Frugal Film Project 2022 - May

May has soon rolled up and for this month I really wanted a change as I have been close to the deadline the last two months. This months roll of Ilford HP5 in my Pentax SP500 was completed with a little help from my friend Keith Sharples, who paid my wife and I a visit for the first time since covid restrictions were eased.

We had planned on having a wander with a camera or two during his visit and that day arrived in the second half of May. We headed to Southport, a seaside town on the west coast of England just north of Liverpool, which has seen better days. It has still got a couple of things going for it, one of those being Lord Street, the main thoroughfare and shopping street in the town.

We made a couple of stops along the route, first at Parbold Hill for a landscape shot or two and Parbold itself where we made good use of the boats on the canal and the old windmill. I wish the sun could have broken through the clouds but sadly it did not and we tried to make the best of the conditions before continuing onwards to Southport.

A walk along Lord St in Southport, with it's ornate verandas running the length of the street, was once the pinnacle of a day at the seaside for many folks living in South Lancashire. Folk from Wigan would hop on the train during "wakes week" to enjoy a day out for some sea air and relaxation away from the mines and the mills. Southport was very busy during that time as holiday makers and day trippers descended upon the town from far and wide.

Sadly the rise of cheap package holidays to Spain began a decline in the number of visitors from the 1960's onwards and the pandemic did it no favours at all. The number of empty shops is a sad sight to see, but there is hope that things will improve as we try to get back to some semblance of normality.

The Scarisbrick Hotel was once the place to be for high society and many a day tripper has enjoyed a cream tea there over the years. It may not be as exclusive today, but it's presence is still a welcome sight. The Royal Arcade and Wayfarers Arcade are still open with the Royal Arcade having plenty of traders within it's walls. The Wayfarers has basically become a relic of bygone times, the only businesses in there being coffee shops and cafes and a couple of art galleries.

The further north we walked along Lord St beneath the ornate verandas, the more empty shops we saw so we decided to head across the road to photograph some civic buildings and the Band Stand that Keith has performed on, he plays the Tuba in a brass band. It was there we had to abandon our photowalk as the rain came down. We quickly crossed the road again to shelter beneath the veranda and made our way back to Keith's car to head home.

We didn't get the light we desired, but that's ok. Southport is still a nice place to take photos and here are a few of mine shot with my trusty Pentax SP500 and Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 30mm f/3.5 Lydith lens. I developed the film in Kodak HC-110 dilution B, scanned it with my Ion Slides2PC 35mm scanner and tidied it up with Affinity Photo. I have also placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2022 album on Flickr, you can visit it using the link below. We had a decent day out and not even a drenching at the end could spoil the day for us. We really must do it again sometime. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did taking them. It was a fun day out.

Frugal Film Project 2022

Kodak Gold - Olympus 35RC

Recently I shot a roll of Kodak Gold in my Olympus 35RC whilst out and about. Spring has definitely been showing her colours this year and this roll of Kodak Gold was shot over a few days as I wandered about in the local woodland, the Park and around our Parish Church in town to try to capture some of that display of spring colour. Kodak Gold is a fine film to capture spring colours and paired with my little pocket powerhouse, my 35RC, it makes a great combination.

I have been using my 35RC in manual lately simply because I can. Many cameras with auto exposure modes need a battery to work, this is not so with the 35RC. Yes, it needs a battery to work in auto, but when using manual settings, the battery is just ballast. You can take it out and happily shoot in manual all day, every day. So I did.

I love my Olympus 35RC, it's small and fits in a pocket which is very handy when your other camera takes up the entire bag. I was out with my Goodman Zone trying to get used to it and having a bit of a nightmare in the process. My 35RC was a great back up camera that day and I made the most of it on that first walk around the nature trails and woodland near my home.

The next time I took it out was to try to finish the roll with a walk around Wigan Parish Church. I had gone to get some birthday cards for my grandson and whilst I was in town I took a few snapshots of the church. This is where the 35RC excels, Once I got sunny 16 in my head and figured out the settings I was using it as a point and shoot. All I did was make sure the composition was in focus and had fun.

