I have been a lot less adventurous these last years than I used to be. I no longer carry insane amount of photo gear when I travel, usually limiting myself to my dream combo ( Leica M6, Leica M262, Summicrons 28,35 and 50).
Sometime when travelling to France, I take an older Leica film body like the M4 or the IIIC, but this is how far I am going. I have also succumbed to FOMO and sometime feel I may miss the decisive moment ( was I ever able to capture one?) with a more exotic camera.
Long gone are the days where I travelled to Laos or India with a Digital Nikon dody and a few zooms, the F3 and a medium format combo ( plus a tripod).
So it felt good earlier this year to take the Hassie from the dry box, load a roll of HP5 and head to Paris. My 500CM is not in great shape, the leatherette is either shrinking or has whitened, some dust here and there, the lens seems to have some haze. I feel sad for the poor fellow and though that it might be better off in a new house.
Anyway, the Hassie looks functional, by the look of these pictures. This is the first time I used it in 2024, and maybe the first time in a bout a year. I may have shot 2 or 3 rolls only in 2023, but still it did not feel alien to me. I could remember how to load, wind, shot and so on.
Focusing is the only thing I found challenging, I am short-sighted now and the TLR experience is not great even with the loupe. Hence the doggie above being out of focus.
So I mostly shot shops and small street scenes, nothing too challenging.
Les bouquinistes, that finally will not disappear for 2024 Olympics.
The results are just good enough to remind me how much I loved 6×6 shots and that I should do more again.
Mmm while in the box, the back with uneven spacing did not really fix by itself , so the last shot is cropped, but I don’t this that matters.
Hasselblad 500CM, Planar 80mmF2.8, Ilford HP5. Film was processed and scanned by Analogue Lab in Shoreditch.
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