Winter Photos with the Fuji GW690 II

In this video, I talk about how I randomly decided to go out and shoot some winter scenes while it was -19 C outside (with even colder windchill). I used my Fuji GW690 II camera paired with Ilford Delta 400 120 film. It was indeed very cold, but I think some of the photos I got were well worth braving the freezing temperatures.
Black and White Film development at home tutorials:
Ilford: • Processing Black & Whi...
Art of Photography: • Developing Black and W...
▽ Equipment
Fuji GW690 II medium format camera
Ilford Delta 400 120 film
Canon EOS M6
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions for future work, please feel free to comment down below.
Thank you for watching! If you liked my video, please like, share, and subscribe.
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[@WillemVerb]

Super nice photos

[@Bonsees]

Willem Verbeeck omg you found me haha thanks! 😂

[@chrisbonebrake]

I am a 73yo retired photographer although I was active in studio & pro jobs for about 20 years. I have all my film cameras plus my newer digital ones. You have re-invigorated my desire to pick up my "babies" again and get outside to click the shutters once more. Now all I need is a cute cat as an assistant. Please keep posting. I have learned so much from you already. I am getting my Pentax 645 ready to go and I even ordered a Lomo Sprocket Rocket. Best wishes. Chris from Colorado.

[@Bonsees]

Thanks Chris! Glad I reinvigorated your passion! Do you post your photos online?

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

Lovely photos. The last one is my favorite.

[@Bonsees]

thanks!

[@goodphotoideas]

I love the photos! But I'm also impressed with the artistic nature of your B-roll and your editing. Most of all, you're a very interesting looking young man.

[@Bonsees]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@jamesjorge3908]

Great video! Thank you so much for your time! 🙏🙏👏

[@Bonsees]

James Jorge my pleasure 😊

[@acabrera916]

Dope! Just bought a GW690 . The photos look really nice!

[@Bonsees]

Al Cabrera thanks! And have fun with your new camera 😄

[@brianorakpohit]

Great video Bon. What a beautiful place to shoot with that camera. Great shots. Thanks.

[@Bonsees]

Thanks! Glad you liked it

[@arty2917]

Very well done video! Thank you for taking the time to make it. Great pics, too!

[@Bonsees]

Ariston my pleasure, thanks ☺️

[@cityhunter2501]

just found this video as I am looking to get another Fuji GW camera soon (previously owned a GF670 and GSW690III), nice to see another Calgarian film shooter!

[@Bonsees]

Nice! I only have this one so I can’t compare, but I like it haha And yey fellow Calgarian! I just moved to Toronto for work though 😅

[@GGMediaWorks]

Great photos and video! I just picked up a Fuji GW690 II myself and I'm looking forward to making some content with it.

[@Bonsees]

Cool!

[@PoshPom]

Great work, incredibly informative and helpful video! Keep it up!

[@Bonsees]

Thanks!

[@xjamesramos]

Thank you! I have my eye on a GW690. This video was extremely helpful!

[@Bonsees]

Glad to help!

[@filmniyom]

Cool camera i like it 👍

[@craigfouche]

Well done young man, your channel popped up in my feed and I am glad it did! Also great to see you got a like and comment from Willem Verbeeck. 😉

[@Bonsees]

Craig Fouché thanks! And yeah, it was cool 😂

[@stevebrierley9806]

Great video style, really enjoyed it. You just convinced me to purchase the Fuji

[@Bonsees]

steve brierley thanks! Welcome to the fam 😆

[@hughsydney2620]

nice video, and awesome photos as well, Enjoy them.

[@Bonsees]

Thanks 😊

[@ryans_life]

What a brilliant channel mate and fantastic shots. Really lovely video and awesome shots. Man that medium format stuff is incredible.

[@Bonsees]

Ryan H thanks!

[@chenyu0415]

U literally made me wanna buy this camera

[@godscola]

Wow, its always a pleasure to find Calgarians in the wild! Nose Hill Park looks magical covered in snow, I'll have to check it out! Great video, and great images!

[@Bonsees]

Haha hey! Calgary needs more visibility~ and yeah, definitely check out Nose Hill on a frosty day, 10/10 would recommend. Just make sure you’re dressed properly, but you know that already 😆

[@EmilY-gp1qh]

Nice info and photos!

[@Bonsees]

Emil Y thanks!

