Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Camera Imago

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Post-Script: I had these prints made at Picture Perfect in Albuquerque, and they did a fine job. There's a price discount for batches in excess of 100 images, and the square format prints are 5" size for the same price as 4"x6" prints, so in the future I may be shooting 1:1 expressly with that in mind.

Here's the previous post I mentioned above, when I first conceived of this idea.

Typecast via Olympia SM9.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Making the Unseen Visible

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Post-Script: There's more here than mere sentimentality, and involves more than just typewriters. Unearthing the artifacts of cultures ancient and modern reveals a similar fascination with physical handiwork and their relationship with time, memory, life and death. Mementos, talismans, idols and icons are to this day still revered and respected, and remain just as useful to those cultures as do our phones and tablets do to us. It's not just that typewriters can function as tools to perform some mundane task like mechanized printing, but that they become an intimate part of our lives, and thus we endow them with the very real artifacts of relationship.

But I don't want to over-analyze this to death. I'd like for there to remain just a little bit of mystery about sitting down to an ancient machine, interlocking one's fingers with its keys, and performing some ritual that results in creativity spilling itself out like blood upon paper. Like all good rituals, we don't have to understand how it works, only believe that it does work.

Typewriter photos from my Flickr archives, typecast via Olympia SM9 (that itself has its own story to tell).

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Snapshots and Memories

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Post-Script: I'm certain that, for those whose concern is only the photographic image itself and not the means to its creation, this dilemma of wanting to use old film cameras but being stymied by inadequate processing seems illogical. Certainly a person can get good photos from one's phone, so what's the big deal?

It has to do with the haptics - the ergonomics and handling - of mechanical film cameras, that until recently have not been matched by modern digital push-button interfaces. There's also the matter of cost; many of these classic cameras and their wonderful lenses are to be found pennies on the dollar.

I think this proposed solution to the archiving and storage problem of digital photography, by having mini-lab snapshot prints made, is a reasonable one. Certainly in our house I frequently hear laments of how all those wonderful images are locked away inside the computer, for no one to enjoy.

Though there remains the fact of social media, such as Instagram and Flickr, sometimes it is desired that one's personal family images not be shared with the entire world. This is another way in which physically printed digital images can remain useful, in that they function as a de facto form of digital security, remaining in the physical domain as prints to be only seen in person.

As an example of how important it is to have a quality lab for one's film processing, some of the prints in the above scanner collage were made from half-frame color film negatives, and they are as sharp as digital prints of the same size. The lab I used was Tom's, who are no longer in business but did an outstanding job of film scanning and printing, and whose loss I lament to this day.

Typecast via Olympia SM9.

Monday, July 13, 2015

The Home of the Travis

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Post-Script: I didn't get that nap in that I promised myself, but a salad is still about all I can eat for dinner. It was a fun outing, and having a Travis after 30 years was a treat, which reminds me that I owe it to myself to frequent more of these out-of-the-way places around town, to be more curious about my community and its environs.

Photo via Fujifilm X10, typecast via Smith-Corona Galaxy 12.

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Street Stories

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Post-Script: There is a wealth of resources now available online for those interested in radio stories and audio production, too many to count here, but a few notable examples might be of interest.

National Public Radio is a great place to start, the pioneer in radio stories, at least here in America.

This American Life is perhaps the best known site for radio stories as an alternative to straight news.

Studio 360 offers a great selection of well-produced stories.

Radiolab is another site that I really like, with very interesting stories that combine good writing with great audio production.

For in-depth technical and creative background on radio story production, there's no better site than Transom, where a person can gain a virtual education in the field.

Here's a link to the Sony PCM-M10 at B & H Photo.

Photo via Lumix G5, typecast via Smith-Corona Galaxy 12.

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Typing in the Patio Room

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Post-Script: I'm certain there's a science to making rooms inviting and peaceful, informed by both western and eastern traditions. Perhaps it's the light, the shape of the space or the arrangement of doorways and windows, but you can immediately sense the "feel" of a space the moment you enter. I'm amazed how skilled architects can convert their vision into plan sets for builders to follow, because to us neophytes it's hard to visualize the finished product from a mere elevation or floor plan. Our budget for this project did not permit us the luxury of 3-D rendering, so I can't comment about its effectiveness, but thus far we're pleased with how the room is progressing.

Photo via Lumix G5. This article started as I was seated in the blue patio chair, thinking about how it would look as a photo staged with a lone typewriter on a tray table. And in case you were wondering, it's not the most comfortable chair for typing, as you either have to lean forward to reach the table or place the typewriter in your lap, which is how I ended up finishing the piece.

Monday, July 06, 2015

Rubbing Elbows

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Post-Script: Bonus Images:
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Photos via Lumix G5, typecast via Smith-Corona Galaxy 12.