The Click Means I'm Alive
Thanks to a better-than-expected tax refund, I’m finally in a position to start really updating this blog more. I picked up an Epson Perfection V500 scanner. Works beautifully so far. I look forward to updating much more often now.
I also splurged a bit on a new piece of equipment– a Bronica SQ-A. I’ve got my first roll of film in it now, but every time I press the shutter button is a complete rush. Keep your eyes on me. I’ve got great things in store.
There’s been a stirring in my world that’s got me pretty excited. On my trip to Louisiana a couple of weeks ago, I finally put my first roll of film through the Yashica Mat 124G. The subject of focus was an old structure that gives me an incredible amount of inspiration– Louisiana’s old state capital. It is one of the most unique buildings in the city of Baton Rouge, and in my opinion, the entire United States. Every time I visit the city of Baton Rouge, I have to park downtown and get up close and personal with this marvel.
Being my first experience using a TLR, it was quite amazing looking down into the ground-glass viewfinder and having the building seem to pop out in 3-D with a turn of the focusing knob. There will be many more adventures with my twin lens reflex cameras. The negatives from my first medium-format visit to the old state capital processed beautifully. In the next week, I hope to get some of these negatives scanned so I can show you just how clear and amazing these photos are.
I have more black-and-white film on the way, and even ordered some color for the Diana F+. Now that I’ve gone through most of the film I stockpiled in the past, it’s time to start restocking. I’ll be moving to 400 ISO film this time, as an experiment. I’ve been told by some experts in the field that 400 is not what it used to be. It’s not the sacrifice I always thought it to be in the past. My preference up to this point was 100 ISO or less. Once this film arrives, it should offer me more versatility, since it won’t need as much light and open aperture to yield great shots.
For the sake of having some photos that seem at least somewhat lomo (focus on the word “seem), here are a couple of photos I took using the Hipstamatic app on my phone. I don’t particularly care for the idea of a phone app trying to “copy” the lomo effect, but I’m secure enough in using it since I know it is still vastly inferior to light on film. If they hadn’t turned out as cool as they did, I wouldn’t even bother posting such a thing. It’s not Diana or Holga “quality,” but it was still fun. Hope you enjoy.
A simple sky shot. I love the distortion of the sky and sunlight.
A pigeon meandering around the courtyard at Ansley Mall.
Another shot of one of the pigeons. I was going to crop this one, but the “buckling” of the brick and tile was too fun to tinker with.
Until my next post, hope you have a great week.
As I’m still trying to gather my thoughts about the trip into some cohesive post, I’ll only say that it was good to see my dad, sister and niece. Things are holding together down there by a thread, but the thread holds with all its might.
I got to eat some great food, meet up with some people from high school and eat more great food. I’ve got 6.5 pounds extra on the scale to show for it. Boo!
Here’s a pic of me and my dad. I wish I was closer so I could see him more often..especially now.
Here’s another that I thought was a good one of him in his favorite chair out on the porch.
My heart is heavy with thoughts of the distance between us.
I woke up at about 9am to find that Matt was already awake. No sleep for him, but he was able to finish his butthurt project for Stitches. Rubberhoars must all bow to the acrylic Pea Pod Hat in adult size (pictures to come soon). We refer to it lovingly as the Pod People Hat. We laughed at the awesomeness, then I went downstairs and made some coffee.
After much coffee, we showered and headed out for lunch so we wouldn’t be shopping on an empty stomach. Cici’s Pizza buffet, thankyouverymuch, then off to Stitches! Once we arrived at Cobb Galleria, we bought our admission passes and headed in to the market. Right away, we were met with hugs by Bumblebee from Ravelry (sorry I can’t remember your real name, sweetie!). After talking a bit, we started browsing the market. One thing we noticed almost instantly was the diversity of the booths this year. There were many who were at Stitches last year, but this year there were some new ones that were very exciting. It seems that vendors this year traded real estate for heavier stock in a smaller booth, which only makes sense.
For fear of crossing WAY into the territory of the Teal Deer, I’ll make a list of highlights.
No Stitches today, as I have to do my duty and show up for work. Tomorrow, though, Matt and I will hit the market with a venageance. There are needles to be bought. There may also be more Bugga. We are totally hooked on this yarn.
