Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - March

 The first week in March has seen a definite upwards trend in the temperature and sunshine. Yes, I said sunshine. The 3rd and 4th March was gloriously sunny here in not very dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy Wigan. Naturally I had to have a lie down as the shock of a cloudless sky made me overdose on vitamin D, but not before I got a few rolls of film done and dusted, the first being my March roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS compact point and shoot camera.

In keeping with my aim to document daily life in Wigan town centre I started my walk in Mesnes Park and gradually made my way into the town centre. The Park is always popular, but especially so on a sunny afternoon. People were enjoying their day in the sun, either walking through or spending some time at the Pavillion cafe. The parks and gardens staff were busy planting this years spring blooms and continuing their excellent maintenance of the lawns and flower beds.

I made my way towards the town centre and photographed a few things on my way. The clock tower at the Thomas Linacre Centre, the Garden dedicated to  the NHS who cared for us so professionally during the pandemic is nice at any time of year, but spring is a special time and people can go and sit and remember loved ones who passed away during that time. 

There is also a new seating area where you can go a have a chat to whoever may be there. The benches are close together as a means of bringing people together and talking to aid their personal well being. I know how easily anyone can slide into poor mental health and it's tough to get through without any support. Sunshine and a few friends to chat to can make a big difference.

Construction of the new development continues at pace and the Tower Cranes are constantly busy moving materials around the site as the next stage of that building begins. I wandered around towards Uncle Joe's Mint balls, taking photos as I walked and guided by the smell of freshly made mint balls that lured me with it's unmistakeable aroma. I really enjoyed my walk and got a few rolls of film shot for future blogs, but it was definitely time to go home. I was done in and needed a nice cuppa tea to recover from a very productive afternoon of Film Photography. 

I developed my March roll of Kentmere 400 in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

First impression was my film was a little undercooked, then I remembered my Dilution B was overdue for changing. Bugger. However, it was easily sorted with Affinity Studio. My absent mindedness gets the better of me at times. I would have sworn at it in three languages in the early days of developing my own film, but my skills are a lot better now and I saved it thanks to having the right tools and knowledge. I just wish it didn't make my brain hurt to remember half of it, but hey, nobody said long term recovery from a brain fart was easy. 

Here's a few of my favourite compositions from my March roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact 

Olympus Trip 35

 Way back in the dark recesses of the 1970's, Olympus played an absolutely perfect marketing campaign when it unleashed legendary point and shoot camera upon the world, the Olympus Trip 35. Released in 1967 at a time when people had begun to afford luxuries after years of rebuilding the world economy post WW2, it was a simple to use camera that added a full frame 35mm option to the half frame Pen range of pocket cameras Olympus had sold during the 60's. 

Olympus, always the innovator decided that people needed a high quality, yet simple and effective, full frame 35mm film camera to capture special memories like family holidays and important events like weddings. This is where the marketing campaign won over the masses with renowned British portrait photographer, David Bailey.

You're at a wedding, located at a quintessential English church in the heart of the community. The wedding photographer is doing his job with a big old large format film camera whilst David Bailey nails shot after shot, quickly and effortlessly with an Olympus Trip 35. The Wedding Photographer, keen to talk shop, besmirches the compact camera whilst David Bailey talks of the key features of the camera. The wedding photographer's assistant tries to tell him the guy he's insulting is David Bailey. The punchline became one of the best known lines on television. "David Bailey, who's he?" 

It was a master stroke of advertising genius and spawned a series of adverts that entertained a generation. That ad campaign sold ten million Olympus cameras. TEN MILLION! It also ensured that David Bailey became a household name, forever associated with Olympus cameras and, well, if he could do it, so could you. I was a nipper when that ad campaign started appearing on telly and I always dreamt of owning an Olympus camera. I now have half a dozen or so....

The Olympus Trip had the tag line "So simple, anyone can use it!" and yes, it is very easy to use. You just set the focus distance based on the symbols on the side of the lens, set the aperture on A for automatic exposure, point it at your subject and press the shutter button. To advance the film you use a thumb wheel on the back of the camera. An array of selenium cells measure the light and decide the shutter speed and aperture for you. Those of you who want a little more control can set the aperture yourself, but the shutter speed is always automatic. 

