I headed into the second half of 2025 feeling good about learning to use a basic 1950's 35mm camera and expired film for the Frugal Film Project 2025. My Kodak Retina 1a has proven to be reliable so far and adding a yellow filter to the lens has brought a new aspect to Type 517 cine film. I know how the current iteration of Ilford FP4+ 125 renders with the aid of a yellow filter and I discovered last month just how well Type 517 cine film responds to it, especially after spending a couple of decades in cold storage before being spooled and sold to the film photography community.
For this July's roll of Type 517 cine film, I started off in the town centre and took a few photos as I made my way towards the Pier Quarter and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. I was getting my settings figured out and making sure I had them firmly in mind. I was also photographing a few commercial signs along the way. I was curious about how the various colours, mainly red, yellow and blue would render on Type 517 cine film.
I made my way to the canal behind Trencherfield Mill and was fortunate to see not one, but two narrowboats making their way through the lock, heading up the flight. I captured a couple of photos of both boats as they rose up and then exited the lock. I followed the first boat to exit this lock as it made its way up the canal to the next lock. The second boat moored up so a few shots of the first boat were my focus.
I struggled to keep up with the narrowboat as it was travelling at 4 miles per hour, but the 50mm lens on my Kodak Retina 1a helped keep the boat large in my photos. The Narrowboat had slowed as it waited for the next lock to be prepared for it to enter and allowed me to catch up with it and take a couple more photos before I headed back down the canal. I saw the second narrowboat turning around, so grabbed a couple of shots of it, and lo! I had shot my final frame of this months film.
The frame counter doesn't work on my Retina 1a, so the only warning I get is when the film starts to become difficult to wind on. It's something I have learned to live with as I have got used to my Retina 1a. I will get it mended in 2026 if I can, but it doesn't affect the rest of the camera working as it should. It's probably a simple fix too, but as with all but the newest cameras today, parts availability is declining and I will have to do some hunting for spares.
I developed my roll of Type 517 Cine Film later that day in Bellini Euro HC 1+31 dilution B for 12 minutes at 22 celcius. The heatwave may have abated, but cooling my chems to a reasonable temperature level is still a pain. My time of 12 minutes was a shot in the dark a few months ago and I'm getting decent results so I stuck with it. I hung my film to dry in my bathroom over night. I digitised my film the next day with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.
The joy of this film is that when you get the light metering right, you don't have to do much in post production. I inverted the negative to positive, made a couple of minor corrections and managed to get some pretty decent photos this month. Contrast is high, but that's what I expected and I am a self confessed contrast lover. The afternoon sky was very cloudy and I wasn't too bothered about blowing out the sky. I was hoping for a little cloud definition, but we can't win them all. Maybe next time.
I had a good time down by the canal and it's good to see narrowboats heading up the Wigan Flight. Sections of the UK Canal network have been closed for the summer as the spring and early summer heatwave has caused drought conditions in many areas. Without a good supply of water at the canal watersheds, the network is in danger of drying out. Good water management is the key and two narrowboats sharing a wide lock is often the best way.
Here's a few favourites from my July roll of Type 517 Cine Film for the Frugal Film Project 2025. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2025 album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
Frugal Film Project 2025 - July
