Monthly Archives: September 2015

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{Behind the Scenes} Muddy’s Holiday 2015 Shoot

September 26, 2015 6:14 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I had a photo shoot with Muddy’s Bake Shop this week for a very special upcoming project. I don’t want to give spoilers of the awesome work we did with art director Michelle Simkin, but right now, I am excited to share these behind the scenes shots with you!

(I am a bit obsessed with the Sparkle Disco Butter Cookies!)

(lighting in those last several shots was done by Kip Gordon)

(For my peeps who know I like to post about new camera gear I’m using, these were all taken with my new Samsung mirrorless camera, the NX300, and Samsung NX 30mm f/2 lens – I keep trying to save up shots taken with that combo of gear to make a proper review post, but I’ve been able to do some photos with it that I’ve liked so much that I’ve found myself incapable of waiting to post them!)

Posted in: behind the scenes, food photography, memphis, muddy's bake shop, product photography ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

Pentax Espio Mini {Two Rolls In}

September 11, 2015 9:49 am ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

My point-and-shoot 35mm camera collection has grown again.

Back story:

I have actually wanted a Pentax Espio Mini for awhile now. Always searching for the best compact 35mm camera, ya know. I nearly bought an Espio Mini from Hamish some time ago, but that didn’t work out. As fate would have it, my dear friend David was slimming down his camera collection and remembered the fact that I wanted an Espio Mini. He very kindly sent me his! I’ve seen a lot of photos he’s taken with the camera, and it’s cool knowing he’s used it to capture images of his life and I’m using it to capture images of my life now.

About the Pentax Espio Mini UC-1:

  • The Pentax Espio Mini UC-1 is an auto-focus, auto-exposure 35mm camera
  • It has a 32mm/3.5 lens
  • It features a clamshell design, where you slide the cover open to turn the camera on and close it to turn the camera off. It also protects the lens.
  • User selectable modes, via mode buttons on top of the camera: auto, flash on, flash off, slow-sync flash, bulb mode, bulb mode with flash (plus red-eye reduction mode selectable any time the flash is used)
  • Panoramic mode, via sliding switch on back of the camera
  • Automatic aperture range of f/3.5 – f/22
  • Film speed set automatically with DX-coded film cartridges, ranging from 24-3200 ISO
  • Automatic shutter speed range of 2s – 1/400s, bulb mode usable from 1/2s – 5 minutes (wow!)
  • Focusing distance of 1 ft. (.3m) – infinity
  • Real-time parallax correction shown in viewfinder when focusing at close distance (more on that later)
  • Self timer is 10 seconds long, with a blinking indication lamp on the front of the camera (the camera’s instruction manual says “the lamp starts blinking 3 seconds before the shutter is released, letting you know when to smile.” That makes me smile 🙂 )

SAM_0187

clamshell design

Top and back views of the Espio Mini

A couple of things:

  1. I am very happy about the fact that the Espio Mini has a panoramic mode. I know a lot of people don’t like cameras that just mask out part of the film area to create a panoramic effect, but I don’t mind it. I liked having that option on the Pentax ZX-7 I used to have, so I was excited for it on the Espio Mini too.
  2. This camera has BULB mode. That’s crazy! Only high-end point-and-shoot cameras have bulb mode, usually. This means you can take long exposures with the Espio Mini, and while I haven’t tried it out yet, I’m very excited that the option is there.
  3. I have never experienced a point-and-shoot camera with this type of viewfinder before. Shooting with a non-SLR camera means you don’t see in the viewfinder exactly what is being recorded on the film. This is a problem when you’re photographing something close up. Some cameras have indication lines printed in the viewfinder to give you some idea of what will be included in the photo when focusing at close distances. The Espio Mini’s viewfinder greys out portions of the viewfinder to give you a clearer indication of what the final photo will be like. I can’t explain it that well, so here’s an excerpt of the camera’s manual (which can be found here)

Enough technical stuff. On to the photos!
(note: on the panoramic photos, I included a link to their full size images, because they look better bigger than blog post will allowed them to be displayed. You can click the panoramic photos to see the full-sized versions.) 

Roll #1 was Ilford HP5 Plus

I can’t resist photographing lace curtains

Nor can I resit photographing a Vespa. This one was at the auto auction where I work a couple of days a week. 

My family enjoyed having ice cream at Area 51 ice cream in Hernando, MS this summer. Here are a few photos take outside the shop.

Barber shop next to Area 51

We took Dilly with us to Area 51 one time

Dilly, on a car ride with us

Pei Wei in Midtown Memphis before I had a photo gig with Muddy’s

Area 51, again!

AM, having some mint chocolate chip ice cream at Area 51

Owl mural in Cooper-Young, Midtown Memphis

Aldo’s Pizza Pies in Cooper-Young, Midtown Memphis

My sister, visiting Otherlands Coffee for the first time (Midtown Memphis)

Me, in a mirror at Otherlands

On the rooftop patio at Aldo’s (we ate there twice in one week, actually. This was taken on a different day than that earlier photo from Aldo’s…)

My Kiev 4AM, at Aldo’s with us

Corner of Cooper and York, Midtown Memphis

Parking lot behind Aldo’s

Some onions in the kitchen at home. Not my onions, obviously. Onions are my arch nemeses!

A few panoramic shots outside the auto auction (Memphis)

Roll #2 was Agfa Vista 200

This roll has all the signature “Amanda” things: cars, red shoes, my niece, mirror self-portraits.

