Diehards

#12 on my list is coming along nicely, as long as I use this beautiful Polaroid Blue 100 film. I went down to Creekside Park on Tuesday afternoon and wandered around in the new snow and shot a bunch of photos. I finished off a b/w roll in my Lubitel that's been in there since we went to McCall, Idaho last New Year. I can't even remember what's on it! I also shot half a roll in my K1000, and these two blues. Creekside is so photogenic. It's where we play disc golf in the summer, but to my surprise, there were some diehards playing in the snow while I was there, and it made me excited for the warm weather ahead.

If you missed my previous post (feel free to scroll down), Elizabeth and I unveiled our collaboration on Tuesday, and we're so happy about it! Please visit our blog, Common Places Different Spaces and Flickr photostream to see all the photos and to find out more about it.

Common Places Different Spaces

I am so pleased and excited to make this blog post. We're a day later than we planned, but better late than never, eh? Elizabeth and I are happy to announce (drum roll please) our first ever collaborative project, Common Places Different Spaces. We decided about a month ago that we needed to be challenged photographically, but wanted to stay within our comfort zones which, when you're both not fond of shooting in public or photographing people, it's definitely a challenge! The basis of our project is to shoot one common, every day place each week but in our respective cities (Elizabeth's in Portland, I'm in Salt Lake City) to show the differences and similarities between our cities, our places, and ourselves as photographers, and to up the ante, we're only shooting with film cameras: various Polaroids, K1000, Holga, Nikon FM, etc. No digital here. We plan to update our blog and Flickr photostream weekly, so please check back often. We'll also share each update on our personal blogs too. These images below are just a sampling from our Library theme this week, and if you like what you see, please visit our blog for more.

Elizabeth | Steph


Elizabeth | Steph


Elizabeth | Steph


Steph | Elizabeth

Good Start

I'm happy to report that I'm off to a good start with my 31 Things project. #11 is underway and will be revealed some time today. I'm working on #12 and even bought four twin packs of ID-UV film in hopes of giving it a fair run. I'm already 30% done with #19 thanks to my recent K1000 obsession. I begin a combination of #20 and #29 tonight and I am so excited. I'm also half done with #30. I hope you're plugging right along with your projects too.

Fogged

There's a part of me that feels as dark and fogged as this Polaroid I made last night as I was walking to my car after work. My sweet grandma has been in the hospital since Wednesday with heart problems and her older sister just passed away yesterday morning. It's feeling like a grim sort of day, but I'm determined to make the best of it and share some smiles with my husband, my family, and my cameras.

Stay tuned Monday because that's when Elizabeth and I will be announcing and unveiling our collaboration. We're both so excited about it and we're even having fun doing it!

Sneak Peek

In addition to my year-long 31 Things project, I'm also working on a big one with Elizabeth and I'm so excited about it. This is just one of many photos I made this past week. Consider it a sneak peek. We'll be announcing our project and new blog soon.

Today's the Day

Huzzah!

Looks like someone did! Hooray! Yippee! Huzzah!

Best of 2008

Yes, 2009 is here, but when I saw this, I knew I had to digress and talk about my highlights of '08. That Andrea, she always has the greatest ideas, the most colorful photos, the best stories, and she probably doesn't realize that I admire her, or that I even exist, so maybe she won't care that I'm copying her. I even imitated her list by doing my own. So thank you Andrea for the unknowing inspiration you provide me. Enough said. Here are my favorite happenings from the past year, in the order they occurred.

1. spent the first week of the year huddled in a woodsy cabin with my dreamy man

2. watched five Sundance films at the Ogden Egyptian Theater

3. fell head over heels in love with Polaroid

4. chilled in the early spring sunshine beneath Delicate Arch

5. rode Front Runner, Northern Utah's brand new commuter rail line

6. bought our second home and moved in and even survived the whole ordeal
and

7. made friends with our awesome neighbors

8. joined The Photo Trade and received some really beautiful images

9. hiked the Taylor Creek trail in Zion

10. discovered Oops! panties at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere, Utah, and almost needed some after laughing so hard


11. dreamed up an all-Polaroid issue of Light Leaks and with the help of an amazing staff and lots of extremely talented contributors, sold out our first issue ever

12. fell hard for Lonestar Taqueria

13. took a Polaroid of Grace Potter and had her autograph it

14. danced barefoot to Yonder Mountain String Band at Red Rocks

15. shot one whole roll in my Holga

16. rode the mountain coaster

17. tweaked my foot and ankle in one fell swoop and made a new friend in the process

