Hi, i'm Varlet, He/Him, adult.
History nerd, Cripple and amateur film photographer.
All images, artworks, writing and anything else on this blog is made by humans, for humans.
Adult humans, at that. Minors please DNI.
Ayup, i'm Varlet.
I'm a disabled amateur photographer situated in the Great North Sea Garbage Gyre known as England. Before going any further, i want to outline this blog's meaning:
Raw: I don't slave over my images for ages in post. I scan, colour correct, and move on. The less edited and more raw they are, the more i like 'em.
Analogue: This blog primarily focuses on analogue film photography, the less electronics involved the better. I only really use digital photography to take photos of the cameras i'm using.
Wastrel: I am trash, and i like being trash.
With that out the way, below the break there's a list of my cameras, and links to posts i've made about them. Or at least, there will be eventually. This blog's new, i ain't done much yet.
CAMERAS BY NAME:
This is a list of my cameras sorted by name. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
LOMO Smena "8G" (Parts hybrid)
Yashica-Mat (<1/30 non-functional, otherwise fine)
CAMERAS BY ORIGIN:
This is a list of my cameras tagged by country of origin. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
Soviet.
Japanese.
CAMERAS BY FORMAT:
This is a list of my cameras tagged by film format. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
35mm.
120 Film.
MISCELLANIA:
Shitposts.
I'll be updating this list whenever i upload anything new, check back regularly!
And goddamn, what a lovely camera that is. I've always had a soft spot for TLRs, and the Yashica-Mat is no different. More photos and rambling under the cut!
Impulsiveness.
It's something i'm very experienced with, i must admit. I'm very much of the Just Do It mindset a majority of the time, whenever disabilities and/or anxiety isn't getting the better of me. And so, a few days ago, running on nothing but impulse and a couple of bacon sandwiches i set out to a place a wee while away from where i live, to a bridge i spotted on google maps. This tiny little footbridge, ill-kept and tucked away, seemed nevertheless to be a perfect spot for a little bit of trainspotting. I hopped a bus, hopped another bus, and after a good while arrived here, just in time to spot a Class 168.
I stood there for about an hour, keeping an eye out for trains and occasionally chatting with passers-by. Having a TLR slung round your neck doesn't have make people stop and ask questions, good god. Inbetween trains (Which i got tragically few shots of with the Yash, though i got some on the Werramat i brought with me. More photos whenever i get that roll developed) i strolled around the local area, taking a couple of shots here and there.
Now i admit, while i love TLRs, i don't have any experience with them beyond this Yashica-Mat (and this is my first roll through it, to boot), and its little brother, the Yashica 44A i also have (And would have pictures from but my dumb ass bungled the development). And honestly, it shows. The shots aren't focused great, they're a bit shakey, and they could definitely be framed better. Part of that is definitely down to the mirror's substantial desilvering (A malady shared by my other Yashica, the 44A), but most of it's user error. Despite that, i loved using it, and i can't wait to do so again.
I'll be trying to head out more, especially now the weather's getting FAR nicer. Can't wait to be able to post more regularly here, i deeply enjoy photography and also writing this bollocks. For now, a couple more shots what i like and the beast itself. Take care out there 💖
All photographs shot on Kentmere Pan 100 at varying speeds & apertures. Film stand developed in Rodinal, 1/100 @ 1 hour, fixed with Adofix and scanned with an impromptu DSLR Macro setup as my proper photo scanner doesn't fit 120. I really need to trade up. Photographs cropped, inverted, given one leveling pass and watermarked, no further edits made. Created by humans for humans.
Before on the left, after on the right, more info below the cut!
I've had these two Smenas for a good while. The Smena 8 on the right was the first film camera i bought, even. All the way back in mid-2024 after seeing it in a 2nd-hand store and wondering what a camera with Cyrillic on the front was doing in the Home Counties. The Smena 8M on the left i bought a little while ago for bugger-all, and somewhat predictably, neither worked. The Smena 8's film advance is broken (hence the lack of top cover), and the Smena 8M's focusing helicoid is... Somehow Broken™. I don't know how yet, i haven't dismantled it.
