Bridport and Symondsbury on Agfa APX 100

I’m off work for a few days, so I’ve decided to actually use up some of the many different film stocks I’ve brought in the last few months/years to try, and to use as many of my film cameras at least once each, as I can! First is Agfa APX 100.

Bridport is a small market town 1.5 miles inland from the coast and dates back to Saxon times. I recently made a quick “pit stop” there to visit one shop, Palmers. I’d heard about it many times, but it closes on my usual day off so this is the first time I’ve visited, I doubt it will be my last. It’s full of old photos, albums, cine film, stereo pairs, film cameras, and even stocks Foma film. I purchased a couple of old portraits and a “Wirly Washer”!

Next door is RJ Balson and Son, a butcher, established in 1515! This was the year before the first published account of the discovery of North America appeared!! It’s been in its current location since 1880, and has been run by 25 successive generations. It must be one of the oldest family businesses in Britain. Certainly worthy  a photo.

Just up the road is Symondsbury,  a small village that is recorded in the Domesday Book. Most famous for Colmers Hill, that’s the hill that featured in my recent Woodcut print buy. You can read about that here: https://andysphotoblog.org/2021/09/26/coincidence-again/ 

It is believed that the name comes from the “Colmer Tenement”. The family were tenants in the 17th and 18th centuries and the Rev. John Colmer was the rector from 1805–06.

The Church is dedicated to St John the Baptist, inside, but too dark to photograph is a list of previous vicars that goes back to 1325. I can’t find much history on the building itself. A few bits might date from that time, but it looks mostly younger to my eyes. Perhaps there were extensive restorations over the centuries.

All the photo’s in this post were made with the Canon EOS 30, and the film was my first try with Agfa APX 100. A light yellow filter was used on all exposures. It seems to be naturally quite a contrasty film. I know the original was favoured by Ansel Adams, but that was the original emulsion actually made by Agfa. This is according to the web most likely re-branded Kentmere film, made by Ilford as a cheaper line. I might try a roll of that sometime to see how that fares, but as I have a large supply of out of date FP4 to use up there seems little point to hurry! It is certainly edge printed as AGFA APX 100. This roll was developed in my usual Ilfosol 1+9 20 degrees, for 5 1/2 minutes. Conclusion – I rather like it! and have made very few corrections to these scans.