5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

By Greg May

3 June, 2026

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5 frames with...

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Kodak Film Kodak Portra 160 Yashica a
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Sometime around 2023 I simply lost interest in it all. Cameras. Photography. Work. Doing much at all. Just a bit of a slump in general. Call it middle age, call it reality, call it whatever you want, but it took a while to un-slump. Pointing a light box at things didn’t seem to matter. It felt like I wasn’t able to “make” the images I wanted. So, step back a few steps, dig around in the box you got from your grandfather all those years back, see what lurks within.

A medium format TLR… ok, you’ve never used one of these. Let us see what happens.

Walks in nature are easy living in the West Yorkshire. It felt like a logical start. We’re lucky to have some stunning ground under our feet and most of it untracked by the tourists who stick to the pretty/quaint/quirky village I live in. We pick our times and we go to the places they go outside of their time. It’s perfect. We get a thriving village which we can enjoy outside the busy times.

Walks sometimes happen for work. A day at the beach teaching about biotic and abiotic factors. Looking at the effect of tides. Looking at ecosystems. One hour free. Go see what you can find.

Looking in and looking out. Staying away from the hordes of primary school children in their brightly coloured tabards running around like rats on the beachfront. 6th formers are easier. Less colour. More like sloths than rats. But either way, a break from them is always appreciated.

Finding the end of where the pier once stood. This was what I took the light box with me for. Pause. Measure. Look. Repeat. Breath in. Cock shutter. Breath out. Hold. Press and capture.

Notes call this roll 41.

I’ve just scanned roll 62.

Something clicked again.

All photos taken with an expired roll of Portra 160 (dated 2021, so not that far out, and kept in a fridge all that time).
Shot at box speed with a lovely Yashica A TLR, a fantastic little thing. Limited with its selection of shutter speeds, but who cares!
All images metered with a mixture of sunny 16 rule, or LightMe app on my aging iPhone SE (an original one…you can get the batteries replaced you know, unlike me).

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By Greg May
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Comments

Russ Rosener on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Your unslump turned out pretty well! I enjoyed the notes along with those photos. A diary with some illustrations. Greenery and water never disappoint. Funny observations about tourists and kids too. I miss going on photo walks with them now that they are grown. Of course doing anything with Dad got WAY uncool around age 12. Let's see if that ends before I do!
Portra 160 is a terribly under valued color film. The color balance and contrast are as close to "natural" as a recording method will ever get.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Thanks Russ, I am well and truly out of that slump now. We took a family trip to Japan for my wifes work and.... I've been rather prolific since. Which as been great. Portra is great. I love it, but not the price. I have some Gold in 120 that's going to get shot next. Just waiting for the right trip, and to finish up the roll of HP5 that is in there at the moment!

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Erik Brammer replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Great photos for a great short story, Greg! I guess you will like Gold 120 very much for your style of photography.

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Eric Rose on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Loved your dry humour and images. The swirly bokeh in the first shot is a treat. The pier shot is SO sharp.

Eric
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Thanks Eric, it's a great camera to image with. I really love how it shoots with a shallow DOF and a scene that works. As for the humour, glad someone appreciates it, my students rarely do and my wife has known me so long she's somewhat ignorant of it these days.

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Gary Smith on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

It's good to know that we can expect another 21 rolls worth of your work Greg!
My wife and I are both using SE's that I purchased used. I don't need anything larger in my pocket.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

I think I've probably shot another 6 rolls since then, just need to develop it all. I love my original SE, the size is perfect. I don't need most of the gubbins that come with phones. Once I can get rail/concert/museum tickets sorted on it - I'm good.

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Tony Warren on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Great piece, Greg, and especially for me, a TLR fan and a Bradford lad now living on the other side of the world. Where is the pier? The building looks like Scarborough but in the wrong surroundings. Lovely images and colour.
Does the A have the Leica style screw over nipple for connecting a cable release? I have a Kalloflex with that feature but the thread doesn't seem to be the same as the one for Leica type.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Thanks Tony, I'm over in Hebden Bridge. The pier is at Lytham St. Annes. All other shots were in Hardcastle Craggs. The A sadly has no cable release, so all images are hand held, or at least body stabalised!

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Tony Warren replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Thanks Greg. Used to spend time on the west coast too Xmas in Blackpool with friends of my mother's. The collar round the base of the release screws off and the Leice style connector replaces it. Often the collar gets lost, it has on my Kalloflex.

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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 03/06/2026

Interesting on the connection, I'll have a check when I get home, I wasn't aware it could do that.

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Omar Tibi on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Greg, you have some excellent shots here, I especially like the title photo! Thanks for sharing and writing this up, it's both fun and inspirational to read your un-slumping. I definitely find myself running into photographer's block every now and then, particularly as I rarely get a chance to travel outside my neighborhood purely for the sake of taking photos, so I often end up taking pictures of similar things and similar locations...well, I think I need to change my pace and place a bit, based on your experience :)

Looking forward to seeing more rolls from you!
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Thanks Omar, walking out to the end of the pier you get to see the remains of where the pier had gone to before a fire many years ago. That's the cover shot. I do think travelling to shoot is worthwhile, but not the end game. Trying to shoot a lot is the main thing for me. If I'm not imaging, I'm not imagining what I could capture. They both work together.

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Jeffery Luhn on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Good prose and photos! That pier is so stark. I'd like to know more about.
We've all had slumps. Can't have the highs without the lows.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Thanks Jeffery, a previous stint as a freelancer does help with the words sometimes! Info about the pier here: https://www.visitstannes.info/about/seafront/st-annes-pier/ I have a series of shots from inside that is going to be the basis of another piece at some point. It's very stark inside, but in a very different manner.

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Jeffery Luhn replied:

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Thanks!

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Walter Reumkens on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

A very readable article, very true to life; you can really relate to it – everyone goes through phases like this, but few people write about them. It even suggests a possible solution.
I like the photos; they speak for themselves without needing much explanation about the camera, lenses and film. I also think the Portra 160 is good, but too expensive. I’ve recently been using Kodak Gold 200 in 120 format and am happy with it.
Thanks and all the best, Greg.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 04/06/2026

Thanks Walter, life is a series of ups and downs isn't it. I think we should all be willing to talk about that. Yes, I have two rolls of Gold to shoot over the next few months, I'm quite looking forward to it. I don't shoot colour much these days, so it'll be a fun change.

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David Pauley on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 06/06/2026

I really enjoyed this piece, Greg, and your photos are wonderful. Although I've been on a roll lately with photography I'm no stranger to slumps, creative and otherwise. It's good to see someone else persisting and thriving through those difficult moments.
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 06/06/2026

Thanks David, it's important to admit that we're not on it all the time. Otherwise, it presents an unfair picture of us all, always producing art, every day all the time.

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Ibraar Hussain on 5 Frames with a Yashica A and expired Porta 160

Comment posted: 06/06/2026

I've had a few of those slumps man!
Lovely look and feel to the photos and nice use of the square format
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Greg May replied:

Comment posted: 06/06/2026

Thanks Ibraar, the square format definitely adds a level of creative constraint that I enjoy. Not all the time, but it's nice to play with.

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