18. rode a potato sack down the big yellow slide at the state fair

19. went on a girl weekend to Oregon

20. ate tasty sugary treats at Saint Cupcake with Elizabeth Soule

21. climbed into a photobooth for the first time in 14 years

22. ate at the Blue Bayou inside Pirates of the Caribbean
and

23. rode the Matterhorn three times in a row

24. gave a K1000 a good home

25. met my new nephew


26. had solo shows of my work at Martine and the Sprague Branch of the Salt Lake Library, and juried and had work in The Holga Show at Saans Downtown

27. found Jen Crowell

28. finally got a Mac


29. went to two Christmas parades

30. scanned 100+ Polaroids from my youth and made a Blurb book for my family, finally

Stupid Thing

I was driving home from work tonight and got within a half mile of my house when I experienced a first for me. I was at an intersection where I normally see a lot of stupid things happen, and today, I was that stupid thing. People in my town are terrible drivers who never use turn signals, never get in the turning lane to turn, don't go around other people who are turning, drive too slow, drive way too fast, are always preoccupied by kids and cell phones, etc. Well, I was sitting at this intersection waiting for the light to turn green, and it did, and of course the person in front of me was turning left without a signal. I groaned, checked my blind spot which was a giant sun flare but I saw no one, and turned my wheel right and hit the gas and all of a sudden, there was a car. I heard my car hit it. I yelled bad words and sat there for a couple of seconds. The woman driving the other car was doing probably 25 and never hit her breaks as she flew around the corner. I crept up to the corner to see if she had stopped on the other street, and no, she was a good half mile away already and not slowing down. I collected myself and drove home to find a good set of scratches on the right front of my bumper, and called my husband to report my first accident.

But here's where it gets interesting. I know that karma's a bitch so I called the police and according to Officer Whomever, technically I didn't leave the scene of the accident so I'm not at fault, and technically she's the one who hit me because I had the right-of-way. "Technically" was Officer Whomever's word of the day. I was very happy I called, technically. Now I've just got a bunch of scratches on my little Subaru and perhaps a small dent in my pride, but at least that's all. Thank God I was just on a surface street going 1 MPH instead of on the freeway doing 80. Uh, I mean 65, Officer. To decompress, I walked in the house and turned "The Great Gig in the Sky" on as loud as it would go. Ahhh...

And no, this post has nothing to do with the photo up top but it's one of my favorite Polaroids I've ever made and I just wanted to share it. I heart the Great Salt Lake.

Lucky Ball

What a crazy weekend it's been. I know it's Monday night, but that's when my weekend ends because I'm always off Mondays. I started out Thursday night by overstretching my calf muscle (I'm back in physical therapy. Long story.) and hobbling around all weekend. That was fun. Friday night, my husband had his brother over for pizza and a movie, so I gave them some alone time by walking around Target for two hours where I seriously considered buying a Polaroid Pogo. Instead, I came home and bought a bunch of ID-UV pack film from Office Depot. I figure I should get my hands on as much Polaroid film as I can before it's gone, and then I can buy novelty items like the Pogo.

In fact, Saturday I stooped to a new low to do so. As a joke, because I despise the place, my dad gave me a Walmart gift card for my birthday. His plan was to just tease me with the card and then give me cash but instead, I got Polaroid greedy and kept the card. I went to WT Hell on a Saturday afternoon no less and exchanged the gift card for four single packs of 600, and practically ran back to the car and drove like the wind to get home so I could wash my hands and my conscience. We met our friends Wendy and Troy at the bowling alley later that day, bowled a few games, made fun of a few people, and took lots of pictures. I just love bowling. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted a bowling lane in my house. We went out to dinner after bowling and then played board games at our house and laughed our asses off. We talked about getting new tattoos and Troy's idea for his was the best: "'Sup Bitch" across his chest. We love you guys. Thanks for hanging out with us.

Sunday was slightly leisurely. We had breakfast at The Other Place in SLC with Mary, Katie, and Cass (our aunt and cousins) and almost stayed for lunch. It's that good. Trav worked on manly plumbing issues all day while I just hung out, and that night we made yummy cheddar cauliflower soup. After dinner, I walked upstairs and saw that the sun was out for the first time all day so I yelled to Trav to get his shoes on. We were going to the desert. Within five minutes, we were on the freeway. I've been dying to take some more Polaroids in the West Desert but the weather just hasn't been cooperating but it finally did last night. We got out to Saltair about 20 minutes later and I frantically took five Polaroids and ten Pentax K1000 shots and then the sun set. It was beautiful. We grabbed ice cream on the way home and crashed on the couch together for some bad tv.

