Minolta X-300 - Kentmere 200

 Back in 2025 I had my first taste of Kentmere 200, the latest addition to the Kentmere range of black and white film from Harman Technology, the home of Ilford and Kentmere b&w film and Phoenix colour film. I really enjoyed using this new film for the first time and it was high time I got stuck into it. I loaded a roll into my Minolta X-300 fitted my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5 and headed out to see what I could find at Crooke Village on the Leeds & Liverpool canal 

Crooke has a lot of history, the name can be traced back to the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the old Norse and French words for a bend in a river, Krokr, and Le Croke. It makes sense as the Normans who settled here after the Conquest in 1066 descended from the Norse that settled in Normandy. There was already a population of Viking settlers in the area at that time as well as the local tribe called the Brigantes that stuck around either side of the Roman occupation. The River Douglas winds it's way along its valley to the south of Crooke Village and was once navigable. 

Crooke was a busy Pit Village that housed local miners who worked in several mines nearby and a coal tipper transferred coal from those mines onto barges that took the coal to the Mills in Wigan and the docks at Liverpool and beyond. There are remnants of that industry still to be found in the village, but the mines have all gone and been replaced by nature trails through woodland and landscaped public green spaces.
 
Crooke also has a lovely marina with plenty of moorings for canal boats inside the Marina and along the canal, both private and for visitors. There's also a decent pub, the Crooke Hall Inn, named after the manor house that once stood nearby, but has long since been demolished. I started at the head of the only road in and out of the village, photographing interesting stuff along the way. There's a nice Methodist Chapel and the old Primary School, which is now a Nursery. It's good to see the fabric of the village still in use. 

When the Leeds Liverpool Canal was built, it's route through Crooke was beneficial to the coal mines in the area that used the canal to transport their coal to Wigan and Liverpool. The last of the mines was closed in 1961 and the village transitioned from a pit village to a more sedate pace of life as a quiet little corner of Wigan that's popular with the canal boat community. I will post a link below where you can find a more in depth history of the village, from the earliest records, through it's mining hey day and up to the 21st century.

I was glad to see a couple of familiar boats, Viktoria and Ambush, the last working Coal Barge in Wigan that retired in 1972. The owner sells vital supplies from them to Boaters to help pay the bills. There was also a few boats I haven't seen before and it's good to document their presence at Crooke. Some were visitors and others had begun to use some recently added private moorings further towards Wigan. The canals have become increasingly popular with people looking to shake off the chains of rising utility bills and mortgages and I think the new moorings reflect that shift towards a more relaxed way of life.

I was having so much fun I went through 2 24 shot rolls of Kentmere 200 as I photographed the boats on the canal. Narrowboats, wide-beams and a few more conventional leisure craft were all on display, it felt like a boat show that's open 24/7. There was plenty of reasonably calm water to get a few half decent reflections into my shots and, although it wasn't mirror calm, there was enough movement to make it more to my liking. It wasn't long before I had finished both films and put my camera away, content with an enjoyable couple of hours by the canal.

I developed my film later that week using 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 my film 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.

I knew I had good exposures as soon as I hung my film to dry and that belief was reinforced when I started to process my RAW files. It's been a while since I used my Minolta X-300 and I'm happy to say the light meter it has is still in fine fettle. I fitted new batteries before I went out and used the camera in Aperture Priority mode. It's one of the few auto features I actually like and use regularly on my electronic cameras.

I also like the combination of the camera with my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5 wide angle lens and yellow filter. The lens is one of the Tamron AD2 Trinity lenses you really should try and are cheap to buy at the moment. I got sharp, well exposed photos and Kentmere 200 shines in the conditions I encountered on the day, Sunshine and clouds photographed through a yellow filter gave me a great look to my photos and I will happily go for the same combination of gear and film again before the summer is over.

Here's a few favourites from my 2 rolls of Kentmere 200 shot with my Minolta X-300 fitted with Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5 and yellow filter. I have placed them and more in my Kentmere 200 album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Crooke Village - History   
Kentmere 200 - Minolta X-300

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Compact - June

 I went for a wander into Wigan town centre for Armed Forces Day at the end of the June, it was the perfect opportunity to continue my Frugal Film Project quest to document the daily life in town with my June roll of Kentmere 400 in my Hanimex 35RAS. Armed Forces day is a chance for everyone to appreciate the work our Armed Forces do and also raise a few quid for Veterans Charities. 