[@jongarcon7911]

Hi Bon, enjoyed your video, some very nice shots there, love the trees at 7.20. A bonus cat is always good :) Keep it up, and thanks again.

[@Bonsees]

jon garcon thanks! Glad you liked it 😊

[@rogeramdahl4992]

Love the photos you made. I am seriously starting to consider this camera.

[@Bonsees]

Roger Amdahl Thanks! It is a nice camera 😊

[@RocketinExile]

Awesome

[@Bonsees]

Yul Vazquez thanks!

[@ComadoreSniffle]

great video !!!!!

[@Bonsees]

RICKY bobby thanks! ☺️

[@yhangr]

OMG beautiful, really beautiful images!!!!

[@Bonsees]

Thanks!

[@anthonymiller8979]

Beautiful images !

[@Bonsees]

Thank you!

[@keepondoubletruckin8466]

Thank You Great Video

[@Bonsees]

keepondoubletruckin thanks! 😊

[@scoopold]

Hah! Thanks for telling me to grab tea, I had some with me :)

[@Bonsees]

Samuel Cooper nice haha 😆

[@iphoneupdate]

I love your ears, great content as well

[@Bonsees]

interaeronav haha thanks 😊

[@wmtchannel2665]

Great shots! Looks almost like I film to me :)

[@HerbTheriault]

These are really nice shots. I'm in Nova Scotia, and truth be told, I've been avoiding the cold. But no more, time to get out and shoot :)

[@Bonsees]

Herb Theriault Thanks! And I’ve heard of your icy winters but I haven’t been there... would like to visit at some point. I’m currently in Toronto haha

[@DaveJSmith]

Hello Bon Very nice video, liked your images a lot. Well done, I am considering one of these cameras in both focal lengths. Many thanks for sharing Dave

[@Bonsees]

Dave Smith Photography thanks! Glad you like them

[@streetskier]

Awesome photos Bon. I've always wanted to shoot with a GW690. Keep making videos!

[@Bonsees]

derek street hey Derek, thanks! Been following you and Joey at his channel haha the GW690 is definitely a capable camera but still fun to use

[@garoldcarlisle5637]

Nice compositions.

[@Bonsees]

thanks!

[@galleriaNine]

Very nice presentation.

[@Bonsees]

Khalid Ismail thank you 😊

[@MCFilm13]

Love your stills, I'm surprised your channel doesn't have loads of views!

[@Bonsees]

Hey man, thanks :)

[@yardsalepicasso9413]

well done! Gotta get me a 6x9. Love the cat too!

[@Bonsees]

YardSalePicasso haha the cat says thank you back 😛 I’m sure you’ll have fun with a 6x9 camera. Now I wanna go out and use mine again haha summer landscapes maybe 😂

[@theundefinedphotographer]

I'm eyeing this camera, so your video was super informative! It's also a very promising choice because I took my pentax spotmatic to shoot Muskoka here in Ontario, and the shutter kept freezing up, so it's great to know that this camera can handle sub-zero temperatures

[@Bonsees]

Hey thanks! Yeah, I had no problems operating the camera in -40°C and iirc I was out for almost an hour 🥶 the camera is metal so it does get quite cold on the hands even with gloves haha

[@theundefinedphotographer]

@@Bonsees Oh wow, but good to know, thanks!

[@ironiclensflare4006]

I really enjoyed watching this video! I just picked up one of these cameras today and I’m looking forward to taking a whole lot of photos with it! :D

[@MarsKvaratskhelia]

Super👍

[@Bonsees]

Hey thanks! I’ll wait on Instagram for your photos 😆

[@ManyDoors777]

Fantastic! Good info and photos!

[@Bonsees]

ManyDoors777 thank you! ❤️

[@russellfishes]

Beautiful work and well made video.

[@Bonsees]

Russell Cox thanks!

[@gkexposure4101]

Great shots bro. Thanks for sharing. Love the video too.

[@Bonsees]

gorav karir my pleasure! Thanks ☺️

[@kaii2172]

Beautiful photos thanks for sharing!

[@Bonsees]

pleasure!

[@manymantis]

Impressive

[@Bonsees]

Thanks ☺️

[@vangstr]

An hommage to Michael Kenna. You should explore more of this type of photography.

[@Bonsees]

Teng Vang cool, will definitely check him out!

[@Narsuitus]

To prevent me from accidentally opening my Fuji rangefinder when it has film in it, I place a small piece of gaffers tape over the door.

