Bah Humbug: The Film Photography Grinch

Ho, ho, ho! Tis’ the season of joy! Is it though?

Before we get into the BAH HUMBUG section, a few news items and updates for you.

If you stay until the end through all my chatter, I promise a sweet surprise, but also we could probably be friends for life.

And no, I’m not actually going to be a GRINCH.

And yes, I know BAH HUMBUG was actually said by SCROOGE.

RECENT HEADLINES IN FILM PHOTOGRAPHY

• Ilford releases Kentmere in Medium Format for 100 ISO and 400 ISO

• Dubblefilm releases TREAT, 35MM ISO 400 C41 FILM

• Camera Film Photo releases Kiki Pan 320 35mm film

• Next Generation Intrepid Camera Updates: Cameras, Website, and Logo

FILM-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Outings & Rolls:

A roll on the H35 Ektar (still testing for a review) of HP5 (24 frames turned 48), developed and scanned at home in the economical Obsidian Aqua with an Alkaline fixer and water stop bath:

I’m not sold on this camera and it may find itself in the next batch of ebay listings if it's not careful!

Test of a mint Canon Sure Shot u90ii that Mike honestly found for me for $5 at a charity shop. Also developed in Obsidian Aqua and scanned at home:

I love this camera. Love it. 

Finally developed one of the last two undeveloped rolls from Paris, DELTA 3200, this time in the last of my Adox Rodinal for 11 minutes with Ado-Fix, scanned at home:

Can’t wait to share more of this roll in a video or post soon because this film rocks! Won’t buy it again though because of the cost, but it was fun while it lasted. :)

The color rolls from Paris came back from Analogue Wonderland and I scanned them in:

Again, I cannot wait to share more of these soon via video or post or both :)

Youtube Videos Released

BAH HUMBUG - A RAMBLE

Here in the UK, the holiday predominantly celebrated around this time of year is…of course…Christmas.

Though my memory of home is fading a little bit and I feel slightly out of touch with the USA, I recall a society in which I lived that was headed towards a very general holiday sentiment at the time.

Happy Holidays replaced Merry Christmas, harking back to circa 2005-2019.

At least in New England, we wanted to be sensitive to all celebrations and recognize that there are a whole load of folks that do not celebrate Christmas.

Take a peek at just a few of the other celebrations that happen in December:

• Rohatsu / Bodhi Day - Buddhist

• Hanukkah - Judaism

• Winter Solstice - Wicca/Neo-Pagan

• Kwanzaa - African-American / Pan-African

• Pancha Ganapati - Hindu

• Yalda - Zoroastrian

• Yule - Wicca/Neo-Pagan

• Ashura - Islam

• Zarathosht Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathustra) - Zoroastrian

• Feast of the Holy Family - Catholic

This list was a result of a 15-minute google search/research and is by no means likely a complete list.

I’m sure there are many more religious celebrations across the globe, but this is just for illustrative purposes.

I’ve been reflecting on the differences I’ve seen here in the UK compared to what now feels like a distant previous life sometimes (a rather sad sentiment as I do often miss my home country).

In the UK and in Cardiff specifically, everything is about Christmas. But when I say everything, I'm mostly referring to the mainstream media and council supported programs.

Language. What people say, how things are phrased, the words used in marketing, events, and naming.

For example, in Cardiff, we have the Christmas Markets. Not a holiday market, a Christmas Market. We have the Christmas Festival at Cardiff Castle.

There are no “Holiday” trees as we had in schools in New England (USA), no, they are CHRISTMAS trees.  

The official tourism board called Visit Cardiff uses this language:

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: Take a look at everything our capital has to offer this Christmas, whether you're going on a Winter Wonderland adventure, watching a Christmas show, or shopping in our Christmas market, find everything that's going on our dedicated Christmas page. 

In the 2011 Census, 51% of Cardiff identified as Christian.

As reported by Wales Online though, the population of Christian-identified dropped and the population of “No-religion” increased. 

A short observation, really, which I’ll try to wrap up now. In a most basic sense, I find myself continually struck by how different my adopted home is from my home country, culturally.

Well, duh! Molly, it’s a completely different nation. One that some of your ancestors ran (or were driven) away from…

The short of it: it’s unapologetically Christmas here in Cardiff.

Now, because it’s the holiday/Christmas season, a lot of places focus on the cultural tradition of “gift-giving”, which in modern consumerism terms means we are surrounded by marketing. Ads, ads, ads. Deals, deals, deals. Buy, buy, buy.

UK media is ablaze with the rising costs of living, but so too with the Christmas marketing agenda. Businesses have to keep up their profit margins and their costs are rising too. Unions are hitting the strikes hard. I’m not going to get into the rest of it.

It’s tough out there, kids.

The message of “save, save, save” doesn’t stimulate the economy or deepen a select few pockets or support our friends small businesses.

I had a conversation yesterday with a young woman who worked at a shop where I was purchasing coffee filters for my black coffee basic pour-over addiction...