That’s all for now, but I’ll update again Sunday evening.
So I’m on vacation this week, and loving every second of it. This is only the second day, but I’m so relaxed.
But just because I’m on vacation, that doesn’t mean the hands are staying idle. I’ve got a couple of new projects on the needles that I’m going between. The first one was inspired by Jared Flood of BrooklynTweed. It’s a simple garter stitch scarf in Noro Silk Garden. I’m letting the colors do the talking on this one, rather than the stitch pattern. At first it was going into the gift bin, but now I may just have to keep it for myself. Such are the dangers of knitting. Here’s a sneak preview.
On the flip side, my other current project is a lacy leaf scarf made out of a recycled wool J Crew sweater. My boyfriend loves ripping sweaters apart, and we share a love for thrift stores. This amounts to an almost unending source of inexpensive and good quality yarn. Here’s a look at the leaf scarf.
This leaf scarf is going to make a cozy, bright and cheery addition to someone’s Winter wardrobe this year. Once it’s blocked out, this scarf going to be huge!
And for now, I’m out of here. It’s time to get some lunch and park my butt in a quiet sunny place to get some work done on these two beauties.
I’ve only obliquely mentioned in this blog that I knit. If you’re curious about some of my other work, you can visit my scantily-updated knitting blog WoofKnits to see more. There’s a good chance I will integrate my knitting blog into this one, but for now go check it out!
My favorite knitting work is hats. They’re easy, fun and cover up my bald head. This hat is my latest finished project, and the pattern is called “Turn A Square” because the round stripes turn into squares at the crown of the hat. The pattern designer is Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. Check it out.
I’ll take some better photos, but that gives you the general idea. Great hat, no? Due to the cool mornings we’ve had so far this Spring, I’m actually wearing it as I type this post. More projects are in the works, but they’re not hats. I’ll post them here in the event someone stops by to check them out.
A few years ago, I fell in love with a camera called the Yashica Electro 35GSN. It’s a pretty straightforward rangefinder camera. You focus, control the aperture and the camera decides on the shutter speed depending on the aperture you set. I had no idea it was the camera that would start an obsession. After finding orphaned GSNs at thrift stores, I took the plunge and picked up a refurbished one on eBay. Here’s the baby–
With the flood of digital cameras in our society and our overall mindset, “everyone” sees themselves a photographer. There’s no thought needed to produce images on a phone or computer screen. There is no need for understanding exposure, shutter speed and aperture. Why worry when you can take 100 images and simply pick the “best” one. If you only have 12 shots on a roll of film, you’re going to damn well put some thought into what you’re doing. Don’t get me wrong, I have a digital camera that I use for point-and-shoot situations like the camera images in this post. In addition, I know that there are photographers that use digital cameras. The fundamental difference these photographers understand exposure and put thought into the images they capture with these digital cameras. Anyway, enough of that soapbox sermon.
After finding a Brownie Reflex II at a local thrift store, my attention turned to that singular class of cameras called TLRs (Twin Lens Reflex). To use a TLR, you look through a viewfinder on the top to see an image that is almost exactly what will be exposed on the film through the lower lens. Again, you control the aperture and shutter speed. After reading page after page on these works of art, I set my mind to getting myself one of my own. Can you guess who manufactured some of the better TLR cameras? That’s right..Yashica. Here are two of my more recent finds, both still in excellent working order–over fifty years after they their production.
With my learning to develop my own black and white film, using these beauties will be much more practical and fun.
So I’m a big fan of the group “Gay Boys with Beards” on Facebook. Apparently, it’s in danger of being closed. Ridiculousness. Here’s a fan badge for the group to show my solidarity.
As my blog’s name suggests, I am a huge fan of photography– especially lomographic work like that made with a Holga, Diana or other plastic toy camera. The unpredictable nature of these cheaply made cameras is their bane to a professional looking for consistency, but a treasure to those looking to release control of the photographic experience and just let things happen. The only drawback to using these cameras is that processing of the film is not as readily available as it once was. It can take a week to get a roll of film processed and printed or scanned. I’ve looked at Flickr a lot lately, losing myself in the eye of other people’s plastic lenses. Page after page of light leaks, dreamlike colors, unexpected textures and vignetting have been yelling inside my brain. Seeing the magic that people have been able to conjure out of the film by processing it at home, they know something I don’t, and I don’t like it. I want to know. I want to learn.
