While I might idly dream of heading out on to Dartmoor with the dog and a camera, just to wander a bit, I know how much of a bad idea that is. Too many people get in trouble due to bad footwear alone.
So, I decided to pick a tried and tested route, with enough people passing through to make it safe for me and my pooch. A little birthday trip with my best bud.
The Granite Way was my route of choice. Suitable for cycles and walkers and with the lovely village of Lydford at the end to rest feet and paws for a few days after. As I was going to be carrying any luggage I’d need, my cameras of choice needed to be light and compact, so the Hasselblad 500cm was immediately out. Instead I went with my trusty pocket point-and-shoot LCA and, as I couldn’t go without a medium format option, I packed my nan’s Kodak 66 Model III. A beautiful concertina-lens camera that folds down neatly and can even slide into my raincoat pocket. As I can’t resist colour film, the Kodak was loaded with Portra 400, while the LCA used Ilford black and white film.
I love gloomy weather. Always looking for subtle colour and tone shifts in my images, it’s perfect for my shooting style, and we set out in weather that didn’t disappoint.
I can’t remember how many hours it took us to walk, but as we trundled along the landscape very slowly shifted and changed. From wide expanses of fields and big metal bridges, to paths where ridges of dirt, trees and ferns rose up around us. The journey was slow and mostly quiet.
The Kodak 66 Model iii was given to me over a decade ago by my nan when I had just started shooting film on cheap, plastic cameras. The lens might be nothing special, but it was a big step up from the fuzzy photos I had been taking. I like cameras that are tactile to use, with metal dials that click into place and levers that need to be set. The Kodak 66 Model iii even has a concertina lens and it’s a real pleasure to use. It came to me in a plastic bag, alongside a flash, spare bulbs and a leather case with my nan’s address clearly written inside in biro. I’ve never tried the flash, but I used the leather case until the strap broke a few years ago.
The LCA was a bargain. I’d heard about a guy that was an expert at fixing these cameras so decided to take a shot on a broken, original one on Ebay for £25. I sent it off with a cheque, also for £25, and a few weeks later received it back in perfect working order with a handwritten list of all the repairs that had been made. It’s small, so perfect for grabbing when I’m not sure if I need a camera.
We arrived in Lyford with blisters and achy feet, but happy. The village itself is small and beautiful and I had to grab a picture of the yellow poppies that seemed to spring up everywhere. The focusing on the Kodak 66 Model iii relies a lot on guesswork, but it also makes for some nice surprises.
