Toning.

First experiments.

Yesterday I fiddled with toning cyanotype. First experiments were fairly positive, with two, maybe three out of eight working out.

I used green tea.

Wet the print, then a bath in a tray with 2L water mixed with a spoonful of washing soda. The bleaching was quick and noticeable.

Then in a tray with green tea for about three minutes.

Then into a tray with water/H202 mix, really just a rinse.

Agitate at each step.

There was still a lot of blue showing, so I dunked and agitated it in the washing soda again and then back in the tea and it started to turn brown.

Last, a clear water rinse in the utility sink in our garage, then the print was hung to dry.

I tried a few different variations of the above, using prints from the past that didn’t make the cut. I have a whole folder of them. Success with cyanotype has not come easy.

The toning saved a few of those rejects.

Cool.

Party time.

It’s been a hell of a year.

The last photographic event/outing I participated in was the 2020 FP4+ Party, back around the first week of March, just before the lockdown.

That week I ventured out on my own, but ran into people, talked, and generally did what I always do when I go out shooting.

Since then I’ve stuck pretty close to home. My choice, for a number of reasons.

This year the FP4+ Party be my first event/outing. Fitting, really.

The 2021 Party schedule…

April 5th – 11th, shoot
April 12th – 18th, develop
April 19th – 25th, post

By the time April 5th rolls around, I’ll have had my second Pfizer jab. I’ll still observe CDC protocols, but I think it’ll be okay to get out shooting if I limit my interactions with people.

It’ll be fun to shoot and develop a handful of 120 rolls. It’s been a while, I’ll probably have to mix up a fresh batch of D76.

A little less than a month to go.

Side note: I’m gonna hafta miss the GTX Photo Fest this time around. Bad timing, as my second jab comes a few days after. 2022 for sure.

Car show peeps.

An experiment.

Pentax *ist D + Kodak Duaflex II

An experiment. TtV shots, all.

I cropped them square and cloned-in the rounded corners, where necessary.

I wanted to see if these portraits would work without the novelty of the rounded-corner TtV frame.

Interesting results. I think they work.

If I had to pick a favorite type or style of photography, I’d hafta go with portraits.

One person.

Groups.

Pairs.

Any camera.

All good as long as people are involved!

The car shows have been kinda key in my portrait taking and learning process. I like shooting cars, but there are so many cool and unique people waking around that it really is easy to find folks who’ll let me get a shot.

And I’m not shy about asking.

Bums.

Another drive-by shooting.

October 2007. Polaroid Spectra AF + Spectra 990 film.

Described as “Fall ‘Roid Week 2007, day two!”, here’s what I wrote about it for my original Flickr post…

“I tried walking into this place once before. It gave me the heebie-jeebies! I had to leave. Really!

I was on my way home after work yesterday and knew this opportunity was presenting its spooky self once again. Since I was carrying my Spectra with me I decided to stop. I’m glad I did. I went in. Got permission from the owner. Took two shots. This was the better of the two. Still gave me chills, but I got the shot I’d envisioned.”

13 years later, I still have this camera. But no film. Polaroid Originals stopped making film for these cameras earlier this year and I know the Impossible folks aren’t producing any, either.

eBay prices are a little out of my comfort zone, so I guess my Spectra AF will be for display only.

Sad.

Live Oak.

Love. Hate.

It took me a coupla’ years to get into the rhythm of these trees. March, leaves. April-May, catkins. September, acorns.

Their shade is relief from the hot Texas summers, but the rest of the time they’re messy as hell and a ton of work.

We have old-growth Live Oaks out front and in the backyard, one of the relatively few homes in our young neighborhood where they were saved.

This past November we had them all trimmed back substantially, leaving a decent canopy. It’d been 3 years since that last happened.

They look so much better. I doubt they’ll be any less messy, though…

Last of the season.

Let the petals fall.

Fujifilm X100S.

From our rose garden at the old house. October 2014.

Colors 4.

Red.

Fourth in a series.

So long 2020. Go easy on us, 2021.

Also, see > blue, orange, green

Repetition.

Four more Shakeits.

The Mary Stuart Rogers Educational Services Gateway Building.

California State University, Stanislaus.

We’d drive past this unusual bit of modern architecture every time we visited Torri’s grandmother in Turlock, CA.

I couldn’t resist getting a few shots using the *ist D with the Lensbaby attached.

Converted to black and white in Photoshop using NIK Silver Efex Pro 2 plug-in.

Box Camera Now.

A great little book by Lukas Birk & Photographers around the world.

I spotted this book on IG’s explore. Awesome. Had to have it.

The book shipped from France. Roughly 60 or so contemporary photographers who shoot mostly portraits with the Afghan Box Camera. It’s filled with short bios of each accompanied by a handful of their pictures.

At roughly 5.5″ x 7.5″ and 1.5″ thick, the covers are made from wood and the binding is a little sensitive. I’ve already separated a few pages from the spine.

The pages are all black with white text, which makes it a bit difficult – for me personally – to read. The black works well as a background for the images, though.

Content-wise, it’s amazing. Page-after-page of breathtaking black and white portraits. 335 pages in all.

A very nice addition to the Morris family library.

Learn lots more…