Here in Wigan we get a lot of f/11 1/250th kind of days, but as this day was hovering around an f16 I bracketed my shots. I really didn't need to as Kodak Gold has enough exposure latitude to make the difference hardly noticeable. Once I had done the bit of shopping I had to do I headed to the Park and polished off the last few frames left on the roll. The Rhododendrons had started to flower and I had to get a shot or two.

When I got home the roll sat in my fridge for a few days as I was busy doing other stuff and after I had shot a roll of ColorPlus in a Pentax P30n I was recently given by a dear chum, I developed both of them in my Cinestill CS41 kit. Yep, that kit is still doing the business after three months as I take care to squeeze the air out of the bottles and keep it in a cool, dark cupboard. I scanned the film with my Ion Slides2PC scanner and processed the images with Affinity Photo.

Here's a few of my shots from this roll of Gold, I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. Also if you enjoy my blog please consider giving a small donation via the Ko-Fi buttons. It helps me continue my blog. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the photo's as much as I did taking them.

Kodak Gold - Olympus 35RC

A weekend away in Cheshire

Two years. Two long and at times painful years have passed since I was last able to go to a bike show and have some fun with my friends. This week I was finally able to start getting out and about again after the restrictions were lifted. I have been out and about visiting family, but I have not done one of the things we Bikers enjoy doing at weekends, going for a ride, pitching our tents in a field and having a party with our friends.

This event was put on by the National Association for Bikers with a Disability, the NABD here in the UK and it is the worlds premier Bikers charity. I have been a member of the NABD for almost 30 years and the chance to go along was too good to pass up. The NABD provides grants so any biker here in the UK can adapt their machine to once again allow them to ride their bike or trike and enjoy the freedom motorcycling brings us.

I took my trusty Olympus OM-2, a couple of lenses and three rolls of film with me, a half roll of Ilford FP4 and full rolls of Ilford HP5+ and Fomapan 200. Why did I chose three different films rather than take three the same? Because I can, It's that simple. I was also making sure I had something for whatever the weather was going to do over the weekend. I planned on taking some photos of  the Bikes and Trikes that always grace the Bike Show at the event. I was curious as to what my fellow bikers had been up to during the pandemic and was pleased to see the standard was high.

On Saturday morning I had a wander around the camp site before making my way to the Bike Show in the main arena and saw some great bikes that weren't just limited to custom bikes. there was street bikes, choppers, adventure bikes and classics mixed with trikes that included some V8 engined monsters and many a bike based model, all lovingly built by talented engineers.

My walk around the camp site was done with a half roll of Ilford FP4 and my Zuiko 135mm f/3.5 lens on my OM-2. I couldn't always get close to the bikes as I wandered around, so the reach of the 135mm was plenty to get some good shots from a distance. I just had to pick my spots and look around.

My second roll was my favourite Ilford HP5+ and I switched to my 28mm f/3.5 wide angle as I made my way to the arena on what turned out to be a gloriously sunny spring day. I wanted to get close up as there was a lot of people wandering around the bikes, admiring the engineering and paintwork on display. It saved me from having to ask people to move out of the way. Everyone wins with that strategy and I still enjoyed having a chat with folk picking out bits we liked about various machines.

A few folks stopped and had a natter about my camera rather than the bikes. This wasn't a surprise as my OM-2 is considered a classic and they were interested in how I went about keeping my cameras in good order and where I bought my film. I recommended PPP Cameras and Analogue Wonderland to those interested. Most just wanted a natter to while away the afternoon. Happy days!

I soon finished my roll of HP5+ and loaded my last film for the day.  Fomapan 200 has had a bit of a chequered time of late. Photographers have had problems with rather heavy spotting on the medium format stock, but the 35mm stock is fine. I happily used up this film in what seemed like no time and, with my film supply exhausted, I switched to my Nikon D700 for the rest of the event.

