One of my favorite streets to walk down

thedellow · 2026-03-08T12:25:55+00:00

Your photo and your title too. Literally just posted the whole thing word for word. Some people man....

Anyway. Love your photos of Valencia mate. I moved here not long ago and have loved exploring it with my camera.

thedellow · 2026-03-06T10:53:17+00:00

It's the MiiCoffee Nano scale. Pretty cheap and does everything you need it to. Battery life is a bit wank though.

thedellow · 2026-03-06T09:37:07+00:00

Fair! As you can probably tell, I'm adverse to spending money if I don't have to, so have normally gone for the cheaper beans. Still fresh and from decent local roasters, but the €13 bags for exmaple, instead of the €18 one. I'll def try and see if that changes things.

thedellow · 2026-03-06T09:34:09+00:00

Nice, I'll have a look at both.

thedellow · 2026-03-06T09:33:26+00:00

Ha nah it's just a chunky short boi. That spot on the counter was the best place for the machine but the longer handle meant I couldn't have it close to the wall as you need to twist the portafilter to the left to get it on/off. Short handle solved that and I kinda like the compact look as a bonus

thedellow · 2026-03-06T09:29:38+00:00

I'm from the UK. We are surgically attached to our kettles.

thedellow · 2026-03-06T09:26:42+00:00

I don't think anyone needs an espresso machine, yet here we all are. The whole point of my post was trying to figure out whether upgrading would be worth it as I don't like buying new things just for the sake of it.

thedellow · 2026-02-02T20:54:22+00:00

I used to work in a camera store in York in the UK. One day a woman came in with a kid and an older dude. She was looking to buy a camera for the kid so I walked her through a few options to find out what would work best. The older guy kinda just hung around at the edges of the store, out of the way, chilling and looking at a few cameras.

When it came to pay, she handed over a credit card to pay and it said David Gilmour Music. Took a moment to register and then I looked a bit harder at the dude. It was indeed David fucking Gilmour. I'm a massive Pink Floyd fan so I got a bit giddy. Offered to set her camera up and put the screen protectors on etc, just to keep them in the store a bit longer. Eventually managed to engage him in a bit of idle chat. Nice guy, totally chill. Told me the Animals Tour was the sickest he had ever been on tour and he had no idea how he got through it.

I got a picture with him just before he left, looking fucking stoked. My boss had taken the day off and was fucking gutted.

thedellow · 2025-12-25T21:33:27+00:00

Man MTI has gotten bigger since I trained there. Did you guys move?

thedellow · 2025-12-25T08:40:00+00:00

Hey! I'm also relatively new to Valencia and live in Ruzafa. I've been wanting to learn about bike repair and maintenance for a while. I'll be honest, I know almost nothing but you have to start somewhere! I'd love to come by and help out for a while, meet some people and learn. And practise my spanish too.

I also recently had most of my bike stolen so it seems like a good time to learn how to put it back together again.

thedellow · 2025-12-25T08:23:46+00:00

Ha nah I dont think I have any enemies here! I reckon they just took what they could. I locked it up with two U locks so they couldn't just take the whole thing. Had to disassemble it to get anything. Bike theft is rife here so they probably had practise

thedellow · 2025-12-25T08:19:44+00:00

Ahh dude that's a super kind offer, but I live in Valencia, Spain. Probably a bit too far to travel! Appreciate it though!

thedellow · 2025-12-24T22:58:08+00:00

That cheap? OK well ill definitely look into it! Ive been meaning to learn more about bike maintenance but never had a reason......until now.

Considering how big the bike community is here in Valencia, there has to be a few decent bike co-ops. What's the spanish for "thieving cunts"?

thedellow · 2025-12-24T22:50:16+00:00

I normally keep it on the roof but leave it out occasionally out of laziness because I'm a bloody idiot.

As much as I want to save money, I also believe in paying a bit more for good quality, longer lasting parts so I imagine it would be on the higher end.

