Filed under: Experimental, Photography, film, polaroid by ramune

Crystal Castles – Magic Spells

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I’ve been editing digital photos like they are going out of style, so I took a break to scan some of my recent Impossible Project Polaroids taken with my (sister’s) SX-70 camera. This little triptych is from my adventures in picking figs off my mother’s fig tree, which is exploding with deliciously beautiful fruit this year (and every year). The cardinals and the wasps love them too, so they need to be picked pretty much every day this time of year to ensure they don’t get overripe on the tree. Plans for this year’s crop include fig ice cream (made by me) and fig chutney (made by my mother). Mmm . . . I can’t wait! In the meantime I will eat them fresh.

Note: As with the rest of the photos on my blog, you can click it to see it larger.

Filed under: Photography, Travel by ramune

Gravenhurst – She Dances

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It’s been a bit over a week since I returned from my west coast trip and I have finally made it through all the photos from the San Francisco portion of the trip. Here is a selection of some of my favorites. More can be see here. I am ready to go back for more!

Filed under: Photography by ramune

Blonde Redhead – Here Sometimes

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It sure has been steamy around these parts lately, what with all the 100°+ days and it’s not even August yet. What better excuse to stay indoors than to get to know my new Canon 7D and read the manual from cover to cover! I don’t normally read manuals so intricately, but since this camera is a big upgrade, I thought it would be a good idea so I can use it to its fullest.

This blog should see more updates in the coming weeks as I head out west for a bit. I am very much looking forward to sub-90° weather, fresh air, ocean water, and gorgeous scenery among other things. I expect with the new camera in hand, as well as some film cameras and the travel, I will have more to post while I am there and when I return.

Enjoy your summer and stay cool . . . unless of course you like this kind of crazy heat/humidity.

Filed under: Photography, film by ramune

No tune today, just a photo . . .

Filed under: Photography, film by ramune

Dusty Brown – This City is Killing Me

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This is part two in my series of photos from Dinosaur Land. This set was taken with my Olympus OM-2n 35mm camera using Fuji Neopan 100 Acros black and white film. I don’t know if it’s how I am scanning the negatives or what, but I don’t think I am a fan of this film. Normally I like to scan and do some minor adjustments, but in general I like to keep the images true to the negative. Unfortunately I thought the photos taken on the Neopan 100 Acros were way too low in contrast (I like my blacks black, not ashy gray), so I did a little work on these photos to darken the blacks and create more of a range. So here they are . . . more dinosaurs.

P.S. If you like this Dusty Brown track, you can download the EP for free on the ISO50 blog (and if you are nice you will make a wee donation).

Filed under: Photography, film by ramune

Modeselektor – Edgar

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Back in the day (166 million years ago . . . or a couple thousand if you believe in this) this would have been my last photo ever, as I would have been very quickly consumed by this dinosaur that strongly resembles Dr. Finkelstein. Lucky for me it’s 2010 and I can safely get this close to a dinosaur without being eaten.

A little over a week ago “Hoi” and I went on an adventure to Dinosaur Land to take some photos and see if we could make it through alive. I can’t believe I have been in the DC area as long as I have and never knew that this 40+ year old fiberglass menagerie existed; I love places like this.

I brought my Mamiya m645 (medium format color film) and my Olympus OM-2n (35mm black and white film) and so far have only had the color photos developed. These are a few of my favorites from that roll.

“Hoi” also managed to catch me looking a bit like a dinosaur.

Filed under: Experimental, Photography, film by ramune

Broken Bells – Mongrel Heart

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A few weeks back my sister brought down her (beautifully designed) Polaroid SX-70 camera for us to play with. She bought it at a thrift store for $5 years ago and now if you try to find one on ebay it will cost over $100 (and over $300 new). I imagine this is partly due to The Impossible Project, an interesting group that saved the last Polaroid production plant (in the Netherlands) and has been recreating Polaroid film from scratch. Some of their first batches are a bit quirky but they seem to be refining their process.

When my sister first brought the camera down, we tried out their PX 100 Silver Shade film. I haven’t scanned those photos yet, but they were a mixed bunch. Since we had one of the first batches of this film, the backing was a bit leaky. Supposedly they have figured that out and are fixing it for the next batch.

This last time she came down, we played with the Fade to Black film, which I was really excited experiment with. So far I have only taken a few photos with it, but the basic idea is that the film turns completely black within 24 hours after you take the photo, unless you remove the backing and stop the process. I imagined it would be a gradual process, however after taking these two photos, we noticed the film went almost black within an hour or so. Both of these photos of the polaroids were taken around 5-10 minutes into the development. Supposedly if you let them go completely black and then leave them in a sunny place for a few weeks, part of the image will come back. Depending on how they tun out, I might post those results.

P.S. Please excuse (what we think are) the roller marks on the photos. They seem to show up more in some photos and less in others. Maybe that’s why the camera only cost $5.

Filed under: Photography, film by ramune

Gonjasufi – Duet

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Thanks to my credit card ThankYou points, I am now the owner of a nice new Epson v700 scanner! This means that instead of paying an exorbitant amount to have my 35mm and 120 film developed and scanned, now I can just have them developed (until I start developing them) and scan them myself. Epson doesn’t do the greatest job in giving instructions for more than just a basic photo scan, so it might take some time to learn and adjust my settings.

I’ve saved up a few rolls that are all waiting patiently to be scanned. The first roll to be scanned was some Ilford Delta 400 Pro 120 film from an early morning walk in Baltimore with some fellow photographers from around a month ago. Here are some of those photos. You may notice that the last photo is a bit of a jumble. I was using my Mamiya645 and wanted to try the multiple exposure switch. I thought that I could continue to take photos on one frame and when I wound the film it would move to the next frame. Unfortunately winding the film doesn’t do anything when the multiple exposure switch is on. This meant I was stuck on frame 11 for a long time. Of course I didn’t realize this until a few days later when it hit me that the roll was never ending and there must be a problem.

Filed under: Photography, film by ramune

Gorillaz – Rhinestone Eyes

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A few weeks ago a very generous friend gave me his old Mamiya m645 medium format film camera! I’ve wanted either a Hasselblad or a Mamiya for a while now and was thrilled to say the least when he gave me his Mamiya along with three lenses . . . what a perfect companion to my Holga! So far two of the three lenses are not working (not focusing properly), so I will have to look for a place to fix them at some point, but in the meantime at least I have a 55mm lens that’s working splendidly.

I tested out the camera with a roll of Kodak TMAX 400 film the other day while walking around DC. The tones are exactly what I have been craving and felt like I was lacking with my digital camera. I cannot get over how rich the blacks are in these photos. It was a bit tricky because there is no light meter in the camera, so I had to guess for all of my shots, but with the exception of a few slightly under/overexposed ones I am really happy with the results. What’s great is I didn’t have to do anything in Photoshop (except for clean up the dust that was scanned). Here are some of my favorites from that roll.

P.S. This new Gorillaz tune has been on repeat in my car and I just cannot help boppin’ to it. I am sure I looked a bit silly today at the coffee shop with my headphones attached to my laptop, trying not to dance in my seat, while easy listening played in the background.

Filed under: Photography, Travel by ramune

Mark Mothersbaugh – Zissou Society Blue Star Cadet/Ned’s Theme (Take 1) (from The Life Aquatic soundtrack)

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To follow up last week’s postcard, I am posting some diptychs I put together from my visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I absolutely love that place and although it is a bit pricey, it is well worth visiting.