Yashica 44

I was doom scrolling through Facebook Marketplace just before Christmas and saw what I THOUGHT was a Yashicamat 124 for a very good price. It was within driving distance, so I thought I would make an offer.

I've always wanted a Yashica TLR, because it was the first "professional" camera I ever used. At 11 years old I got to assist my older sister's husband as he photographed a family wedding. Alas, it turned out to be a Yashica 44, the adorable baby TLR that uses 127 film. But what the hey... I decided to take the plunge and buy it.

I didn't know then if 127 film was available, (it is). I picked up a plastic tank and reels that would take 127 film. Then I developed the first roll of film I had souped in decades. The results were not impressive. Maybe it was the Shanghai film or the new fangled monobath developer but the negatives came out a bit muddy. I'll give it another try, soon

The first image in the gallery is actually a very happy accident. The 70 year old gears in the film transport system needed some time to get up to speed. The first two frames overlapped to produce a pretty cool composite.