True to their word, it really is so simple, anyone can use it. it's also small enough to fit in a pocket and has a 40mm lens that helps it become a great everyday camera. I have an Olympus 35RC with a similar lens that has occasionally been called a "Leica Killer". Would the Olympus Trip get anywhere near that kind of clarity? Would my ham fists make a pigs ear of using the worlds simplest camera? There's only one way to find out.

I had finished my roll of Kentmere 400 with Donkey on the first half of my walk and got stuck into using my Olympus Trip 35 on my way back home. With the bright thingy in the sky and fluffy clouds all around between the blue holes, it felt like a 1/250th F/11 kind of day. I set my aperture to F/11, my focal distance to landscapes and let my camera do the shutter speed. For shots in the woodland shade I set my aperture to f/5.6 and focal distance closer to the subject. All I had to do was release the shutter and wind the film on. Easy peasy! 

I was having fun, despite becoming increasingly fatigued after not having been for a long walk for a while. I was hunting for patterns on trees, gnarly branches and hoping to catch some shadows too. It seemed like I had only just started my walk back when I got to the Wash and my favourite tree there. I had to get its first pic of the year, it's the law! By the time I got to my other favourite tree at the pastures and said hello to the sheep, I was just about done and so was my film. I headed home for a well earned cup of tea.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5 shot with my Olympus Trip 35 in Bellini Euro HC 1+31, dilution B, for 5 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio. 

So, the moment of truth, how did my Olympus Trip 35 perform? Had I done a good job or did I manage to get it wrong? When I hung my film to dry I was rather pleased to see nice even exposures and was keen to process it further. I reversed my negatives with Affinity Studio and honestly didn't have to do much to them bar a few adjustments and remove some dust spots and scratches.

I am very happy with my first ever use of an Olympus Trip 35. I have a feeling it will excel with Kentmere 200 and Ilford FP4. I will also shoot a couple of rolls of ColorPlus with it as spring progresses and we head into Sakura season. A holiday snaps film in a fine happy snappers camera just has to be done. Here's a few photos from my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 shot with my Olympus Trip 35. I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Vintage & Classic Camera co. 
Olympus Trip 35

Films I plan on loading into my Olympus Trip

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - February

 It's been a grim year thus far in 2026. Bad weather was followed by bad weather and more bad weather here in darkest Wigan. I'm British, we are used to it raining a lot and by eck it's rained a lot this winter. Of course, this meant getting out and about with battery powered cameras was a little tricky, perilous even, but we did get the odd dry day between the storms so I could get out and about with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4, loaded with Kentmere 400 film. 

I headed out to my local countryside for the very first time in 2026. I made the most of it and I needed it. I was definitely suffering from cabin fever and was getting close to putting an axe through the bathroom door whilst proclaiming "Here's Johnny!" and "Honey, I'm home!"  (Good thing I didn't as my wife would have taken it from my hands and rammed where the sun doesn't shine!) 

Yeah, I can hear you saying "Jim, you went for a wander down the canal in January." You're right, I did. I also got a nice morning to shoot my February Compact shots for the Project, but a sustained period of non-rainy weather hasn't happened as I write this blog. I hope March is better.

On my walk I heard birds singing, I saw snowdrops doing what snowdrops do best and also saw the first new green leaves on the early Hawthorns. The clouds did eventually clear and gave me some nice light to work with once I emerged from the cover of the woodland. The photos I took are nothing special, mostly stuff I have photographed in the past and it satisfied my photography itch. Repetition is good exercise for my brain, which is why I enjoy the Frugal Film Project every year.

It was around the halfway point when my Minolta Dynax 4 declared my roll of Kentmere 400 was finished and kindly rewound it for me. Once again I was pulling double duty and had another camera with me to use during the second half of my walk for a future blog. It gave me something to do on the way home.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 in Bellini Euro HC 1+31, dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio. 

First impressions on hanging the film to dry were that I was quite optimistic for some good photos. Donkey had done his job well and produced nicely exposed negatives. The proof is always in the processing and it didn't take me long to get through my roll of Kentmere 400 in Affinity Studio.

I am quite pleased with how Donkey performed on the day. In the shadows or the bright light, I got some decent photos to share this month. After the washout we have endured I consider myself lucky to have been blessed with a decent day. I could so easily have had to scurry about in the rain, something I have done with Donkey, but would rather not have to do that again. The patient approach worked and I am thankful that Mother Nature blessed us with a couple of decent days for photography in February 2026.

