The Mamiya 645 and Winter

Yes, I'm still using the Mamiya 645 film camera, and I'm still behind on film processing. Some things never change. One issue I'm facing with using the camera in the cold is a problem with the film advancing. Once the film cools down below freezing, the camera doesn't want to advance the film. Luckily the frame counter doesn't advance as well, so if I pay attention, I can catch it. I thought at first it might have been a weak battery in the power winder, but alas, that was not the case. I've seen the problem using just the hand winder as well. I have missed some photos before I figured out what was going on. I'm going to have to figure out how to keep the film back warmer when I take it out in the cold.

I'm still in love with the camera, and the photos I get from it. The above photo was taken at a local park of some upside down picnic tables. I'm still developing my film at a local darkroom I rent time at, but that is coming to an end. I received an email last week with the museums weekly event listing. Stuck on one of the announcements at the end was a small notice that the darkroom would be closed in July. It gives me more of an incentive to start developing my film at home and to set up the enlarger I have in the basement and make actual silver prints. While my negative scanning has improved, and I'm relatively happy with my inkjet prints, I miss the darkroom and the look of an actual print.