Idyllwild Camping On Film

A few film snaps from the little plastic Ultra Wide Slim on our first forest camping trip in Idyllwild. Also, one of my new favorite pictures of my wife. Kicked back, reading a book, under giant trees. Oh, and the skies really are bluer up there. :)

An Oasis In The Desert

A very warm walk in the desert to try to find an oasis of palm trees...

This hike was one of my least favorite yet. It was so, so hot. It seemed endless. Then we found the "oasis" and it was pretty unremarkable. Of course, California is experiencing a horrible drought, so the stream was mostly dry and the palms that surrounded it were a little droopy. Then we had to turn around and walk all the way back. I ran out of water. (Not to worry, I had plenty in the car when we finally got there.)

Granted, we saw some cool skies and creatures, but it was maybe just a tad to hot for this hike a day after camping in the desert. Still, a fun hike and one that the little plastic Ultra Wide Slim captured pretty well.

Olympus XA: It Works!

On one of our strolls around the antique shops in Orange, I found a cheap Olympus XA. I have had an interest in that camera for some time, but didn't really want to spend much money on it. I left that camera sitting in it's case, and was sure it must not work for the price they were asking. We left, went about our day, and went home. The next day, I couldn't shake it, and researched a lot to know what problems to look for. We went and bought batteries and headed back to Orange to check it out again. To my surprise, it was in great condition and it worked! And it was 10% off! I also managed to get an XA2 right around the same time, which I still need to take for a test roll.

This little camera went on a variety of little journeys before I finally finished the roll of film and shipped it off to the lab. 

This is the first photo after I realized I needed to pay attention to the meter... not just the focus. Oops for the six photos before this one. :)

It went with us to Idyllwild on our first forest camping trip. It survived all of the bugs that nearly drove me crazy.

A Little (Nikon) Lite Touch

I snatched up a little box of fun film and a cute point and shoot camera from the FPP (filmphotographyproject.com) and took the little camera out for a test drive. We spent a day walking around Old Town Orange and it was a good chance to take it for a spin! Turns out, I really, really like this new little Nikon Lite Touch. :)

A Newly Sealed Nikon FE

My Nikon FE (that I won from the awesome FPP!) (filmphotographyproject.com) got some new light seals, courtesy of my not so steady or skilled hands. It was my first time doing this type of repair, and it was honestly quite tricky. But, apparently my not so smooth job worked! It doesn't seem to have leaky issues anymore! :)

Memorial Day Camping

Memorial Day Weekend 2015. We prepped and headed to Idyllwild, to go deep into the mountains and camp out for a day or two. Well, we got to the mountain and the higher we drove, the foggier, colder, and more wet it got. Not ideal for camping. We paused on the side of the road and had to figure out where to go. Joshua Tree. Why not. Maybe there would be a camp site somewhere on the busiest camping weekend of the year!

The view from the road that climbs into Idyllwild:

Joshua Tree on "Infrared" Film

I shot a roll of the always surprising Ilford SFX out at Joshua Tree last weekend. This film is one of my favorites, mainly because it never ceases to offer a surprise when it comes back from processing. It's a faux infrared black and white film. You add a red filter to the camera and shoot away, and the result is super dark skies, super bright foliage, and apparently, it has fun with Joshua Tree rocks, too.

Purple Chrome Joshua Tree

Here is another film that is completely new to me. This roll is another from Lomography called Purple Chrome. It is hyped as a faux color infrared, but also for just giving crazy purples and teals. I took this to the other-wordly terrain of Joshua Tree to see what it would do. I love the teal skies and the purple trees and cacti. It's strange to shoot film that sees things other than what my eyes can see, but makes for a fun surprise when the film comes back. 

My First Try At Redscale

I attended the Film Photography Podcast Walking Workshop a few weeks ago. There was some discussion there about redscale film and it intrigued me. I spent a little bit of time researching about this film, and decided to try it out. Here is my first shot at trying out a roll!

These photos were also taken in a little Minolta Auto Zoom that I got at the same workshop. We went camping in Anza-Borrego, which included climbing around on big rocks. This camera came in so handy and was so easy to run around with.

For some strange reason, sometimes this film gave me yellow results, sometimes red, sometimes hot pink. I'm assuming the light variances played a roll in this. Otherwise, no idea why or what caused it, but I like the variances. Also, notice that super cool date stamp in the corner - prior to my figuring out how to turn it off. :)

The Film Photography Project Walking Workshop 2015!

The folks at the Film Photography Project (a fantastic podcast all about film photography) chose California as the site for their 2015 Walking Workshop. Even better, they chose San Clemente which is just a little traffic-filled trek down the 5 away. We attended on Saturday and were treated to breakfast, a Darkroom lab tour, a fantastic camera giveaway (I won a Nikon FE! See my last post for it's light leaky wonderfulness), a couple of contests (we won a Diana set!), lunch and then a not-school bus ride down to the San Clemente Pier. On Sunday, we got a tour of various large format cameras and got to play with some Lomography cameras. Here are my photos from the events!

These photos were taken with my F100, except for the light leaky ones, which were the new Nikon FE that needs some light seals. The overlappy edge ones are from a Diana Mini that the hosts let me borrow for the day!

A Light Leaky Nikon FE

I won this nifty little Nikon FE at the Film Photography Project Walking Workshop. I went hoping so so much that they'd have a Nikon SLR from the FM-FE era available, and I'm still a little stunned that I won it. Sadly, it appears to have almost no light seals left. Not a big surprise, but it definitely leaked on my first roll. I already have replacement seals on order, and will get to try my hands at replacing them for the first time ever! In the meantime, here are some light leaked photos from, where else, Joshua Tree! :)

We found this desert color out in the Twin Tanks area, trying to choose a campsite for future backcountry camping excursions. The desert is in bloom! 

(Nikon FE with Agfa Color 400 film)

Joshua Tree on the Mamiya

A little more film from the Joshua Tree obsession, this time from my Mamiya 645S. A little more medium format fun, this time on Fuji 400H! We truly are obsessed with the desert. 

Yashica Goes To Joshua Tree

The mighty Yeshiva 124G took a trip up Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree. This is medium format 120 Kodak Ektar.

Mojave Camping & Joshua Tree In Bloom

Here are a few photos from my Nikon F100 on some old, noisy, grainy Portra 800. First, a few scenes from our Mojave camping trip. Then, a few of the Joshua Tree desert in bloom!

Joshua Tree & Mojave Preserve in Black & White

I just recently got some film developed that has been sitting in various cameras for quite some time. I have a horrible habit of taking most of a roll of film, but leaving a few shots and then they sit for a long while.

This first roll is out of my trusty old Canon AE-1, with my very last roll of Neopan 100. It went to Joshua Tree way back on our second trip there. It then went camping with us at the Mojave Preserve. Then it went back to Joshua Tree, just a couple of weekends ago. The outcome... a variety of desert wonderland, on this lovely old black and white film.

Impossible Laumeier

These don't require much introduction... Laumeier on Impossible instant film.

Instax Friends and Family

I decided to take some instant photos of the St. Louis family and friends while we were home. I wanted a photo with everyone we saw. Mostly, a success, though we did miss a few people. But I have these little souvenirs of a fantastic time at home with a bunch of my favorite people! :)

Grandma and Prince with me.

Instax Laumeier

The Instax took a trip to Laumeier... a snowy, instant film version of one of my favorite little places.

Venice Beach

Venice Beach. Enough said.

The Newport Beach Library

More Christmas Eve, sunny SoCal, half frame fun. The Newport Beach Library!