(when I say basic pour-over, I mean no exact measurements and using a regular kettle kind of pour-over sacrilige…)

We chatted for a moment about our shared dream of having a lush espresso machine in our homes, making fresh lattes, steaming and frothing the milk, then sipping our creations in a comfortable chair by a big window under a cosy blanket next to a warm fire (or youtube fire).

Then about the price of such machines and how it was way out of both our current budgets. Then about how it was going to be a no-presents Christmas because nobody could afford the expensive “gift-giving” tradition.

BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FILM PHOTOGRAPHY?!

I know, I know. The rabbit hole of rambling minds and unedited writing is a dangerous place. 

The topic of Christmas and presents, turns now into affording film.

If you place yourself center of the film community space online (if such a place even exists), you might hear a fair few folks complaining about the affordability of film. 

It’s too high. Cameras are too expensive. Film is too expensive. Dev and scan costs broke me. 

We are going back to digital. We are going to black and white. We are going to home develop and scan. We are going to shoot digicams.

Which are all great ways to save money.

But you don’t necessarily have to give up that thing you love because it got a little more expensive. There are other avenues of saving money to explore…

Have a look at your priorities and what you are willing and able to sacrifice to afford something.

Take a really hard look at every single $1 that comes out of your account or goes on that charge/credit card.

Has anyone mentioned selling the 2, 5, 10, 20 other cameras they don’t use on a daily basis? Canceling their Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu subscriptions? Giving up alcohol?

Drinking coffee only at home? Not eating out and certainly no Deliveroos? Shopping for clothes only when absolutely needed & at charity shops? Not buying/wearing make-up? DIY first? Shop for needs, not wants?

(These questions of course assume a certain level of privilege to even have these things to give up in the first place, yes. Having a camera and a roll of film is viewed as a privilege by many, too many sadly).  

I wrote a blog post more about this topic here if you are interested in reading more about saving money and prioritizing film. Or prioritizing whatever you want or need in life. It’s been on my mind a lot recently for different reasons.

Dramatic Ways I Make Film Photography Affordable

Ok, maybe a lot of those things are not THAT dramatic, but hey gotta get your attention somehow :) (and a few of them are!)

Speaking of prioritizing what you want/need in life, I also wanted to share one of my favorite podcasts and also two people who make a lot of sense, the Minimalists. Have you heard of them? Check them out here.

The Frugal Film Project is also something worth checking out that shows you don’t need to spend much at all to still shoot film.

Sooooooo BA HUMBUG? No, of course not.

While I don’t celebrate Christmas religiously, I love the spirit that surrounds it, of the holidays, the one that focused on family, friends, love, and laughter.

Quality over quantity.

Spending TIME with each other. Our most precious non-renewable resource, TIME.

The generosity of those that have to those that didn’t. Charity and compassion, all values that most religions share in common.   

There is still loads of that around, but it seems to get more and more lost in the noise of consumerism. Of quantity over quality. Of expectations, and pressures. Of presents, not presence. (ziiiinnnng ;p).

Only if we let it though.

If you don’t have the cash and don’t need it to live, don’t buy it and don’t feel bad about it. Save your budget and the financial stress. Don’t charge it. Make a pact with others to have a time-rich or activity/people-focused holiday.

Not having a credit card anymore has been the healthiest thing for my personal finances as an impulse-driven spender in recovery.  

Create things for people that are more affordable.

For example, this year and most years, we make incredibly delicious (if I do say so myself) candy TOFFEE for friends/family as gifts. It takes a lot of time and energy to make and disappears in a heartbeat.

BUTTER TOFFEE

Here’s the recipe! This was a family secret, but because you are so awesome and have made it all the way to the end, I want to share it with you :)

My apologies if you don’t like or can’t have sugar, butter, chocolate, or nuts…anyone in this camp?

What the recipe doesn’t include is the most important part at the end:

1. Break the sheet of toffee into bit sized pieces (don’t eat too many!).

2. Melt either milk or semi-sweet chocolate (I prefer milk) in a glass container you can dip in (4-cup glass Pyrex works great).

3. Grind/chop (approx. 4-6 cups-ish) pecan nuts and pour into a larger rectangular container.

4. Dip toffee bits quickly in chocolate (covering all of it) and then quickly roll in pecans and set on a tray.

5. Once the tray is full, pop it in the freezer for at least an hour.

Try not to eat them all in one sitting, they are highly addictive. :)

If pecan nuts and chocolate are not in the budget, then just skip them…butter and sugar are generally less costly and that part is good enough on its own.

Golden syrup (UK) can be substituted for Corn syrup (USA thing).

THE END

I’m not sure what that was all about, but as I sat down today to write the Substack, it’s what came out on the page.

So hope you found something up there interesting. If you did, consider sharing this with your friends and family.

Not all posts will be this rambly, but it is a bit eclectic around here so you never know. One thing for sure, it will always be around film photography (for the most part)!

Tell me what you celebrate or if you don’t.

Let me know your thoughts via email or the comments below! Or on YT, INSTA, TIKITTY TOK, I’m in all the places these days :)

Wish you all the best,

-M

p.s. Can we exchange friendship bracelets now?