I took my newly bought Mamiya C330 twin-lens reflex camera out to Kondalilla Falls for what was supposed to be a simple test roll — mostly to see whether my very questionable DIY light seal repair had actually worked. The camera came from Japan listed as “near mint,” but the light seals were basically dust by the time it arrived. Rather than buying the proper kit, I grabbed some cheap foam from Bunnings, cut it down, jammed it in, loaded a roll of black and white film, and headed into the rainforest to see if I’d ruined everything. What followed was a hot, sweaty, leech-filled wander through Kondalilla National Park, shooting waterfalls, fig roots, misty tracks and anything else that caught my eye — all while fighting fogged-up gear, a waist-level viewfinder, rainforest humidity, and the slow realisation that maybe black and white film wasn’t the best choice for one of the most colourful places on the Sunshine Coast. This episode is part camera test, part hiking video, part photography lesson, and part cautionary tale about buying old film cameras online. But somehow, the Mamiya C330 survived, the DIY light seals worked, and I managed to come away with a few frames I actually liked. A film photography field journal from Kondalilla Falls, shot on the Mamiya C330.
