My Photographic Observations…and AWESOMENESS
16.04.2012
{Engaged} Nathalie + Brandon
category: engagement session
tags:

I have to admit that I was pretty miffed all winter that we didn’t really get a proper winter. But now that spring has arrived, I am SO happy with the weather it’s brought with it. This is one of my favorite times of year to do outdoor photo sessions – everything is so green and fresh and pretty!

That leads us to today’s post: Nathalie and Brandon’s engagement session!

I truly had a blast doing this engagement session. Lots of laughs and lots of spontaneity. I’ve known Nathalie and Brandon for years, and it was pretty awesome to get the opportunity to do such an enjoyable photo shoot with them!

 


12.04.2012
{Rainbow} Spectrum
categories: film photography, Polaroid, The Impossible Project
tags: , ,

I am DYING over here.

I just told you about how great The Impossible Project’s new and improved Silver Shade film is. You thought I was stoked then? Well, baby, look at me NOW! (Pretend you can see a big ole smile across my face here. Because there definitely is one.) I’ve just shot a pack of NIGO edition PX 70 Color Shade film, and it was so good that it made my face melt!

I had never ever tried TIP‘s color film before. The times, they are a changin’ though. The Impossible Project folks have been allowing Pioneer members test what they call their “12/11 batch” – a magic batch! I’ll give you a couple of specific examples of what made me want to try it at this particular moment in time.  Please click here and here and here to see what’s been catching my eye (more awesome examples can be found in their online shop’s sample gallery.)  On top of all those pictures piquing my interest, TIP then one-upped themselves by marrying that new formula with a really cool colored frame edition of their PX 70 film. In their own words (ganked from their online shop’s product description):

PX 70 Color Shade by Nigo Film Edition not only features our latest Color Shade film formula, but also varying colorful frames – yellow, orange, red, pink, lilac, dark blue, light blue, green, black and white featuring the logo of Nigo – ®. One film pack contains eight images as usual, and the occurrence of the colors varies randomly in each pack.

I jumped on board and ordered a pack of my very own. I mean, it’s spring and time shake things up with some color! Am I right?? I think so. So, here, I present to you, 8 6 frames of Impossible Project NIGO edition Color Shade film.

Conclusion: The “12/11 batch” film is excellent! I was amazed at how bright the film’s colors were, yet the photos have a “vintage” quality. And as far as at the colored frames on this particular edition of PX 70 are concerned, I thought they were so fun! I can think of lots of applications for such an added touch in my photos. To my knowledge, the NIGO film is a limited edition. But, honest to goodness, I’d be very happy if they said, “Due to popular demand and Amanda’s heartfelt pleas, we are happy to announce that NIGO edition film is a permanent fixture in the Impossible Project line-up.”

 Technical info: Polaroid SX-70 • NIGO Edition Impossible PX 70 Color Shade • PX Shade inserted in camera • Photos allowed to developed in a box, for 30 minutes or longer – the longer, the better! If you are patient enough for that! I ruined the last two shots by way of “Operator error.”  They had very pretty blue frames though!

06.04.2012
Freckled Face {Underexposed}
categories: film photography, informational, The Impossible Project
tags: , , , ,

 

I didn’t scan or upload this shot when I did my little blog about my first experience with the Impossible Project’s PX100 Silver Shade UV+ film because it was so badly underexposed. I picked it up a week later, and I decided there was something striking about the image, despite its exposure issues. I’d taken the photo with the intent of highlighting my niece’s perfectly freckled face, but came out with something completely different, completely by accident. I’m now quite satisfied with what it turned out to be. And I’ll try again another day to show the freckles in the way I meant to. That is, unless, my SX-70 has other plans…

As to how the photo came out this way, perhaps my fellow SX-70 users will learn from my mistake:

