Frugal Film Project Take Two: July Edition

Hello and welcome to another installment of the Frugal Film Project. The internet challenge that tasks you with buying a cheap film camera (for me it’s a Lomography Lubitell 166 Universal from the good ol’ Soviet Union of yesteryear) and pairing it with a cheap-ish film and shooting one roll each month for a year. Seeing as I am a dumbass and a glutton for punishment I am doing two rolls per month this year. Kodak Gold 200 and Kentmere 100.

Both of July’s rolls were shot in Boston. We’ll start in color with Kodak Gold 200. It was July 5th and I was curious to see what was still around following the best 4th of July celebration in the country, the Boston Pops show on the Esplanade. Unlike last month, all 12 photos came out. I started on Boston Common and walked over to the Esplanade in hopes of seeing some stuff worth seeing along the Charles River.

I am always extra careful to make sure that the image in the viewfinder is level before I click the shutter. Either my viewfinder is out of line or clicking the shutter causes me to dip the camera down to the right because almost every shot I’ve ever taken with this camera is crooked.

So that’s one roll down for July. I had every intention of shooting the second roll that same day but something came up and I had to end my photowalk early. I went back on July 19th to shoot the roll of Kentmere 100. I retraced a lot of my steps but I managed to visit Acorn Street as well. That is considered to be the most photographed street in Boston. Once again, all 12 shots came out. That’s kinda miraculous to me.

And that concludes the black and white Kentmere film portion of the project. Two rolls of film, 12 images each. Last year I started this game in May and was successful through August before failing in September. This year I started in May again and I need to last one more month to match last year’s attempt. I think I can do it. Tomorrow is August 1st and I have no clue where I want to go for the next two rolls. Somewhere in Boston, probably, but we’ll see. Until then… go shoot some film!

Frugal Film Project Take Two: June Edition

I am typing this post on a MacBook Pro using a Windows keyboard which means the keyboard shortcut for copy and paste is different than I am used to, which means that I am going to screw things up left and right. Enjoy.

The Frugal Film Project Lives. My second attempt at shooting a roll of (relatively) inexpensive film through a camera I spent less than $50 on each month for a year. I tried it last year and failed after four months. This year I am trying it again. I started in May. This post covers June. July’s edition is 50% shot but nothing has been developed yet. It’s only July 6th, give me a break, okay?

As stated in the May edition of the blog posts, I am trying to do this twice this year. One attempt is shooting Kodak Gold 200 through my Lomo Lubitell 166 Universal. The other is the same camera shooting Kentmere 100.

First, we’ll look at the Kodak Gold images. There should be 12 but because I suck at life there are 11. The camera needs to be manually wound. There is a little red window on the back that lets you see the back of the film as you wind it. You’re supposed to wind it until you see the number 1 in the little window and then stop. That spot will be your first photo. Makes sense, right? Numbnutz over here wound too far and had to start on number 2. Idiot.

So here come the 11 shots. First we have a sunrise at Hampton Beach in Hampton Beach, NH. I took these on June 14, 2026.

000371110008 — I suck at photography, part 1

000371110007 — After a short drive to the North…

000371110006 — I want to say I like the lens flare but… maybe not

Okay, we’re done with Hampton Beach. Now we move on to the Newburyport Harborwalk Rail Trail in Newburyport, MA.

000371110005 — I had a feeling the sun was going to be too much for this really slow camera and sure enough…

000371110003 — I feel like I am learning a lesson here

000371110001 — The bad photography continues

With that, our color experience comes to an end. There should be 12 photos but I am an idiot and there are only 11. Project 2A is complete. Now we move on to project 2B and everything is in black and white. These pics are also from the Harborwalk Rail Trail and they also have problems with too much sun… because I suck.

000370260011 — I mean, at least I wasn’t looking directly at the sun, right?

000370260010 — I suck at photography, part 2

000370260009 — Do I actually like this one? If so, why?

000370260007 — A bridge too far, or something

000370260006 — I suck at photography, part 3

000370260005 — Yup, I suck at photography, part 4

000370260003 — Chairs. I feel like I could have composed this better

There we have it. Frugal Film Project 2B has been shared. Next time I will avoid shooting into the sun when it’s high and overpowering like this. Oh well.

I said the July edition of the project is half done. I shot the roll of Kodak Gold yesterday (July 5th) in Boston. I was planning on shooting the Kentmere roll too but I got pulled away. I will have to go out and shoot one more time this month in order to stay on track. I mean, I can’t have a project go bust faster than last year, right?

Also, in closing… I feel like a putz for missing a shot on the first roll. I’ll share one more pic. This was taken one week later, July 21st, on Harman Phoenix II, which I have officially moved to the “never buy this film again” list. I just don’t like it. Unfortunately, I still have a bunch of it in my film stash. Crap. This one is the Concord River in Lowell, MA. It sucks, but at least it brings this masterpiece of a blog post up to 24 photos.

