March Frugal Film Project
Frugal & Film.
In 2024, these words do not seem to be compatible in the age of digital cameras like the ones built into all our pocket computers/iPhones or for the more practiced hobbyist, an actual digital camera but…no, who am I kidding, film is definitely not cheap. That said, film has seen a revival since the pandemic and while the classic vintage cameras like Hasselblads and Leicas are still heavily desired (and expensive), there’s been an effort to show people that film photography can still be attainable to people not wanting to spend large sums on cameras and film.
The Frugal Film Project started a while back through a Facebook group and 2024 is my first year doing it after just getting back into film photography in July 2023 (15 years after I swore I was done using film). My camera of choice for 2024 is a Holga 120GCFN, a plastic camera with a decent glass lens. Images from Holga 120s are known for having lots of character- their sharpness and light fall off quickly from the center of the image- to technical purists, those traits make for lousy photos but to many, including me, that character is one that gives the resulting images life and appeal. My journey towards analog photography is in part because I find digital photos now too sterile- my 45 megapixel Canon creates some of the most beautiful images that I’ve ever seen; photos are noise/grain free, the colors are brilliant, and the quality of the lenses create ridiculously sharp photos. While those traits are great for many types of photography (I’ll never not use that digital camera), I love the imperfections from film cameras and with the Holgas, those imperfections are many.
Filling the 12 images from my March roll (I’m using Kodak Tri-X 400) took me all around southeastern Idaho, from Pocatello, to McCammon, to Chesterfield. Check out my March 2024 roll from the Frugal Film Project here. Film was developed at theFINDlab in Orem, UT via mail order and scanned on a Noritsu.
A print from the roll is available here.