Fightin' Words

I'm sitting here sifting through boxes, sorting my life back out, and I get excited about plastic things. These plastic things pictured, to be specific.

I used the Holga and Diana a tad over the past four years, a roll each, perhaps. They've been tucked away. I never forgot them, just forgot I wanted to shoot them. The Reality So Subtle was an eBay purchase from more than a year ago and finally used for the first time last month.

I read a blog post earlier today by Monika Danos on finding a new path after becoming ill recently, which has limited her ability to work in her darkroom. She ended the piece with:
"Art is a fight, and it is worth it."

Them's fightin' words.

I'm trying to make plans for myself. I need something to occupy my time as I heal, as I find my footing, otherwise I risk TV, bourbon, and inertia taking over.

I'm excited because I bought film to load in these guys. And I've decided to try the new Cinestill Df96 Monobath. Well, new to me, at least. I read about it for the first time when looking up chems to buy yesterday. I went ahead and ordered a couple of batches to try...because I'm gonna fight.

Links (no, I don't make money from these):

Monika Danos website
https://thesmelloffixer.wordpress.com/

Cinestill Df96 Monobath
https://cinestillfilm.com/products/df96-developer-fix-b-w-monobath-single-step-solution-for-processing-at-home

Holga 120 WPC Pinhole Camera
https://www.lomography.com/magazine/4599-holga-120-wpc

Diana+ MEG Edition Camera
https://microsites.lomography.com/whitestripes/meg

RealitySoSubtle 6x6 by James Guerin
https://realitysosubtle.fr/custom-cameras/realitysosubtle-6x6/

Comments

Time Dies During a Pandemic

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:

Coffee, Bourbon, and Pinhole Day

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...

Don't BS

It's been three years since I last posted. At some point after that I went through the blog and turned all posts to unpublished. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was a pinholer anymore. Honestly, I didn't know if I was still an amateur photographer. Honestly, I quit everything creative. Honestly, I quit me. There's no deep soul searching here in this post. I've been so busy trying to make others happy that I forgot to make myself happy. I'm creative and I love sharing that creativity. So, with that, I'm knocking the rust off my creative self and this site. There is a park in Nashville, my hometown, that I visited for the first time recently. It's small, woody, hilly, wet, and filled with tiny pieces of art and junk and artsy junk. I shot a few images with a Vermeer 6x17 curved plane camera I purchased secondhand quite a while ago. It's a new camera for me and I haven't shot pinhole in a year or two...excuses. Regardless, here are a cou...

Square Peg Pinhole

Search This Blog