Lightleaks!!

Cover, second issue due out mid-March

Tomorrow marks my one-year anniversary of being a member of the world of blogging! Happy day, Sparke TV! And what better way to commemorate the day than by shouting to the world that the second issue of Lightleaks is now available for pre-order for only $12.99US! (After a limited time, it’ll go up to the still-great bargain of $14.99.) If you haven’t heard of it, Lightleaks is a fabulously fun and frisky new magazine dedicated to freaks (in a good way!) of toycamera photography, and yours truly is the new Supervising Editor! This is my first issue, but the publication’s second. I am just terribly excited to be working on this creative endeavor with so many wonderfully talented fellow toycamera lovers. I’ve had an absolute ball with this issue and am very proud of it and all the hard work that went into it. Please, if you have a desire to get your hands on the finest new photography magazine, get out your credit cards and buy, buy, buy. You won’t regret it!

Old School

Presidents Day found me not with flag-waving authority figures, but with snow, and lots of it. I had the pleasure of throwing myself down the slopes (a.k.a. skiing) with my Holga at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon just east of Salt Lake City. I was not alone in this blissful event, no, I was with my buddy Cassidy, and hordes of other snow lovers. It was a gorgeous day to be at Brighton. Thanks for a great day, Cass!

I don’t ski nearly as often as I’d like to, and when I stood waiting in line at Majestic, I was shocked to see that snowboarders outnumbered the skiers probably 4:1. I just didn’t realize there were so many devout followers of the sport. Plus, with my twelve-year old Dynastars and beat up old boots, I quickly saw how out of the loop I was. My skis weren’t shaped. My boots had only one buckle. I had on a hat and sunglasses instead of a shiny helmet and polarized goggles. I’m old school!

As you can see, Northern Utah’s been pounded with snow lately. Here are a few more shots of the winter wonderland around me. The first is just up the road from our family cabin in Nordic Valley, Utah. It was taken with my Diana and Superia 100. I stepped out of the car, ran across the road, tripped the shutter, and ran back to my car and slammed the door all in about 15 seconds. The big, rickety, black smoke-spewing snow plow was coming right at me!



Here are some snowy abstracts from my Pentax and Reala 100 from the cabin while waiting for my turn to cruise down the icy drive on a sled.

White Blues

I'm feeling quite melancholy today and I think it has everything to do with the weather. For the first time in my life, I've lately found myself wishing winter away. Out with the snow, the cold, the dreary gray valley days. I'm tired of shooting things that are white. I crave vibrancy and color and life! I want to wear sandals and short-sleeves and skin that's seen some sun. I want to roll down my windows and turn up the music and feel warmth. What's wrong with me?! I've always embraced winter, relished in the frosty air and fog, and have even been known to ask the cold-weather gods to hang out a while longer. But this year, I'm done. I'm ready to move on. Winter will come again next year, and I promise I'll enjoy it then.

Aspens, Diana/Fuji Acros 100

$3

Here are two more from a series of random thrift store finds and Utah’s West Desert that I did in my last college photo class. I tried to find ordinary items that would be completely out of their element when placed in the vast nothingness out west. I don’t think I was entirely successful and have been yearning ever since for a pickup truck, better (and tackier) props, and a good weather day so I can go give it another whirl. Think Pink Floyd liner notes… Enjoy!
$2 "Holy Grail"

$1 Vases

Stupor

With all the busy-bee things I have to do today, I can't quite figure out why I'm sitting here being bored and wasting time, but I am. In my too-much-to-do-so-I'll-do-nothing stupor, I stitched another panorama. This one was made in Arches National Park a few days before 2006. That's Double Arch in the center, one of the coolest, most awe-inspiring rock formations I've ever seen. It's two arches fused at the hip, making an arch alcove. Trav and I climbed up to the base of the, dare I say twins, and sat there catching sunshine on our winter white skin and sand pebbles in our eyes each time a gust of December desert wind blew up through the sandstone windows. I bet the weather is nice there today, and I'd like to be there instead of here in this rainy atypical February weather. Ho hum...