We did it! We completed an entire year with one film and one camera… and both were what you would call errr… cheap!
No Hassleblads, Rolleis or Leicas here… no it was Pentax, Petri and Minolta. But the one big thing, we did get to know the gear and film stock very well and it was fun… but now what? Keep doing the same thing? Heck no… lets amp things up a notch! Change the project… gasp! But, but but… why? Mostly because we were starting to get bored.
Even with changes we are saying Good-bye to a few members, sad face, they completed the project, but it just wasn’t for them or they just have too much happening in their life to continue. Have to give them credit for sticking it out, an entire year of something is much harder than it sounds.
Congratulations to:
- Dustin Cogsdell
- Matt Jones
- Kevin Dillon
- Brian Havican
for completing the project! We will miss you. Here’s hoping 2020 brings you prosperity and fulfills all of your photography expectations!
So what’s in store for the FFP in 2020?
Well, one camera? No, we can change camera each quarter of the year, meaning four times per year. But we still have the $50 USD budget, no cameras over a$50 value allowed. One cheap film? Ummm, not as much, sadly. You see, we choose films that came in both 35mm and 120; sadly there is no Kodak Gold in 120! Next we put it to a group vote to choose which one we shoot first. We used a random name chooser to pick the order the film is shot. The winners were:
- HP5
- Lomo 800
- Ektar
- TriX
We will all be shooting the same film at the same time, so if Sam is shooting HP5 then Monette is shooting HP5… but format is up to the person shooting. Also this year we choose one photo of the month and write a bit about shooting it… just a small paragraph.
Now for some super exciting news! We have new members and we have grown! To the point that well, membership had to be closed. Lets welcome:
- Kate Johnson
- Jr. Wyatt
- Betsey Karl
- Dan Marinelli
- Aragon Etzel
- Dale Rogers
- Nick Orloff
Over the next few days, our November and December photos will be posted, while we start shooting January, but along with that… our biographies will be posted and updates will be done.
Returning for 2020 is:
- Monette Cruz
- Nelson Mullis
- Sam Warner
- Jason Konpinski
- Matt Melcher
- Matt Murray
- Sherry Christensen
- Graham Binns
- Marius-Andrei Voicu
Stay tuned… and give us a follow on Instagram! @frugalfilmproject
The Frugal Film Project 
I meant to suggest a different project for 2020 but wasn’t well enough. I’d have liked the criterion for camera used to be age not cost. Some of the cameras used last year have excellent lenses and keep the film flat, which is all that matters I think. It would be interesting for such a project to be, say, pre-1940, uncoated lens, etc.
great idea for a future project… who knows what the photographers will choose!