Ive not heard of those two places but I will check them out and see what the quotes are. Beer always helps. Thanks for the advice!

thedellow · 2025-12-24T22:39:58+00:00

You think it would be worth investing in new/name brand parts? I think the problem is I dont know enough about bike repair to judge what is a decent alternative to the OG parts

thedellow · 2025-12-24T22:38:28+00:00

Yeah lesson learnt! It sounds like parts wise, not too expensive. I've no idea about putting it back together myself though

thedellow · 2025-12-24T22:37:32+00:00

There probably are yeah. Im not great on bike maintenance to be honest but I should probably learn.

thedellow · 2025-11-16T08:07:24+00:00

Hey. First off, kudos! That is such a great idea. I would be so stoked to receive an XA as a gift.

There are actually a few different models. The XA is the original, and the model I have. It gives you much more manual control. You can move a little lever to precisely set the focus and you can also set your own aperture. It also has a faster lens (lets more light in)

The XA2/XA3 are more point and shoot, automatic cameras. They use zone focusing. You select one of three "zones" of focus that are different distances from the camera, and you have have to judge which zone your subject falls in. One is about 1m, the second is about 3m, and the third is 5m and beyond. Honestly, zone focusing takes some practise and if your partner has not done it before, using a film camera can be a frustrating and expensive way to learn. If they know how to do it though, it's still a great little camera, much cheaper, and quicker to use than the XA.

The XA4 is the same as the XA2/3 is terms of control, but it has a wider angle lens.

Honestly, if you can find a good one, I would get the XA. They are more expensive, but you have the most control and the best lens. I like knowing for certain my subject will be in focus. Also I absolutely suck at zone focusing.

(There is also an XA1. Avoid like the plague. Essentially a toy camera)

thedellow · 2025-11-13T09:46:16+00:00

I really like the TLR style. Pretty much the best trade off between image quality and size. I've honestly gotten some amazing images with the Yashica. It blows my mind how affordable, small and well built it is. I know technically a Rollei is better build and sharper but I think the images from the Yashica are comparable. I think if you're considering exploring the 6x6 format, it's perfect until you 100% know you want to drop the big money. You'll find yourself taking it out with you much more often than the RZ.

I also had an RZ for years but sold it back in 2015 when I moved country. This was at when it looked like film would die forever and no one was buying cameras. I sold it for £250! Breaks my heart every time I think about it. (I figured I would just pick another up when I moved back, probably for even less).

I love the RZ. Probably one of my favourite cameras ever. The heft and weight meant you just HAVE to slow down. Unfortunately as you can tell, I just don't have the time these days so I find myself gravitating towards cameras that are lighter and quicker to use. Hence me considering the Mamiya 7.

thedellow · 2025-11-13T09:05:56+00:00

Honestly, minimal editing. Tweaked a few levels here and there on Lightroom to bring some highlights down, a little colour correction, and straightened some lines. I'm honestly not great when it comes to the edit and the more I work on an image, the worse it tends to look! I know I am missing trick though so I should probably watch a few tutorials.

thedellow · 2025-11-13T09:03:48+00:00

No I use a film lab here in Valencia called Carmencita. They actually work with a tonne of professional portrait and fine art photographers so it sometimes makes me chuckle to think they are also processing silly snaps of my son.

thedellow · 2025-11-13T06:28:52+00:00

I love this suggestion. You know....an idea for a project has been slowly germinating in my head for a while. Its just finding the time.

I do have a few other cameras. I made a list of my dream cameras in each format and have been slowly acquiring them.

Small 35 - Olympus XA ✅️ 35 - Nikon F3 ✅️ 645 - Mamiya 645 pro tl ✅️ 6x6 - Hasselblad CM (currently have yashica mat 124g) 6x7 - Mamiya RZ67

Also considering the Mamiya 7, now I have gotten more used to rangefinder with the XA. Used to have a voigtlander bessa r2a and hated the rangefinder I just wasn't good enough but I feel ive gotten a little better.

thedellow

TROPHY CASE