[@Bonsees]

Narsuitus pretty good work around!

[@366daysofphotography]

stunning.

[@Bonsees]

366daysofphotography thanks!

[@seandoherty9820]

Beautiful photos! Great compositions. The GW690 is my favorite medium format camera for landscapes. The negatives from that camera are huge. So much detail and clarity. Do you make prints from your photos?

[@Bonsees]

Sean Doherty hey thanks! I haven’t made any prints larger than 4x6 photo prints but I’ve been thinking of making some large prints to sell so this expensive film hobby becomes a bit more economical haha

[@camillemartin193]

Love your work. Bisous from Paris!

[@Bonsees]

Karamazov Oregas thanks! I love Paris

[@FabrizioZago]

I really like the photos, specially the ones at 7:20 and 7:50. I was close to buy a Fuji GW690 III but then I went for the GA645 to have a different aspect ratio.

[@Bonsees]

Fabrizio Zago - Photography and Media thanks! How do like your GA645?

[@FabrizioZago]

@@Bonsees It's great, the lens is amazingly sharp. It's a relatively compact medium format camera, you can nearly use it as a point and shoot. I have also a smaller medium format camera because it's a folding camera but then I need to carry around a light meter, with the GA645 it's all there and its autofocus is also good.

[@Bonsees]

Fabrizio Zago - Photography and Media nice! I’ve thought about getting a GA645i before, but I got a Pentax 645 instead because I thought I’d prefer to have interchangeable lenses. That autofocus does sound nice haha. I do like the slowness of manual focus and how it forces me to be more intentional with my shots, but with street photography, sometimes there’s no time to be slow at all haha 😂

[@FabrizioZago]

@jackson pine This makes no sense to me... why should I buy a bigger 6x9 camera with no autofocus when my aim was to have a 6x4.5 with autofocus to use "on the go"?

[@aidanmoss4806]

Still waiting for a new video :( love them all

[@Bonsees]

👀

[@jsshayes1]

Very nice photos

[@Bonsees]

jesse hayes thanks!

[@jokesNgiggles]

nice video, photos, camera and cat.

[@Bonsees]

jokesNgiggles haha thanks!

[@randallstewart175]

Nice cat! Photos are pretty good too. Too light as a camera review, for example omitting to mention that the camera has no light meter system - a deal killer for most of his generation. Otherwise, if all you do is use a DSLR rig to re-photo positive images from these large negatives to put on social media, this is a total waste of money and effort. The digital imaging process will introduce so many variables that your final results are going to look just as good with a standard 35mm film set up for a fraction of the cost, and it's a hell of lot more convenient to use. That said, if you actually have a use for a high quality medium format film negative or positive, there are practically no cameras which can deliver the image quality of this camera and lens (or its 65mm lens variant) at its price.

[@Bonsees]

Thanks! I wanted the video to be more of a “hey look I took photos in the cold” rather than a full review of the camera. But I’ll keep that in mind if I make full reviews. My “daily” setup is 35mm. I only use medium format for more serious projects like when I plan on (someday) making bigger prints of the photos. The dslr setup is quick and easy, but if I see some good shots (I only really like 2 from this roll) then I’d send it to a lab that does drum roll scans (like downtown cameras in Toronto). I agree, shooting medium format (heck, film in general) for social media might be cost inefficient, but for me, it’s all about the experience and enjoyment I get from it. I don’t really think it’s a waste when I enjoyed it. It’s my hobby after all. Luckily I have a day job that funds this expensive hobby 😅 Anyways, cheers~

[@andreterrasalexandre9438]

The negatives are not "6 by 9 millimeters". A 6x9 film camera produces 56 × 84 mm negatives, which is basically 6x9 CENTIMETERS.

[@Bonsees]

André Terras Alexandre sorry, thanks for catching that, 6x9 mm would make it waaay smaller than 35mm haha

[@Foxglove963]

@@Bonsees No, don't do the hahaha. The photographic world is one of the very last to retain the ancient standard of Imperial measurements, (4X5" and 8 X 10") which are associated with human dimensions and cosmic intervals, whereas the metre was erroneously calculated, it relates to nothing whatsoever (hence, it is abstract) which becomes readily obvious when viewing modern architecture in western Europe, built according to the metric scale. None of it will ever be beautiful.By the way, learn as much as you can about composition, which is immensily important.

