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

DIIV – Doused

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Greetings from San Francisco . . . my new home! The blog has been neglected for far too long, but I have been packing up my life to move across country to start an MFA in Design at California College of the Arts. Is that enough of an excuse?

Three weeks ago I landed in SFO and the July “winter” I was expecting wasn’t too bad. Having stayed in the eastern and central parts of the city, it’s nice to have sunny days and watch the fog roll in over the hills. I hope this never gets old.

I have to keep a blog for school and hope to be able to post more consistently once I get myself settled in a little more. In the meantime, here is a pickle in a sombrero . . . and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Filed under: photography by ramune

Mucca Pazza – Boss Taurus

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Back in May, a robin decided that she would build her nest in my mother’s patio umbrella. When my mother noticed this, she took down the nest (there were no eggs yet) and thought that was that. A few days later the nest reappeared and so my mother let the robin have the nest rent-free since she was so determined. Once the baby robins were born I wanted to get some photos of their growth, since it’s not everyday you get “nature” in your face. Who knew it would only take around nine days for them to grow and leave the nest? During their later days, the mother and father robins were insanely protective and it was impossible to go out on the patio without one or both of them dive-bombing us, so I had to keep my distance.

A week or so after the birds had all left the nest, my mother took it down so she could use the umbrella and the patio again. A couple weeks later what should appear? A new nest. That mother robin is one smart cookie and she might have the only nest that survived the crazy storm that tore through the area last night.

Filed under: film, photography, yashica mat 124g by ramune

Deerhunter – Desire Lines

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I am in love with the Yashica Mat 124G. The meter appears to be a stop or so off, so I have had a couple rolls that ended up too dark, but I think I am figuring out the quirks. If you get the chance, Harper’s Ferry has quite a nice old cemetery on a hill with a lovely view.

Filed under: film, photography, yashica mat 124g by ramune

Shigeto – Eternal Life

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These photos are from a few months back when I was taken to Cape May as a surprise in the middle of winter. There is something really lovely about a beach town during a cold and snowy winter day (except the lack of many good places open to eat). I probably wouldn’t go to Cape May in the middle of the tourist season, but it was great to walk around for the little bits that we could until we froze from the intense chilling winds.

Filed under: film, photography, yashica mat 124g by ramune

Orcas – Arrow Drawn

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One of the first shots on my Christmas gift . . . a Yashica Mat 124G medium format twin-lens reflex film camera. It’s taken some getting used to looking through a waist-level viewfinder, but I like slowing down and taking the time to frame each photo. Plus, I love square format.

Note: If you like Benoît Pioulard, you may like this new Orcas track . . . I sure do.

Filed under: inspiration, photography, video by ramune

Clark – Secret (featuring Martina Topley-Bird)

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While in San Francisco earlier this week I saw the amazing Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the de Young Museum. It is one of the best exhibits I have seen in a while and makes up ever so slightly for the fact that I missed the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met last year. I feel like I should not be posting photos and videos since if you see it in person you may not have the same surprised reaction I had, but I am posting them anyway for those who can’t make it to San Francisco before the exhibit ends on August 19th. More photos can be seen here.

Note: Clark + Martina Topley-Bird makes me a happy camper.

Filed under: photography, travel by ramune

Loscil – Union Dusk

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This past weekend I flew to San Francisco for a quick trip and could not sleep at all on the flight. My attempts were futile because every time I closed my eyes I thought I was missing some amazing views and would have to open them. I have spent a good deal of time on the East Coast and have taken a number of trips to the West Coast, but most of the middle remains unexplored territory (hopefully not for too much longer).

While on the flight, I listened almost solely to Loscil and it has become my favorite music to listen to while flying, especially over deserts, canyons and mountains. It felt like I was in the middle of some Koyaanisqatsi meets Planet Earth film, learning about drying up rivers and water cutting through rock to create various formations.

Filed under: knitting, photography by ramune

Thieves Like Us – Marie Marie

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What better time to knit a really warm baby alpaca/silk sweater than during the warmest winter of my life? I started this sweater way back in August and after putting it aside a number of times throughout the autumn and winter, it is finally finished . . . just in time to be put away until next winter.

Backstory: This pattern comes from a Debbie Bliss book I bought in Seattle a couple years back. It was a memorable purchase because my mother, sister and I happened upon this yarn store where Debbie Bliss was visiting from the UK, showing her new pattern books and yarns. I am by no means a knitting expert and don’t know all of the names in the knitting world, but I do know Debbie Bliss. I almost always look at her yarns first when starting a project and have bought several books of hers, so this was pretty exciting, especially since we had no idea she was going to be there.

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

Another broken ice photo of mine has been selected for this year’s DCist Exposed exhibit. This year’s photo was shot on my now deceased Mamiya m645 medium format film camera and was printed by my friend Aziz. Because one night is just not enough, there will be two opening nights limited to 500 tickets each. In the past, tickets have sold out ahead of time, so if you plan on going please get your ticket in advance. Tickets are $10 each and there will be an open bar sponsored by DC Brau and Churchkey (yum!). I will be there both nights and hope to see you there! If you can’t make it one of the opening nights but would like to see the show, it will be up until April 1st.

Long View Gallery
1234 9th St. NW
Washington, DC

Opening nights
Wednesday, March 21, 6-10pm (Tickets)
Thursday, March 22, 6-10pm (Tickets)

For more info, go here.
To buy the exhibition program, go here.

Filed under: collaboration, friends, nutella, photography by ramune

Dva – Nunovo Tango

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Another World Nutella Day has arrived and I was lucky enough to spend it in New Orleans with a group of wonderful friends, from DC, Chicago, and San Jose, who surprised me for my birthday! They knew of my need to celebrate World Nutella Day and came up with the idea to take Nutella facial hair photographs. What better place to enjoy a Nutella moustache than at Cafe du Monde? We received some strange looks while we slathered Nutella around our mouths, but if there is one city that won’t question your motives it’s probably New Orleans.

Previous years:
2011
2010
2009

Ms Adventures in Italy
Bleeding Espresso