Friday, June 18, 2004
After a long day at work, the last thing I wanted to do was fight through rush hour traffic and spend several hours on a hot and humid afternoon helping my mother-in-law clean out her basement. She's quite a pack rat but the basement was small, so dragging furniture and boxes to the front porch for a Goodwill pick up later in the week wasn't as bad as it could have been.
I was amazed at what emerged from some of the boxes. Art projects from her children's grade school days, christening gowns, and all the usual sentimental keepsakes. One item made my jaw drop. She pulled out a mildew covered Brownie Target Six-20. She saw my eyes light up and asked if I wanted it.
Silly question to ask.
A damp rag and soapy water removed most of the green slime. The lens looked clear and the shutter still worked. A quick application of some nail clippers to trim the oversized spool of a roll of 120 film, and the old box camera is ready to head down to the beach tomorrow.
He who dies with the most cameras wins.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:56 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Thursday, June 17, 2004
I was a little worried about my planned trip to Gunpowder Park when some rain started spitting on the windshield as I headed up the highway from work. The clouds never cleared but the rain held off as I neared the park. It was a typical Baltimore summer day, hot, humid, and a gray haze blocking the sun. Hardly prime conditions for infrared photography but you have to work with what you have. It was a good chance to experiment with how well my camera meter reads IR in dim forest light. [note to self: next time in these conditions, try exposing at 800 or 1600 and increase development time] It was a very low contrast situation to start with and the shadows in the woods fooled me into a bit of overexposure. The negs look pretty muddy but I hope there'll be some I can pull some information from.
The light was so low that even the digital was pushing the limits of handheld work. I did manage to hold steady enough for a shot or two of a pensive 
Potameide, a nymph of rivers and streams.
Looks like I'll be busy in the darkroom when I get back from the beach. Still some frames to print form the rainy trip to Kilgore Falls, getting started on these two rolls of IR, plus whatever havoc I manage to create at the ocean.
Posted by coldmarble @ 07:48 AM ET [Link] [1 blab]
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
I've been enjoying the figure work of a local photographer, David Clow, particularly the River Nymph series. It's a small part of a larger project, Ethereal Muses, a marvelous blending of figure, fabric and nature.
Lots of inspiration for the wood nymph project, and some ideas on what to do with the left over fabric from my costume creation fiasco. If the rain holds off, I may have a chance to try some of the ideas this afternoon.
Posted by coldmarble @ 10:49 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Monday, June 14, 2004
Researching a mythical subject like wood nymphs can be a little difficult, especially since there's no hard scientific evidence. I wanted to get some more grounding before proceeding with the photo project, so running across a well written source on Women on Greek Myths was a blessing. They even have a section on nymphs which explains the differences between Dryades, Hamadryades and Naiades. Lots of ideas percolating now, just waiting for the time and sunshine.
Posted by coldmarble @ 01:22 PM ET [Link] [blab]