Here's a few of my favourite photos shot with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4, on my February roll of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project 2026. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them. 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - February 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - February

 17 days into February and it finally stopped raining long enough for me to get out and shoot my February roll of Kentmere 400 with my Hanimex 35RAS for the Frugal Film Project 2026. To be honest I wasn't looking for anything special other than what I could find on a quick wander around Wigan on what was a fine morning. Apart from one. The Georgian House that was a part of Pennington's Furniture Shop.

The last of the old buildings on Millgate in Wigan has gone, demolished due to neglect which rendered it unusable. Various rumours are circulating on what will become of the land, but whatever it is will never have the kind of history that only centuries can bestow upon a landmark. The lads doing the demolition work have done it with respect befitting an old building and have not minded people pointing cameras and phones at the progress over the last few weeks. 

This is why photography is important. We document not just our lives, but the history of the places we live in and those we visit during our lifetime. Long before it became a part of Pennington's, in the 1700's the Georgian House was the home of local artist Albert Whitehouse who painted a number of scenes in Wigan. It was also adorned with a cherub over the door to remember the daughter of a couple who lived there. She drowned in the River Douglas that flowed close by the rear of the property at that time. 

Now the building has gone and only photos and paintings remain. In a sense, I am doing what Albert Whitehouse did and capturing a moment in time of the town I call home. If Albert could walk the streets today, he would not recognise Wigan as it was in his day. Everything has changed with just a few remnants of the old Wigan left in street names and local lore. 

He would also be amazed at the art of Photography which was still a century away in his lifetime. I reckon he might just have been a photographer too if he were alive today. I spent an hour or two wandering around and, by the time I finished my film, I was definitely in need of a cuppa tea and headed home.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

First impression on hanging my film to dry were "It Worked!" My Hanimex 35RAS has not stripped out a sprocket hole this month, which was nice. My negatives looked reasonably well exposed too, but I would only know for sure when I digitised my film and started processing the RAW files on my PC. I needn't have worried. I only had to make minor adjustments after inverting the negative and also remove a few dust spots and scratches here and there.

Overall this was a much more satisfying experience this time around. My February roll of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project 2026 is a success with no issues and certainly no flapping from me. It makes all the difference and I'm looking forward to the next instalment in March.

Here's a few of my favourite photos from my February roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact album over on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact 

 

 

Kodak Tri-X 400 - Baldy Came Out To Play.

 I have a couple of 120 medium format rolls of Kodak Tri-X 400 in my stash and had loaded one into Baldy the Baldax before Christmas 2025. I was looking for an excuse to use it again and I took it with me when I went to the canal at Crooke. Baldy, my dear Balda Baldax 4.5x6cm folding camera has given me so much joy over the last couple of years that I want to use it again and again.

As it turned out, I covered what I needed at Crooke with Donkey and, with plenty of daylight left, I got the bus into town to see what I could find to photograph with Baldy. The early part of my day was bright sunshine, but as the day drew on, the clouds started to appear and the light left us. This didn't worry me as my trusty Gossen Trisix is still pretty accurate and I was able to quickly dial in my settings and concentrate on compositions.

I started at Wigan Parish Church for a few shots of the Church Tower, The Old Courts and the Coops building. I then headed down a back street for a shot or two before I made my way to the old Pennington's building to see how the demolition is progressing. All I can say is slowly, but surely. The last old building on that side is half gone now. The lads tasked with the demolition are taking it easy on the old place and it looks like they are separating stuff out for recycling where possible. 

It's always a sad day when a bit of local history is lost to the inexorable advance of time. I will try to find an old photo of Millgate in it's prime and share it with you. One building that hasn't been consigned to history is the Civic which has been transformed from it's original purpose as Council Offices and into a modern interior with small businesses in mind. However, a spruce up can never hide the fact it is a Brutal Concrete edifice. 

I finished my roll of film with photos of The Face Of Wigan and The John Bull Chophouse, my favourite pub that has survived the centuries since it was built. Once upon a time it was three houses and got converted to a pub sometime in the late 60's, early 70's. I worked there for a while in the mid 1990's, collecting glasses and keeping the bar supplied with clean ones. I have a lot of fond memories from that time. Having finished my roll of film, I headed home for a well earned cuppa.

