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
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