I developed my Ilford film in Kodak HC-110 dilution B and my Fomapan 200 in Rodinal 1+50. I scanned the negatives into my PC using my Nokia 5.3 phone, Pixl-Latr with sprocket mask and my A5 light pad. I processed them with Affintity Photo. I really enjoyed shooting film at the event, here are a few of my favourites. I have put them and more in albums on Flickr you can visit using the links below. If you wish to know more about the NABD I have also placed a link for ther website below. If you enjoy my blog and wish to support me, you can use the Ko-Fi buttons on this page. I hope you enjoy them.

N.A.B.D.
NABD Bike Rally - Ilford FP4 - OM-2
NABD Bike Rally - Ilford HP5 - OM-2
NABD Bike Rally - Foma 200 - OM-2

Frugal Film Project 2022 - April

 Having been rather taken up with getting to know how to use my Goodan Zone, I left my Frugal Film Project roll of HP5 for April until the last day of the month. Yes, I am trying to do too many things at once. I have a roll of Kodak Gold waiting to be developed that I shot with my Olympus 35RC for a future blog and I still have half a roll of Ilford FP4 shot with my OM-2 to develop for a 135mm lens challenge. Is it bad time management on my part or am I too enthusiastic for my own good? Probably both.

I went on a little trip on the day in question to visit my daughter and attend my grandson's 18th birthday celebration. I was asked to take photos of the occasion, which meant my DSLR was coming with me. You know I can't just take one camera out so I also took my trusty Pentax SP500 with 30mm f/3.5 Lydith lens, loaded it with Ilfords finest HP5 at box speed and decided to shoot as many photos as I could on the way. I don't drive and as I was with my youngest daughter and her two boys we went by train. This gave me the excuse to take photos through the window as we travelled.

I enjoy travelling by train, it gets a little crowded at peak times, but for most of my journeys I have been able to find a seat and relax. Having my daughter and grandsons along for the trip meant getting a seat for all of us together would be a little challenging if the trains were full. I need not have worried as there were some kind hearted folks along the way who gave up seats for us so we could enjoy our journey as a family. I couldn't thank them enough for their kindness.

As we settled down for our trip I spent a lot of time gazing through the window, finding compositions and interesting land marks on our journey. The city of Manchester where we made our first change has seen a lot of high rise development over the last decade or two. Several modern skyscrapers have added to the rich tapestry of the city skyline as demand for inner city apartments has grown.

Our second leg took us through the picturesque Derbyshire dales and I was able to capture some beautiful scenic vistas as our train made its way along the Hope Valley line to Sheffield. A few buildings caught my eye and also some shadows at various staions on route just begged for a photo. I only stopped taking photos when we entered the 3 miles long Totley Tunnel that took us beneath the eastern moors and on to our second change of trains.

We didn't have to wait long as our connecting train to our destination was waiting for us at the platform as our train pulled in to Sheffield. It didn't take long to disembark from one train and embark on the other and we were soon settled in our seats for the final leg of our journey. Sheffield and South Yorkshire were once the heartlands of the coal and steel industry here in the UK. Sadly the last of the coal mines closed long ago and only a fracion of the sprawling steel works has survived.

This last leg was a short one and we soon arrived at our destination. Bolton Upon Dearne is a former coal mining community, but now mainly a commuter town that relies upon it's railway link to take it's inhabitants to and from the cities of Sheffield and Leeds. We experienced no delays on our journey and it was reasonably priced too. My grandsons enjoyed their trip out, the birthday party was a lot of fun and we only managed one hiccup on the way home when our train from Sheffield to Manchester was delayed. But that's another tale.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5 in Kodak HC-110 dilution H for 11 minutes and it was soon hanging to dry. I scanned it using my trusty Ion Slides2PC scanner for quickness and tidied up the spots and scratches in Affinity Photo. Here are a few of my photos from our train ride and I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film project album on Flickr. You can visit it using the link below. If you enjoy my blog you can support me by clicking on the Ko-Fi buttons on this page. A small donation will help me treat my Pentax SP500 to a well deserved service in 2023. As you can see from my photos, it really has earned it. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project - April