TRIED AND TRUE...

Last summer I stumbled upon an automatic 35 mm camera at Goodwill in Ballard (neighborhood in Seattle) buy Yashica.  It had two corroded batteries which still held some charge because I "tested" it by clicking the shutter and heard the beautiful sound of the motor whirring within the camera.  For $1.50 I couldn't lose; it also came with the original camera case!  One of the quirks that sold me on the camera is that the film loads from right to left.  I threw in one of my remaining rolls of 35 mm Walgreen's brand film and shot away and we've had a love affair ever since.

The official name of this camera is Yashica Auto Focus Motor from Japanese manufacturer Yashica, which originally began in the early 1950's.  Yashica initially began making parts for electric clocks, then began making camera components and within four years released its first camera, the Yashimaflex (beautiful, isn't it?).  Yashica was eventually bought out by Kyocera in the 1980's and has since changed to another Japanese company that specializes in all things electronic.

My Yashica has definitely become my trusty back up and combined with the "grainyness" and saturation of Fuji Superia 400 ISO, *mwah!* its's perfection!

The black and white images are were shot with Arista 400 ISO.

A SAMPLE...

I've been practicing for my new project for the last couple of weeks and now, with many practice shots under my belt, I'm going to officially begin. Here is just a practice/sample photograph. There is no projected end date for this project, but I'm hoping to have a decent amount of work done in the next three months (decent being at least 20-30 processed photographs). This new photographic endeavor, which consequently has a clever name that I will withhold for now, will force me to evaluate the space surrounding the environment that is surrounding me. Ahhh, we'll take this one step at a time.

I LIVE......

...right across the street from the weekly farmer's market in the University District of Seattle. The photographs in this triptych are from one of my first visits to the market, which is fairly small, but 100% local.

IMPROMPTU MODEL...

A photo of my boyfriend who was standing in the right place at the right time.  

I WENT TO A CONCERT...

And although I did take some photographs of the bands that played (Sepultura just began their North American Relentless Tour in support of their new album Kairos), I chose to post this photo of the woman behind the snack bar counter. Why? Well, the blurred edges of her hair and arm suggest movement and it should be noted she was the only woman tending to a horde of metal heads wanting their hot dogs. The show was held at Studio Seven, which not only hosts concerts but also has 20 band rehearsal rooms that bands can rent to practice in, along with a second level that features a bar area. The decor of the snack bar pretty much explains the decor of the venue and the genre it caters to most.

**edit**

The drum kit for Sepultura. I decided to add this photograph because I think it's representative of the anticipation the crowd felt in waiting for the band to perform.

MEETING THE MINOX....

A few months ago a fellow member of mine from the Seattle Lomo Adventure Club was trying to lighten his camera load and sold me a Minox 35 EL.  He singled me out for this camera because I'm a fanatic for all things Andy Warhol and this pocket-sized cam was a favorite of Mr. Warhol's.

The Minox 35 EL was introduced in 1974 in Germany and is credited with being the world's smallest 35mm camera.  There is a front flap that must be pulled down for the lens to be pulled forward; closing it prevents the shutter from taking any photographs if pressed.  There is a flash mount that can be used with any flash with a square foot and hot shoe mount.

Needless to say, I was extremely excited to give this camera a whirl.  The Minox 35 EL uses a particular battery called PX27, that is no longer available.  Although, my cohort did supply a battery he purchased from somewhere online, the light meter was not working.  Nonetheless, I put in a roll of Fuji film and took less than a handful of shots during cloudy days in Seattle.  It was difficult to advance, so difficult that the ridges in the wheel made indentations in my thumb!  Also, there was no distinctive "click" when i pressed the shutter button, so I was never quite sure if i had taken the photograph or not.  At this point, I let the camera sit on my bookshelf for several months.  Months...horrible, I know.

I decided to give the Minox another chance and brought it along with me on my trip to the southwest to my hometown of El Paso, TX.  The fact that the light meter still didn't seem to be working did not phase me (I still am not sure if the battery is dead).  I had my Holga 12MFC flash to experiment with and was hoping to use El Paso's sunshine to my advantage.  To say the least, I was incredibly surprised, pleased and giddy with excitement about the clarity of focus and detail in my photographs.  I also had several blurry images that I was just as pleased with because it was all in the name of experimentation.  The flash worked out great, especially since I ended up taking all my shots indoors.  What do you think?