The Duaflex

Posted on January 14, 2019 Posted in Analog PhotographyTagged 5x5, 620 film, Analog Photography, Delaware Ohio, Duaflex, film, I shoot film, Kodak, Kodak Film, ohio, Ohio Explored, retro, squares, vintage, Vintage Cameras2 Comments

Several years ago a high school friend sent me a package of vintage cameras that she wasn’t using anymore. It was a hugely kind gesture and they quickly were added to my already growing shelf of vintage cameras. Then life happened and I never got back to find film for any of them.

Until now.

Introducing, The Duaflex:

The Duaflex was manufactured by Kodak and this version was produced between 1954-1957. It a cute box camera that is about as easy to use as a point and shoot camera and that’s exactly what it was intended for. Kodak isn’t making the film for it anymore (620 film), so it took me a while to find a place that manufactures a replica of 620 film. And then it still sat on a shelf not using it because I was a little intimidated by the old levers and the backward viewfinder but now that I’ve gotten over the intimidation I realize that it’s a sweet, little, simple machine.

The other day I shot 12 shots in a test roll, and these are my favorites. These are all unedited images. The scratches, vignettes and the colors are all through the lens. I can’t wait to shoot another roll!

All photographs shot on Kodak Duaflex III / Ektar 100 film. Shot of the camera taken by iPhone.

Frost and Fog

Posted on January 11, 2019 Posted in Digital PhotographyTagged canon, canon shooters, canonfanphoto, canonrebel, digital art, flowers, fog, frost, garden, gardening, hydrangea, nature, ohio, Photography, winterLeave a comment

The day after Christmas, Central Ohio woke up with amazing and unusual weather that I call: “Frog” (technically I think it’s called Hoar Frost, but Frog sounds cuter to me). It was like Mother Nature gave all photographers her holiday gift one day late.

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All photographs shot on Canon Rebel xsi / 55-250mm

Needles Highway and the rest of 2018

Posted on January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 Posted in Analog Photography, Digital Photography, Mobile Photography, ohio, PhotographyTagged 35mm, america, animals, canon, city, Digital Photography, film, filmphotgraphy, flowers, garden, nature, ohio, Photography, rain, retro, road trip, rocks, south dakota, vintageLeave a comment

So it’s obvious to see that after my last post about the Badlands in September, my website was really neglected for the rest of the year. And that’s probably because of several things:

School
Cross Country Season
Birthday celebrations
Burn out
The annual time of the year that I start to ask again, “Why the heck do I even blog?”
Then Halloween
Then Thanksgiving
Then Christmas
Then…. New Happy Year!

And so here we are. Over the last 12 years I’ve published 5 different blogs (including this one) and have written the same sentence over and over again that reads similarly as: “Hi Everyone, Sorry I’ve been away so long!” But I’m not writing that this time. The concept and the reasons for blogging has changed over the years so it’s not always the back and forth conversation happening like it used to. That’s what Facebook is for.

However I would still like to keep this site going again. It’s my home base for all my photographs and current information on art exhibits, works in progress, and ambitions. But to start the year 2019 with a bang, I have to close up 2018. There were lots of photographs I hadn’t published here yet in the later part of the year, so without further ado, here they are on digital and film….

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All photos shot on iPhone, Canon DSLR, Pentax K1000 35mm

The Badlands

Posted on September 27, 2018 Posted in animals, Digital Photography, Mobile Photography, Parks, PhotographyTagged america, badlands, bighorn sheep, black and white photography, Digital Photography, exlplorers, explore, explore south dakota, history, iphone, iphone8, Mobile Photography, nature, nature lovers, road trip, rocks, shotbyiphone, south dakota, the badlands, yellow moundsLeave a comment

Over the summer this year, I experienced the most unique and breathtaking landscape I had ever witnessed: the Badlands of South Dakota.

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It would not be an exaggeration to say that when we first got out of the car to explore the landscape, I started to cry.

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The vastness, the silence, the slow wind, the rocky ground and the ceiling of the cottony, white clouds, were almost too much for me to process at first. Because it wasn’t a place just to see with your eyes, but to feel it with your heart. And I also felt very small.

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I’ve never been much of a traveler, I think mostly from fear or lack of money. But the long trip to South Dakota changed me. When we left the Badlands on a long stretch of road that seemed to be endless, it struck me right there that there are so many things out there to see, waiting just for me to catch it. The world is beautiful out there and sadly, I think I’ve spent too much time at home. We have such a short time on this earth so going forward I want to try to face the fear and save the money to see as much as I can …

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… And to try to be a role model for future explorers and hooligans.

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Next: Needles Highway, the second coolest place ever.

Photos: Shot with iPhone 8 and Canon Rebel xsi

Mount Rushmore and some awesome animals

Posted on August 5, 2018 Posted in animals, Digital Photography, PhotographyTagged america, americana, animals, bear country, bears, Digital Photography, foundingfathers, history, mount rushmore, mountain lions, Photography, road trip, south dakotaLeave a comment

The first real, full day of the vacation was at Keystone, SD. We drove to Mount Rushmore and on the road we could see it on the horizon and I started to say, “OMG, there it is!!” If you haven’t been to Mount Rushmore, there is a winding road to drive to get to the monument and at one point, all of the sudden you see it in the distance and it’s… well … breathtaking.

