Among the Lumberjacks

I forget how much I love film. It's so easy to reach for the digital and its free, instant gratification of results, but something vital is lost in translation. I finally dug out my beloved OM-10 and realized there was half a roll of film on it! Absolutely no recollection of where or when those photos may have been taken, and such a thrill to finish the roll, take in in and wait 5 days (five days!) to get the shots.

The first half of the roll was taken a year ago at Volunteer Park in Seattle, purchased two years before that from an expired film bin enroute to Burning Man. I could not be happier with what I got back- the light leaks, the scratches and mold inside my lens, the effects of extreme heat and cold on the film (between 5° and 105°), and the graininess, which together create beautiful (real!) instagram-like effects of color and texture.

The second half of the roll I took in the front yard of my home in Cerrillos, NM, and I'm itching to capture the colors of my desert in this lovely format, and on my recently inherited Rollieflex medium format camera. Unfortunately, my local photography shop charges 15.75 to develop 24 exposures! This is going to be a pricey obsession.

I also started painting again yesterday- I packed my paints and paper and headed out back on a plein air hike. After 3 sketches in oil and 5 hours, I came back to myself with a bit of a sunburn, covered in ants and swipes of blue paint, and happy with my efforts if not my results. Hopefully when I'm a little less rusty I'll share some of my work here.

I have more photos to share of my camping trip on the Rio Grande last week, but photoshop has decided to unregister itself and until I get that figured out, you will have to wait.