golden haze

I recently got several packs of the Impossible Project's PX 680 and PZ 680 film and tried them out over the weekend. Unfortunately, I treated them like the defunct-since-2008, discontinued Polaroid 600 film and when I saw the dark blue emulsion face, was convinced I had gotten a pack of duds. Crushed as I was, I decided to finish off the rest of the box, only to research later and realize that it takes 30-40 minutes and preferably complete darkness to develop one of these Impossible Project images! Argh! So these turned out sickly and hazy, but I kind of like them. My unintentional self-portrait to the bottom right went like this: "Eh, fuckit, this isn't gonna turn out anyway (click)." I secretly enjoyed how carefree I was with these polaroids when I was under the impression that none of them would turn out - with the steadily rising prices of film and film development over years past, it seems like there's an inherently more careful approach to how one approaches a roll or pack of film. But that's pretty much how it should be. It's so easy to take 10+ images of the same thing digitally and choose the best one later. There's nothing wrong with that though, it's the beauty of the medium. 

rainbowarriors

Last weekend I spent some time back at my mother's house, and noticed pretty prismatic washes of light all over the living room floor as my dogs padded back and forth across the room. Rainbows show up very beautifully on tousled white fur!

color miscellany

Some kind of wonderful dried up plant that I've seen while hiking at Eaton.

The fig harvest from Andy's grandma's fig tree!

Beautiful greeny-white tiny flowers from some other hike a few months ago.

The old Norms on Valley Blvd. that has been slowly stripped of its identity...

Here are some miscellaneous pretty things with vibrant colors that I find myself looking at every now and again...!

cognizance

Slides from 2008, Fuji Velvia.
Some terribly scanned slides that I felt like sharing anyway. These images don't even come close to conveying their true tones and shadows - they look fuzzy and blurry and make it look like I'm all shaky hands and clueless about f-stops and light let alone how to operate a camera, but the actual slides are pure and crisp and some of the most beautiful things I think I've shot on film thus far; also Fuji Velvia is one of the most gorgeous films ever created so it's difficult to not shoot something awesome with it. My description of these slides reminds me of other things, how my perception of a situation seems one way and upon self-reflection becomes clearer and different from the initial assessment of it. I'm unraveling little delusions I've had about the past few weeks and upon revealing some reluctant truths I feel so foolish and stupid, though I strangely don't feel regret (yet?).

from the archives: rooftop dawn

These are from October 2008. I think Dan and I wandered all night shooting with tungsten film and in the morning we ended up on one of the parking structure rooftops off Figueroa and Exposition. I got some great shots that night which explains why these digital ones aren't anything special, other than a slight reminder of the adventures that were had.

from the archives: moustache kitties

These were taken September 14, 2008 in the arts district during an afternoon spent frolicking around with my sister and Dan. I don't remember why we were there. All I recall is that we were having fun just checking out the abundance of graffiti all over the buildings and streets and then we heard a mewling... and we looked up and saw kitties! In one out of focus shot I omitted, a tiny tabby appears next to the big moustache kitty, but my focusing skills were sub-par and I ruined the shot.

One more that I shot on my Nikon FE using daylight slide film. Even though the kitties don't show up so well I like the overall mood much more than the digital shots.

one lone cloud

This is one of the most unusual things I've seen. A single cloud, far away from any other cloud formation, just hovering in the sky. When describing it to T I went wild, suggesting the possibility of it being an alien spaceship cleverly disguised to blend in with our atmosphere. A perfect disguise save for the all-too-crucial consideration of that next level of camouflage that was hastily forgotten. Aliens, we are on to you. Today was a good but exhausting Monday. I went to bed at 6 this morning to wake up at 9 and begin the endless cycle of work over again. I think I'll take a short nap now and get back to work for the rest of the night.

westies through my sister's eyes

My sister doesn't regard herself as much of a photographer, but upon seeing these I have to disagree! Look at how perfectly she captures our Westies, the compositions of the photos, how the light falls on them and how intelligent and cute they look. I am obviously biased in my opinion of the poopies, but I seriously think these are amazing.

someday I'll live in a land of green skyscrapers

One last random thought before sleep: The way sunlight looks when it's streaming in through bright green leaves is like a shining beacon, a reminder that life exists because of the sun. When I was younger I wanted to be a bug or a fairy that would live in a city of giant verdant umbrellas, feathery whorls of enormous skyscrapers, I'd play all day in the "jungles" of the garden and at night fall sound asleep in silky-soft silvery leaves... I love plants, the sun and I've secretly always wanted to be a wild child running around barefoot in the forest with my very own spectacular treehouse hidden in the canopy to sneak away to when I'm feeling tired.

blink and you might miss it

Some shots from the PCC flea this past Sunday. Whenever I feel guilty about spending money on a ring I don't need or a wool cardigan I 'have' to have, I decide to satiate my lust for the object by taking a picture of it instead. The saying 'take a picture, it'll last longer,' is so true. It satisfies my desire for something by reminding me I was there, right next to it, within hands reach, but didn't actually walk away with it. There's a voyeuristic quality to photography that I cherish and despise all at once, it's hard to describe. Sacrifice the integrity (?) of a moment by preserving a second of it? Yes, I find this justifiable. More on that at another time when I'm not so sleepy, maybe.

kick back & relax

One last photo from my sister's project, hehe. This week was pretty hectic, what with the storm on Tuesday, yelling at kids in my mom's art classes, walking my dogs at odd times to avoid downpours etc., starting work, and running around L.A. today! Whew. After work yesterday I didn't even bother to pull out my computer and do my usual 'nerding.' Instead I sat down for dinner with my mom, played with my dogs for a little bit, and eschewed watching a movie to turn in early instead.

Tonight my sister and I ventured out to the fringes of South Pasadena to go check out a gallery opening, but after 5 minutes of suffocating and not moving in a tiny gallery space full of gallery-goers reeking of Pabst and holding sweet cartons of "boxed water", and not being able to see much 'art' we headed out to get some boba instead. Talks in the car and semi-getting lost. An evening well-spent!

1: awake from a dream

Blek Le Rat show poster; inspiration

I shot somewhere around a thousand (actually more like 900) photos for my sister this weekend - a project for her design class in which she had to select 20 of her possessions that have to be (1) of GOOD design and (2) representative of she. We had a blast documenting and interpreting all these objects and, though as I type this right now she is working on finishing the final "magazine" as it's due Wednesday, I've decided to make the "20-objects-as- me my sister" a daily feature, at least until the 20th. So give it a shot - try to figure her out (but keep your conclusions to yourself - this cat hisses, scratches and bites). Goodnight!

polaroid land camera 320

first two shots!

Polaroid Land Camera 320
Polaroid 669 Film

hasselblad.

look what arrived today.

Dan and Trevor, we are going to have much too much fun with this. I can't wait.