35mm film in Belgium & my New Mamiya 7 

I grew up in Brussels, seeing those gloomy images of run down Belgian city streets brings back memories...

The Belgium countryside reminds me a lot of Britain didn’t expect that, very beautiful 📸✨

Glad to see there are other film photographers who are also car enthusiasts! I agree, it's such a nice break to have cars to drive or work on and come back feeling refreshed.

Being a RU-vidr and also owning many tools and having been in the car trade for 9 years I was the opposite it’s nice to stop thinking and stressing about jobs I had going on and just walk around finding neat classic cars and capturing moment in time shoot on film as you can imagine working on cars day in day out can be a drag but photographing cars has really helped me appreciate the time and designs that goes into making them I also shoot with a Leica cl 35mm and carry it as a daily and it is truly a nice compact camera and having the 7 artisan 35 f2 and very nice elmar 90mm which was made for the cl really is a joy to use best of luck with the new channel I’m sure you get asked a lot but if you get time head over to the uk RU-vid channel only analogue and have a Ganda all the best stay safe stay warm Thomas 😅😊

I had no idea he was from Belgium... Love it there. So pretty and loaded with photographic oppurtunites.

Nothing feels better than a new Willem vid ❤

Dag Willem. Zo mooi om jou eventjes terug "thuis" te zien. Ik steun je ambities - ik supporter voor jouw carrière en jouw ontegensprekelijk talent in de US. Ik wens je ook oprecht een internationale doorbraak! Maar ik hoop evenzeer dat je nooit vergeet dat alles - jouw ziel en zaligheid - komt uit een piepkleine regio - België, Vlaanderen - die VISUEEL wereldwijd letterlijk àlles heeft betekend in de 14de-15de eeuw. (zonder een verzandend Zwin had de US nederlands gesproken ;-). Let op. Ik ben communautair neutraal - en overtuigd tweetalig. Dus Belgicist in hart en nieren ... en ik wil jou hoegenaamd geen 'flaminganterij" aanpraten. Maar er zijn toch mooie raakvlakken te herkennen in jouw stijl, aanpak en talent ... Hoedanook ... ik hou van je bescheidenheid, jouw talent, jouw rustige maar gedreven karakter. Kalm maar gestaag - als een Brabants trekpaard ;-). Het is ontroerend en hoopgevend. Genegen groet van een fan, en landgenoot.

The brief photo tour of your visit to Belgium in this one was beautiful! You could make an entire video just slowly going through everything out there! I always enjoy seeing new work from you, and that was a really nice surprise. Cheers!

Let's go!! Belgium content!! Can't wait to see the video in its entirety!

The need for a break is real. I’ve been shooting as a professional for 10-ish years and it’s been the greatest experience and the most draining of my life. I took a year long break and learned how to code. Also a very different mental approach while being very problem solving intensive. Good luck.

really enjoy the Belgium scenery and photos.

Gotta say I'm a huge fan of your Volvo-channel too! Not a huge car guy (anymore), but I do drive a Volvo these days and the way you make your videos showing the projects etc is super captivating! Honestly doesn't matter hugely what you do, as I mainly come here to watch You and your adventures or projects. Keep it up, Willem! Cheers from Sweden

I am too a Belgian working far out in the world. I do war zones and conflicts, investigations and political economy research. I love taking pictures. Your coming home shots resonate with me, profoundly.

Love your channel. That 2 hours of relaxing film photography video is top notch. Keep it up.

Kind of cheerful when watching the part of refresh mind throug car working. Thanks for sharing things about photos, trips and life. It's a good relax for me to watching your channel. Look forwards next ones!

thank you again for an amazing vid and bringing a new perspective on things. Love the photos!

Hi Willem, I am a French 56 years old guy and used to practice analogue photography with my Leica’s M and my Xpan for more than 30 years, but I also rebuild old used BMW and take care of my 4 home cars as a hobby! 😉 Very funny isn’t it! 😂 I love your two Chanel’s. 👍 keep on like that. ❤

Maybe we should set up a petition to make him show us more of his photos from Belgium. 😀

Appreciating your thoughts on day to day photography and love you could go home and also bring Allison along. For almost 12 years I’ve not changed my comfort camera which is my Olympus OM 2s. It brings me so much joy to know what I’m dealing with and I just love the Olympus systems. Here and there I’ve maybe upgraded to a Mamiya or Pentax for medium format special occasions…but my first choice will probably always be my Olympus. Keen to see what’s coming next.

