An unexpected Sunday afternoon - originally posted 04/24/2026; updated with fine art prints for sale
Updated: 7 hours ago
I had packed up my ‘gear’, such as it was, and headed north for a rare Seattle afternoon. Ferries on Film was happening at a prime time in the afternoon, and it was a gloriously beautiful Sunday. Problem being, I missed the memo that parking rules changed in downtown Seattle. I wasn’t prepared to pay, and I didn’t want to spend the money.
But as I said, I hadn’t been to Seattle in awhile.
I had rented (and was about to return) from Glazers a Mamiya RZ67—for non-devotees, that’s a medium format camera, so ‘bigger film, better images’—and wanted to use some of the b/w film I’d purchased before said weeklong rental.
Not wanting to leave him out, I threw my EOS 50 (already loaded up with some Cinestill 800t) in my bag too. Two great cameras, two idyllic film stocks for such a beautiful day- where to go?
Gasworks Park was the answer. I’d long said that my favorite spot in Seattle was the top of Gasworks hill, and I hadn’t really returned there in this new era of “Aaron as an analog street photographer”. The parking snafu provided me a perfect opportunity to call an audible and see what said favorite place had in store for me.
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(Above: images shot on Cinestill 800t; developed/scanned by Speedy E-Photo In Tacoma, Washington)
That does make doing street photography an interesting endeavor. The Mamiya? That has a waste-level viewfinder, allowing the nascent street photog to be slightly more circumspect. But my Canon EOS 50 is as “I’m taking a picture if not of you than at the very least in your direction” as a camera can be. Good thing I was blessed with social bravery from a young age.
But it also required me to wander around a park on a warm day, camera ready to see what was happening. And in the case of my EOS 50, deciding to slightly underexpose so as to not lose the colors of the film stock that I dearly love in the highlights of the sun.
It was an interesting day! There were a ton of people outside, but not as many as I’d been expecting for being so gorgeous. Had they been scared off by the weather the days before? Was I there at the wrong time? Were they watching the Mariners?
The images, at least from my 35mm camera (the EOS 50) that day, don’t bely the whole story.
These images are the real reason I wanted to post this blog. Not just to yap about Gasworks (which I do) but also to talk about my process. And what’s next for some of the best scans I’ve ever gotten.
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(Above: images shot on Ilford Delta 100; developed/scanned by Speedy E-Photo In Tacoma, Washington)
First, process:
6×7 film shooting means you have 10 frames per roll of 120 film. As such, ‘run and gun’ (as we say sometimes) isn’t gonna cut it. You need to meter!
And metering, for me, involves using a pretty intuitive phone app to find the ideal settings. ISO (film grain) is set with analog, so I just had to deal with shutter speed and aperture.
As this was a well-lit day (and 100-speed film), I could bump the aperture (or f-stop) up to 16. AND have the shutter speed be at 1/250. Which is what I did for all 10 shots on this roll.
The end result are images so crisp and contrast-y that it makes me actively want to buy the Mamiya RZ67, or another camera like it. Because I need the ability to make more images like this.
Like, come on.
Wrapping-up thoughts:
I’m sad I missed Ferries on Film that day! It was a GORGEOUS day for it. (My past ferries on film voyage warranted this picture, which I’ll sort of mention down below.)
Yeah I desperately want a medium format SLR. I don’t mind continuing to rent cameras from Glazer’s Camera Shop, but I’d like to have my own, too.
Also? The rental of the Mamiya gave me ample opportunity to do more self-development. Used it to justify “hey, maybe I can just develop all these b/w rolls by hand”, which I need to do more of.
Since my initial posting of this blog, I have made a concerted effort to print all of the 120 shots on 11x14 fiber paper. Believe me when I say they look better printed on fiber than they do here. ALSO believe me when I say they are on sale! FINE ART PRINT FOR SALE STORE POST TO BE ADDED HERE.
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