The Rare World of the 127 Film

If you cast your eyes back to July last year, I wrote a post about the old Yashica 44 medium format camera that I picked up off eBay. I didn’t mean to buy a camera that only took 127 film; it was a novice’s mistake borne out of ignorance and possibly inattention to detail.

It turns out that very few places sell 127 format film these days. Analogue Wonderland do, as do Nik & Trick - and I have managed to acquire a few expired rolls of Ilford from eBay. It’s expensive too, at between £12 and £15 a roll of 12 exposures, and then the processing (more on that later). The negatives are 4cm by 4cm.

The biggest hurdle I have faced with the camera though is me. Inexplicably I developed a bit of a mental block around the camera. After exposing the film in July something was stopping me from removing the film from the camera. It wasn’t logical. Maybe I feared my ability to do so without creating terrible light leaks over the film. Maybe I just thought the results would be terrible. Certainly the search for a place to actually process the film was daunting in itself. But eventually last weekend, after six months of thinking about it, I got the film out of the camera and set about trying to find somewhere to process it.

After a very long hunt around, I found Forest Photographic in Walhamstow. They process at very reasonable prices (compared to everywhere else I found) 127 film, and the turnaround time was good in a couple of days.

So, the results. I think it’s fair to say that my dreams of becoming the next Vivian Maier have been cruelly dashed. BUT, there is something about these pictures that I really like.

I love the quality and timbre of the film itself (Rerapan 400) - its graininess is gorgeous. Medium format is also a lovely compositional frame.

I shot the film almost blind in the sense that the camera settings were quite alien to me. From the shots below the shutter speed must not have been quite on-point (or the camera is just old and not firing on all cylinders). But actually I really like this effect; digital photography has made sharpness a new art form and playing with lack of focus is pleasing.

Another aspect that I am excited to play with is double exposure. The double exposure of me in the mirror was an accident, of not cranking the film on enough - but this gives me so many creative possibilities that it’s quite inspiring.

There’s definitely work to be done on my side in using the camera better (framing, overall composition, understanding of how the bloody thing works), but gaining the momentum to get the film developed has inspired me to keep pushing and to explore new photographic boundaries.

Adventures in film

Travel photography is wonderful and gives rise to so many photo opportunities with people, cultures, streets and other more established tourist sights - but it is often quite reactive to situational events that you just so happen to capture. I’ve a yearning to get more creative with the photography that I’m doing.

Film lives
This has triggered something of a return to film. I’ve dug out my analog SLR from the drawer and replaced the batteries - the original Canon is back - complete with unfinished black and white film from I Don’t Know When. I had to Google film processing locations and was quite surprised to find that there is a place not far from where I work. Using the camera that I once cherished and cut my SLR teeth on now seems so simple, like a toy. The clunk and whir of the film winding on is pure nostalgia. And, actually, I loved that lens.

To add extra creativity to this burst of film activity, I have tracked down a couple of specialist retailers that sell “doctored” camera film. On its way are several rolls of redscale film, and another couple of special effects film. I can’t wait to get them loaded up and out onto the streets of London for some trial shots - I remember from my red lens filter before that you have to shoot a couple of stops up to get the exposure right so it will be a case of trial and error to get everything Just So - can’t wait to show how the shots pan out.

Here are some examples of redscale photography. And if you really get into it, it’s possible to make your own redscale film at a much cheaper price than the pre-packaged stuff - by just flipping a standard 35mm colour film around in its canister. If anyone has done this and has some tips, do let me know.

Medium format
The next adventure in film is taking it to the next level. I have acquired an ancient Yashica-44 twin lens reflex medium format camera from eBay. Possibly I was slightly impulsive when acquiring it and got over-excited by the prospect of this very cool-looking beast. It was only after investigation of its film format that I realised it doesn’t take the standard 120mm film that normal medium format cameras take, and instead takes 127mm.

Boll*cks.

Turns out that only two specialist retailers appear to sell this format in the whole of the UK, and it ain’t cheap. Nik & Trick sell it for around £12 a roll (plus specialist processing), and Analogue Wonderland offer it for a slightly higher price. So once again one is going to have to get creative and play around with the options:

1. Pay the price of the film

2. Try and load 120mm film on the spool with the help of a tactically placed elastic band on one end

3. Try and load 35mm film with the help of two tactically placed hairbands on either end of the spool

If anyone has tried this, please shout - I am going to need all of the help I can get… Watch out for the “creative” results…