This small article was born from a meeting, that of my beautiful Yashica-MAT 124 G, just returned from a CLA by a famous American repairman specializing in these pretty cameras and a film that I had not yet seen, nor touched with my hands.
We spent 2020 New Year in Brighton, a charming British city with a very recognizable pier, rocked by the waves. One morning I slipped a roll of ILFORD Ortho Plus 80 into my Yashica and went for a walk in the town, mostly in its Kemptown district.
After a short walk on the pier and a photo which shows the beach, I walked up the street towards the center of Kemptown. On the way, I crossed a picturesque shop window which attracted my eye. Arriving at the top of the street, I shot the showcase of a cafe which offered a few lines and an interesting view. Before entering to drink a double espresso, I turned around and photograph the street in the other direction, towards the sea.
I hadn’t brought my film development material with me in my suitcase, so I dropped off my film at the lab located on St James Street. When I got it back, what a slap! The richness of the tones, the fineness of the grain, the softness of the transitions, the ability to render the glow, everything is good. To make a culinary metaphor (because I like to eat), the image is crisp and fluffy.
Whatever the subject, the film does the job and with panache. In the photos the rendering is very good, architecture, portrait, street photography, everything works with this film. There is nothing to say ILFORD gave us a nice gift with this film and it is not the last time he comes to curl up in one of my cameras.
~ Frederic
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Thanks for posting, Frederic. I have a roll of this in 135 that I’ve been waiting to use — wasn’t sure how it would look in regular street use, but looks just great!