Category: photography

QUARANTINE FILM WALK : PT 1

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QUARANTINE FILM WALK : PT 1

I fished out an old rangefinder I bought a couple years ago at a camera show and decided to run a roll of film through it. Dejah and I have been trying to take some longer walks lately with the dogs, so it’s a great time to play with some old cameras.  The below photos are from the YASHICA 35ME // FOMAPAN 400  . It seems that the meter was consistently over-exposing everything so needless to say, I won’t be wasting any more  film on this camera again. These are the only 2 shots that were useable. (I had to edit the exposure)

2017 Film Challenge – Top 12 PHOTOS

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While Sean and I have been keeping up with the FILM CHALLENGE, I have been neglecting to blog about it (or anything else for that matter). Oops.

All the photos can be found on here, but for a quick rundown, here are my favorite film photos for each month of 2017:

JANUARY

cocosneakers

35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak UltraMax 400 • Monterey, CA

I am still swooning over this double exposure of Sneakers and Coco. NEED to get this one printed and framed someday when we have a bigger living space.

FEBRUARY

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35mm Canon AE-1 • Vista Plus 200 • Hollywood, CA

The OG Tower of Terror. I dig all the greenery and little shrub shadows. Also, what font is that???

MARCH

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35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 100 • Woodland Hills, CA

By far the creepiest photo taken last year. The smiling bear in the front is cute though.

APRIL

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35mm Canon AE-1 • Rollei RPX 400 (Push +2 to 1600) • Sherman Oaks, CA

April was a B&W film month and no one looks better in grayscale than little miss coco.

MAY

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35mm Canon AE-1 • Lomography 400 • Alabama Hills, CA

It is impossible to take a bad photo in the Alabama Hills. Beauty in every direction.

JUNE

35mm Canon AE-1 • Fuji X-TRA Superia 800 • I-5, CA

Lost track of how many hours we spent driving up and down the I-5 in 2017. The clouds in this one are clutch.

JULY

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35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • ILFORD 400 B&W • Ventura, CA

This was our first month using the Canon Sure Shot. I love the grain and the vignetting in this photo. Has a very old look to it. HIPSTAMATIC SHIT.

AUGUST

35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • Kodak Gold 400 • Hoh Rain Forest, WA

35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • Kodak Gold 400 • Hoh Rain Forest, WA

Another one with the Canon Sure Shot but this time with color film. That little camera sure adds character. Oh, and nice hat, Sean 😉

SEPTEMBER

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35mm Canon AE-1 • CineStill 50 • Whittier, CA

Those clouds…and that silhouette of the city…*gasp*. CineStill film is simply cinemagic!

OCTOBER

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35mm Nikon FE2 • CineStill 50 • Studio City, CA

The Nikon FE2 was added to our camera collection and produced this vintage Sneaks classic. Oh, and about those cowboy curtains?!?

NOVEMBER

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35mm Olympus XA2 • AGFA Vista 400 • Las Vegas, Nevada

Another new camera – the Olympus XA2. Brought the cute compact camera with us to Las Vegas and got some pretty neat nightlife shots.

DECEMBER

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Fuji Instax Mini • Fujifilm Instax Mini Instant • Los Angeles, CA

Sean bought me the Fuji Instax Mini 90 for my birthday and I take it with me everywhere I go. This is one of my favorite double exposures that I have gotten with it so far.

CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP.

We are now completely obsessed with our film cameras and don’t plan on giving them up anytime soon. Sean even purchased a B&W developing kit so expect a lot of monochrome this year. January 2018 photos are up now and February photos are coming soon.

 

 

July and August – Film Challenge

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Have you checked our FILM CHALLENGE lately? Photos for July and August are up but I haven’t had a chance to blog about them until now.

JULY

This was a pretty uneventful month for us, so when Sean got a new camera – the Canon Sure Shot Compact – we took a weekend trip to Ventura, popped in some B&W film and put it to the test. Here are my two favorites:

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AUGUST

We took so many photos in August it was hard to choose the best ones to post. We used three different cameras and went through a variety of film while exploring the beautiful state of Washington. Here are just a few:

35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • Kodak Gold 400 • Aberdeen, WA

35mm Canon AE-1• Kodak Portra 160 • Seattle, WA

35mm Canon AE-1• Kodak Portra 160 • Seattle, WA

35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • Kodak Gold 400 • Quinnault Rain Forest, WA35mm Canon Sure Shot Compact • Kodak Gold 400 • Hoh Rain Forest, WA35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Olympic National Park, WA35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Hoh Rain Forest, WA

Check out our FILM CHALLENGE page for more.

PHOTOS: Erie, Pennsylvania

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This post features some photos from Erie, PA that I snapped while following retired FBI Det. Jerry Clark as he recounted his steps during the infamous “Pizza Bomber” case.  If you haven’t heard of it, and want to learn more, click HERE for an article form Wired Magazine. Or if you love true crime novels, you can purchase Jerry’s book HERE.

Below are a few of the photos I took while filming.

Please check out the PHOTOS page to view more.

 

 

PHOTOS: Camden, New Jersey

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In July 2017, I started working on a documentary series (Title TBD) that follows detectives in various cities throughout the United States. I’ve been very fortunate to be allowed in on these beautiful stories of suffering, persistence, strength, and love that exist within our human condition. Here are the photos I’ve snagged in my downtime between shooting and travel.

Camden, NJ had the highest homicide rate per capita in 2012 and remains in the top ten in the US. These neighborhoods are no joke.

