Snow day

When we had a day of snow a couple of weeks ago, I made the effort to go out and make some photos. I had an excuse to go out as my wife had a birthday card that needed to be posted, plus it was a chance to get in my allowed exercise too.

I pondered which camera to take out, taking consideration of the fact that none of them are particularly weather-sealed. I wondered about the Zeiss folder at first, as I could easily drop that into a pocket, but the thought of big, wet flakes of snow landing on the bellows gave me pause. In the end I decided on the Holga. While I doubt it’s in any way water-sealed, it’s almost entirely plastic, so as long as I put it back in my bag between shots, I reckoned it would be ok.

The Holga gives very little control beyond zone-focusing and the ability to switch the aperture between f/8 and f/11, but that limitation also makes it very easy to use. I knew I’d keep it at the f/8 aperture setting, so it was just a matter of estimating the distance, framing the shot, and making the picture. The Holga is a genuine pleasure in this regard.

I walked around for about an hour and fired off all twelve frames on a roll of HP5+ and I think I have a decent number of keepers from the bunch. The fixed 1/100s shutter speed did a great job of capturing the movement of the falling snowflakes. As the day was heavily overcast (as you might expect during snow!) I decided to push the roll a stop during development, which I think was a good choice.

As the lockdown (and the demands of my Couch-to-5K plan) are limiting the chances to get out with the camera slightly, I’m rationing the photos a little, so they’ll be spread out over the next few days while I develop another roll of film I’ve shot and, hopefully, get out and make some more images this weekend.

Out posting a card
Off to a friend of my wife
On a snowy day

Holga & Ilford HP5+ (@800). Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 10mins @ 20°.

Taken on 14 January 2021