I think its great that you are venturing out to the automotive world more and taking a backseat on photography. the idea of looking at photography with a fresh set of eyes is refreshing and will probably make you fall in love with it all over again. i only say this bc funny enough.. I was into cars and always turning wrenches both as a career and hobby on projects, race cars etc. I got back into shooting a year or so ago and the automotive world is now still a part of my life but photography has taken over.. who knows maybe ill get another project car someday!

Never knew about the Belgium roots mate. Very cool, love Belgium & especially the cycling

Funny with your comparison on cars, I have the opposite situation 🤣

Mooie video Willem, goed om weer even terug te zijn!

Loving the wheelemverb channel keep it up !!! hoping to cruise with u in the canyons one day :)

I came to youtube as a younger kid years ago. Tj Hunt, Spencer Berke... Stradman, throtl, Evan Shanks and now you. As a photographer myself and a fan of car youtube, your channel is a breath of fresh air! As much as I enjoy their channels, you shoot, frame and show it with a more artistic eye!

Finding that daily carry/diaristic photography process with a camera that connects really does unlock a whole new way of thinking about making photos from everyday life!

I love the car channel. I'm fully invested in the journey of the V70.

Nice update Willem, thank you :-) Stay cool 🙂

Next time your in Belgium drop of that old Mamiya 7 at Mamiya specialist Camera Revival. Maybe he can renovate your old 7 so you’ll have a trustworthy backup body.

I have the same leica cl and lens but use a wrist strap. Its so compact and solid i love it

Good Belgian colours at 3:38 😉

I love my Leica CL with 40mm lens. The light meter is spot on. The CL is a quality camera that is small enough to carry when a small camera is needed. It’s my walk around camera.

I didn't know about the wonderful mountains you have in belgium (4:40)

I just stumbled across your channel, I'm from Belgium too! Specifically from Limburg :) Great video!

i bought the color skopar 35mm 2.5 on ebay 3 days ago not realizing i would have the exact same daily driver setup as willem. i definitely find that more serendipitous than anyone else but i'm just gonna roll with it

would be quite interesting to hear about your relationship with focal lenghts, Willem. On the one hand mostly using the 80mm on the Mamiya but then again switching from the 40mm Summicron equivalent to a slightly wider 35mm, just to switch things up? Personally found the difference between a 35 and 40 much greater than I initially anticipated so would be cool to hear your thoughts.

Amazing as always! Please make a video about the TLA-140 flash one day! I'd love to know how you add it to your creation flow.

Enjoyable 12 minutes spent with you, Willem. My belief has always been that the tool a creator uses is totally irrelevant - except to the creator. Some authors write in longhand, others use typewriters, and there are those that prefer a computer. It matters not to the reader. But it does matter to the author. Same with photographers. Each format, choosing film or digital, comes into play for the creator and their vision. But the vast majority of viewers are going to react only to the photograph they see in front of them, and not how it was made. It’s irrelevant to them. But those choices are critical to the photographer. For me, the past couple of months, I’ve set aside my 50 megapixel dSLR and my 4x5 Toyo field camera, in favor of my Polaroid I-2. I absolutely love the way it transform the world! (And I loved your trip to Morro Bay with the camera - that is one of my absolutely favorite towns to visit here in California. I grew up in Los Osos, SLO, and Pismo Beach.) I very much enjoy your videos, your photographs, and your presentation. 👍🏼

I love my Leitz Minolta CL, I have it paired with a Voigtländer 40/1.4 SC, and also a Ricoh GR IIIx, and those live in a small PD sling and go everywhere with me. I have family in Antwerp, I want to go back and visit as well, it’s been 20 years since I last visited them there, a cousin came and stayed with me a couple years back

The Minolta CLE was even better (of course it was the planned MK2 CL but Lecia were not keen) - but sooooo expensive now. Dug out my Ricoh 500G recently which is still working great and is far less risky in the city than taking my Lecia M6 - the 500G can still be had really cheap - I'd recommend it to anyone fancying a rangefinder without breaking the bank.

