Frugal Film Project 2022 - January

 Projects are often the bane of our existence, we take them on and part way through we get into a creative rut we can't seem to find a way out of. Nothing seems to be right and we put it to one side in the hope that spark can be reignited somewhere down the line. I have a few of those lurking on a hard drive, mostly my writing that I felt wasn't up to par and one or two photo projects I have yet to finish are in there too. It's not all doom and gloom as I had so much fun doing the Frugal Film Project in 2021 that I signed up for another year.

The Frugal Film Project 2022 has gone back to its original formula where we choose one cheap camera and one cheap film stock for the entire year. The original budget was $50, but as prices for even the most unloved cameras have risen, that budget is now $75, at todays exchange rate around £55. This gave me options I didn't have last year and, as the project has gone back to its roots, I decided to go back to mine and chose to use my Pentax SP500.

I paid £20 for the camera with a Helios 44m-4 lens in 2017, but I decided I want to get to know my Meyer-Optik Goerlitz 30mm f/3.5 Lydith a little better this year. It's a beautiful lens that cost me £30 and added to my SP500 is within the budget. I really enjoy using this combination and the extra width gives me lots of options to explore.

I also wanted to use a film I am comfortable with and have a change from Fomapan film. I am supporting a local business and using Ilford HP5 Plus. Ilford is based in Mobberly which is an hours drive from my home. This versatile B&W film can be pushed, pulled and developed in just about anything as long as it has phenols and vitamin c in the recipe. I might just get brave enough to give caffenol a try at some point.

For January I played it safe and went to the Park, then decided safe wasn't cutting it and put an orange filter on my lens to make life interesting. I always enjoy a walk in the park with my camera. I have probably photographed everything at least half a dozen times, but there's always an angle to find so I tried compositions I haven't done yet and soon finished the roll. I developed my January roll of HP5 in Kodak HC-110 dilution B, scanned it with my Nikon D700 and processed my images in Affinity Photo.

Here's a few of my January images, I have also put them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them and join me on this new Frugal adventure in the coming months.

Frugal Film Project 2022

This years weapons of choice

Medium Format in 2022

 One goal I have set for myself in 2022 is to become more proficient at Medium Format film photography. I got a taste of it in 2021 thanks to my dear friends Helene and Budgie who gave me an Agfa Isolette 1. It's a very basic folding viewfinder camera that appeared in the 1950's as Germany recovered from WW2 and it is very easy to use. I wrote about it in a previous blog you can read by visiting Trying Medium Format With An Agfa Isolette 1.

Last year I managed to shoot ten rolls of film with it including a roll for the Frugal Film Project once i got used to using the camera. I promised myself I would use it much more this year so I loaded a roll of Fomapan 400 into it, made sure the battery in my Vivitar 45 light meter was good and toddled off into town for a hour or two.

Sunshine is a rarity in Wigan during winter so when we do get a sunny afternoon it brings folk out, including Sundays. I was tempted to go to the Park, but I decided to capture some frames of the Market and The Galleries before they are demolished. Given the age of some of the buildings in the town, the Galleries and Market have only been up for five minutes and it's a shame to see them in decline. It's not so long ago that all the shops were occupied and the market was thriving.

It didn't take me long to shoot 12 frames of 6x6 and I headed home to develop it and see how my skills have held up. It has been a few months since I last used the camera and it was the first time I had used my newly acquired Vivitar 45 light meter that another dear friend donated to my ongoing quest to become a photographer. I really enjoyed my afternoon out and about with my camera, my Vivitar 45 light meter was a doddle to get used to and I was full of optimism about how the photos would turn out.

I developed the roll in Rodinal 1+50 which Fomapan film seems to thrive in, at least for me it does and soon had that feeling of anticipation when it was time to open the tank and remove my freshly developed film. That feeling on seeing decent negs as I unrolled the film will never get old. After hanging to dry for a few hours I soon had the frames camera scanned into my PC and processed using Affinity Photo and I am very pleased with the results. I managed to get them nicely exposed, but I do need to work on my compositions as there are a few things lurking in corners that I really should have got rid of before releasing the shutter. We live and learn.

Here's a few photos from my afternoon with my Agfa Isolette 1 folding camera. I am getting better at using it and working out shutter speeds using the Vivitar 45 really helped me on this photo walk. It was nice to be able to concentrate on one camera and one film, thankfully mother nature blessed me with a nice afternoon which was much appreciated. You can see these photos and more in an album on my Flickr account that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
  

 Medium Format With My Agfa Isolette 1

Trying my Jupiter 8 50mm f/2 on my FED 2

 During the Autumn of 2021 I went shopping for a Jupiter 8 50mm f/2 lens for my FED 2. The main resaon for this is the Industar 26m that came with my FED 2 is in need of a strip, clean and rebuild. I have been getting by with it, but I haven't really enjoyed using it and it's cheaper to buy another so I can still use my camera as I save up for that repair.