As I mentioned in my original PX100 blog post, I “fudged up” some of the photos in that pack of film.  I’ll try not to get too bogged down in camera mumbo jumbo, but something I didn’t know about my Polaroid SX-70 was as follows: if the frame counter is at “0″ (normally indicating that the camera’s film cartridge is empty) and you press the shutter button, the SX-70 doesn’t try to give proper exposure to a photo – because it doesn’t think there is any photo actually being taken since the cartridge is supposed to be empty! The shutter DOES open very briefly, but you’d have to be very lucky indeed for that shot to turn out, given the brief shutter speed. That is what happened to the last couple of photos in my PX100 cartridge. I’d gotten a photo jammed in the camera and fired it a few times to try to get the camera to shoot the next photo out. I eventually solved the problem I’d created for myself, but didn’t know it’d create a problem with the rest of the photos down the line. Since I’d “dry fired” the camera, its frame counter reached “0″ earlier than it should have. Leading to my gaining the knowledge that a “0″ on an SX-70 frame counter = “Picture? What picture? I thought I was empty!” [that's the SX-70 talking, naturally...]

27.03.2012
The Impossible, Now Possible?
categories: film photography, The Impossible Project
tags: , ,

I am an avid  fan of instant photography. I hope you know that about me by now. Unfortunately, when Polaroid stopped producing film for their instant cameras, it kinda put a damper on my ability to use most of my Polaroid cameras. Sad face.

Enter The Impossible Project.

The Impossible Project (TIP) began working to produce film on the equipment at the old Polaroid factory. You can find a nice timeline of their journey on their website, which includes much more info than I can detail for you here! Anyway, I have to tell you: since TIP had to “start from scratch,” the first films they began making were kind of…finicky. It was not as straight-forward as “put our new films in your  Polaroid cameras, and you can expect exactly what you got from Polaroid films.” They posted tutorials on their site about how to get the best results from their films and there seemed to be a lot of discussion within the online photographic community about how users’ photos were turning out. I was curious to try the film from TIP, of course, but…

The film is a little more pricey than Polaroid film was, though I suppose that is understandable at this point. However, the price had always been a deterrent since I didn’t think I could trust the film enough to justify the cost. You know what’s awesome though? A very dear old “photography buddy” of mine sent me some Impossible Project film as a pressie in 2010.  This was in the early days of the film’s production, so I had trouble getting things just right in my photos. I began to think that you had to do a tribal dance to the Instant Photography gods in order to get a TIP photo to “work”!

PX100 photo from 2010

Having said that, it was really important to me was that the Impossible Project people were trying. It’s made me very happy that someone was doing something proactive about keeping instant photography alive. I have kept a keen eye out on the progress of TIP‘s products, which has been easy thanks to Flickr and Twitter. I’ve watched the Impossible Project’s emulsions get better and better. I’ve been getting REALLY excited! And, whaddya know, some of their new PX100 black and white film fell into my lap! This time, my experience was MUCH different than it had been in 2010. Right out of the box, my first shot “worked”! The photo wasn’t in focus because I’d never used a manual focus SX-70* before, so my finger slipped and took the photo before I’d properly focused it. But that was “my bad.”  The exposure definitely turned out!

Le “first official shot on the PX100 Silver Shade UV+”

And a few more, por ejemplo:


Technical info: Polaroid SX-70 • Impossible PX100 Silver Shade UV+ • PX Shade inserted in camera • Photos developed face down or in a dark place once removed from camera, for at least the recommended 4 minutes or longer when possible.

Conclusion?

I know this was only one pack of that film, but I’m likin’ it! Any of the images that “didn’t work” were purely a matter of operator error – that is to say, I fudged them up! I think I’m sold on the newer TIP films after this experience and having seen so many good shots from others who are using those films. I’m excited to watch the progress of what TIP is doing in that factory of theirs. Viva la instant photography!


*Using that particular SX-70 will be the subject of another blog posting, another day! It’ll be one of my “Yard Sale Finds” posts!

24.03.2012
IT’S PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT! {Part Deux}
category: event photography
tags: , , ,

Hey! How about some more photos from Muddy’s birthday bash last month?

Congratulations on a super successful first four years at Muddy’s. And many happy returns!


What’s a Muddy’s party without champagne in classy, vingtage-style “champagne coupes”?

