It's been a grim year thus far in 2026. Bad weather was followed by bad weather and more bad weather here in darkest Wigan. I'm British, we are used to it raining a lot and by eck it's rained a lot this winter. Of course, this meant getting out and about with battery powered cameras was a little tricky, perilous even, but we did get the odd dry day between the storms so I could get out and about with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4, loaded with Kentmere 400 film.
I headed out to my local countryside for the very first time in 2026. I made the most of it and I needed it. I was definitely suffering from cabin fever and was getting close to putting an axe through the bathroom door whilst proclaiming "Here's Johnny!" and "Honey, I'm home!" (Good thing I didn't as my wife would have taken it from my hands and rammed where the sun doesn't shine!)
Yeah, I can hear you saying "Jim, you went for a wander down the canal in January." You're right, I did. I also got a nice morning to shoot my February Compact shots for the Project, but a sustained period of non-rainy weather hasn't happened as I write this blog. I hope March is better.
On my walk I heard birds singing, I saw snowdrops doing what snowdrops do best and also saw the first new green leaves on the early Hawthorns. The clouds did eventually clear and gave me some nice light to work with once I emerged from the cover of the woodland. The photos I took are nothing special, mostly stuff I have photographed in the past and it satisfied my photography itch. Repetition is good exercise for my brain, which is why I enjoy the Frugal Film Project every year.
It was around the halfway point when my Minolta Dynax 4 declared my roll of Kentmere 400 was finished and kindly rewound it for me. Once again I was pulling double duty and had another camera with me to use during the second half of my walk for a future blog. It gave me something to do on the way home.
I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 in Bellini Euro HC 1+31, dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.
First impressions on hanging the film to dry were that I was quite optimistic for some good photos. Donkey had done his job well and produced nicely exposed negatives. The proof is always in the processing and it didn't take me long to get through my roll of Kentmere 400 in Affinity Studio.
I am quite pleased with how Donkey performed on the day. In the shadows or the bright light, I got some decent photos to share this month. After the washout we have endured I consider myself lucky to have been blessed with a decent day. I could so easily have had to scurry about in the rain, something I have done with Donkey, but would rather not have to do that again. The patient approach worked and I am thankful that Mother Nature blessed us with a couple of decent days for photography in February 2026.
Here's a few of my favourite photos shot with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4, on my February roll of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project 2026. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - February
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