I loaded Kodak Gold 200 into my Mamiya 645 Super and headed to Hareshaw Linn, which is easily one of the most impressive waterfalls in Northumberland. The plan was simple: slow down, shoot carefully, and see how Gold handles a scene that’s basically a worst-case scenario for metering — dark rock, bright water, and light that changes every five minutes.
The first composition wasn’t one I felt 100% confident about, but I liked the way a rock ledge pulled you into the frame, so I committed to it. Straight away, the exposure felt like a bit of a gamble. With film, you can’t chimp, and with a waterfall you’re constantly balancing the risk of blowing the whites in the water against losing everything into shadow.
To make things even more “fun”, the sun kept appearing and disappearing. At times I actually wanted it to go back in — not because the light was ugly, but because it makes the whole scene far more unpredictable. I tried a polariser to tame reflections and calm the highlights, but of course that also changes your exposure, and when the light is already shifting, it’s another variable to keep track of.
After a few frames, I stopped trying to force the obvious shot and started looking for simpler, more abstract details. That helped. When the conditions aren’t playing ball, I often find it’s better to narrow the composition down and work with what you’ve got rather than fighting for a grand “hero” frame.
One ongoing frustration on this outing was focusing. In lower light, I found myself struggling to confidently see the exact focusing point through the prism. I leaned on distance markings and hyperfocal estimates more than I’d like, and it’s definitely made me wonder whether a different focusing screen would make the experience smoother. If you’re a Mamiya 645 user and you’ve got a focusing screen recommendation, I’m all ears.
Once I’d shot what I wanted at Hareshaw Linn, I moved further upstream for a few quieter frames — and then, rather than burning the rest of the roll for the sake of it, I finished it over the next couple of days in woodland near Staindrop in County Durham. Film isn’t cheap, and I’d rather spread a roll across a few locations than fire off frames I’m not convinced about just to get to the end.
The woodland was a great test for Kodak Gold: softer light, autumn colour, and occasional patches of sun that created dappled highlights. It also forced me into longer exposures at times, which adds another layer of uncertainty — but that’s kind of the point. The whole process reminded me that film is less about perfection and more about committing to decisions and learning from the results.
Overall, the experience of using the Mamiya has been a pleasure. No lock-ups, no drama — just a slower, more deliberate way of working. I’ll do a follow-up once I’ve seen the scans properly, but this roll already felt like a useful test: tricky light, tricky metering, tricky focus… and exactly the kind of shooting that teaches you something.
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