Filed under: hasselblad 503CX, photography by ramune

Matthew Dear – In The Middle (I Met You There) [feat. Jonny Pierce]

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More photos from my test run with the Hasselblad 503CX on New Years day! Did I mention I love this camera? I shot two rolls on the 503CX and am really happy with the results of this expired Agfa Optima 100 film that was kindly given to me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I love the saturation of the greens. In general I find myself shooting more black and white in winter because everything is a bit gray anyway, but am pleased that I chose to shoot the Optima film this past balmy New Year’s day.

Note: Matthew Dear + Jonny Pierce (of The Drums) makes me super happy. I’ve had this track on repeat all day. Pick up his latest EP here!

Filed under: hasselblad 503CX, photography by ramune

Clark – Com Touch

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Hello and a belated happy 2012. My new year started off with a delicious brunch and a walk through Oak Hill Cemetery. Although I would love some snow, I can’t complain about the 60 degree weather on the first day of the year that allowed me to comfortably explore and test out the Hasselblad 503CX, which was kindly lent to me for the weekend. I am in love with the Hasselblad even though it takes some serious adjusting of the brain cells to get used to a waist-level viewfinder. It took a frustratingly long amount of time to line up photos and make sure they were straight, but it was a fun exercise and it gets easier with each shot. Here are a few photos I took on black and white film. Color photos coming soon.

Note: A new Clark album is coming out and this first track is available to download here! Super excited.

Filed under: film, olympus om-2n, photography by ramune

M83 – Midnight City

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It’s time to say goodbye to 2011 and welcome the beginning of the end (or the beginning of more of the same). 2011 was a bit all over the place and I am looking forward to what will likely be a lot of changes in 2012. Here are a few statistics for 2011:

• 3 weddings
• 2 Polaroid exhibits
• 100+ photos of old barns across four states
• 1 ostrich egg decorated for Easter
• 2 county fairs
• 1 run into Lake Michigan on New Years day when it felt like -8F
• 13 concerts (not including Moogfest)
• 18 bands seen at Moogfest
• 0 days of snow in December

All the best for a great new year and please do a little snow dance. This 50F+ degree weather on the last day of 2011 is a little ridiculous.

Filed under: olympus om-2n, photography by ramune

Warm Ghost – G.T.W.S.

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There is something about bare trees and telephone lines that I am consistently attracted to, especially when shooting black and white film. I think it’s the crispness and graphic nature of the lines that makes them so appealing. This photo was taken a little over a month ago while I was walking around finishing off a roll. I usually don’t expect much of those photos but this one is now my favorite of the bunch.

Speaking of telephone lines, over Thanksgiving weekend I saw the Harry Callahan exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. There are some really great photos in the exhibit, including one very clean photo of telephone lines that I quite enjoyed.

Filed under: film, holga, mamiya m645, photography by ramune

Tobacco – Hairy Candy

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As it is starting to get a bit chilly outside, I thought I’d post some photos from the Arlington County Fair I attended when it was hot and muggy just a few months ago. Nothing says a county fair like corn dogs, piglet races, squealing animals (both porcine and human) and vomit-inducing rides. The piglet races were definitely the highlight even though I couldn’t help but want to take a bite out of their haunches. The black and white photos were shot with my Mamiya m645 (R.I.P.) and the color photos were shot with my Holga.

Filed under: photography, polaroid by ramune

Grimes – Vanessa

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I am in love with the wooden spoons made by Allegheny Treenware. They have a tent set up at the Waterford Fair every year and I always want to buy one (or ten) of these ladles and use them as bowls, perhaps for oatmeal. This photo was taken with my Polaroid SX-70 using the The Impossible Project’s “poor pod” film.

Note: Normally not into babyish voices, but I do like this Grimes song and it gets better as the song progresses.

Filed under: holga, photography by ramune

The Horrors – Still Life

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A few weekends ago I went out to West Virginia with some friends and spent a wonderful time enjoying perfect weather with no bugs in a cabin that was remote and had an amazing view of Germany Valley. It was fantastic. The weather was so perfect that I slept out on the deck under the stars without any pesky bugs trying to suck my blood or go spelunking in my nasal passage.

While we were there we drove up to Blackwater Falls, where I took this photo on my finicky Holga. A while back I discovered that a roll of film had consumed one of the foam pieces in the camera, which led to some funky light leaks. This roll ate up the last remaining piece of foam, as you can see by the nice white sections at the top and bottom. I kind of like it, especially the “9.” that is showing through.

Filed under: film, mamiya m645, photography by ramune

Metronomy – The Look

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This is my friend in his sun/music room reflecting on his life . . . or just looking at a bug.

In other news, I have had the latest Metronomy album on repeat for a while now. I highly recommend it.

Filed under: film, photography, polaroid by ramune

Austra – Beat and the Pulse

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Do I hear crickets? Tumbleweeds? Yes . . . it’s been a bit since I updated the blog. It’s time to catch up!

A while back I ordered a six pack of “poor pod” film from The Impossible Project and was pleasantly surprised by my first photo. I thought for sure there would be strange undeveloped patches but so far I haven’t had that issue with this film. There have been issues with overexposure and blurriness, but that might be user error. If I had my way, all instant film would have this stylin’ black frame.

Filed under: mamiya m645, photography by ramune

Benoît Pioulard – Until Then (Broadcast cover)

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I took this photo back in January on one of the few snowy days we had in DC this winter, and am just catching up on scanning the rolls and cleaning them up. This is one of my favorites from that chilly walk.

Also, I know I post a lot of Benoît Pioulard on here, but I really like this cover he did of Broadcast’s “Until Then” after Trish Keenan died in January. If you like it, you can download it here.