Japanese Maple

Red Japanese Maple
 Huntington Gardens, Pasadena, CA,
March 2017
 Shot with Zenit ET 35mm camera

Burning Man 2016 - Random

A few random photos from Burning Man 2016 shot with my 35mm Holga.... I'd love to continue shooting these photos for the 5th year in a row, but haven't been able to secure a ticket this year! We'll see how that goes....

Moments of Clarity

Moments of Clarity
Multiple Exposure with Holga, 35mm
6/2015


In the middle of the mess, there are sometimes moments of clarity.
What happens to the moments of clarity once combined?

Caw - Burning Man 2016

A shot with fisheye lomography 35mm camera
One of the crows from "Jack Champion's Murder"
Burning Man, 2016

Mail, Man

Mail, Man,

Converse, TX
4/2015, shot with 35mm Holga

B&H Chicago feb 2017

Some random photos from my Bell & Howell point and shoot from when I was in Chicago last month!

Magic Garden Secrets - Huntingon Gardens 3/17 Zenit

Photos shot with the first roll on my Zenit ET earlier this month at Huntington Gardens!

Zenit - first shots

Hmm.. I think it was back in December during one of my trips to Chicago when we went to the thrift store where I was told of mythical cameras... and I found a camera! I ended up with an old 1980's Russian camera called the Zenit ET. Kinda heavy with lots of metal, this is one of the more original "lomo" cameras (vs. the lomography brand cameras made today), which I was excited to get my hands on.

In January I finally sat down and figured out how to use it and took it out around my neighborhood to try it out! Finally finished off the roll this past week at Huntington Gardens, so I finally get to see the results! Something weird happend in the middle of the roll, but it recovered and finished off fine. Will need to keep an eye on that, but overall, I'm pretty happy & look forward to using this camera!

Burning Man 2016 - Pre Event Holga35

A few more photos from the build week before Burning Man 2016 actually started, shot on 35mm film with my Holga. I arrived early to help build my camp and took advantage of the comparatively sparse playa to enjoy some biking and watching some of the large pieces being built....

dramatic sun and the back side of the 2016 temple, under construction

the man under construction

the shower at the temple build site. What a beautiful place to shower!

people watching the temple build

Burning Man 2016 - Center Camp Holga35

A few shots from Center Camp at Burning Man 2016, shot with my 35mm Holga film camera...

before I was allowed to take a photo, she first had to ask me a question.........

Hcuot

Touch the plants! Touch them all!

All shot during Holga Week 2016 with 35mm film Holga.

Sunset Bats at Carlsbad Caverns

I guess I'm in the mood to post sunsets right now! I scanned a bunch of random negatives a while ago from my stockpile of photos, including this one I shot at Carlsbad Caverns in 2003. It was the first time I took an actual vacation by myself (on my drive between Texas and California.) I had fallen in love with the bats at Carlsbad when I was very small and this was the first time I had gone back. I spent the day wandering through the caverns multiple times, hiking in the area around the caverns (and stepping into cactus....) and I managed to see the bats leaving the caverns multiple nights!

The intensity of this experience isn't something I can really fully convey. It was so overwhelming to watch the bats fly out over the open landscape and spiraling out and later dispersing. (bats are.. I don't know. They click with me. Their freedom of flight, their misunderstood nature, the ways they quietly make this world live and grow while simultaneously weirding people out when they don't take the time to actually listen....) I remember standing out over the landscape having this super intense moment and experience and trying to call my not-boyfriend at the moment, but future boyfriend and he didn't pick up. He was busy with another woman that thought he would marry her, I think. There's something significant in that moment of me trying to reach for him at such a time and him not being there and realizing I had to enjoy it alone, but I still  barreled ahead w/ that situation. We learn!

(When we went to Carlsbad in 2012, I learned that you're no longer allowed to take any photos at the bat existing each evening anymore. Supposedly the flashes on people's cameras and possibly the electronics mess with the bats. I think this is mostly the result of smartphones and people generally not knowing how to use their cameras. I want to see what I can do to get approval to shoot pics since I have a ridiculous number of cameras with nothing resembling an electronic component...)

Bats exiting in the evening at Carlsbad Caverns, August 2003

Burning Man 2016 - The Sunset before

A few photos I shot with my 35mm Holga on the walk out to see the Man Burn on Saturday night this past year at Burning Man 2016.

The clouds eventually brought rain and insane winds. I didn't bring enough clothing for the rapid change in weather, but I had the generosity of random burners that let me share their blanket as we waited for the sky to give us the OK for the evening's Burn.

El Pulpo Mechanico with the DaVinci Man in the background

Lord Snort, the boar

Downtown Dia de Los Muertos 2015 - Holga

Since this is Halloween weekend, the Downtown Dia de Los Muertos Alters and Art in downtown LA in the Grand Park are going up today! The joys of film mean I never posted these photos I took of some of the alters + more going on last year that I shot with my Holga. Not sure if I am going to head down today (the Grand Ave All Access thing is also going on again), but at least my photos from last year are seasonally relevant again!

 

Burning Man 2016 - Crows!

While exploring before Burning Man even started this year, I came across this group of crows in deep playa! They were fantastic for so many reasons! Crows are actually one of the few animals you'll see on the playa while out at Burning Man, often in small groups, sometimes just chilling out beyond the trash fence, taunting you with their freedom (there are always stowaway animals, both intentional and non-intentional during Burning Man... I've also seen rabbits.. but anyway, crows.) They were huge and so fun and realistic! (later in the week, they all had colorful peanuts placed around them or in their beaks.) In normal life I get excited when I see a murder of crows chilling and doing their thing in a yard, street or lot, so to say the least, I really loved this art piece!!


First 3 photos shot w/ Holga

human comparison!