Fortunately, i'm in luck. Once you get past the different externals, the internals to the Smena 8 and 8M are very similar. See below.
The Lens/Shutter units are held on by two long screws, and two long screws alone. The screws are identical in design and length between the cameras, same head, same thread, same everything. Very handy, considering these two cameras were made, in my case, twenty years apart. '69 for the 8, '89 for the 8M. The Screw pattern on the backs of the Lens/Shutter units is, unsurprisingly, also the same. See below.
The linkages are, unsurprisingly, identical also. As is the shutter, and the lens. Same unit, different styling. This makes things REAL handy to swap over if, in cases like mine, you've two cameras with different malfunctions.
I'm gonna be testing the Smena 8G ("Гибридный"/"Gibridnyy", "Hybrid", according to google translate) whenever i have the energy, which currently i do not. It's bloody cold here and it's sapping all of my energy and motivation. My kingdom for a dry sunny 25C+ day, good fuckin' god.
Once i've put a roll through it, i'll be posting updates. Keep an eye out!
Ayup, i'm Varlet.
I'm a disabled amateur photographer situated in the Great North Sea Garbage Gyre known as England. Before going any further, i want to outline this blog's meaning:
Raw: I don't slave over my images for ages in post. I scan, colour correct, and move on. The less edited and more raw they are, the more i like 'em.
Analogue: This blog primarily focuses on analogue film photography, the less electronics involved the better. I only really use digital photography to take photos of the cameras i'm using.
Wastrel: I am trash, and i like being trash.
With that out the way, below the break there's a list of my cameras, and links to posts i've made about them. Or at least, there will be eventually. This blog's new, i ain't done much yet.
CAMERAS BY NAME:
This is a list of my cameras sorted by name. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
LOMO Smena "8G" (Parts hybrid)
CAMERAS BY ORIGIN:
This is a list of my cameras tagged by country of origin. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
Soviet.
CAMERAS BY FORMAT:
This is a list of my cameras tagged by film format. I've only listed ones i have posts about, so check back regularly!
35mm.
I'll be updating this list whenever i upload anything new.
Before on the left, after on the right, more info below the cut!
I've had these two Smenas for a good while. The Smena 8 on the right was the first film camera i bought, even. All the way back in mid-2024 after seeing it in a 2nd-hand store and wondering what a camera with Cyrillic on the front was doing in the Home Counties. The Smena 8M on the left i bought a little while ago for bugger-all, and somewhat predictably, neither worked. The Smena 8's film advance is broken (hence the lack of top cover), and the Smena 8M's focusing helicoid is... Somehow Broken™. I don't know how yet, i haven't dismantled it.
Fortunately, i'm in luck. Once you get past the different externals, the internals to the Smena 8 and 8M are very similar. See below.
The Lens/Shutter units are held on by two long screws, and two long screws alone. The screws are identical in design and length between the cameras, same head, same thread, same everything. Very handy, considering these two cameras were made, in my case, twenty years apart. '69 for the 8, '89 for the 8M. The Screw pattern on the backs of the Lens/Shutter units is, unsurprisingly, also the same. See below.
The linkages are, unsurprisingly, identical also. As is the shutter, and the lens. Same unit, different styling. This makes things REAL handy to swap over if, in cases like mine, you've two cameras with different malfunctions.
I'm gonna be testing the Smena 8G ("Гибридный"/"Gibridnyy", "Hybrid", according to google translate) whenever i have the energy, which currently i do not. It's bloody cold here and it's sapping all of my energy and motivation. My kingdom for a dry sunny 25C+ day, good fuckin' god.
Once i've put a roll through it, i'll be posting updates. Keep an eye out!
