Walkabout

(Snapped on 1/30/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

Lately I've gotten into the habit of taking walks. Sometimes I stroll up the road from my house, other times I drive to a particular place, park my car and walk aimlessly for hours...

(Snapped on 2/02/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

...and I always bring my arsenal of cameras along with me.

(Snapped on 2/04/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

What I love so much about doing this, is both - noticing things that I never would've otherwise, and finding value in things that I've likely seen a hundred times before.

(Snapped on 2/04/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

The simple act of walking, forces me to slow down, and pay closer attention...and the surprises I find make me smile.

(Snapped on 2/04/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

The most ordinary subjects suddenly seem so exquisite... 

(Snapped on 2/04/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

...and my cameras make it possible, to keep those things with me...even after I'm home from my walk.

Middle Ground

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

I get fussed at, from time to time, for my tendency to center myself in the majority of my self-portraits. And I'll admit that I'm not real keen on the whole "rule of thirds" thing, but that's not to say that I don't understand or appreciate it...I guess it's more that it just doesn't come naturally to me.

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

(Unless I can find a way to train myself out of it - I might be doomed to be a symmetry gal, forever...)

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

Thing is though, toy camera photography practically gives me carte blanche - to place my subjects dead smack in the middle of the frame. The images are mostly only tight - right in the center...

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

...and that - coupled with the square format of the prints - really jibes with how I usually set up my shots...

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

Yet another blessed reason, to dearly LOVE my favorite Holga...

Staying Alert

(Snapped on 2/15/11 - using an iPhone and an Instagram filter)

Yesterday, I went snowboarding with my kids at a nearby ski resort. It was the last day of the Winter Tuesday ski/snowboard program that their school organizes every year, and I went feeling fairly confident that - because of the superb setting and weather, and since it would be my last chance to capture that stellar scenery until next year - certainly I'd come home with a pile of new pics. featuring the vast expanse of mountain range, powder blue sky, brush stroke clouds and snow-covered trails.

That did not turn out to be the case, sad to say...I took one (so-so) picture looking backwards down the mountain while riding up on the chair lift, and a few snapshots of the kids and some of their friends...and that was pretty much it. 

I was super bummed that I was coming home virtually empty-handed, and all alone - seeing as how I'd just dropped my kids off to be with their dad for the night. But after saying, "I love you guys. See ya' tomorrow" and then pulling my car out of the parking lot to head home - something around the corner caught my eye. I parked illegally (knowing I'd only need to be there for a minute or two) and hurried over to take some quick pics. of a child's ball which had rolled from god knows where, and come to rest on a drain in the alleyway.

What I liked about the photo, wasn't so much the image itself...but rather, the fact that I hadn't anticipated taking it. Made me wonder how many times I've missed things like this...and if (let's just say) I had reached my projected quota that day, would I have been in such a hurry to get home to review my new pics., that I possibly could've missed this shot, too?

Jesus and the Hydrant

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

I have driven past this Jesus statue practically every single day, for the last coupla years...but I only found him photogenic enough to bother pulling my car over to the side of the road, and jumping out real quick to make his portrait - after I saw him standing there, in the new-fallen snow...

I took this picture on a Saturday, but it seemed fitting to post it on a Sunday...

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

I also drive past this little guy most days too, it turns out...but unlike Jesus up the road - I'd never noticed the humble hydrant, until he made his presence known against that blanket of white.

I liked how - snow on the ground and my Holga 'round my neck - helped me treasure things that I normally would not have... 

"Wish I Was Here"

(Snapped in February, 2011 - using an iPhone)

Ok so, I used up all of my free time today - finishing a new post for The Big Ugly. Next up? The Saturday afternoon run-around. Translation? Spending the better part of the rest of the day, toting my kids and their friends here and there. Which means - no long-winded analysis of analog photography - just a camera phone snap (with an Instagram effect) to let you know that I did stop by...but I wish that I could've stayed longer. 

Hope everyone's having a good weekend! Check ya' laterz...

The Battle of the Holgas

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

I don't know if muscle memory is the proper term for it, really...learned behavior might be a more accurate description of my tendency to err on the side of excess by taking about a million pictures of (essentially) the same subject - in order to ensure that I get the desired shot. Since stepping into the lo-fi photography arena, one of my greatest challenges has been in training myself to be stringent about dedicating only one frame to each subject. Which can be a bit tricky - because without the convenience of reviewing pics. as soon as they're snapped, in order to make adjustments to angle, composition, what have you - Holga photography is a bit of a crap shoot, a gamble if you will - and I havta say, I do love that element of surprise. Since there is no delete button when shooting with a film camera, there are also no second or third or millionth chances to manipulate the outcome of any one photo. What I find, is that whenever I fail to totally commit to a particular shot - the resulting photograph is anything but remarkable. And so I'm learning to be more deliberate when choosing and setting up my shots, and if I don't feel strongly about whatever it is that I'm viewing through the window - I hold off on clicking the shutter until I come across something that I deem more worthy.

