Frugal Film Project 2024 - December - 120

 December came by quick! At least it feels that way at the moment, it's been a strange year for my participation in the Frugal Film Project 2024. A year of ups and downs with a few worries along the way, but one thing is certain, Balda made exceedingly good cameras! There's been times when I thought dear old Baldy the Baldax would have to retire, but perseverance and gentle persuasion worked it's magic and I have a huge amount of respect for the people who made it all those decades ago.

The German camera industry in Dresden during the early part of the 20th century cannot be underestimated for the quality of the cameras they made and their ability to adapt to the challenges that came their way. When times were hard, Balda came up with a small format camera that people could afford. A camera that gave photographers more frames for their money and maybe invented the "half frame" camera too. The Balda Baldax 4.5x6.

I have thoroughly enjoyed using Baldy the Baldax for the last 18 months and I wanted my final roll of Ilford HP5 for the year to have some suitable drama in my photos. The Photography Gods smiled upon me and threw down a veil of fog on December 27th 2024. I didn't need any encouragement and I had a feeling I would get both my medium format and 35mm film done and dusted for the year. I started with Baldy and loaded a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 120 medium format film and headed off out.

I have very little experience at film photography in fog and honestly can't remember the last roll of film I shot in such conditions as I was blessed with on this walk. I chose the farm roads again and took a slow wander, taking in many of the same compositions as I had through the years. This time the fog was a game changer and I used my Gossen Trisix selenium light meter to help get my shots exposed as best I could.

Shots along the farm road were accompanied by shots of trees and the pylons with their power lines melting quickly into the mist. Visibility was not far, perhaps less than 100 feet at times, but it made the photos into something special. At least, that's what I hoped for. I wanted ethereal photos to round off the year and bring down the curtain on my Frugal Film Project medium format effort for 2024. The fog, I hoped, would be that curtain.

I got to my halfway point which coincided with my final frames and I was able to relax, knowing I had been on quite an adventure with Baldy the Baldax over the last 18 months. I wasn't sad to have finished the medium format side of the project as I know for sure I will be using Baldy again soon. I carefully folded Baldy up and put it safely in my bag, knowing I had given it my best.

I developed my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400  120 medium format black and white film in Kodak HC110, 1+31 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized LED light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Let me just say the fog made all the difference to my photos in December. Ethereal was the word of the day as I used the conditions to my advantage and really gave Baldy the Baldax and my brain a great workout. The difference between the cottage in the summer sunshine and the cottage in the winter fog is quite profound. I could take many thousands more photos in the sunshine and have the same photo every time, but in the fog? I have to grab that opportunity when I can as it's not very often those conditions occur here.

I also got a humdinger of an unintentional multiple exposure when I managed to forget if I had advanced the film after the previous shot. I thought I had, but I hadn't and the result is a total fluke that I don't mind admitting to. The rest were given a little more thought and again I managed to shoot a full roll with no light leaks. That's three months running and I will keep doing the same routine of making sure all the spring steel parts are in the right spot before I load a film. It seems to be doing the trick.

I have thoroughly enjoyed using my Balda Baldax 4.5x6 medium format folding camera for the Frugal Film Project 2024. It has been a bit touch and go at times, but perseverance paid off. It has taught me a lot about my skills at traditional film photography and also the skills of the people at the Balda factory during the 1930's who made my beautiful little folding camera. I am tempted to load a roll of film into Baldy and keep it in my pocket on the off chance I spot something that would make a great photograph. It seems like a good idea to me.

Here's a few of my favourite photos from my last roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 120 medium format black and white film shot for the Frugal Film Project 2024. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 120 medium format album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them because I seriously enjoyed capturing them.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - December - 120