France, Mon Amour?!

A Little Odyssey with Big Impact – with the Pentax 6x7 in the Bag

Start: Frankfurt – Destination: France

Why France? Maybe it was the thought of soft light over the Loire, a crusty baguette under the arm, and the hope of catching a bit of that elusive joie de vivre.

We set off with optimism—and a Pentax 6x7 slung over the shoulder. Heavy, yes. But also irreplaceable when it comes to image quality and intention.

Let me walk you through what this trip taught me – about travel, France, and shooting medium format film on the road.

Stop 1: Besançon – The Unpacked Camera

Besançon was our first halt, and frankly, a lesson in knowing when not to shoot. The town lacked atmosphere, texture, and light. It felt like arriving at a destination before the story had started.

Photography Insight:

With only 10 frames per roll, the Pentax 6x7 forces you to choose your moments carefully. Don’t burn a roll because you feel you should shoot. Wait until the light or emotion compels you to. Not every place deserves a frame.

Stop 2: Marseille – Grit, Not Glamour

Marseille conjures up images of sunlit coastlines and lavender-scented air. What we found was trash, grit, and sensory overload. But the chaos had its own character.

I loaded Ilford HP5 – perfect for dealing with the city’s stark contrasts and unpredictable lighting. Black-and-white helped me focus on form and emotion rather than the mess.

Photography Insight:

This is not a camera for quick street shots. If you’re shooting in dynamic urban environments, pre-meter, stay ready, and use zone focus. HP5 is forgiving – you can overexpose it slightly and pull back details later.

Stop 3: Carcassonne – The Fortress Frame

Carcassonne is a medieval dream—crowded by day, but magical at dusk. After a short rain shower, the skies opened with soft blue light.

It was Ektar 100 time. The fine grain and vibrant palette captured the sandstone walls and twilight sky perfectly.

Photography Insight:

Bring a tripod. This camera is no lightweight, and without support, you’ll never make the most of low-light scenes. Also, mirror lock-up is your friend to avoid vibration-induced blur.

Stop 4: Bordeaux – Big Name, Flat Scene

Bordeaux was a disappointment. The name promised elegance, but the city felt tired. I didn’t unpack the Pentax for two days. I observed instead.

Photography Insight:

Let the moment lead. The 6x7 is not a “spray and pray” tool. If a place doesn’t speak to you visually, skip it. Film is expensive. Time is limited. Don’t force it.

Stop 5: La Rochelle – The Unexpected Highlight

Now this was a surprise. Clean, vibrant, full of light and coastal elegance. I shot Portra 160 – ideal for the pastel tones of the harbor and stone buildings.

This was the only place I wished I had more rolls loaded.

Photography Insight:

If a location immediately resonates with you, pre-load your rolls. Know what film stock suits the light and mood. The Pentax 6x7 rewards preparation – not spontaneity.

Stop 6: Amboise – Serenity and Structure

Amboise brought back the magic. A historic town with a château rising over the Loire and real photographic character. I experimented with Cinestill 400D, intrigued by how its cinematic tones would render the scene.

This was also the best base for day trips to the architectural gems of the region – Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont.

Photography Insight:

Shoot with a print in mind. The 6x7 negative is ideal for framing and enlarging. Consider your composition in layers: light, structure, narrative. Each château had a different feel – and needed a different frame to tell its story.

Stop 7: Blois – The Unexpected Encore

Blois is elegance without pretense. The Château here is a mix of four architectural styles – a visual puzzle. The town itself was photogenic, walkable, and inviting. I slowed down, metered carefully, and took only three shots over two days.

Photography Insight:

The Pentax 6x7 will make you see slower. And that’s its strength. When you spend 10 minutes composing one frame, you begin to appreciate how precious each shot really is.

Final Stop: Nancy – A Graceful Goodbye

Nancy offered a final dose of classic French flair. The Place Stanislas alone was worth the trip. I didn’t shoot much here – partly due to fatigue, partly because I just wanted to enjoy the city without the weight of gear.

Photography Insight:

Sometimes, the best decision is to not shoot. Don’t let the camera come between you and the experience. The Pentax is a powerful tool—but it’s still just that: a tool.

Mid-Trip Reflections – Through a Glass (Not Always) Brightly

France surprised me—not always in good ways. There were moments of charm, yes. But also signs of economic wear, social strain, and faded grandeur.

The famous savoir-vivre was hard to find. But quiet streets, few tourists, and unexpected pockets of beauty gave the trip its value.

Photographer’s Takeaway:

This journey reminded me that analog photography—especially with a tank like the Pentax 6x7—isn’t about chasing perfect shots. It’s about intention. It’s about letting go of the pressure to document everything and focusing on what really moves you.

Conclusion: Worth the Weight?

Yes. In the end, the Pentax 6x7 proved what it always does: that when you take your time, respect the frame, and let the world unfold, you’ll come back with more than just photos.

You’ll return with memory, emotion, and a story pressed into emulsion.

If you’re thinking of taking your 6x7 on a trip, here’s my advice:

• Travel light, but with purpose.

• Choose your film stocks with the light in mind.

• Don’t chase volume. Chase meaning.

• And maybe just start your journey in La Rochelle.

Until next time – keep your eyes open and your shutter steady.

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🎙️ Podcast Segment: "The Beast Arrives – My Life with the Pentax 67"

Alright folks, grab your coffee—or your developer—and let me tell you how I accidentally adopted a 2-kilo chunk of mechanical madness: the Pentax 67.