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 135)

Clearly I can contradict myself though, because for some odd reason - I took two...whole...pictures of this icy, winding creek. I honestly can't even tell you why I did it, but I wasn't entirely bummed that I had, because what I'd inadvertently done - was afforded myself the opportunity to put my two Holgas in the ring to duke it out.

If you ask me, Holga 120 earns the title as the undisputed champion. I am personally partial to the way that her pics. lean more towards the blue/gray/black end of the color spectrum, and the whole "square" thing to me - is nearly impossible to beat. Although I do actually prefer the composition of the 4 x 6 photo of the creek - there's something about the amber/brown/beige tones (of most of my Holga 135 color pics., actually) that verge on being displeasing to me.

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 135)

This photo and the one below, were both taken at the same cemetery on the very same day - and once again - Holga 120 gets my nod. Overall, Holga 135 pics. feel more amateurish to me...sorta snapshotty...borderline pedestrian...and sometimes even totally pointless. That could be because they lack the patinated charm with which the 120's have the ability to make even the simplest of subjects seem special... 

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

One more thing, and then I gotsta git...It's somewhat surprising to me that my success rate when using the 135 is way below that of the Holga 120. For each roll of 35mm film - I have 26 - 28 chances to take pictures which I hope just might maybe make me happy. But out of those 26 or so attempts - there are rarely ever more than say 3 - 5 photos that I can stand even a tiny little bit. However, out of the 12 possible frames of 120 film, (unless I've done something silly like accidentally switched the camera to nighttime mode...which does happen, believe me) I am generally satisfied with about 75% of the pics. that I get back.

Right so, my official decision following the battle of the Holgas - is that the 120 handily beat the 135, by technical knockout - so there ya' have it. Stay tuned though, cuz you never know when we might stage a rematch...

The Snow Globe Effect

(snapped in January, 2011- using a Holga 120)

Oh mah gosh oh mah gosh oh...mah...GOSH! Lemme tell ya' somethin' - the instant I lifted my Holga 120 out of the box, and gently pulled my new baby from its packaging - I could swear that I heard an angel choir singing. Right from the first second I laid eyes on the little darling - I loved each and every single thing about it...from its goofy, klunky appearance, to the simple machine that it appeared to be. I relished winding the wide roll of film onto the spool, and carrying the derned thing - not in my pocket - but around my neck...which curiously enough - made me feel eerily like a "real" photographer...*cough*  

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

I hurriedly skimmed over the manual, making sure that I at least knew the basics, before heading outdoors to test the sucker out. I started by taking a few pics. in my yard, and then retraced my steps to that reliable, old farm up the street...

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

Right away it was clear, that the approach to this type of photography was the antithesis of that which I'd grown accustomed, during the time that I'd spent snapping digital self-portraits. For starters (and I'd already gotten a taste of this with my Holga 135) I was looking at my subjects with one eye pressed against a tiny viewfinder, instead of setting up and reviewing innumerable shots - from a distance on a comparatively sizable screen. Additionally, I did not have the luxury of zooming in on a subject, and so I had to move myself in order to (try and) make things fit squarely in the frame. Because I didn't have the option of cropping after the fact - it was critical that I pay close attention to how things looked through the window, before pressing the shutter button...gone were the decadent days of snapping willy nilly.

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

The very idea that at the most - I had 12 frames on of each roll of 120 film - made me behave as if I'd had a governor placed on my trigger-happy finger. Lo-fi photography (it seemed) was an exercise in restraint, and those of you who know me - also know that restraint is definitely not my strongest suit. I was already well aware that film wasn't cheap, and was bracing myself for the damages that processing would incur...so it practically goes without saying, that each snap felt far more precious than any digital picture I'd ever taken. And so - when I did stupid things like - LEAVE THE LENS CAP ON, trust me...the expletives issued forth, were most likely heard at the far reaches of Clarke County...

(Snapped in January, 2011 - using a Holga 120)

...and you thought I was excited when I got my Holga 120 - Ha! Ya' shoulda seen me when the first set of 120 pics. arrived...LAWD! I coulda sworn that I heard the angel choir singing again...and trumpets blaring...and harps being strummed! I was even more tickled with the miniature, square pics., than I ever imagined I would be. Everything I'd hoped for was there...from the tight, detailed center...to the fisheye-like blurring...to those coveted burnt-out, black corners...'twas a serendipitous occasion, I tell you...I could feel a new obsession coming on...