[@Foxglove963]

@David Connell Sitting around chilling? It's much better to apply the knowledge.

[@Quist9511]

@@Foxglove963 shutup. Sheesh.

[@Foxglove963]

@@Quist9511 Say cheese.

[@Warioda]

I was afraid to bring mine outside this winter. I guess I could have. Calgary ain't no better than Montreal in winter. Next year I guess.

[@Bonsees]

I feel like as long as it's not snowing too much that the camera gets soaked, it's fine... when I brought mine out, it wasn't snowing, just really really cold haha

[@ssa371]

Сool! I just think I need it) And what about exposure metering?

[@Bonsees]

Sergey Shahowsky it doesn’t have a built in light meter so you’ll need to use an app, and external light meter, or sunny-16 rule 🙂

[@RocketinExile]

Great work man. How did you meter?

[@Bonsees]

Thank you! For these photos, I used my mirrorless camera that I was using to take videos as my meter 😂 (slightly overexposed to get closer to that high key look)

[@Sochmo18]

I love the video! New subscriber here :) Hey quick question. I'm wondering if these cameras allow the user to partially cock the shutter and still fire a frame ( this would cause overlap to your negatives for 6x9) or if there is a double exposure feature to possibly do the same thing. What Id like to do if this is possible is to modify the back door to have red frame viewing holes for 6x7 and possibly 6x6 (like on older Mamiya 6 and other fixed MF rangefinders of the 50's) so that I can crop the internal frame window to 6x7 or 6x6 and just slightly advance the film until the appropriate numbers on the backing paper align in the red viewing window for those other formats... ANY insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! Alex

[@Bonsees]

Hey, sorry I missed your message somehow! To answer your question, unfortunately, I don't think it'd be easy to do that with the Fuji GWs. Fuji really made it hard to make "mistakes" using the camera; afaik, you can't do multiple exposures (unless you reload an exposed film). The camera will only fire a frame if you fully cock the shutter. Also, the film advance mechanism requires a plate (which is on the backdoor) to press on the film and a gear, which means it'll be hard to put a red frame viewing hole there 🙁 Maybe check out Lomography's Belair 6x12 cameras? they allow you to switch modes (6x6, up to 6x12, iirc) the catch would be the plastic lens... they used to make glass lenses for the system, but I haven't seen them in a while

[@ivanguerra1260]

Boy, Did you know that there are wide angle and small tele lens versions of that camera ? , I really like the idea of a 6x9 rangefinder camera, but that version doesn´t have interchangeable lenses, and carry three cameras just to have different lenses is not a good option for me.

[@Bonsees]

Yeah, that's the downside of this camera. I know about the older Fuji GL690 version which has interchangeable lenses, but since they're so old, finding a reliable version is hard now

[@RobMudd]

Im from yyc also. Have my eye on this camera. Have you tried running 35mm through for panoramic?

[@Bonsees]

Rob Mudd I haven’t, but I’ve looked at some of the mods online before. seems like you’ll have to do some hack to trick the camera that it still has 120 film which is a little complicated haha

[@FM________]

Good Video!

[@Bonsees]

Thanks!

[@grahamrichards8531]

I note the lens hood slip ring - for b&w photography can you fit filters to the lens? Is it threaded?

[@Bonsees]

Graham Richards yes it’s threaded. I’m currently in a different city so I don’t have it with me, but I think it’s size 67

[@grahamrichards8531]

@@Bonsees Thank you very much and greetings from New Zealand.

[@Bonsees]

Graham Richards cheers! I would like to see New Zealand someday haha

[@Acarsfault]

can you select 4 exp/120 instead of 8exp ? what will happen ?

[@Bonsees]

The camera will think you have a short 120 film that used to be available in Japan... after 4 shots, it will stop taking photos and will just wind your film until it's fully wound. TLDR; you'll lose 4 frames.

[@fitosub]

How you measure the exposure on snow?

[@Bonsees]

fitosub I usually use a light meter on my iPhone but since I’m wearing my thick winter gloves, I used my digital camera instead. Placed it on aperture priority with iso 400, exposing for the shadows.

[@retrospective77]

How do you measure the exposure on ya forehead?

[@Bonsees]

oms2020 my forehead? It’s shiny enough for sunny 16 😎

[@retrospective77]

@@Bonsees taken like a true champ, fair play 👏

[@Bonsees]

@@retrospective77 😛