This need to learn is what put me in my car and led me to Showcase Video on Cheshire Bridge Road here in Atlanta. List in hand, I made my way to the darkroom supplies area of the store. I stood, dumbfounded, looking at shelves of chemicals, tanks and reels. I was completely overwhelmed. I needed more than a list. I needed help. After about ten minutes of picking things up and reading labels before putting them back, a man I later found out was named Barry came up to me and started asking me what I was looking for. He didn’t work there, as he did not have on a logo shirt for the store. I meekly told him what I was wanting to do, and he started suggesting things to me. “Pick this chemical. It’s the same as that one but not expensive.” The blaring sound of his cell phone put an abrupt end to our conversation. I was again sweating inside as I continued to look at the almost cryptic labels on the developing chemicals.
After he finished his call, I asked him to confirm the chemicals he had recommended to me. I started looking at the tanks and reels, which prompted him to give me a business card and tell me to come see him for my hardware. He was going to sell me everything I needed for a small fraction of the price Showcase was charging. After looking at the price tags on the reels and tanks in the store, I quickly agreed. I told him I’d be at his work, Photography Center of Atlanta, at noon on Friday. I still didn’t know what I was in for.
Friday, I showed up and was led back to the wet room. It was a mish-mash of trays of liquids, bottles of other liquids, tongs, reels…you name it. Barry took some time to answer some preliminary questions, then did what any pro would do. He showed me some of his work. Prints from 35mm, 120, even 5X7 plate film. Unbelievable work from as recently as January and as old as the start of the 20th century. I loved every second. This is where I belonged.
He took me into the wet room and showed me his setup. After a few minutes, he asked if I wanted to sit in while he processed a few rolls of 120 film. I couldn’t believe it. I eagerly agreed to stay and watch him do his work. Over the next three hours, I watched him process three rolls of 120 film and 5 rolls of 35mm film. Between each roll, he told me stories of exhibits he had done and people he had met along the way. As I sat in the dark talking to him and listening to him pull the film out of its protective canisters, I realized he was giving birth to someone’s vision. He was taking personal moments of someone’s life that had been transferred to film, and giving them safe passage to the world outside those canisters. Photography became not so much an act of capturing moments, but setting them free.
All in all, I got a hell of a deal on equipment and made a new friend. I honestly could have stayed in that wet room/dark room all day long. I didn’t feel afraid to do this on my own. Instead, I felt challenged, inspired… I felt alive. For the next few days, I’ll be practicing loading film onto reels in the dark. It’s the hardest part of the work, and leads to big problems if you don’t do it correctly. Ultimately, loading the reels is not difficult, it just requires focus.
While I have my doubts about many things in the universe, I have no doubts that this was not just a chance meeting. This man’s path crossed mine for a reason. He came into my life so I could realize a dream that I’ve held with slippery fingers for years. Look for more from me. A lot more.
I’m one of the biggest supporters of long, cold winters in the South. I love being able to wear hats and scarves and coats and..well, you get the idea. This particular Winter, though, has been a particularly cold one. While I won’t admit it to anyone else, I’ll be very glad to see this Winter pass. And while every Spring is different, I’m striving to make this one the best one ever.
What a difference a month makes.
Here was mid-February..
And here’s March 16th..
Spring is a great time of year. Not too cold, not too hot. Because it’s the time that flowers bloom and birds return from their migratory Winter homes, it’s seen as a time of rebirth. This particular Spring will be a rebirth for me as well. Over the past 6 weeks, I’ve lost 16 pounds. Considering Winter is a time when most people gain weight, I’m excited to get outside this year and start really making the pounds fall off.
Board shorts this summer. That’s my goal, and I’m off to a hell of a start. If I can keep up the same pace on my weight loss, I’ll be very close to my goal weight by the end of the summer. It’s going to take work, though. The more I lose, the harder more work it’s going to take in order to keep losing. It’s an exciting challenge, and I’m looking forward to realizing a dream I’ve had since fourth grade. Almost thirty years of being overweight. It’s about damned time.
Fotografia 