Frugal Film Project 2022 - June

June marks the half way point of the Frugal Film Project 2022 and I have yet again been a little late shooting my roll of Ilford HP5 in my Pentax SP500 with Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 30mm f/3.5 Lydith. This hasn't been a deliberate ploy on my part, I've just been distracted by Squirrels.

There's a rather nice looking Squirrel that is shaped like a Goodman Zone Z1 and, well, it's been taking all my attention (the last time my attention was so utterly distracted I married her). I managed to get out for a walk on the last day of June that dawned bright and sunny, so I packed my Pentax loaded with Ilfords finest half pint in my bag and toddled off into town.

My walk began in Mesnes Park, the jewel in Wigan's crown and I will never tire of a walk around the park taking photos. I have learned a heck of a lot about photography there from composition to sunny 16 and all avenues between. It is my favourite classroom and long may it continue to be so. There was a few groups of primary school children there with their teachers so I kept my camera away from them, which is not easy in a big open space. A little discretion goes a long way sometimes.

My walk then took me to The Galleries which is looking more empty and dishevelled with each passing day. Large wooden hoardings have been erected to stop people walking through the once open walkways around the site and the indoor sections are also boarded up. It's a very sad sight as this is now the second time many of the people of Wigan have seen this area get run down for redevelopment in their lifetime. There are still two stallholders in the outdoor market clinging on until the bitter end, but it wont be long until they are moved indoors and the outdoor market gets closed off for ever.

I spent the rest of my walk getting some photos of the town centre, capturing its Mock Tudor architechture mixed with more ornate buildings from prosperous times for the town when Iron, Coal and Cotton drove the local economy. We do have one Brutalist concrete edifice that used to be Wigan Council offices, but it's now empty and boarded up for whatever comes next for it. I finished my roll off at Wigan Parish Church and headed home in time for lunch. I developed my film the next day in HC-110 dilution B and hung it to dry before scanning it into my PC with my Ion Slides2PC 35mm scanner and tidying them up with Affinity Photo.

Here's a few of my photo's for the June Frugal Film Project roll of Ilford HP5. It may have been a sunny day, but the big cumulus clouds had me exposing for the highlights without thinking about it. I would have got better results with an orange filter, but oh look, Squirrel! If you enjoy my photos please consider a donation to the Ko-Fi fund using the buttons on this page, every donation is greatly appreciated. I have placed these photos and more in my Frugal Film Project 2022 album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2022