LOTS of friends of the shop and customers came in to celebrate with the Muddy’s gang

There was even a performance of an original song about Muddy’s!

No birthday party is complete without the “Happy Birthday” song. Kat was serenaded by a rendition of the song, played on kazoo and ukulele 

Just a few of the staff members it takes to keep Muddy’s up and running AND awesome!

Again, congratulations to Kat and everyone who has worked so hard over the past four years to make Muddy’s a success. I’m sure there are many more Leap Day parties in your future :)

06.03.2012
It’s Party Time! Excellent!
category: film photography
tags: , , ,

Muddy’s Bake Shop had a big birthday recently. Depending upon your point of view, Muddy’s either turned four years old or one year old. That’s because the bakery is a Leap Day baby!

I was asked by Muddy’s owner, Kat, to come snap photos at the big birthday bash she threw for the shop on Leap Day.  IT WAS SO FUN! Lots of customers, employees, and friends of the shop showed up for the party. The place was buzzing! I was so pleased to be a part of it all! I’ll post more “official” photos from the party soon, but here are some “just for funsies” ones I took with my Pentax ZX-7 that night!

04.03.2012
{A Worthy Cause} The Hard Places Community
categories: a worthy cause, personal
tags:

I know this isn’t the usual Shoot With Personality subject matter, but I’d like to let you all know about a very worthy cause…

Tonight, I had the pleasure of hearing my dear friend Drew Mellon speak on behalf of the Hard Places Community.  Hard Places Community is a wonderful organization that works to combat sex trafficking of children in Southeast Asia. Drew was speaking in the Memphis area in order to promote the event known as Traffick Jam, a walk-a-thon which serves as a way to raise funds and awareness for Hard Places. To give you an idea about what it is that this organization does, they outline their mission via their website as:

We strive to bring an end to the sexual exploitation of children through prevention, intervention, and restoration. The Hard Places Community was founded in 2008, and has consistently worked among and on behalf of exploited and at risk children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and other areas around the world.

Here are some resources for more information on the Hard Places Community and Traffick Jam. I hope you will choose to become involved, whether it be through participating in a Traffick Jam near you, by making a financial contribution to the organization, or by just helping spread the word!

  • Hard Places Community homepage
  • Traffick Jam 2012 Facebook page
  • For those who aren’t able to hear Drew speak in person, here is a wonderful video where he talks about Hard Places and Traffick Jam

 

28.02.2012
What $35′ll Get You
category: film photography
tags: , , , ,

I got a “new” toy last week. It’s a Pentax ZX-7, which is a 35mm auto focus SLR. Though most would say I need another camera like I need a hole in my head, I do have my reasons for buying this Pentax. I’ll tell you about those reasons some time. Since I paid only $27 for the camera and its 28-90mm kit lens, I feel my purchase won’t need much justification though.

I’m not ready to do a full write-up on this camera yet, because I’ve only put one roll of film through it. But I think this one’s a keeper!

(I might add, other than $27 investment in the camera, it cost me an additional $8 for the “privilege” of using my niece as the subject for the test roll. What a demanding diva she is!)


Pentax ZX-7 • Kodak BW400CN •  Some using 28-90mm/3.5-5.6, some using 50mm/1.4

19.02.2012
Canon Rebel 2000: A Pleasant Surprise
categories: camera equipment, film photography, shop-talk
tags: , , , ,

I thought it was about time I profiled a camera that I’ve been using for nearly four years and which has become an unexpected favorite in my camera arsenal: the Canon Rebel 2000.

In June 2008, I purchased a Canon Rebel Ti from a charity shop for $25. It didn’t come with a lens, so I had to lay hands on one in order to test the camera. I had a flash of inspiration: My friend Adam used to have a Canon Rebel, and I was pretty sure he said it had stopped working. I hoped he might be up for selling the lens off his Rebel, since he couldn’t get any use out of the camera body at that point. As hoped, Adam agreed to sell the lens to me. Hooray! When I picked up the lens from him, he said, “You can just take the camera, too. I think it might be working again.” I attached said lens to the Rebel Ti body I’d purchased and found that the Ti’s film door was broken. Boo! I put batteries in the 2000, and to my delight, it was working again!