I photographed this car two different days at the auto auction. The first time was in the lobby of the auction’s building, because I didn’t know I’d later have the chance to shoot it in the auction bay, with better lighting and fewer distracting things in the background…

Dodge Challenger Hellcat, take two…

Another Harley at work

Malco theatre in Oxford, MS, where I took my niece to see the new Dragon Ball Z movie

You know me, taking my photo in bathroom mirrors since way back in the day

THIS WAS THE BEST! We went to Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, found out they were about to close for the afternoon, ordered some coffee to go, and were handed a box of free, delicious pastries as a consolation prize. 

Me, in a mirror outside Bottletree Bakery

What your to-go cup of coffee looks like when you wear red lipstick

Me and some models in a clothing shop window in Oxford’s town square

I love red shoes and I love tiles

AM, having some iced tea outside Square Books in Oxford

Mom, browsing the sale table outside of Square Books

Mirror in a boutique’s sidewalk sale in Oxford

My shoes and some books, Oxford

Statue on the town square in Oxford

Conclusion?

I like it. I really, really like it. I’ve said before that I wish the features of Konica Big Mini and Canon Sure Shot Sleek were combined in one camera, and I feel that the Pentax Espio Mini does just that. Not to mention it has features that none of my other compact 35mm cameras do. Sure, it’d be cool if it had an f/2.8 lens like an Olympus Stylus Epic, but I am really not complaining since I’ve gotten use to the f/3.5 due to using the Big Mini and Sure Shot Sleek. Plus, the Pentax’s lens is wonderful. All in all, I think I’ve found my go-to compact 35mm camera. Thanks so much, David!

Posted in: baby photography, camera equipment, camera review, film photography, shop talk ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

{Red, Red, Red} Scale

September 8, 2015 11:57 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

You’ve seen redscale film a few times on this blog before. As a refresher, redscale film is regular film which is loaded into a camera and shot backwards, if you will. The light has to work extra hard to get to the side of the film that a photo is exposed onto, which also causes color shifts in the resulting photos. I usually do my own 35mm redscale film because it’s super easy. It’s possible to make redscale out of 120 (medium format) film, but it’s a little more tricky to DIY. Medium format film has “backing paper” on it, that keeps light from getting to it. The backing paper is what makes turning it into redscale more difficult, because you have to remove the tape holding the paper to the film, turn the film upside down, and retape it. The paper and film can curl up, making it even more difficult. Mind you, all this has to be done in a  completely dark room! All that to say this: Lomography makes redscale film in medium format, and I’d much rather buy theirs than try to mess with it myself.

The Lomography redscale film I bought is XR 50-200.  “XR” stands for “Extended range,” as they say it can be shot from ISOs 50-200, depending upon the effect you want to achieve. If you shoot the film as if the ISO is 200, you will get photos with tones of deep red and orange. That’s because the film is being vastly underexposed since the light is having to fight harder to get to the light sensitive (emulsion) side of the film. I, however, prefer to give the film as much light as possible. I chose to shoot this film rated at 50 (or thereabouts.) I wanted to have more muted color tones in my photos. Most people tend to shoot film like this in toy cameras, like a Holga or Diana. But I like to shoot redscale film in cameras where I have exposure control, like my Yashica-Mat (which I used for these photos.)

New red shoes for my birthday

(Hi there!)

1959 Ford Fordor I saw in Hernando, MS

I normally wouldn’t post such a blurry photo, and I was very disappointed that camera shake ruined it. But it was so lovely: on my birthday, my mom, my best friend, and I went to The Orpheum to see “Hook.” There was a little memorial to Robin Williams set up on on his star outside the theatre. I wish the photo had turned out better, but it’s still something I want to remember. Ya know?

My favorite place in Memphis…

In the foyer of The Orpheum.I had to guestimate the Bulb exposure for this, and I’m happy with how it turned out! 

Flower at my sister’s house (close-up filter used on the camera lens)

Yashica-Mat • Lomography XR 50-200 (shot at 50)

I have a couple more rolls of the Lomography XR 50-200, and I think I will try to shoot it at 25 ISO. The colors were a little more orange and red in some of the photos than I like!

Posted in: film photography, personal ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

“Fall Portraits in the Summer”

September 7, 2015 9:00 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

“The stories behind the photos…”

I’m a sucker for this kid. I know it. She knows it. Everybody knows it. She doesn’t like being in front of my camera very often these days, so I started giving her a little compensation when I wanted to take more than just a photo or two here and there. I told her it’s because models get paid to be photographed, and that she is my #1 model. I think I am going to start sharing this tip with all my photographer friends who have photos weary kids! Bribe them with video game money (that’s what this kid spends her modeling fees on anyway!)

Anna Marie actually initiated this photo shoot because she wanted money for a particular thing. Having her initiate the photos is fun for me, because her enthusiasm is really cute when it’s her idea to do the photos. I jokingly told her that she could just clean her room for chore money instead, but she wasn’t having it…

As a seasoned model ( 😉 ) she has her “serious model face” down pat (not smiling, just like runway models and Kanye!) But, in this photo shoot, I got to capture her beautiful smile too. We actually laughed SO MUCH while we were taking these photos. I will have to bribe her into doing this more often!

I initially just wanted to do these photos on film, because it’s always been my preferred way to document my niece as she’s grown up. I do have a new digital camera and lens combo to test though, so I couldn’t resist taking these along with film photos!

Samsung NX300 • Samsung 30mm f/2 pancake lens

So how much did I have to pay my model for this photo shoot? The fee she requested was $6! I gave her an extra dollar and a nectarine (her new favorite fruit) as a gratuity. She was happy with that. I hope the film photos turn out well so I can share those with you too!

Posted in: family, personal, portrait sessions ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

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