This isn’t just a camera. It’s a behemoth. A shutter that slams like a car door in a thunderstorm. A mirror slap that could set off seismographs. I saw it online, shining like a knight’s sword, and before I knew it—click, it was mine.

Why? Well, I’d just gone full film. Sold all my digital gear—bye Canon 6D, adieu SD cards. I didn’t just want a new camera; I wanted a main battle tank. Enter: the P67.

And the lens? Oh, the 105mm f/2.4 Takumar. It’s legendary. Renders bokeh like a dream and sharpness that’ll cut glass. I shot a few portraits and immediately considered framing them... and legally adopting them.

They say you can’t handhold it? Lies. I’ve done it at 1/60, 1/30—just eat a banana and breathe steady.

Now I wander the moors—or in my case, Villach—with this camera thudding at my side like a grumpy goat. Every frame? A handshake with history.

The Pentax 67 isn’t practical. It’s perfect.

More stories soon… and maybe some tales of frozen fingers and 120 film. Stay tuned.

The Hasselblad 500CM + CFV 100C – A Journey Through Time and Image

The camera sat on the wooden table, its presence commanding yet serene. A Hasselblad 500CM—mechanical perfection, precision engineering, and a relic of a time when photography was an art of patience. It was a machine built to last generations, its history etched into its very frame.

Then, something new clicked into place. The CFV 100C digital back transformed it into something unexpected—something paradoxical. A marriage of two different eras: one analog, slow, and methodical, the other digital, precise, and instantaneous.

And just like that, history met the future.

Rediscovering the Past Through a Modern Lens

There’s a reason why photographers are drawn to cameras like the Hasselblad 500CM. It’s not about convenience. It’s not about speed. It’s about connection—to the craft, to the subject, to the very moment being captured.

Imagine standing on a bustling street, the sounds of the city filling your ears. Cars rush by, people move in hurried rhythms, and you, standing still, looking down through a waist-level finder. The scene unfolds differently from this perspective—more personal, more intimate. Your hands adjust the focus ring, your mind carefully composes the frame. There is no auto-focus, no spray-and-pray. Just patience, anticipation, and trust in your own eye.

And when you press the shutter, the KA-CHUNK echoes—a mechanical affirmation that something real has been captured.

With the CFV 100C, that moment lives in exquisite detail, every grain of texture, every play of light, every shadow rendered in stunning resolution. It’s digital, yes—but it still feels tangible, almost film-like in its organic quality.

Street Photography: The Art of Slowness

One would think the 500CM isn’t suited for street photography. It’s bulky, slow, and demands too much from the photographer. But in the right hands, it becomes something special.

Imagine walking through a busy market. You set your focus, pre-determining the distance where the magic will happen. People move in and out of the frame, unaware, unguarded. You don’t lift the camera to your eye—instead, you observe from your waist-level vantage point, unnoticed, a quiet observer rather than an intrusive lens.

The slowness becomes an asset. Each shot is deliberate. Instead of chasing fleeting moments, you wait for the right one to unfold. And when it does—it’s magic. The kind of frame Cartier-Bresson would have called *the decisive five minutes* rather than *the decisive moment*.

With 100 megapixels at your disposal, you don’t need to panic about missing details. Shoot a little wide, and you can refine the crop later. The sheer depth of information in each frame allows for an incredible flexibility while still preserving the essence of the moment.

Documentary Work: The Weight of a Photograph

The Hasselblad 500CM is more than a tool—it’s a storyteller. In documentary work, where the weight of a photograph matters, this camera demands that you engage deeply.

Imagine spending time with a community, building trust, sharing space before you ever take a shot. The mechanical ritual of the camera becomes part of the interaction. It slows the process, makes it collaborative. People are less wary of a camera that isn’t rapid-fire, and more likely to open up to one that requires intention.

The depth of field, the dynamic range, the tonal richness—all of it contributes to a visual narrative that feels more like cinema than photography. The CFV 100C doesn’t just capture moments; it preserves them with archival precision. And when the story demands a different look? The digital back can be replaced with a film back, seamlessly transitioning into the organic world of 120 film.

The Magic of Film: An Alternative Approach

There comes a time when digital just won’t do. Maybe it’s the clinical perfection, maybe it’s the convenience that takes away some of the mystery. That’s when you swap the CFV 100C for a film back—and suddenly, everything changes.

Black and white film, like Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP5, transforms a scene into something timeless. The grain isn’t noise—it’s texture. The contrast isn’t an effect—it’s emotion. With film, each shot feels more precious because there is no immediate feedback. You trust your instincts, your exposure, your gut.

Color film, like Kodak Portra or Ektachrome, brings nostalgia into the frame. The hues, the warmth, the imperfections—all reminders of why film remains irreplaceable. And when you develop those negatives, it’s not about editing later—it’s about seeing what you created in its purest form.

The Hasselblad 500CM allows you to walk both paths—the future of photography through digital precision, and the soul of photography through the warmth of film.

Relevance in a Digital World

So, why does this matter? Why use a camera that slows you down in a world that values speed? Because photography isn’t just about capturing images. It’s about *seeing*. It’s about *experiencing*. It’s about *understanding* the world through a lens—not just reacting to it.

The Hasselblad 500CM with the CFV 100C, and its ability to switch to film at will, offers something no modern digital camera does: *choice*. The choice to shoot fast or slow. The choice to embrace the future or honor the past. The choice to create, deliberately and intentionally.

For those who have the patience, the passion, and a bit of madness—this camera isn’t just relevant. It’s essential.

And so, the shutter clicks, the mirror flips, and another moment is preserved—not just in pixels or emulsion, but in the heart of the photographer who dared to slow down and truly *see*.