Here are a few more instant photos I shared during Polaroid week…
More can be found in the Polaroid Week Flickr pool here!
believe in film
Finally, a Polaroid Week post part 1
Back in April (really, has it already been that long???) the online photo community I am part of celebrated another Polaroid Week. It has been quite some time since I have taken photos using instant film…my SX-70 had been out of commission, and the glass plate in the Polaroid back for my Hasselblad had two large cracks in it.
But this year, something drew me to participate in Polaroid week. I was able to fix my SX-70, and removed the broken glass from my Hasselblad’s Polaroid back. I pulled a few of my favorite Instax Mini photos taken during our last trip to Okinawa, and went on a couple of photo walks with my Hasselblad and SX-70, and pulled together enough photos to participate in the entire week.
And I am managing to use up a bit more of the film I have hoarded in my film fridge…
Here are a few that I posted during Polaroid week…
You can see more photos in the Polaroid Week pool on Flickr here!
Steps
Taken with a Hasselblad 501c/m using Ilford film. Photographed at the site of an old farmhouse in Okinawa, Japan.
Today is my last official day of spring break. I know the week ahead will be busy, but I’m trying to not think about that yet.
Yesterday was the first day of spring here, and I found myself at the spring Mala at my yoga studio – 108 salutations: 27 sun salutes, 27 moon salutes, 27 hatha salutes, and one last round of 27 sun salutes. It is an amazing experience, that I’m not sure I can describe in words. Yoga has taught me so much already, and every time I am on my mat I feel like I learn a little something new, not just about the practice itself, but about myself, what is important to me, and what I need to let go of. The Mala was no exception, and together we let go of a lot of garbage and baggage we were carrying around, and greeted the spring.
2016 has been a much different year than I thought it would be…not good or bad, just very different (and already including one more tattoo than I thought it would). I set a goal of reading 52 books this year, one book a week, and so far I am on track to surpass that goal. John and I have amassed such a collection of books over our years together, and I am making a conscious effort to read through the ones I haven’t tried yet, and enjoying all of them. Currently I am sucked into the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. I’m not sure why I haven’t finished this series sooner.
I spent a lot of time this spring break working on artwork for two shows this summer. My artwork is changing, the meanings are changing, and I find myself adding in layers of meaning that coordinate with current events and climate issues. This is not really new territory for me, but something I haven’t explored for about 10 years. We’ll see where this takes me. I have had inspirations coming from very different places lately, and I find myself craving the time to work, and no longer feeling bad about taking every minute I can get. This is just one more necessity for me.
Back to work.
Who you were so long ago
A display of cooking pots and other household items in a Japanese farm-house from the 1100s. Okinawa, Japan.
Taken with a Hasselblad 501 c/m using Ilford black and white film.
Under the green
Okinawa, Japan, January 2016. At the site of an ancient city long since lost to nature. Taken with a Hasselblad 501 c/m and Kodak Portra film.
Find your path
Okinawa, Japan. January 2016.
Taken with a Hasselblad 501c/m camera, using Ilford HP5 400 film.
Moving right along
This week I get to share with you that my #Mississippi book is now also included in the permanent collection at the Minnesota Historical Society! It is so exciting to have that book travel so many places, and be seen by so many people. I never dreamed that would happen!
I have been busy the last few days editing film scans of photos from our trip last month, and working on a new series of artwork. I have more plans for this year, though it is a bit too early to share them now. It is an exciting and full year, in all the best ways!
If you follow me on Instagram, I’ll be sharing many film photos from our trip this week, as well as a couple of work-in-progress photos from the artwork series I am working on.
10 minutes at a time
There are some technical details of what I am working on for Made Here that haven’t been exactly easy.
Such as how my film scanner is not playing super nice at letting me scan negatives in at a higher resolution than what I normally do. Specifically the black and white negatives, when scanned in on Grayscale mode. Scanned in on color negative mode, they work fine. I have not yet learned why.
10 minutes at a time, re-scanning the black and white images I took last weekend.
10 minutes at a time editing and color correcting, bringing them back to black and white.
10 minutes at a time with all the other things that have taken place over the last couple of days (including dropping a shampoo bottle on my toe…)
10 minutes at a time has worked out pretty well!