Square Peg Pinhole

 I swear I posted here yesterday, but apparently yesterday was April 27. Time dies during a pandemic.  I've been focused on a couple of project ideas. One, dealing with cyanotype, has hit a snag but that's fine. I'll work on it more once real-life work eases a bit.  The other is capturing how we, as Americans, display the flag. There's zero commentary, it really is as simple as that. Making this series is easier: I can capture as I have time (been working on it for years, I realized recently), or just happen to have a camera on me. If I see a flag I want to shoot, but don't have a camera, I make a note (they used to be mental notes, but I've switched to using Google Keep so I don't have to rely on my aging brain) to go back and shoot it later.  Here are a few so far. All were shot using a Reality-So-Subtle 6x6 and Fuji Velvia 50 film:

Four Bourbons Pinhole Coffee Flat White Cup Camera Kodak T-Max 400 10 seconds There's a coffee shop in San Francisco called Pinhole Coffee ( www.pinholecoffee.com ). I've never been but based on info from pinhole friends of mine, and the name, it's a magical place. About a week ago Jeff McConnell , a pinholer based near NYC, suggested folks support Pinhole Coffee during the Covid-19 crisis by making a purchase from their online store. Wanting the magic to survive, I bought a few things. My good arrived few days later, just in time for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2020 , so I decided to turn the ceramic Flat White Pinhole Coffee Cup into an anamorphic pinhole camera. The pinhole-ish looking logo from a  Vinyl Me, Please   shipping box (I joined VMP in the middle of the night early in the Covid shut down...anxiety shopping I don't regret) was a perfect fit for the top of the cup. I created the pinhole using a sewing needle and heavy aluminum foil. I checked...

9 Nearby Hydrants Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flipped Lens Camera Kodak T-Max 100 film pulled half a stop Last week I shot a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. I flipped the lens several years ago. It's been sitting on the shelf of a cottage until recently. I needed to get out of the house, so I took it for a walk...a couple of miles around the neighborhood. I focused (as best you can with an old fixed-focus camera) on fire hydrants. They're easy subjects (trite, too) since the don't complain about posing. Here's what I got. I forgot the camera has a few light leaks. I'll need to tape the seams next time. In case you don't know, this Brownie model shoots 620 film. It's possible to use 120 on the take up reel, but you may need to bend some small metal tabs on the sides of the pick-up reel holders. It's that easy. Camera and film ready for (limited) adventure

Cumberland Falls, Google Pixel 4 Mini Snow Diana F+ MEG, Kodak 400TX Gatliff Bridge Diana F+ MEG, Kodak 400TX Cumberland River Diana F+ MEG, Kodak 400TX Last month I packed a few cameras and visited Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky. I planned to go with someone else. I drove up alone, opening the windows occasionally to the cold to wake myself because I'd slept so little in the weeks prior, and felt melancholy. In the higher elevations I smiled at patches of snow that fell earlier in the week but were mostly melted. It was the first snow I'd seen this season, despite being February. Every white patch brought a blizzard of happy memories, smiles that melted back into sadness. The drive took longer than I expected, longer than Google said it would, but I welcomed the slowness. A long bridge spanning the obscenely swollen Cumberland River greeted me at the park. It’s been a wet winter, but the speed and rage of the water shocked me. I didn’t recognize ...

Winter 2011, ZeroImage Pinhole Shelby Park, Nashville I had someone I don't know reach out to me yesterday to offer encouragement after reading my recent posts. It was a kindhearted gesture. Thanks, you, for gifting me a much needed and appreciated boost. It reminded me, I need to be more kindhearted to strangers, it's how we improve this world. I woke this morning to snow. Not enough to keep me in bed away from work but enough to give me a smile. Living in Nashville means snow is a rare occurrence. We're on that just-might-snow-but-probably-ain't-gonna geographic line. It's common for folks just north of us, and east of us on the Cumberland Plateau, and west of us to get lots of snow each year. Could be Nashville is hot enough, urban enough, bad ass enough to repel the snow angels. Snow is joy, laughter, happiness, and all that cheese. Maybe the brightness created by reflecting light serves as a fleeting panacea for seasonal affective disorder. Maybe I sti...

I spent the evening creating. Not creating well, but it's a start. I dug out a pinhole camera I made several years ago using an Impossible Project Instant Lab. I charged it up and loaded it with a pack of year-old Polaroid 600 BW film.  I set the rig up on an old library card catalog. Light meter suggested ~2 minutes. I increased by half to cover reciprocity failure. It wasn't enough time. My first shot was under exposed. All that was visible was the center drawer and the light leak.  My second shot (the one here) was 9 minutes. It probably could have done with a couple of extra minutes. And I need to fix that light leak.  Creating tonight has helped soothe my heart a bit. I hope those bits increase as I continue to create more.  Shooting using Impossible Project Instant Lab Pinhole