Polka. Polka. Polka.

The Fifth First Annual Polkapocalypse.

I’ve long been a fan of the accordion, in spite of the fact that I was forced as a young child to take lessons, as was my sister! The squeezebox we used back then still exists and is in the hands of my good friend Marty K. It’s so tiny!

Playing the accordion is somewhat of a tradition in my mostly German family, so I got to hear a lot of polka songs growing up. Not a bad thing, really.

One of the first events I discovered after moving to Central Texas was the Polkapocalyspe at the Elisabet Ney Museum near East 45th and Avenue G in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin, Texas. The concert is co-sponsored by another Central Texas non-profit, Texas Folk Life.

I was first taken by the awesome graphic design used to promote the event – an illustration of a skeleton wearing a sombrero, playing an accordion – using typography entirely suitable for a Halloween, or more likely, Dia de los Muertos.

The 2018 event fell on Sunday, October 28 which just happened to be one of the prettiest days we’ve had this Fall. With temeratures in the low-mid 80s, it was perfect weather for a free outdoor concert. The fest ran from noon to 5:30 p.m.

The drive down to Austin was painless and I got there early enough to easily find a parking spot just a few steps away from the corner lot where the concert was happening.

Specs | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 + Olympus 12-40 ƒ2.8 PRO

I walked around the corner lot first, checking out the lay of the land and picking up a museum t-shirt while snapping a few pictures. I returned to the Escape to drop off the shirt, then walked over to the museum for a quick look-see.

After 20 minutes or so of wandering around inside and exploring both floors, I headed back to the concert, which was just starting.

There were a number of partnering vendors situated around the open field, but I spotted one vendor right in the middle of the action, in the shade, with a screen printing apparatus, printing t-shirts with the Polkapocalyspe branding. I stood in line for one of them. Well worth the wait. Pretty cool.

I got quite a few portraits, using the GX8 paired with the new-to-me 12-40mm ƒ2.8.

Even though I had some success, in retrospect I should have brought along my adjustable neutral density filter and a tripod. Next time…

 

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6 days, 12 instants.

Fall ‘RoidWeek 2018.

Today is the last day of Fall ‘RoidWeek 2018. I uploaded two-a-day starting Sunday.

All my instant shots were made with the Fujifilm Instax Square SQ10.

There were plenty of awesome instants uploaded over the past week, check out the pool on Flickr.

Here are my contributions…

 

Loaded up.

Ready to go.

I have three cameras loaded up with film, ready to get out and shoot.

My Olympus Stylus Epic is loaded with Kodak Ektar 100, 36 exposure, Color 35mm.

The Lomo Sprocket Rocket has a roll of Fujifilm Superia 800, 24 exposure, Color 35mm in it.

The Holga 120N is ready to go with Ilford PAN F Plus 50, Black and White, 12 exposure, 120mm.

Now all I need is for my Plantar Fasciitis to calm down for a day and hope that a little let-up in the rain that’s been falling in Central Texas happens simultaneously.

Maybe this Sunday…

Sixty-six.

Growing old is not for the meek.

Birthday selfie.

I do one every year.

It’s my way of tracking the aging process.

A little experimentation.

Because I can’t let well enough alone.

I figured there had to be some way to use the Fujifilm Instax SQ10 as a printer using images I’d made with other cameras. Had to be.

Internet research had initially turned up the notion that files had to be a certain type of jpeg, the most success had by saving digital images in Microsoft Paint’s jpeg format.

After a little more digging, I’d found an older review of the SQ10 that explained how loading a full rez image made using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 onto the hybrid instant camera via the micro-SD card would allow for printing.

Awesome. Just so happens I have a GX8.

I selected a recent macro shot I made with the GX8 and my new Olympus 12-40 ƒ2.8, pulled the micro-card out of the camera and slipped it into the adapter, copied the file from my desktop Mac, then inserted the micro-card back into the SQ10.

Sure enough, the SQ10 read the file. I fiddled with the in-camera effects a bit and printed it. Cool.

Next I wanted to see if a picture made with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 would work. I selected an older picture that I’d converted to black and white, went through the same transfer process, then checked to see if the SQ10 read the file. It did.

Minimal tweaking followed by printing resulted in success.

Pretty darned awesome.

Instant people.

Polaroid portraits.

I got a follow the other day on Instagram from an account called Polaroids of People. I looked through their feed and visited their website. Lots of interesting photos.

It got me to thinkin’ ’bout the images I’ve made of people over the years using instant film.

I headed over to my Flickr stream and set-up a new album, then filled it with my fave instant people shots.

These pictures were made using a couple of SX70s and an old one600|Ultra, peel apart film through a Colorpack II, 180 Land Camera, a Shen-Hao 4×5, and a Spectra AF.

Film used… expired 600, some early Impossible, Spectra, FP3000b, FP100b, FP100c.

Goops and reclaimed negative scans, as well.

Here they are…

 

Zoom!

A new toy to play with.

I’ve been wanting the Olympus 12-40 ƒ2.8 PRO for while. Counting the kit lens that came with my GF1 years ago, this is the second MFT zoomer I own.

I have a Sigma 24-70 ƒ2.8 for my Pentax *ist D and K10D that I’ve always liked. Great lens. It’s nearly twice the size of the Oly 12-40! Huge. And heavy.

The 12-40 has great macro capability. I didn’t really find any praise for that aspect of the lens when I did my online research, so figuring that out while playing around with it was a pleasant surprise.

It’s attached to the Panny GX8 and I can see how this lens might stay permanently attached… so versatile.

I’ll post some shots after I get out with it a bit, which is likely this Saturday for the Kelby Worldwide Photowalk.

I plan on joining the morning stroll in Dripping Springs and if I have any steam left, I’ll be heading over to South Congress in Austin for an afternoon stroll with a different group.