Our local unit of the Army Reserve, the Queen's Own Yeomanry were recruiting as were the Cadets of the Navy, Army and Royal Air Force and there were stalls set out for various charities. A friend of mine Jim, a proud Royal Navy veteran, was helping out at the Royal British Legion and Veteran's Association stalls. It was good to catch up with him as I hadn't seen him for a while. I had to get a portrait shot of him before I wandered off to look at the various displays.

A re-enactment group was displaying their collection of WW2 Jeeps and a WW2 British Army Ambulance alongside the various items they use including genuine WW2 rifles, de-activated of course. Kids loved it. They were allowed to sit in the Jeeps and wear the army helmets for photos. Older kids were allowed to handle the rifles, with supervision, for photos too and it was good to see so many families having an afternoon outing together.

This was one day when I wish I had loaded a 36 shot roll of Kentmere 400 as it didn't take me long to finish a 24 shot roll. I spent the rest of my time there chatting to Jim for a bit before heading home for a well earned brew.

I developed my June roll of Kentmere 400 B&W film using Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry, which to be honest didn't take long at all in the heatwave we had that week. I digitised my film 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.

This Hanimex 35RAS keeps making me look stupid for flapping back in January. Yet again it performed flawlessly, much better than I did in fact. There's a couple of shots where I got a stray finger in the frame, but they were very much the minority. I am thankful it was a sunny afternoon for Armed Forces Day and our Veterans, and the kind of conditions my Hanimex 35RAS compact camera thrives in. 

I didn't have to do much with my photos to make them presentable and I really like the portrait of Jim. For a holiday snaps camera to produce a decent quality portrait, it shows you don't need to spend a small fortune to get good photos. Some basic knowledge and a steady hand goes a long way on a sunny day. 

Here's a few favourites from my June roll of Kentmere 400 shot with my Hanimex 35RAS compact camera for the Frugal Film Project 2026. 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 

Frugal Film Project 2026 - Donkey - June

 As I had left it late to shoot my May rolls of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project 2026, thus it was that I also left my June contributions until the second half of the month too. I decided to combine two things for this walk, my roll of Kentmere 400 for the Frugal Film Project and a roll of GP3 100 for #620Day. I loaded up Donkey and headed out to see what I could find. 

My main focus of this walk was to shoot a roll of film for #620Day, but I can't just take one camera out with me. It's good to have a Plan B in case Plan A ends prematurely. I was documenting my day and also trying to find unique compositions to shoot for this blog. Solstice Weekend was hot with bright sunshine and wispy clouds and I hoped my yellow filter would bring some of that definition out in my photos. 

I tried to incorporate my Kodak Sterling II in a few shots, but with only 8 shots on my Kodak, I was free to expend a few with Donkey as I hunted for compositions. I enjoyed visiting the Horses, but they were too busy grazing to be bothered with this old fart and his clicky box thing. That's fine by me as I get a photo and they don't get disturbed. 

I headed onto the old spoil heap and visited the derelict car again and my favourite tree on there. I was heading to the new footpath and grabbed my final two shots with my Kodak 620 camera and carried on with Donkey. I found some foxgloves, some dappled pools of light and shadows of railings to keep me entertained as I made my way back towards home. It was when I got back to the horses that I took my final shot and could make my way home for a well earned brew.

I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 with 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 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio. 

The more I use this camera, the more I appreciate it. I enjoy giving my brain a good work out with my manual cameras, but for easy photography, you can't beat an Auto Focus, plastic fantastic SLR from the turn of the 21st century. It was the hey day of film and these things are what all the big manufacturers based their DSLR's on. 

I'm very happy with the photos I shot this month and need to keep exploring it's features and maybe ditch the yellow filter to let this camera shine brighter. Remember the price I paid for it? £10 and the filter cost me £6.99. I'm 6 months in. Donkey has more than paid for itself and will keep going for years to come. That's what I call Frugal. 

Here's a few favourites from my June roll of Kentmere 400 shot with Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4 for the Frugal Film Project 2026. I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 SLR album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR - June