One of the perks of being REALLY bad at getting film developed in a timely fashion is getting to re-live fun adventures way after the fact. Case in point: disposable camera goodness from that time Elizabeth met me in Lubbock and we had the most random assortment of tourist adventures, including pretzels bigger than our faces.
In recent photo class adventures…self portraits. I started out not really looking forward to this project, but ended up having a ton of fun with it. I think I probably spent more time coordinating shirts, coffee mugs and other props than I did actually shooting or editing. It’s still strange to be in a photography class again, but having deadlines and stipulations keeps me on my toes for sure.
Without further ado, several gratuitous photos of myself!
Someday, I’ll have millions of dollars and a beautiful custom darkroom all to myself. Until then, here are a couple of my favorite, cheaper alternatives I’ve discovered.
Dark cloth: Yeah, you could spend a chunk of money on a ~professional~ dark cloth, or you could buy a couple yards of cosplay fabric from a local fabric store and save a whole lot of money (plus feel 10000 times more magical). I snagged two yards of this amazing fabric for use with my 4x5 camera, and another 3 that I use with my darkbox. Other than being very stylish, the material is meant for making costumes so it stays fairly cool underneath and is sufficiently opaque.
Stained glass panels: Quickly after starting to build my portable darkbox, I found out how expensive safelights and/or filters can be. Since I’m currently only using the box for tintypes, I knew I could get a little more creative with my light situation. A 12” x 12” amber glass panel for $8 does the job perfectly at a fraction of the cost.
Creamer bottles: This one didn’t occur to me until recently, but I’m sold on it. We’ve suddenly become creamer users, and I can’t bear to get rid of things that may prove to be useful/reusable later, so that’s how I ended up with a middle of the night idea, and a brand new fix bottle. I don’t know how well these guys would hold up to long term storage, but they’ve been awesome for small batch sessions. The pour spout is top notch, plus the lid snaps open and closed with one hand. Cut to me at the grocery store, spending way too long analyzing the size, ergonomics, cap color and (less importantly) flavor of each creamer bottle. shrug
I’m sure that this post will only continue to get longer as I look around and realize more odd things I’ve adapted. After all, necessity is the mother of invention, right?
Cadillac Ranch is always one of the first places I take friends when they visit Amarillo. It’s admittedly a little underwhelming, but it’s still an experience. So when MD, one of my favorite humans came to visit last summer, off we went.
In the midst of all my theory and reading heavy courses this semester, I’m getting the opportunity to take a studio class. It’s been interesting to get back into the swing of making photos with stipulations (and for a grade) again. Our first assignment centered around exploring the human body, and pinhole photography.
Just in case our neighbors didn’t think we were weirdos yet, I covered our bedroom window and got to work.
I read something the other day about how the average person moves 11.7 times in their life. That sounds like a lot, but is pretty accurate based on my own life. Thanks to the size of Texas, I can’t even say that moving states has been the longest distance move I’ve made.
I was resistant at first, but the trend (is it still a trend at this point?) of choosing a word to guide your year has really grown on me.
2017 was all about commitment. Beyond the obvious part where I got married, I spent a lot of time making decisions and working toward a relatively small amount of goals. In 2018, I did the opposite. The concept of more really stuck out to me in a big way. I said “yes” way more than I ever have, tried all the new things and did A LOT. Both were awesome, but I’m feeling somewhere in the middle for 2019.
Sadly underexposed, but still a fun plate from a few days ago.
Patience sounds nice, but I don’t think it quite fits. Admittedly, all of my activities lately have been helping to cultivate the feeling - crocheting, lettering, job hunting, tintypes…
Even though it feels a little more fitting, follow through doesn’t have a great ring to it. I want to multitask less, and focus more. That even includes only reading one book at a time, which is WAY out of character for me. I may have to bust out a thesaurus, y’all.
Anyone have any good words to share, or suggestions for me?
I didn’t do much for my birthday this year, but I did learn that the laundry room I initially thought was kind of odd makes for an excellent dark room set up. After a lengthy battle with my new scanner, I’m excited to share my spooky first plate as a 27 year old!
