Flipping the lens in an Agfa Clack for the #FrugalFilmProject, 02 September 2023

For the #FrugalFilmProject this month I took an Agfa Clack and flipped the lens. This is how I did it.

Recently I picked up an Agfa Clack for 10€. This is now my third Clack, beginning with original Clack for the #FrugalFilmProject and the slightly damaged one that I bought to cannibalise but found I couldn’t. I bought this one specifically because it had fungus in the lens, hence the cheap price, although otherwise it is in lovely condition. I wanted it for two reasons: to practise removing…

View On WordPress

New year, new project(s)! Excited to participate in the @frugalfilmproject for the first time. #holgaholgaholga // #filmphotography #frugalfilmproject #holga #foma #mediumformat #film #yay https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmsiX5uEPr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Testing the Rocket

Testing the Rocket: the one where I dare to suggest the shutter speed of the Rocket doesn’t match what it says on the tin! Dedicated to @holga_pics #believeinfilm #frugalfilmproject

So, in my first FFP update I commented on how underexposed the negatives were and speculated on how I’d test this plastic-fantastic to try to encourage better results next time. It was very unlikely that the development was to blame as I’ve developed hundreds of films in the last couple of years and have yet to have one fail due to faulty processing; so it’s a possible cause but not a probable…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, March 2024: In Aveiro with the 1920s Generic Folding Camera

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, February 2024: Better Framing with the 1920s Generic Folding Camera.

In January we took the 1920s generic 9×12 folding camera and Fujifilm Instax Wide film into Oiã and Águas Boas. I quickly discovered that it was not easy to frame the images properly since the frame size of the Instax Wide film is so much smaller than that of 9×12 and when the Instax film is mounted in the holders it is not centred. For my February exposures the first thing I wanted to do was to…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, January 2023: My first film with the Agfa Clack

Although ordered in good time, my Fomapan Retro films didn’t arrive until very late in January and I thought that I might miss the deadline for taking the first film. However,  on 31 January I thought that I would load up the Clack and take a test roll. Loading the camera was a joy, and the Fomapan backing paper as clearly visible through the red window. The winding mechanism was smooth, and…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, March 2023: Second and third films with the Agfa Clack

After a difficult February I returned to the Frugal Film Project with renewed vigour in March. I had a film to finish in the Holga so took the opportunity to take the Agfa Clack to Aveiro at the same time. I took two films. The first I used to make a Pep Ventosa-like multiple exposure, the second was a general tour around the city. Sadly, I didn’t load the film correctly and ended up with a ‘fat…

View On WordPress

The KW Patent Etui 9x12 folding camera with 118 roll film holder, 15 April 2024

A rather unusual looking camera arrived in the post today. Actually, it’s two items that have been paired and sold together. The camera is a KW Patent Etui 9×12 folding camera, a beautifully well designed and very thin folding camera compared to the regular 9×12 folders I have seen. Attached to this, instead of a ground glass viewing hood, is a roll film back for 118 format film. I wasn’t…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, April 2024: Another day at the beach with the 1920s Generic Folding Camera

Earlier this month we went to Barra with the 1920s Generic folding camera. There I used my new film holders and made some images at 1/50s with an ND8 filter as I was convinced that the camera was not exposing at the set shutter speed but much slower. Unfortunately, somehow I went the wrong way and the images were still overexposed (though were certainly better and in fact came out a nice pastel…

View On WordPress

Another Folding Camera: A slightly better condition Kodak 1A Autographic Jr, 12 April 2024

Just lately I’ve become fascinated by really vintage folding cameras, by which I mean cameras from the 1920s, if not earlier. My first entry into the world of folding cameras was my Frankencamera, a broken Ihagee Viktor V that I combined with a 1980s Polaroid back to use with Instax Wide film. While this was successful, it was still frustrating that I could only load one Instax Wide film at a…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, April 2024: At the beach with the 1920s Generic Folding Camera

Last month we took the 1920s generic folding camera to Aveiro to photograph some street art. Although I have improved the framing by blocking out part of the ground glass screen with black electrical tape, I’m still having issues with overexposure. Using an aperture reading for 1/100s at ISO 800 and factoring in the change of aperture using the ND4 filter all of the exposures were overexposed and…

View On WordPress

A step too far? The Ensign Ensignette No. 1, 28 Mar 2024

A couple of weeks ago I posted on social media that now I have the Polaroid Big Shot there’s no other cameras that I really need. And then I came across what is undeniably the oldest camera in my collection, the Ensign Ensignette No. 1. Definitely falling under the Kamerastore’s ‘not passed’ category, the body is worn, the insides are full of rust, dirt and fungus and the bellows have large holes…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, February 2024 (Part Two): Using Neutral Density Filters with the 1920s Generic Folding Camera

Earlier this month I described how I was using the guides drawn on the ground glass by a previous owner of the 1920s generic folding camera to frame images on Instax Wide film. I also realised that on bright sunny days the camera would not stop down enough so that images were properly exposed, the film was just too sensitive, and I thought that it might be a good idea to use neutral density…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject, December 2023: The final entry of the year

My first year with the Frugal Film Project was a mixed bag. For a start it was really only ten months, we were away on holiday during August and apart from a few days in October when I took an Agfa Clack clone instead of the Clack that month was a washout. I also didn’t get out and about as much as I had intended and my outings weren’t as adventurous as I had hoped. I was also continually…

View On WordPress

The #FrugalFilmProject and how I came to end up with two Agfa Clacks, 19 May 2023

So on and off ( mostly off) I have been participating in this years Frugal Film Project on Facebook. I rarely take part in Facebook challenges, but this one has been around for a few years and I always find it interesting to see what people are posting each month. So this time I thought I would take part. I chose the Agfa Clack as my camera for the year and the film to use as Fomapan Retro. The…

View On WordPress

The Frugal Film Project 2023

The Frugal Film Project 2023: the one where I comment on my first #FrugalFilmProject experience. #believeinfilm @FilmFrugal

The Frugal Film Project is now in its fifth year and like a lot of film photography initiatives had its genesis online. From a bespoke website in 2019 it has migrated to the Facebook social media platform and this is my first involvement with the project although I’ve been aware of it for a couple of years now. The premise is simple – one camera, one film stock, one roll a month. The catch? Well,…

View On WordPress