PS: As I was posting these pics I was blowing them up pretty huge on my big gigantic monitor. These are medium format photos and even though they really suck ass, after viewing them… I get it. The medium format thing. I get it. The resolution is just… I don’t know. It’s something though. I get it.

The Frugal Film Project Lives Again

I bet you’ve been seeing this coming for a while now… or not because no one actually reads this, but that’s not the point. I’m trying to connect here folks, gimme a break, m’kay?

The Frugal Film Project, Buy a cheap film camera, buy some relatively cheap film (there is no such thing as cheap film in 2026), shoot one roll each month for a year. I can do that, right? Hell yes, I can. Except of course that I tried it last year and failed. I started in May and made it through four months. In September I did not get a single shot in, never mind a whole roll. Oh well.

Now, one year later, let’s try again. There’s a twist this time though. Last year I decided to use my little Soviet TLR, a Lomo Lubitel 166 Universal that I bought for a little less than $50 on eBay and much to my surprise it actually worked. I also decided to use Kentmere 400 film only to realize as I was packing up to shoot the first roll that I didn’t actually have any of that film so I changed my mind and went with Kodak Gold 200. How’s that for thinking on my feet, eh?

The twist this year is that I am actually going to try and do this twice. I am going to follow last year’s plan of the Lubitel and Gold, but I am also going to try to follow last year’s original plan of the Lubitel and Kentmere, though I don’t have any Kentmere 400 right now (deja-vu all over again) so we’re going with Kentmere 100. Let’s call the Gold roll Frugal Film Project 2A, and the Kentmere roll Frugal Film Project 2B. I have a roll of project 2A from May 1st and project 2B from May 5th. Both rolls have been developed and all 12 shots from each roll came out okay. We’re off to a good start. Two of them, actually!

Here’s the first roll. These were taken at the ocean.

We start at a little spot off the road where you can see some fishing and charter boats. This is not actually the ocean, of course. Is it a bay? A little harbor? I’m not nautical enough to know the proper term. Also, dig that friggin weird line through the photo. My first roll or two that I shot in this camera last year had that on a few shots but then it went away. Now it’s back. Hooray.

Next we go to Hampton Beach and we see my biggest issue with this camera. Not only is it almost impossible to focus on the little focusing screen, but for some reason I cannot keep the friggin’ images level. I don’t think I lean this much when I stand still but who knows. Do I have one leg significantly longer than the other? What is the actual deal?

On the road to Plum Island, stopping to look at planes. Some day I am going to hang out here and shoot some planes actually taking off. Someday.

Check out the amateur’s shadow. Friggin’ hack.

Next we have Plum Island itself. This is the mouth of the Merrimack River, where it dumps into the ocean, and the Plum Island Lighthouse.

And there you have it. The Frugal Film Project take two, roll A. I am such a nerd.

Now we move on to take two, roll B. We leave color film behind and move on to the magical mystery tour that is black and white. We also travel from the ocean to Boston, where I sort of expect to take most of these pics in the future. This was a walk along Newbury Street, a little stretch of Mass Ave near Berklee College of Music, and then on Comm Ave.

So maybe I finished the roll before I made it over to Comm Ave. Sorry about that.

Right then, two rolls of medium format, 120 film shot on a cheap camera by a cheap, talentless red head. Two instances of month one of the Frugal Film Project. I haven’t figured out where I will go for June’s pics. I’d guess that at least one of the rolls will be in Boston again. We will all just have to wait and see together.

Frugal Film Project

I wanted to do this back in January but it was cold out there and I forgot.

The Frugal Film Project is an internet challenge to buy a cheap camera and shoot a roll of cheap(ish) film through it every month for a year. The rule used to be that you had to grab the camera for under $50 but that was before prices ballooned during the pandemic so now it’s $75.

I bought my little Soviet TLR camera, a Lomo Lubitel 166 Universal, for about $40 so it qualifies. You’re supposed to use budget film but I don’t think such a thing actually exists anymore. Even cheap film is grossly expensive. I am going to play this game with the Lubitel and Kodak Gold 200 film. I started it on Memorial Day at Riverside Park in Methuen, a couple of weeks ago, so month number one is May 2025. I’ve already shot a roll in June too, in Harvard Square, but I won’t get that developed for a couple of weeks.

The camera only shoots 12 pics to a roll and (magically, for me) all 12 on the May roll came out okay. Here they are……..

Protected: Frugal Film Project Part 1, May 2025

Protected: Harvard Square

Protected: Am I Doing the Frugal Film Project?

Another Resolution

The Frugal Film Project.

One roll of film per month using a cheap camera and cheap film.

I’ll use my new cheap Soviet medium format camera. I think you’re supposed to use the same film each month but I’ll bend that rule because I don’t want to use black and white all year and the roll in the camera right now is black and white and also I want to feel like a rebel.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Also the link is to an out of date website. It was replaced by a facebook group and I don’t like linking to facebook. You understand, I’m sure.

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