Last night I did go into the darkroom - my beautiful darkroom at that - and developed four more rolls of film. Once I get in there and start mixing the chemicals and the timers are going and I'm shaking away! - it's so much fun. I get lost in there and really don't want to come out. I can't wish for wanting to have had this luxury of a darkroom 20 - 30 years ago, it's here now and I'm happy for that! Thank you hubby! Tonite I cut the film and sleeved them all.
Earlier today I drove down to Sacramento to buy more chemicals. I'm going to try to get in there and start making prints this weekend, but first I have a family photo shoot and this time because I am pressed for time, I'm using my husband's digital Canon. So after the shoot I can go thru the shots and get them printed out for my daughter-in-law by this weekend. Tonight I went thru the camera and cleaned the lenses and got out the tripod, as well as my trusty Minolta. I will take some pictures with film - I have to! It's just moi!
As an aside, I LOVE music! And today I went into Starbucks and treated myself to a coffee, and as I'm ordering I see a Marc Cohn CD, "Listening Booth: 1970". I loved Marc Cohn's first album, "Walking in Memphis" and haven't really heard anything else since then of his that I liked. But this one is pretty awesome. He sings Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens and more. You definitely need to go check it out!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Six Days and Counting
This year has been eventful to say the least. Family loved ones passing away, dear friends terminally ill, vacations, and surgery! If you've been a follower of this blog by now you know I suck! I've tried to keep it just about photography, but that is really hard especially if people are expecting something elegantly technical coming out of mouth. It ain't happening. Not now, maybe not ever - who knows?
I know what I need to do and there is so much at times that I can't always just throw myself in the darkroom/studio. I want to, but life gets in the way. And now I'm going to have surgery on my right foot. So I've been getting everything ready: getting a TV set up in the downstairs bedroom, adding a phone, and I need to get some projects lined up and ready, so that when I can't get out of bed and I'm bored, I'll just ask my hubby to bring me the box labelled "X" or "XY". I won't be able to be on my foot for 4 weeks, but when I can I'm going to have my studio set up for painting acrylics with a card table and then I can put my foot up on the futon - hope it works out.
But now I am going to throw myself in the darkroom and hopefully have some luck making some great B&W prints!
I know what I need to do and there is so much at times that I can't always just throw myself in the darkroom/studio. I want to, but life gets in the way. And now I'm going to have surgery on my right foot. So I've been getting everything ready: getting a TV set up in the downstairs bedroom, adding a phone, and I need to get some projects lined up and ready, so that when I can't get out of bed and I'm bored, I'll just ask my hubby to bring me the box labelled "X" or "XY". I won't be able to be on my foot for 4 weeks, but when I can I'm going to have my studio set up for painting acrylics with a card table and then I can put my foot up on the futon - hope it works out.
But now I am going to throw myself in the darkroom and hopefully have some luck making some great B&W prints!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Return to Reality
My husband and I just returned from a two week vacation to the east coast: visiting my son and his family and touring Cape Cod. Personally I thought we managed to skip the so-called bad weather - everywhere we went, people were spouting the words: it's so hot here! We didn't think it was that bad - it was just the 'moist-ness' of it all and that really wasn't that bad either.
Driving thru the eastern states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts was beautiful. I don't want to knock it because it was a great change from the west coast, however, we Californians are so used to to the 'open' spaces where you drive along and actually SEE the area and the landscapes changing. Not so back there. What you SEE is the beautiful greenery of the trees along the extremely clean roadsides mile after mile. It's refreshing at first, but then, it's like, hey, I want to see something! Anything! A house, possibly a lake, or ?? whatever, but you can't.
And the signage - holy moly - not good! First you see a sign telling you the right direction with the posted mileage to get there. Then you come upon a fork in the road and there's no more signage! Very aggravating to say the least. They also have alot of rotaries or if you were in France they would be called 'arrondissemonts'.
However, I did take my trusty 20 lb Minolta and I did shoot some B&W film of Cape Cod scenes in: Hyannis, Plymouth, Nantucket, Newport, and Provincetown (or P-Town)! I only have 2 rolls of B&W, and the rest are color digital photos. Actually the Minolta I used this trip was an SRT 101 Minolta that a good friend of mine gave me. It belonged to his father. It worked very well for a while and then the mirror got locked in the up position. But after a few gentle nudges it came back to the down position! And then I didn't think there would be THAT much difference between a
50mm lens and a 58mm lens - but yes there is more than I imagined. I'm so used to the 50mm capturing a 'whole' scene - I've never used anything close to it. I would usually step up to a zoom lens. I've learned a lesson. Luckily I had a wide angle lens that did the trick.
More later!
Driving thru the eastern states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts was beautiful. I don't want to knock it because it was a great change from the west coast, however, we Californians are so used to to the 'open' spaces where you drive along and actually SEE the area and the landscapes changing. Not so back there. What you SEE is the beautiful greenery of the trees along the extremely clean roadsides mile after mile. It's refreshing at first, but then, it's like, hey, I want to see something! Anything! A house, possibly a lake, or ?? whatever, but you can't.
And the signage - holy moly - not good! First you see a sign telling you the right direction with the posted mileage to get there. Then you come upon a fork in the road and there's no more signage! Very aggravating to say the least. They also have alot of rotaries or if you were in France they would be called 'arrondissemonts'.
However, I did take my trusty 20 lb Minolta and I did shoot some B&W film of Cape Cod scenes in: Hyannis, Plymouth, Nantucket, Newport, and Provincetown (or P-Town)! I only have 2 rolls of B&W, and the rest are color digital photos. Actually the Minolta I used this trip was an SRT 101 Minolta that a good friend of mine gave me. It belonged to his father. It worked very well for a while and then the mirror got locked in the up position. But after a few gentle nudges it came back to the down position! And then I didn't think there would be THAT much difference between a
50mm lens and a 58mm lens - but yes there is more than I imagined. I'm so used to the 50mm capturing a 'whole' scene - I've never used anything close to it. I would usually step up to a zoom lens. I've learned a lesson. Luckily I had a wide angle lens that did the trick.
More later!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Contact Sheets
Fourth of July morning and early afternoon I closed myself off into the dark room and proceeded to pump out the last of six contact sheets for the last rolls of film I developed. That's all done for now. However, next I really do need to practice, practice, practice developing prints now. I've pretty much conquered (1) the chemicals for both the film side and developing side; (2) the timing processes for both; and (3) developing the contact sheets. I will definitely be devoting my time now to developing 'showable' prints.
On another level, I am part of a collaboration of artists to paint 1/3 of a canvas of the Foresthill Bridge. I must have it done before September! Everytime I drive the canyon road I look and study it to hopefully memorize some of it and the hillsides for when I do start painting it. So, that's been eating at me too...why did I say I would do that??? ; )
On another level, I am part of a collaboration of artists to paint 1/3 of a canvas of the Foresthill Bridge. I must have it done before September! Everytime I drive the canyon road I look and study it to hopefully memorize some of it and the hillsides for when I do start painting it. So, that's been eating at me too...why did I say I would do that??? ; )
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