View of Philly / Ben Franklin Bridge from Camden
North Camden
East Camden
Shot from the Philly Side looking towards Camden
East Camden

Check out the full album here.

JUNE – FILM CHALLENGE

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Our Film Challenge photos for the month of June are now up!

A few more shots from the Alabama Hills and an impromptu photo shoot with my cousin, Aaron.

35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Alabama Hills, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Alabama Hills, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Alabama Hills, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Kodak Portra 400 • Alabama Hills, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Fuji X-TRA Superia 800 • I-5, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Fuji X-TRA Superia 800 • Venice, CA

35mm Canon AE-1 • Fuji X-TRA Superia 800 • Venice, CA

Processing all of this film is getting a bit expensive. Sean and I have been looking to purchase a film scanner but can’t seem to find one under $300 with good reviews. Any suggestions?!?

14 Hours in Japan

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14 hours in Tokyo is not nearly enough time, but it is all we had. The three main objectives for the day: eat fresh sushi from the fish market, try authentic ramen, and find a Sanrio store.

Our first challenge was getting out of the airport and into the city. With some help from the tourist kiosk we were on the subway in no time heading toward the Tsukiji Fish Market for the freshest and most delicious sushi breakfast.

Tsukiji Fish Market

 

We didn’t get to the market in time for the tuna auction (4am!!!) but there was plenty of action to witness at 6am. After about an hour of strolling down the market aisles, dodging trucks and trolleys, and salivating over some of the largest fish we’ve ever seen, we popped into one of the many hole in the wall restaurants just inside the main gate off Shin-ohashi Street.

While it was a bit on the pricey side, it was the freshest sushi I had ever eaten and most definitely the best breakfast of my life. Seafood is my EVERYTHING.

And now onto lunch…

Ramen

We found a small ramen shop in the middle of Shibuya by following our noses and a group of Japanese businessmen on their lunch break. The sliding wood door opened to a small bar top where two chefs (sent from heaven, I assume) concocted intoxicating bowls of glorious noodle soup. I typically can’t finish a full bowl of ramen but it was so tasty that I inhaled every last drop and still wanted more.

 

Sanrio

Finding a Sanrio store in the Hello Kitty mecca should be easy, right? What I expected to be the easiest task of the day turned out to be an exhausting fiasco.

Why do I need wifi to get wifi? If I had wifi I wouldn’t I need wifi. Connecting to wifi in Tokyo was a pain in the neck. Since we were only in town for the day, it didn’t make sense to invest in a SIM card. And seeing as we were visiting a high-tech country, we figured we could get along fine with the “free wifi” that was advertised everywhere. The problem is you must verify your email address to use the internet, BUT you can’t access your email without the internet. Total catch 22. We basically had to dip into a Starbucks and buy a coffee anytime we needed wifi. It was pretty difficult trying to figure out where we were based on map screenshots and Japanese street signs.

The locals were extremely friendly and tried to help the best they could with the limited English they understood. After a lot of walking (sometimes in circles) we FINALLY found the giant Hello Kitty statue in front of a small Gift Gate store. I was not very impressed by the store but I was thankful that our mission was complete.

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The upside of the arduous search was that it forced us to explore more of the city. We browsed the music selection at the 9 story Tower Records store in Shibuya, window shopped in the Harujuku district, and wandered aimlessly down the streets of Shinjuku.

14 hours in Tokyo left us with sore feet, happy bellies, and the overwhelming desire to return again.

Sayonara for now…

Check out our PHOTOS page for more Tokyo pics.

TOKYO PHOTOS

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Our one day layover in Japan feels like a blur in hindsight. After “slow travelling” for three months, having to rush through a city in 14 hours (on only a couple hours of sleep) was exhausting. However, with it being the final destination on our journey back to California, we mustered up every last bit of energy and fucking crushed it!

The photos from our quick stop in Tokyo are now up on our PHOTOS page.

Here are just a few:

More to come on Tokyo soon…

Alabama Hills

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Three day weekends call for adventure! And now that I am back working the 9-5, weekends are the only time to get out of town. I hadn’t been camping since our February trip to Fremont Peak State Park and was in desperate need of some nature.

We packed up the FJ and headed for the hills, the Alabama Hills.

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I absolutely love camping in the Alabama Hills. It’s hard to beat the amazing views of the eastern Sierras. We met up with a group of our best camping buddies and spent three days/two nights exploring rock formations, eating delicious dutch oven meals, and gazing up at the limitless stars.

Pet Rocks

Our friends, Pouyan and Janelle, are avid campers and have raised two of the cutest little adventurers. At 4 and 2 years old, the boys have been to more National Parks than most adults. In an attempt to raise my status to “fun Auntie Dejah”, I brought along some rocks, washable paint, and googly eyes to make pet rocks. We ended up with more paint on our clothes than on the rocks, but they were still a big hit with the littles.

Arches

You can’t go to the Alabama Hills without scoping out some of the awesome rock formations. Sean and I took the dogs on a morning hike to check out the different arches. We lucked out and had the popular Mobius Arch all to ourselves for a good 15 minutes.

120mm RB67 ProS • Portra 160 • Alabama HIlls, CA

Manzanar

On Monday we took a trip 10 miles north of Lone Pine to Manzanar – the site of one of ten American concentration camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly held during World War II. It seemed fitting to pay a visit on Memorial Day.

Star Gazing

We spent our nights looking up at the stars while eating cinnamon rolls wrapped around sticks and cooked over the campfire.

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Now to figure out how many more camping trips we can fit in before the year is over…