I started out today with a trip to the DMV to renew my driver's license. I actually like my photo so that was a positive experience. I dropped off my K1000 film at Walgreens and then worked at home all day. I also went to Saans Downtown to talk with Shalee, the curator, about what I'm putting in her upcoming "For the Love of Polaroid" show in February. I took my binder of every Polaroid I've taken since 2005 and we came up with a great idea. I can't wait to sort everything out and get it framed and ready to go. It's going to be an amazing show. There is an open call for entries, and these submissions will fill up the windows of the gallery, and then Amanda Moore, Elizabeth Soule, Sean Tubridy, Josh Caldwell, and I will each have a 5x5' section in the main gallery to display our Polaroids. It's going to be insanely cool, so if you're in the area, the reception is on February 20. I'm so excited about it.

And that pretty much sums up my weekend. We refinanced our house tonight too because interest rates are so low, and I visited my mom for a couple hours and now I'm home and it's only 9 and I want to crawl into bed. I'm beat. I don't think I've ever talked this much about my life on my blog! Don't worry, it's not going to become habit. Hope your weekend was just as busy and fun as mine.

31!

It's been probably eight years since I've spoken up about it being my birthday (I used to do a countdown on my in-laws' bulletin board when Trav and I were dating) but this year, I thought "What the hell?", so here it is. Today is my 31st birthday! I decided about two months ago that wanted to make a list of things I'd like to accomplish before I turn 32, and here is that list. Wish me luck!

1. See Yosemite. September 2011... finally!
2. Make a Blurb book of all my Polaroids from 2005-08. (I'm counting this.)
3. Spend more time in my kayak.
4. Go to a bluegrass festival. August 2011... finally!
5. Frolic on a beach with my husband.
6. Heal the nerve damage in my ankle.
7. Make some new local friends. (although you can never have enough)
8. Go back to knitting school and actually finish something this time. Yay!
9. Get pictures taken in every photobooth I can find.
10. Ski more than once, and not break or injure anything.
11. Start and keep up on a photo project with E. Soule.
12. Shoot with my Polaroid pack film cameras and become more comfortable with the medium.
13. Eat a meatball sub from Moochie's.
14. Go to a wine appreciation class.
15. Spend at least five nights in our tent and away from home.
16. Have an inanimate object photo shoot in the West Desert.
17. Plant trees in our backyard.
18. Learn to throw a better forehand drive.
19. Shoot at least five rolls of film each in my K1000 and my Lubitel.
20. Take a Lifelong Learning course at the University of Utah.
21. Make this deliciousness.
22. Make some arty collages.
23. Learn how to maintain my website myself.
24. Find lamps for my front room.
25. See Band of Annuals in concert.
26. Go to Wyoming Downs, purely for the people-watching.
27. Roast hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit out back. (Close enough.)
28. Make wood boxes to display my photos on. (I think this counts.)
29. Use the watercolor paints I bought on a whim like five years ago.
30. Find two new bands to love.
31. Eat a peanut butter sandwich on the rickety deck beneath Jardine Juniper.

Baubles

Liz rocks.

Owls from Liz

Last summer, I somehow came across Liz Barker on Flickr. I loved her photos and commented here and there. Shortly after we "met", Liz was looking for a folding SX-70 and I happened to know where to get one (thanks Amanda!), so I got it and sent it to her, and ever since, she's been sending me wonderful things in the mail. The latest, for example, are these cool vintage owls. Thankfully I was home alone when the mail came because when I unwrapped the first owl, I jumped up and down, but when I saw the next two, the jumping quickly turned into something resembling Elaine's dance, which sadly, I can do quite well. So, thank you Liz for the owls, the lovely little felted ball magnets, and your friendship. You're the best.

Happy 2009!

Before we fell asleep at a very late (for us!) one o'clock this morning, we talked about how in elementary school, our teachers talked about the year 2000. At the time, it was 15 years away, forever in kid years. We thought about how we'd be 22 years old by the time the new millennium arrived, and how 22 was ancient. Now, today is the first day of 2009 and it's been 24 years since that moment when our teachers captivated us with thoughts of adulthood and driver's licenses and cars and kids even. I always thought adulthood would feel different, but I'm so happy it doesn't. I am kind of disappointed though that we don't have flying cars and hovercrafts like "the future" most certainly promised. Ah, well, at least we're not all wearing neon.

Happy 2009, friends. I hope it's stellar.