened by the 747’s taking off over the top of the restaurant. Now it is largely abandoned. This window had once been strengthened for an oncoming typhoon. Fuji Velvia 100 positive film.
An almost standard “Flying Pigeon” bicycle used for delivery in Hong Kong. Sometimes seen with fresh meat dangling from the front. Taken in Canal Street Market in Causeway Bay. Fuji ACROS 100 B&W film.
A table under repair in the shrine at Lei Yue Mun in Hong Kong. Fuji PRO160C colour negative film.
The world’s smallest Give Way sign. On the Mall in London with Buckingham Palace behind me. Fuji PRO160C colour negative film.
A temple in Kyoto, Japan in December - even colder than it looks. Fuji PRO160C colour negative film.
If these have been washed, they must have looked amazing beforehand. There was a small Vespa repair shop in a back street in Wanchai Hong Kong near my apartment. It was one of the most gritty looking places I can imagine. It is now gone and replaced by an Art Gallery. Ironic. Fuji ACROS 100 B&W negative film.