2021 has arrived and after looking back at what I achieved in 2020 I decided to set myself some new challenges for the year ahead. Learning to develop black and white film in 2020 was a little daunting at first, but after I got rid of my mental block I became quite adept at the process. This has given me the confidence I need to advance to the next level of my journey and learn to develop colour film using the C41 process. It also ties in neatly with a year long film photography challenge I have joined called The Frugal Film Project.
The Frugal Film Project started in 2019 as a way of bringing photographers from around the world together to shoot one roll of cheap film each month using a cheap camera. The goal was to try and get enough decent images to produce a 'Zine to showcase their talent. Given a decent camera and a pro grade film all of the photographers who took part could shoot a roll of keepers each month. This would test their ability and also take them back to their formative days as photographers.
The Frugal Film Project was an instant hit and soon developed to allowing a participant to change their camera should their first choice malfunction. After all the goal was to spend a year shooting cheap film in a cheap camera so the chances of breakdowns was very real. A spending limit was set at $50 (US Dollars not Canadian, you can't get a Holga for $50 in Canada...) and the hunt began for thrift store bargains.
During those first couple of years the variety of camera's used was a wide cross section of the history of Photography. Folding cameras, box cameras, instant cameras and Soviet era rangefinders were all put through their paces and some fantatsic images were produced on film ranging from brand new film from a local store to ebay finds of film stock that had been stored in freezers for decades.
In 2021 the organisers decided to open it up to more people and also increase the film choice to shoot one black and white film stock for 6 months and one colour film stock for the other half of the year. I decided to take the plunge and put my skills to the test and continue my education. I have chosen Fomapan 200 as my black and white film and Kodak ColorPlus 200 as my colour film. My choice of camera is taking a while as I have my Pentax SP500 and Helios 44m-4 that cost £20 (around $27), my Olympus 35RC that cost me £30 (around $41) and my Praktica BX20 that cost me £25 (around $35). I also have a couple of cameras that were given to me by dear friends that I have not tested properly yet, an Agfa Isolette 1 and an Ilford Sportsman that I will keep in reserve.
I have definitely committed to shooting b&w first as I am most familiar with developing it. When I do change to shooting colour film in the summer I want to develop it myself but don't want to embarrass myself by making a pigs ear of it. I have 6 months to learn to develop colour film and have some rolls of ColorPlus 200 in reserve to practice with. I would rather make a mess before I get to the important ones as I want at least one decent image from each roll I shoot this year.
There are a few C41 colour film home developing kits on the market to chose from. The Film Photography Project C41 kit, the Cinestill C41 kit, the Bellini C41 kit and Tetenal C41 kit being the four easiest available kits here in the UK. All are reasonably priced and all will give me decent results if I do it properly. They all are capable of developing 16 rolls of film or more and, at around £32 a kit, give me an average developing cost of £2 per roll. Added to the cost of my camera and film it makes it under $50 at todays exchange rate and bang on the money for the project.
So, those are my plans for 2021 laid out which means I am now committed to them. I am going to have a lot of fun and a few frustrations along the way, but that's all part of the learning process. It also helps my ongoing recovery from my stroke that is taking a while, but with each month of participating in The Frugal Film project I take one more step to recovery. I think of it as reformatting my hard drive and reloading it with knowledge and memories.
After letting this blog sit for a few days I have decided that I will use my Olympus 35RC for the Frugal Film Project. It is the one camera in my collection that I have the least experience with as it is a rangefinder. I sometimes have difficulty seeing the image come into focus so it will be great exercise for my hand to eye cordination and slow me down even more as I pick my shots. It's also cool and fits right in my pocket!
Onwards and Upwards!
More info and previous years photographs from the Frugal Film Project including how to buy the 'Zine can be found at https://rr1photography.com/
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| Which do you prefer, Black&White or Colour? Let me know in the comments below |
Good challenge.. and the choice of a pocket camera is good too as you can find unusual everyday location.
ReplyDeleteMuch as though I love black and white. Of the two the colour has a nice retro look too it which I prefer
I like using Kodak ColorPlus200 for the nostalgic aesthetic it has. It reminds me of my childhood and my Mum's Instamatic that used 126 cartridges. We would take the film to the local chamist for developing or post it off in a prepaid envelope. Thinking about it, that was probably the original Junk Mail.
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