I developed my roll of Tri-X 400 a couple of days later in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

First impressions of my roll of Tri-X were favourable when I hung it to dry. Baldy still gives me a lot of joy when I am out and about taking photos with it. One thing I did notice with Tri-X in medium format is that it needed double the fixing time of the previous roll I dunked in a fresh mix of fixer.

I normally give my film "six in the fix", but Tri-X got twelve minutes just to be sure. I checked at six minutes and it still had a little way to go. That's the thing with Fixer, you can take a look after your initial time has lapsed and can always dunk it back in again until it's done properly. Other than that I have no complaints about Tri-X in medium format. Will I use Tri-X in medium format again? Yes, I will. I have a couple of rolls left and will be using them in the not too distant future. Will I buy Tri-X 400 again? Probably, but not for a while. I have way too much film in my stash and I need to use it up.

I'm not exactly flush with cash and like to use the cheaper films. I might treat myself in the future as I get why folk swear by Tri-X 400. There's a reason it has been in production for eight decades and counting. It's a darn good emulsion. Yes, it's been tweaked down the decades as various ingredients have altered, but Kodak made sure that with each iteration, Tri-X 400 gave consistent results that photographers the world over have come to appreciate and enjoy. I think I will save up my loyalty points at Analogue Wonderland to help with the cost of another 5 pack of Tri-X 400 medium format film. When's my birthday? Hmmmm.....

Here's a few favourites from my roll of Tri-X 400 medium format black and white film shot with Baldy The Baldax. It was good to shoot a film that can trace it's lineage almost as far back in time as the day my camera was made. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak Tri-X - Blada Baldax 4.5x6 

Lomography 800 - OM-1n - Merry Mersey Meet Up Photowalk

For the Merry Mersey Meet Up I wanted to take two cameras with me and shoot a roll of Lomography 800 colour film as a counterpoint to my effort with Kodak P3200 b&w film. I have been having a lot of fun with my Olympus cameras over the years and I shot my roll of Lomography 800 in my OM-1n fitted with my Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens. 

Stig had picked a weekend where there was going to be a lot of colour as the Liverpool Christmas Markets were starting for the festive period. Late November was always going to be lousy for anything slower than Lomography 800 colour film and I had one roll left in my stash. Nice!

As I mentioned in my previous blog about this most excellent photo walk with friends, we started at the Cenotaph outside St George's Hall in Liverpool. Straight away I was looking for colour compositions and having to choose my shots as there was way too much of it. This is one situation when you can tell a b&w film photographer is shooting colour film too. 

Man, the conflict of emotion between colour and texture is very real and I had it in abundance. Thankfully, Stig lived up to his Starr name and chose places along our route that catered for both colour and b&w. We visited murals, old buildings, modern buildings and a splendid café, Little Leaf for a spot of lunch. 

By the time we reached the Pier Head, I was running low on colour and could easily have shot two or three more rolls of colour film on the day. The Fun Fair was in full flow and we all managed a few photos as we made our way to the Royal Albert Dock. It was there where I finished my roll of Lomography 800 and had to break out my phone camera to get some more shots that deserved the full colour treatment to do them justice.
 
Did I tell you I have the attention span of a goldfish? This walk was a heck of a brain exercise and I did it to myself willingly. I don't know which was more knackered by the time I said my goodbyes and headed for home, my legs or my noggin. Tired as I was after a most excellent day with friends, it was well worth the effort. Thank you to the legend Steve "Stig" Starr for organising another excellent photo walk around Liverpool.

I sent my roll of Lomography 800 to Analogue Wonderland for developing at the end of January. Christmas gets expensive here, so I had to wait a bit. A few days later, I got the notification that my scans were ready to download and I got my first look at my photos.

I was a bit hit and miss with a lot of my photos, but I did get a few reasonable photos to share from the Merry Mersey Meet Up Photowalk. I underexposed quite a few and that's either the changeable light on the day or just me not getting it quite right. I was probably exposing for the highlights when I should have been exposing for the mid tones or shadows. It doesn't matter so much with digital as you can pick that back up in your editing software. Film is a little more tricky to nail when you're in full manual mode, especially when you haven't shot much colour film in late autumn - early winter. 

