Bronica’s Day at the Beach!

Today is the meteorological first day of autumn but it didn’t feel like it.  It was cooler than last weekend but at 23 degrees with a slight breeze, it still very much felt like summer.

We decided to capitalise on the weather and took a drive to Southwold in Suffolk for some sea air.

Having had a successful set of photographs developed from AG Photographic, I decided to take the Bronica out again today with the Kosmo Foto 120 BW film loaded which I purchased at Analogue Wonderland.

Today would have been an ideal day to shoot colour but I don’t currently own any (although I have purchased some now from Analogue Wonderland).

Miraculously I managed to cram my Pen f, Bronica ETRS and some sun cream (with lens cleaners, spare batteries) into my Peak Design sling.  It was a little tight and a bit heavy but it meant I didn’t have to carry my photography backpack.

Now I know I can shoot pretty decent photos handheld, I decided to travel light.

We parked at the top of the town and made our way to the harbour.  Again I was itching to take my first shot and took a landscape view from across the salt marshes to the harbour.  Only once I’d taken the shot and sat down in the harbour cafe did I realise I hadn’t set the focus on the camera!  A valuable lesson to slow down and remember all the steps!

I’ve shot many photos of Southwold in the past and wanted to try and ensure I didn’t repeat photos I already have (with the exception of one where I wanted to compare between the medium format BW film and my digital BW version I took a while ago).

I got quite a few shots around the harbour and gave Richard the Bronica to try his hand with the camera.

I thought I would end up filling the film but actually returned home with 5 free frames.

Unlike my digital camera where I continuously shot the kite surfers, I managed to shoot 188 shots in about 2 minutes!  With the Bronica, I took my time and shot 10.

This was also the first time (not bad for the second outing), where someone made a comment about the Bronica.  We were in the Adnams store being served when the blonde hipster type who served us thought this black lump hanging around my neck with a Red 35 camera.  When I explained it was a medium format film camera he was suitably impressed.  I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen with any other camera before.

I shot landscapes and scenic BW shots of the harbour as well as some on the beach.  On the return to the car, I was inspired to shoot the local cricket team in action – not something I would ever have thought about before.  I am curious to see how this particular image develops, especially as I waited for the bowler to bowl and only took one shot.

The light was consistent and at the highest range of the light meter.  I think it would have helped to have an ND filter on the lens but upon thinking about this today, I was starting to worry how on earth I work that out with the light meter and the shutter speed (this is why I have this camera, to learn!).

I am excited to see these photos develop but I will have to wait as I still have some shots left and I don’t want to waste them.

For now, I have to be content with these rather nice actions shots I took with my Pen f of the kite surfers.