For month #2 of the 2024 Frugal Film Project, I headed toward the West side of Dayton, Ohio to take some images of the current state that it is in.

Dayton has seen a resurgence in recent years, with a lot of revitalization happening in the downtown area. One of the biggest developments is the rehabbing and repurposing of the Dayton Arcade. And there are many apartments and hotels popping up to take advantage of a more vibrant downtown area.

Unfortunately, the money and effort that is being poured into the downtown area has not yet made it over to the area West of the Great Miami River. West Dayton is still in a decline, with abandoned houses, businesses, and areas of just general neglect. It’s a shame really, as there are a lot of beautiful homes in the area that have been falling into ruin. My grandparents on my father’s side lived in West Dayton, and even then as a little kid visiting them I could see the gradual decline. Now, the area is almost unrecognizable.

I left my house just after sunrise to make the 30 minute drive to the area near Gettysburg Avenue and Germantown Pike. The skies were full of clouds, with the occasional bit of sun peaking through here and there. A perfect morning for photography.

My film of choice for the year long challenge is New Classic’s EZ400, which as I mentioned in my last post, is re-branded Fomapan 400. Knowing that its really closer to a 250 speed film, I set my film speed accordingly in my Nikon F80, and also screwed a cheap orange filter on the front of the 50mm lens to help pop the skies a bit more. Foma/EZ 400 is more red sensitive and less blue sensitive, so this was a good choice over using a red filter which might be just a bit too much.

Shooting in a depressed area can have its own issues. I try not to be overly obvious about taking images, and also am mindful about the fact that I am photographing places that people call home. On this outing there were several images I just didn’t take because the situation wasn’t good, or there were people around and I didn’t want to be “that guy”. Also, a guy walking around with what might be perceived as an expensive camera can stick out like a sore thumb. Strangers don’t know or care if I tell them I spent less than $75 on it. All they know is that I look suspicious.

I have a personal rule about photographing homeless people. I don’t do it. It feels wrong and exploitive. I know its a little hypocritical to be fine with shooting derelict buildings but drawing the line at homeless people, but its my line. There were some images of buildings that I didn’t take during the walk because a homeless person was camped out front.

It took almost 3 hours of walking about to finish the roll. In that 3 hours I was approached a few times and asked what I was doing, and as always I was respectful and honest. Most people really are just curious.

After driving home and then eating some lunch, I developed the roll in Rodinal developer. I used the Semi-Stand method once again - 1:100 mix ratio, 68F degrees, for 60 minutes. Agitation at the 15, 30, and 45 minute marks. Then standard stop and fix.

Below are some of my favorite images from the roll.

I’m really starting to like the Foma/EZ400 film. I like how punchy it is, and I’m even warming to the amount of grain that it has. Over the last several years, the majority of my film photography has been on medium format. The one thing that I am reminded of is just how long it takes to shoot 36 exposures. I’ve become slow and methodical in my photography due to shooting so much 120 film, and that carries over into the way I am shooting 35mm. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, I guess.

OK, that’s about it for February’s Frugal Film adventure. Stay tuned for March —- I’m going on vacation, and plan on shooting my Frugal roll on the trip.

Thanks for reading,

Jeremy