Love the subie rumble, and love the car

A Mamiya 7 and a Subaru Impreza? Legend!

i love cars and photography to !

i had to idea you were from belgium! im glad you could enjoy some beautiful european way of life

You should link your car channel in the description of your videos. I think even for people with a limited interest in cars, who just enjoy the way you make videos could get some pleasure out of them. The way you breakdown your process, plus the quality of your storytelling in front and behind the camera is no way lessened on your car channel. I know I've been loving it, admittedly I also enjoy cars though, but recommend it for anyone.

I think working on old cars and photography can be similar. They both require patience and thinking outside of the box. and somtimes my photography collides with my other hobby of fixing old toyota land cruisers. Hope to see you guys back on the OBX soon.

I enjoy both channels. They might use different parts of Willem's brain but the calm and methodical vibe is common to both. Maybe all the hair pulling, swearing and tears are edited out on the car channel when a simple fix turns into an expensive oddesy, but I like how it is presented as a steady grind in service of appreciating old gear. Maybe that is another through line of the channels?

Love 35mm

hell yeah

As a fellow Belgian creative abroad - loved seeing the photos from Belgium! Where about in Belgium are you from?

i recommend for you: A device,which iscusing a digital negative film: It is called: I am back 35.

Yay

Yyyyaaaaaaasss

come to berlin

Toffe video Willem. Waar in Vlaanderen kom je vandaan? Ik heb in mijn eerste jaren van fotografie ook een doka gehad. Alleen zwart wit, kleur was niet voor mij weggelegd. Mijn camera was een Olympus OM10. Je maakt heel mooi werk. En je video's zijn fijn om naar te kijken. Ik hoop dat je het Nederlands nog machtig bent vriend. Antoine, Nederland (Noord-Brabant)

We have similar interests. Photography and working on cars. Cool!

I'm sorry to hear about the issues with your Mamiya 7. Have you considered reaching out to Precision Camera Works for repairs? They might be able to fix it.

big fan of harry gruyaert here, gallery 51 in antwerpen represents him

Als je ooit in Belgie bent moet je die camera naar amsterdam camera repairs brengen, hij is echt heel deskundig en je betaald voor een gerepareerde camera, niet de losse reparatie

Hey Willem just wondering does your Leica cl have a working light meter ? Struggling to find one that has a working light meter and if so what battery do you use ?

Where do you recommend buying the 7? Or is Ebay the best bet

Send it to Bill Rogers

How do I find the second channel?

If you use the same music in every video, I won't be mad. Your 2 Hour video is perfect ASMR for my office. All my non-photographer coworkers love it too.

Im just wondering what about your rz67 that you used in soooo many videos. Maybe I missed something. But do you still have it?

I have the Bessa r and it’s slightly broken. Rather than shelling out a billion dollars to get it fixed did you find that the Leica cl is a good upgrade?

I'm surprised you didn't go for a Mamiya 7II, they seem a bit nicer than the first version at least.

I always carry two cameras just so I can have both color and black and white even in the digital age I have a Sony 6400 to back up my Sony A7R4 I don’t trust battery life in the cold or in the wet

Why not get Mamiya 7 II this time

did you go to boarding school in the US? how do you have such a perfect speaking accent

I thought your cl was broken and you were going to return it to the seller

I'm a visual artist and from time to time i get burn out from it and do study photography, I'm starting with my phone but still on the basics.

Why not have your Mamiya 7 repaired? Or are there no repair facilities?

Shooting 6x7 is a *freaking fortune* these days, close to $3/click if you're getting all 10 exposures. Definitely good idea to replace it.

Have you ever considered mixing up your interest and doing some fine art, or still life photographs about mechanics daily life?

Were you born here in Belgium (I am from Belgium)?

I always wondered, do you speak Dutch then?

Are you originally from Belgium?

Did you send your Mamiya 7 to Bill Rodgers (aka Mamiya Repair) at all ? If not he's the man! I sent/send him my camera and lenses from Australia as there is no one I would trust and not really anyone that can fix film cameras over here to be honest.

ga eens naar de kapper Willem.

Welkom

Let's see.... 2000 rolls at $15/roll? Whew!

No squarespace link in the description :(

The Volvo and WRX will keep your other RU-vid channel busy fixing crap all the time but not the Lexus , turn the GX into a overlander

you should just move back to belgium bruh.

do you speak flemish, dutch or french? 😁

forgot ur belgium

If your spiel about working on cars isn't a sign for me to get my chops back up for cybersecurity, I don't know WHAT is.

An unreliable camera belongs on a shelf as a centerpiece not as a backup camera. Get another camera you like as a backup.