Thanks for the killer camera, Adam!
It’s in good hands, I promise!

Product of my first roll through the Rebel 2000

This was right before I was going on a church youth group trip to Waco, TX, so I broke the Rebel 2k in by taking it on the road with me. The Rebel was just PERFECT for toting around with me down there. I could use it like an over-grown point-and-shoot if I wanted, or I could have complete control over exposure and focus settings. That trip to Waco with the Rebel had me hooked. It’s been one of those cameras I can throw into my purse and be ready to go at a moment’s notice! I remember one of my photo buddies, Dirk, at Memphis Photo Supply giving me a hard time when he saw me with this camera. He gave me a “you could do better” sideways glance. Then, when complimenting a photo he thought was fantastic and wanting to know which camera I’d used, I’m pretty sure I rocked his world by replying, “My Canon Rebel 2000!” Burn!

Waco, Tx

mewithoutYou in Nashville, July 2008

I did a search for photos in my Flickr photostream that are tagged with “Canon Rebel 2000.” There are about 450 photos there from my Rebel! That number is pretty high, considering how many other cameras I have and divide my film between. I’ve actually featured a lot of Rebel 2000 photos on the blog and in my photo galleries, but here are a sampling of my favorites from over the years.

(Click the thumbnails to view the full-sized image)

 

(And, I’ve obviously loved shooting people with the Rebel 2K!)

All photos taken with the Canon Rebel 2000 and the 35-80mm/4-5.6 “kit lens.” Except the photo of the Rebel at the top of this post, which was taken with my Canon Powershot SX230HS.

07.02.2012
{Redscale}
categories: film photography, informational, shop-talk
tags: , , , ,

I redscaled some film, y’all.

What’s “redscale” film?

Yet another question that I’m glad you asked!

I didn’t know what redscale film was when I first saw it either. I saw some film labeled as redscale at Urban Outfitters last summer and was puzzled. I thought, “Surely Lomography hasn’t produced a new type of film…” They hadn’t. And I was so shocked that I’d never heard of this before, seeing as I’m an “experimental photography” enthusiast. You load film into a canister with the wrong way facing the shutter – this exposes a different part of the film’s emulsion, which is what causes the shift in the colors. Shooting the film upside down also causes your images appear reversed, as they would in a mirror. My research uncovered a tutorial on how to redscale your film, and it seemed simple enough. I decided to give it a go!

I took a roll of Fuji Superia 400 X-tra and transferred it into a canister for Fujicolor 200 film – backwards, like ya do. I loaded it into my trusty Canon Rebel 2000 and began incorporating this film/camera combo into my life over the course of the next few days. Here are some of the results! Backwards results, of course.

 

What do I think about shooting redscale film?

The same thing I think about shooting cross-processed film: Fun stuff! I normally like the colours in my photos to be as true-to-life as possible, but I enjoy alternative process techniques as a surreal  accompaniment to the look of my usual photos.

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Technical notes for my fellow photo nerds: This film was 400 ASA, shot as 200 ASA to help compensate for the fact that the light coming into the camera had to go through wrong side of the film in order to reach the light-sensitive side of the film (aka “the film was loaded upside down.”) The developed negatives look pretty well exposed, perhaps underexposed in some shots. I might experiment with exposure on future rolls of redscale film. I told the one hour mini-lab where these were developed that they shouldn’t try to correct the colour cast in the photos. As such, the negatives weren’t scanned quite right. There was a weird blue-green grain/noise in the areas of the photos that should have been black or shadowed. I didn’t know if this was an actual film exposure issue or an issue with the scans from the photo lab. I normally don’t do much to “fix” film photos in post-processing on the computer, but for these, I used the black color dropper in my software’s levels to click on an area of each photo that should have been black. This made the scans look MUCH better. I hope this does not constitute “photo manipulation.” I’m not really into that.