My wife is not a photographer and neither, she assures me, are the dogs. So, when we go for a walk, either near home or on holiday, the opportunity for photography is limited. Stopping to change lenses or add a filter is frowned upon and a tripod is right out of the question. The Mamiya 6 proved a good compromise that kept all four of us happy on a recent “not photography holiday” in Derbyshire.
Because the Mamiya 6 is a rangefinder camera with retractable lens, it will fit in a compact case, this one is only 18x14x11cm. It's a Manfrotto "NX Camera Holster for CSC" and the colour is "Bordeaux".
With the camera, standard lens and a couple of rolls of film it weighs about 1.5kg which is light enough to carry over my shoulder all day. The built-in exposure meter with AE Lock makes it possible to grab images quite quickly, as shown in this shot of a footbridge in Padley Gorge, grabbed whilst the dogs were drinking from the brook beneath. I was very pleased this image made it into Flickr “Explore”, with over 5,000 views and a hundred “favourites” in a few days.
In the late afternoon, after walking the dogs and enjoying lunch somewhere outdoors, my wife likes to return to our holiday accommodation and read a book in the garden. I can then go out for some “proper” photography, taking the Mamiya 6, red and orange filters, all three lenses and a tripod. My first excursion was on the moor near Owler Bar, where I had spotted some lone trees whilst driving to the supermarket at Dronfield. There are laybys and public footpaths making access easy and I spent a pleasant couple of hours there. When packing up, I realised I had lost an exposed roll of film! The slightly bigger bag I use for the Mamiya 6 system is a Tenba Skyline 12 bought from Canterbury Cameras. It’s a great bag except the elasticated pockets in the “lid” which have rather feeble elastic. When you open the bag, the lid folds back and things fall out of these pockets. Without much hope I made my way back to the previous lone tree I had photographed and to my surprise, found the roll of film in the long grass where I had been swapping lenses. Luckily the grass was dry so no harm was done.
My second “proper photography” excursion was to Cromford, birthplace of the industrial revolution. It is the site of Arkwright’s Mill, the first water-powered cotton mill in the world. Sadly the light wasn't good, with an overcast milky sky. There’s much to be seen of historic interest here including the mill and the wharf, but I particularly liked the alleyway or “snicket” as the locals call them.
The Mamiya 6 enabled me to enjoy "both kinds of photography” as Steve O’Nions described them in his excellent YouTube video; planned, comparatively static photography at a location and unplanned photos taken whilst on a walk, where the main objective is to enjoy the walk.
I shot Ilford Delta 400 to give myself a chance to hand-hold images and developed it in Ilfotec DD-X which is a fantastic combination, a good range of tones, lots of detail and very smooth, even grain. I think I'll be sticking with this combination when I need 400 ISO B&W.
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