I have never in my life ever felt so American.

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After the amazing monument it started to rain and we checked out “Bear Country” which wasn’t just about bears. There were Bighorn Sheep, Arctic Wolf, Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Lions, Elk, Bison, Badgers, Otters, just to name a few. We saw a bear fight and I really enjoyed watching two adorable young mountain lion siblings acting like siblings.

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All photographs shot with Canon Rebel xsi and iPhone 8

Next stop: Badlands

Interstate 90

Posted on July 24, 2018July 24, 2018 Posted in Digital Photography, Mobile Photography, Photography, rural, SunsetsTagged america, america west, americana, badlands, big sky country, canon, clouds, Digital Photography, farms, indian tepee, interstate, Mobile Photography, mobilephotography, night photography, night sky, Photography, ranch, road trip, rural sunset, scenery, south dakota, sunset, Sunsets, truckers, wall drugLeave a comment

It took two days to get us to a landscape we had never seen before. And the long drive was completely worth it.

It has taken a long time to go through all the thousands of pictures I took on our trip to South Dakota and I’ll start with the photographs taken when everything in the landscape changed. They don’t call it “Big Sky Country” for nothing.

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Next stop: Mount Rushmore and Keystone, SD

All photographs taken with a Canon Rebel xsi and an iPhone 8.

Genoa OH – 6/2/18

Posted on June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 Posted in Digital Photography, Mobile Photography, PhotographyTagged americana, barber shop, camaro, city, classic cars, corvair, Digital Photography, iphoto, mobilephotography, naturepix, ohio, ohiogram, Photography, shotoniphoneLeave a comment

I am definitely not the kind of chick hanging out at 6am on a Saturday, but these are the things you do for your kids, right? We left at the crack of dawn to get to Genoa, Ohio and we met his fellow high school cross country runners; following a nice lunch buffet. And so it seemed, we are now back into 5k season into the fall. Because there’s another 5k next Saturday morning…

But for this photographer, the old town Americana and country vibe in Genoa, Ohio was full of photography opportunities. So I was ‘OK’ to be there. I’m not going to post all of the pics I took of my son and his friends because I’ve been told that it’s “weird” if I post pics of him and his friends on my blog (I’m only doing to post pics of him on Facebook 😉). Funny how things change in generations, but in a way, they don’t change. Remember when our parents found our diaries in the middle of the mattress? 🤔 And our response was like, “Mom, you read my diary?? I hate you!”

Yeah, I’m a mom with a bunch of teenagers now. So I get it.

Here are the pics that I took, no pictures of my son. I’m always inspired by these little Ohio towns when I get out of the Columbus metro area.

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I Spy Something Green

Posted on May 18, 2018May 19, 2018 Posted in Digital Photography, ohio, PhotographyTagged arugula, backyard gardening, canon, canon fan photo, canon rebel, canon shooters, chives, dirt, dslr photography, farming, food photography, foodies, garden, gardening, lettuce, lilac, ohio gardening, ohiogram, organic, organic farming, peonies, peony, Photography, seeds, snap peas, sprouts, strawberries, tomatoesLeave a comment

After a 2 year hiatus (which was needed), the garden is back alive (after lots of freakin’ work!). There is still weeding and working to do (and that’s what you get for ignoring your gardens for 2 years), so this is still a work in progress. Here are the first pics of 2018. Definitely more pics coming through the summer as everything grows.

It’s funny though, Why does a young Jersey chick who grew up in an urban setting enjoy planting vegetables and flowers as an adult so much?? I don’t know, but all I know is that I love the feel of the dirt in my hands, the sweat on my neck, the reward of watching vegetables grow from seeds to something I chew on – it’s wonderful!

I haven’t posted all the pics of the garden yet so here’s a sampling. But here is what I planted this year: green bell peppers, habanero pepper, tomatoes, basil, arugula, chives, lavender, snap peas, catnip, lettuce, pumpkins and in the perennial garden we have strawberries and raspberries, a blueberry plant, peonies, roses and some random plants throughout the front and back yards. Oh and Andrew also planted his own seeds of bachelor button flowers. Can’t wait to see them grow! So happy to see him so enthused to plant something.

Also, in this new season, make sure you patronize your local farmer’s market!

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Arugula

Chives

Tomatoes

Strawberry

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Lettuce

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All photos shot on a Canon Rebel xsi

Exploring the Streets – Columbus OH 4.28.18

Posted on May 4, 2018May 4, 2018 Posted in Digital Photography, Mobile Photography, ohio, PhotographyTagged abandoned, canon, canon fan photos, city, columbus history, columbus ohio, columbus ohio history, decay, Digital Photography, dslr photography, dslrphotography, historic buildings, history, iphone, iPhone 6, Mobile Photography, ohio, Photography, photoshop, rain, rust belt takeover, state capital, street photography, urban, urban photography, Young PreservationistsLeave a comment

Last weekend I went to a tour headed by the Young Preservationists Society and learned lots of more info on this fair midwest city of Columbus. Of course it was also a great opportunity to take some shots in some usual and unique locations – from the State House to an old historic building during construction.