TBT: Summertime Camping.

We got our beloved RV “Fred” when I was in second? third? grade and every summer (and some winter and spring) break we would go on a big camping trip. These are some of the memories I look fondly back at and appreciate that my parents were able to do this for my brother and I, we saw the whole western United States with Fred and we all have stories from our crazy adventures.

Lovingly improvised rain coats.

Just chillen on a Glacier at Glacier National Park in Montana.

Swimming in the Colorado River…we had a no go zone in this cove because my mom was worried that we were going to get swept away by the huge river behind us.

Hiking Devils Postpile in California and looking for dolphins on the Ferry in Seattle.

Catching a stagecoach in Tombstone, AZ.

Visiting Mesa Verde in Colorado.

It looks like I’m getting blown away but I’m actually pointing at Mt. Whitney in California.

On Film: Los Angeles From the Sky.

Small Airplanes offer an exciting new perspective of the world.

On Film: The Sky.

Sometimes it is nice just to appreciate what is hanging out up above us.

On Film: The Beach.

When you carry a small army of cameras in your purse you are able to take all kinds of pictures at the beach.

On Film: New York City.

Last July I went to New York City (you can find tales of my adventures here, here, here and here). I of course had my trusty fisheye with me and I found these pictures when I developed my eight rolls.

I have to admit that while my sister was working I spent a majority of my time sitting in Bryant and Central Park reading (but mostly people watching) because it was too hot and sticky to move around but just nice enough to lounge like a lizard.

I love New York City.

On Film: Palm Trees

I have an unhealthy amount of Palm Tree pictures…

On Film.

On Sunday I had 8 rolls of 24 exposure film developed…that is 192 new photographs in my life.

The level of joy I had looking at all of these for the first time was much like my first time on a roller coaster.

These are just a small sample of the magic I discovered:

In July I went to visit my sister in New York City…I spent most of my days reading and lounging in Bryant Park (because it was too hot and sticky to walk around).

The beginnings of my succulent garden.

2013 arrived.

After looking at my pictures I realized that I have an unhealthy obsession with Palm Trees…a small percentage of the prints were of Palm Trees…I regret nothing.

Southern California Winter.

I went to beach and was harassed by sassy sea gulls.

My palm tree obsession comes through in my Supersampler prints.

I worked an event at the beach this last Saturday and after it was all over the sun finally decided to come through the clouds and rain.

I developed a roll of film from 2000 and I had no idea what was on it, this picture (and two others just like it) were my absolute favorite pictures of the 192 I had developed because this is my late Oliver (aka my first love). He passed in 2009 and I was totally not expecting to find him.

DIY: Instax Holga Macro Lens Kit Problem Solving.

For my birthday I received a Fujifilm Instax Mini Camera, it is basically a Polaroid camera that takes credit card sized photos.  For Christmas I received a Holga  Macro Lens Kit for my Instax camera…because I really need more ways to take a picture.

I was so excited to try these little lenses out but unfortunately ALL of the pictures I took were terrible blurry messes (and the film is not very cheap)…so after being sad for a bit I decided to search the interwebs for solutions and what I found was an overwhelming warning to measure the distance of from your lens to the subject which sounds simple enough…but who has a ruler handy all of the time?

This problem gave birth to my super simple solution and hopefully if you have the same niche problems that I have then this simple DIY will save you heartache and money.

To solve your distance problems you need to first figure out exactly how far each lens will allow you to be (I wrote the distance in silver sharpie on each lens…in inches because I am american and I was taught to reject the already given millimeters.) You will then need to rustle up:

1. A measuring tape (preferably plastic coated)

2. Scissors

3. Tape.

Step 1: cut your measuring tape a little longer than your longest distance lens…mine is 19.68 inches so I cut the tape at 23 inches.

Step 2: Tape it to the bottom of your camera making sure that the tape crosses over the middle of your lens.

Step 3. Find things to photograph.

When I need to use less measuring tape I just hold the right distance to the bottom of the camera, measure out the distance and then drop the tape.

Boom! And now you don’t have to worry about wasting precious film on blurry messes!

On Film: Supersampler.

I got a four lensed camera.

Film.

The level of my toy camera obsession has reached an all time high.

And I have another toy camera in the mail.