I did a little research and the Jupiter 8 made by KMZ seems to be highly regarded by fans of Soviet rangefinder cameras and within my meagre budget. I managed to find one with a decent Zorki 4 attached to it for not a lot of cash on ebay. My first use of that camera and lens combo is the subject of a blog I wrote back in November. Fun With Zorki 4 and Jupiter 8 50mm f2

I was quite pleased with how the Zorki performed, but really wanted to try the Jupiter 8 on my FED 2. I believe the camera can use the lens without having to do any messing around adjusting the rangefinder etc to suit the lens, which is something I could probably do myself if I knew how to do it. Until then I will leave it alone. I took the Jupiter 8 off my Zorki and switched it with the Industar 26m from my FED 2.

My assumption proved to be correct. I lifted my FED 2 with newly fitted Jupiter 8 to my eye and had a mess about with the diopter and I had a nice clear image through the viewfinder. This led me to pray for a nice day so I could go and shoot some film with my FED 2 and Jupiter 8 combo. That day came just before Christmas when I went out with my Olympus 35RC for the Frugal Film Project 2021.

Concentrating on the Frugal Film Project meant I didn't take as many photo's with my FED 2 as my Olympus, but that's ok. I was enjoying my walk in the early winter sunshine and managed to shoot half of my last roll of Kodak T-Max 400. I didn't get out again until the first week of the new year as I headed to Mesnes Park in Wigan to shoot my January roll of HP5 for the Frugal Film Project 2022. I finished my roll of T-Max around town and tested my Sunny 16 skills out, I guessed most of them, then headed home for a much needed hot cup of tea. You can't beat a decent brew to warm you up in winter.

A couple of days later I spent an evening developing the film I shot over the christmas and new year period and will be posting blogs about each of them in the coming weeks. Seeing each roll come out of the developing tanks to hang up in my bathroom to dry is always an exciting time and I was very pleased to see the results of my photo walks.

I scanned them the next day and edited them in Affinity Photo to remove dust spots and scratches and deal with a few images that needed some adjustments, much like I would in the darkoom if I were making a wet print. I try to limit my editing to what I would do in a darkroom, but everyone has their own ways of editing scanned film. It's all good.

Here's a few photos taken with my FED 2 and Jupiter 8 50mm f/2 lens on Kodak T-Max 400. I enjoyed using my FED 2 again and I'm happy with the results of my first use of this camera and lens combo. I think it's going to be a permanent combination in my regular rotaion. I have put them and more in an album on my Flickr account that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak T-Max 400 - FED 2 and Jupiter 8 50mm f/2

Frugal Film Project 2021 - December

 I hadn't been as active as I wanted in December. From getting out for my November roll to the day I shot this roll of ColorPlus my photowalks have been very limited, but fear not I have not given up this blog or the Frugal Film Project. The global pandemic chucked another variant at us and it led me to become a hermit to such an extent that I seriously considered hibernating in my man cave for winter. However, I have been reminding myself of the need to finish the project and shot a roll on a couple of recent walks when the weather was reasonable and have finally completed my Frugal Film Project 2021 December roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200.

I shot this roll on two walks, the first being a walk down Wigan Lane, the main thoroughfare into Wigan from the north. Starting at the Cherry Gardens pub, I headed south into town and photographed a few buildings and landmarks along the way. I passed by a long derelict building that is to be demolished and replaced with an apartment building and the impressive sandstone entrance to Haigh Country Park, known locally as the Plantation Gates. The rest of the roll was used around Wigan town center as I got the last of my christmas shopping. but the weather wasn't as kind to me as it was when I walked down Wigan Lane.    

Taking part in the Frugal Film project 2021 has been a great experience and I will continue to be a part of the project in 2022. I learned to love my Olympus 35RC, my "pocket powerhouse". I was confident enough to shoot December's roll using manual mode as the 35RC doesn't really need a battery unless you want to use it's auto aperture mode. I also learned the art of developing colour film and finally got that monkey off my back after a bad experience with developing chemicals in my teens. 2021 has been a very fulfilling year despite the challenge of the pandemic we all faced. I have grown so much as a Photographer this year partly due to taking part in the Frugal Film Project, but I still have a long way to go to even get near mastering this wonderful art form. Let's see how I progress in 2022.

Here's some images from my December roll of Kodak ColorPlus. I developed them at home with a Cinestill Cs41 developing kit and scanned them with my Ion Slides2PC scanner. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have taking them and sharing them with you. I have placed them in my Frugal Film Project Colour album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. Let's see where 2022 takes us.

Frugal Film Project Colour Film