Wasted?

I'm sure I mentioned a long time ago that my grandma finally trusted me enough to let me take the tattered Weinstock's gift box full of old family Polaroids home so I could scan them and preserve the memories. Well, I found this one among the tiny colorful documents of birthdays, Christmases, Halloweens, vacations, and various everyday events deemed worthy of a snapshot, and am so curious what my grandpa was thinking when he snapped this and, moments later, when it developed before his eyes. I love the image and can't help but wonder if he was going for something artistic or if it was a mistaken, "wasted" image. I wish he were around so I could ask him.

I've been thinking a lot these past weeks about my grandpa, much more than usual ever since Polaroid's doomsday announcement. He'd be up-in-arms about it and probably would've written Petters a few times by now to give him a piece of his mind. My grandpa's been gone for 16 years now - more than half of my life - and I always wonder what he'd think of my photography and my camera collection. If he were still alive, I bet he'd often be getting into trouble with my grandma because I know he'd be stockpiling Polaroid film for me, not to mention more cool cameras to feed it through, and still more regular film cameras he'd manage to find. I'd sure love to get the chance to show him my photos and hear his thoughts on my compositions and projects and cameras, and Petters. I'd love to sit down together and tinker with our vintage cameras and talk. Someday...

Blue

Whenever I'm seeking real bona fide guidance in my life, I turn to the stars. I read my horoscope, but not just one. No, I read as many as I can find until I find one I like, and today, most of them said the same thing: I'd have a mentally draining week. Well, guess what? I have! We are in the process of selling our home and buying a new one and I can't think of one single thing that could possibly be more draining than that. So, in case anyone is still reading this, I'd like to ask you a favor. Please send us your good house vibes and send up a little prayer for us that this will all work out and that our mental-draining will cease because as Michael "Squints" Paladorous once said, "I CAN'T TAKE THIS NO MORE!!"

On the bright side, I've finally more or less converted my SX-70 to take 600 film, and I'm loving the results. What a great little camera. The autofocus is kaput, but the manual focus is stellar and everything else looks to be functioning properly.

Polaroid + Red Rocks = Love

After two weeks of a screwy work schedule, our Moab road trip, two house guests, and Easter, today is back to normal. It's Monday and I'm off from work, in my pj's and glued to the computer. I scanned all of my negatives and Polaroids from the road trip (see previous post) and am so happy that I've got a Polaroid SLR 680. It's just about the coolest camera I've ever seen. I was determined to shoot with it in Moab/Arches, and shoot I did. I came back with a sizeable stack and a renewed love for Polaroid, as well as a gloomy, impending doom sort of feeling because Polaroid film is on its way out. *Arms out, zombie-like... Must-Stockpile-More-Film...Must-Stockpile-More-Film...

My Polaroid SLR 680 inside Devils Garden

along the trail to Delicate Arch

I love this image for so many reasons: it was our first visit to Delicate Arch and it's just spectacular; the oh-so-familiar genuine Polaroid noise echoed around the sandstone bowl and garnered me more than a few looks and smiles from other people at the arch; the sun was shining and all was right with the world.

The rest of the stack can be seen on my Flickr page.

I'm listening to Apologies by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.

Road Trip: Moab

We enjoyed a very much needed break from home, snow and cold temps when we road tripped to Moab in Southeastern Utah on a whim last Friday. We stayed just for the weekend, but hiked miles of red rock and red sand trails as the spring sunshine warmed our faces.

Here are a couple of rare (for me) digital photos. I took a sizeable stack of Polaroids with my new-to-me SLR 680, but I haven't had time to scan them yet. When we got home from Moab, two friends had come to stay with us for a few days, so I'm not even close to catching up on photo stuff, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

Travis standing beneath the North Window


Delicate Arch trail

The Thinker

 

After a very long hiatus, I finally got off my ass and started shooting Phase II of my Local Color project. I've only shot one roll so far but I've got a few successful images already and am really enjoying the whole process again. It's been much too long since I've shot anything. If you like what you see here, there are a few more on my Flickr page.

Tonight I'm listening to Salt Lake City's own Band of Annuals.