I can say the lesson that I learned from this roll of Lomography 800 is I probably should have used one of my Auto Focus cameras rather than my OM-1n. In my defence, when you are a self confessed Olympus Guy and have a freshly serviced OM-1n at your disposal, you would probably pick it too. This fast film would have been better used in My Nikon F801S or even my Canon EOS300 on the day to be honest. C'est la vie! 

Lomo 800 in 35mm seems to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment, which is a shame as it's a decent film. Even with my cack handedness I was able to get half a dozen decent shots and managed to clean up several more to make them presentable. I was pleased with the Mural photos as we walked through the city centre and the Funfair shots at the Pier Head were pretty reasonable too. The main thing was I had a fun day out.

After conquering my anxiety and now attending two Mersey Meet photo walks in winter, I really want to attend the spring Mersey Meet photo walk to take advantage of the longer daylight and not hold the group up. (It's me bad back, mate...) If you want to join us next time, keep and eye on the Photowalk.me website via the link below and sign up when Stig makes the announcement.

Here's a few of my favourite colour photographs shot on Lomography 800 with my Olympus OM-1n and Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them. 

Photowalk.me 
Lomography 800 - OM-1n - Merry Mersey Meet Up Photowalk 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - January

 As I mentioned in my previous blog, I wasn't going to do the Frugal Film Project 2026. Then things conspired against my decision and now I'm pulling double duty with a 35mm compact and a 35mm SLR. Allow me to introduce "Donkey!" ahem....

When the auto-wind problem on my Hanimex 35RAS surfaced I genuinely thought it was broken. before I even thought about doing anything else, I began plan B. "Donkey" is my Minolta Dynax 4 auto everything 35mm Film Single Lens Reflex camera sporting a Minolta AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens that I paid £10 on ebay. Why do I call it Donkey? It was sat on my shelf going "pick me! pick me!", so I sighed and said "OK Donkey, you can come with me". 

My film choice for Donkey is also Kentmere 400. My mind was already in a flap and it was easier to use the film I had already bought. I didn't know at the time that my Hanimex 35RAS would still function after retrieving my film. In any case, it's easier to develop both films together in the same tank than have to send a colour film away for developing. After all, the aim of the project is to be "Frugal". 

This also means I have to hit two different parts of town each month, which gets me out and about more. This is called "exercise" and will allegedly make me healthier than I am now. I am sceptical of this sorcery, especially as every housing estate in town has a Pie Shop, so we shall see how I get on. 

For my first roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey for the Frugal Film Project 2026, I headed to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Crooke for a pleasant wander along the tow path and see how the place looks in darkest winter. It gets a bit grim here in winter, it's usually wet and windy with occasional snow and frost through to March. The sight of a sunny morning in late January was something I had to take advantage of whilst it lasted.

I wasn't the only one making the most of a bright, sunny morning in January. There was a few folk fishing along the canal and a mix of dog walkers, ramblers, joggers and cyclists, all enjoying the winter sunshine. I was really enjoying the conditions as the canal was almost mirror calm. It was only the ducks that were making any big ripples on the surface as they enjoyed their day with the rest of us.

I made full use of the reflections as I walked along the towpath. even when the ducks made ripples it made for interesting reflections and I was quite spoiled for choice. It also meant I made short work of my roll of Kentmere 400 and took my final photo from the footbridge. that took me back over the canal and onwards to the bus stop to catch my bus into town.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 a couple of days later with Bellini Euro HC 1+31 dilution B for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

First impressions of my film when I hung it to dry was that Donkey didn't let me down. I added a Yellow filter that cost £5.99 to Donkey to try to even out the sky on a bright winter day. We don't get many days without clouds at this time of year in darkest Wigan, so I made the most of it. I was able to process my shots with very few adjustments in Affinity Studio to get them presentable. 

I really enjoy using my Minolta Dynax 4 with its 28-80mm kit lens. It's an entry level 35mm SLR with the bells and whistles of a modern DSLR/Mirrorless camera and it only cost me ten whole pounds. Add £5.99 for the filter and I still have plenty of room in the budget for more accessories. Not that this camera needs any, it does what it needs to and does it very well indeed. Cheers, Donkey! 

Here's a few favourites from my January roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey, my beltin' little Minolta Dynax 4 for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR