Folder Week 2026

Tom Northenscold put out a call on social media to see if anyone was interested in participating in #FolderWeek, a celebration of vintage folding cameras and an excuse for film photographers to dust off their bellows, load a roll of their favourite film and take some photos to share with like minded photographers. Of course I jumped on board. I loaded a roll of Kodak TMax 400 into Baldy The Baldax, a roll of Ilford FP4+ 125 into my Agfa Isolette and went for a walk.

I used Baldy first as I seem to always reach for it out of habit these days. Not that my Agfa Isolette is inferior, far from it, it is a superb, simple to use camera, as is Baldy. I don't use Kodak TMax 400 often, I'm an Ilford guy and had decided to get a pack of TMax 400 in medium format to continue my exploration of the various black and white film available. (read this as Analogue Wonderland had it on a sale at a decent discount.) The last week of April was great for dry sunny weather and I was able to get out with Baldy whilst pulling double duty with my Frugal Film Project commitment. 

I have to make the most of the good weather here in Wigan before the inevitable return to overcast skies and rain showers. I wandered around town, happy snapping in the sunshine and generally having a wonderful time. Baldy The Baldax was, as ever, a joy to use and I soon got through my roll of Kodak TMax 400 and continued with my Frugal Film Project before heading home.

A couple of days later I set about using my Agfa Isolette and again doubled up with my Frugal Film Project commitment. I had a wander in the Park and tried to get photos for another project that my friends and I have on the go at the Photozine Collective. The chosen film for the next Zine is Ilford FP4+ 125 and I figured if my photos didn't fit the theme, I would have a dozen to choose from for #FolderWeek. At least, that was my plan. 

Sadly I didn't get my roll of FP4+ 125 finished before the end of #FolderWeek for deeply personal reasons. My Mum passed away and I was in no condition to concentrate on anything but fond memories and bawling my eyes out. My Mum gave me my start in photography way back in the early 1970's by letting me take a photo of my brothers and sister with her Kodak Instamatic. The excitement of waiting for the developed film and prints to come back from the lab has never left me. Thank you, Mum xxx

I took my final four photos and finished my roll of Ilford FP4+ 125 during the second weekend of May. I hope nobody minds me being late to the show and tell part of #FolderWeek, I am an advocate of these wonderful vintage cameras and wanted to get  my film finished in my Agfa Isolette before developing both rolls and seeing how my shots turned out.

I developed  my roll of TMax 400 and my roll of Ilford FP4+ 125 in separate tanks using Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B for 6 minutes each at 20 celcius and soon had them hanging to dry. If I had a bigger tank I could have done both in the same one. It gives me something to think about for the future. Once dry I digitised my film 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 Studio.

The photos I took with Baldy are up to Baldy's usual standard. There was a couple with light leaks, but I got quite a few decent photos from this roll of TMax 400 as I wandered in my local countryside. I still have a few rolls left and summer is still young, so you can expect a few more blogs about Kodak TMax 400 medium format film.

My photos with my Agfa Isolette started ok, but then a mistake I made on the day I started this film reared it's head and basically mullered half the roll of FP4. I had forgotten my lens hood. It was a glorious sunny afternoon when I took my Agfa Isolette out and, on such occasions, I would normally use my lens hood. Sadly, it wasn't in my bag, I had left it at home. 

I did try to mitigate this mistake on the day, but, as I discovered upon developing and scanning the film, no matter how much I used a hand to shield the front of the lens from the bright sunlight, I still got horrendous hot spots. Arse! Lesson learned for next time, but I know I'm going to make the same mistake again at some point. C'est la vie!

Here's a few favourites from my two rolls of film shot for #FolderWeek with Baldy the Baldax and my Agfa Isolette. I have placed them and a few more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

#FolderWeek - Spring 2026 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - May

 Having had a good walk with my compact camera I needed to rest for a day or three which gave me a chance to recover some energy and maybe find my mojo again. As it turned out it was the final day of May 2026 when I went for a walk along the nature trails and farm tracks to shoot my May roll of Kentmere 400 for the SLR section of my Frugal Film Project 2026 contribution. 

To be honest, I'm glad I waited as it has been oppressively hot here in not so darkest Wigan. The UK and Europe got hit by a heatwave in the second half of May and, besides one thunderstorm, it has been drier than a dry thing in a tumble dryer. It's also grass pollen season.... 

I wasn't looking for anything special on my walk on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, just seeing what I could find just to get this month over and done with. The Hawthorne blossom has fallen and berries are now growing, ready to feed the local wildlife come autumn. 

The Horses at the farm are enjoying being outdoors with plenty of grass to munch on and one of my favourite trees is providing some respite for them from the sun on the odd occasions it actually peeked from behind the clouds. All the living trees are in full foliage and gathering as much energy by day and releasing oxygen once they store the carbon they need to grow.

This year is definitely fallow year at the arable farm. The silage harvest I spotted early in the month made room for fresh grass to grow and it wouldn't surprise me if the farm gets one or two more crops of Silage before the year is over. It is used to feed livestock. What seems like a field of grass that wont make money is actually quite a useful crop. 

I only did a short loop of the farm roads and footpaths this time around as I am still not feeling too clever after the events of the month. The sight of berries staring to show and another crop of grass growing for silage reminds me that the cycle of life continues, the sun will rise tomorrow and my grandchildren will always make me smile. With my roll of Kentmere 400 finished, I headed home for a cuppa.

I developed my film later that evening in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised it 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 Studio.

I'm happy with my May roll of Kentmere 400 as I was able to get through it on the last day of the month without melting or getting soaked. May was a strange one, personal grief accompanied by either rain or a heatwave mirrored my state of mind. I was a little bit all over the place and I'm just glad I got through the month. Onwards to the next one!

Here's a few favourites from my May roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4 with AF 28-80mm lens and a yellow filter. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR album that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - May

I left my May roll of Kentmere 400, shot with my Hanimex 35RAS, to the end of May bank holiday weekend when I hoped the weather would be a bit nicer. April was better, but mother nature perked up for the last week of May and I was able to wander around Wigan and get some snapshots for the Frugal Film Project 2026. A bright, sunny, Saturday afternoon had people out and about, shopping, having a drink at one of the bars or coffee shops and generally enjoying the nice weather. 

I took a wander past the new development rising up steadily where The Galleries once stood. The new Market Hall is on schedule for opening at Christmas time. The roof and sides are done and the work is mainly on the interior now. I hope there are no delays as we get closer to the grand opening. I also took a wander down to Trencherfield Mill and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal for a few snaps and to see if there were any narrowboats at Wigan Pier. There wasn't much happening there so I headed back into the town centre to finish my film. 

Wigan Town Centre was pretty busy with folk doing their shopping and generally enjoying the sunshine. There was a couple of buskers, one guy with a guitar doing pop covers and my favourite busker, the Pan Pipe player from Ecuador. It's always a pleasure to hear music from the Andes Mountains of South America in Wigan. Wigan might be an old mining town, but the place is quite cosmopolitan at times. I said hello, had a chat with the lady looking after their stall and dropped a couple of quid in the hat. 

I headed up to Believe Square to finish my film. I grabbed a couple of snaps of the Face Of Wigan and finished my roll with a photo of the new Star recently installed on the Walk Of Fame to recognise Sir Billy Boston's status as a Knight of the Realm. He's not done bad for a chap who came north from Tiger Bay in Cardiff to play Rugby League for Wigan. He won every trophy the sport had to offer during his playing days and earned the love and respect of the townsfolk. With that last photo, my roll of Kentmere 400 was done and I headed home.

It was a few days later when I developed my May 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. I digitised it 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 Studio.

My photos this month are nothing special, but they aren't going to be with this camera. It's a happy snapper and that is its strength. It performed flawlessly again and, frankly, it's making me feel stupid for doubting it back in January. It's still on the same batteries too. This is what I love about trying old cameras, they can surprise you if you persevere with them. My Hanimex 35RAS really comes alive in the sunshine, which is exactly what this camera was designed for. Holiday Snaps on long summer days Maybe I should head to the beach in the summer?

Here's a few favourites from my May roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS compact 35mm film camera. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - May