Old photos of me as a kid

I have always liked to bake and spend time in the kitchen. I get quite a kick out of this photo of me peering over my mothers shoulder as she made something one day. In this photo I am 9 months old. (The other day, mom brought over a packet with a bunch of things...some old photos that my grandmother had, and since she is now gone and my mom has all of those things, she is re-distributing them.)

Apparently we were making cranberry sauce (according to the note on the back of the photo). I was 17 months old.
My infatuation with tools and building or fixing things got off to an early start...here I am helping to make our new swingset at age 2.
And in this photo, I am 10. Interesting to me to see how my body type was so similar then. I mean, I know it's my body, but I was just a kid! We all get older, and change over time, but there are basic things that will always be...the same.
Aren't my parent's cute?! I was 5 months old.
Another kitchen shot! I was almost 11.

Dog Park Holgas: COLOR

Dog park scans/Camera problems

Whooo, boy. I guess I knew what I was getting into with the unpredictable Holgas, but today was a downer. I went in to WSC to process 3 rolls of film. The first problem was the cover for one of my developing tanks. I always tell the students to look at the cover before you go into the closet...as they age, they crack. And those cracks, while they look small, are actually colossal in terms of light leaks. I saw it right away and went back into the closet with a new lid, but we all know how fast light travels, right? Right. Strike One. After the fixer stage, it's ok to take a peek at the film, as it is no longer sensitive to light. That was when I discovered that one of my cameras is still set on bulb. (The piece of tape I put over the switch must have fallen off, or I took it off and forgot to replace it.) So although each negative was beautifully exposed, they were...well, a blur. Into the trash with that one. Strike Two. The remaining rolls were shot with Holga body #3. I am making notes about this because if I have an errant camera that is ruining my film, I want to know which one it is! (The roll of film gets labelled with which camera it came from.) Apparently the newer Holgas are being made with cute little foam things glued to the inside where the film spools sit. Why? I have no idea. But my foam has long since ripped off (and into the film as it gets advanced) and what's left over is the glue. Given the mechanics of the camera, and the fact that it's just the paper side of the film that should pass by these glue areas, I didn't worry. But something is getting on each negative and adhering to the emulsion...and so there's NO IMAGE where the glue hit the film. Just a bunch of clear dots. Strike Three. Aaargh. SO, the top photo is an "uncleaned" negative, with those black dots being where the glue hit the negative and ripped off the emulsion.

These are light leak (bad cover) examples, above and below.

And a Martha's Vineyard example of the glue issue. Nice pattern, though.

India again

As I peck away at the India negatives (they were, for the most part, scanned last month) I miss it. I want to go BACK. I miss the food, colors, smells, the perpetual commotion, the complete and utter difference from everything I know here. I have not completed the scanning, cleaning and adjusting, but I am getting close. At least with the color negs. The B&W may actually get printed for real. Yeah, you know, like in the darkroom. It is the paper cost that is scaring me, aside from the obvious investment in time. Large chunks of time. HUGE. Did I say it will take a lot of time? In two weeks I start back at WSC like normal, and still have to shoot on the weekends. I am afraid I won't want to go back to WSC after I let the dogs out and have dinner. And I can't work on them during the day. Ironic, isn't it? My office is IN the darkroom, but nothing I do for WSC involves the darkroom. The photo above shows the "dreaded" street vendor food. Americans aren't supposed to eat this stuff. I LOVED IT.

These burlap bags were all filled with hot red peppers. That's a lot of peppers. Vendors tended to specialize in certain items.

The metal buoy bridge in the distance was interesting. Essentially one lane (at least for vehicle traffic) and very long. But, everyone wishing to cross it could clearly see the other side and they just took turns if they had vehicles.

Varanasi. The vendors by the river mostly sold plastic bottles, so that worshippers to the city could take some water from the Ganges with them.

The steps we came down to get onto our boat, the day we floated down the Ganges towards Varanasi.

Window obsession: A long line of repeat behavior

The first time I got my hands on old windows, it was the beginning of a life long obsession with glass and glazing. I have NO idea where all of this came from...I never lived in an old house that had really cool old windows, at least not until I was 23. I moved into an apartment in an old farmhouse (250 years +/-) and the windows were a mess. I wanted to paint, and I can remember not being quite sure what to do about the peeling paint on the window frames. In the end, being 23 and in a hurry, I painted over them. I cringe to think about it now. The NEXT time I experienced a curiosity about windows, it was the same farmhouse, several years later, when I moved into the other apartment. I must have been 27 then. This time, I decided that I'd do it right, whatever that meant. I'm German. I grew up hearing "if you are going to do something, do it right" and I probably felt like I had to do a better job on these windows than the ones in the first apartment. So, off I go, embarking on a long journey of trial and error. By the last window, I had it right! AND, I couldn't be stopped. (I also got lead poisoning...and ever since I have worn a very lovely mask that filters out the lead.) From there, I went on to get myself involved in other people's windows, whether they wanted me to or not. I couldn't resist the quiet plea for help that old, battered windows seem to project. And although I can clearly see the positive side of new windows, with double panes and easy cleaning advantages, I will probably never lose the desire to remove old windows from their frames; gently strip, sand and strengthen them, replace the old glazing (keeping the original glass if possible of course) and then putting them back. I think that it is the paint abuse that gets me the most worked up- you know, when people put layer after layer of paint onto the windows, or any woodwork, really. Makes me nuts. You should always take the paint OFF first, then start over. Sure, it takes hours, days, even months, to do it right. But damn, those sure are pretty windows when you're done! I have this little fantasy that if I didn't have my real life (photography, jobs, boyfriend, dogs, house payments, you know) I'd find someone old and wise who fixed old windows, and I'd apprentice with him for a few years. I'd love to work with someone who knew all sorts of tricks, and appreciated the windows like I do.Stripped, sanded, and ready to be prepped for painting.


Stripping them is hard work. Between an array of chisels, scrapers, and other hand tools, I also used the dreaded heat gun. Not only does the heat gun vaporize lead in the paint, but it does a nice job of cracking glass if you aren't careful...

The frames/sills had to be stripped and sanded, too. Couldn't leave them the way they were!

Not quite sure what THAT look is for, but I really was enjoying myself!

Film processing stories: Dog park pics

I have found that due to a combination of forces (weddings!) I am not at the park as often lately...and when I am, I seem to drag my feet about making time to develop the negatives. This has me mildly alarmed, but ya know? I can't do everything, and this is my one personal project. Everything else is for other people, and it keeps me hopping. Yesterday I needed to go to WSC to pull images for a publication. While waiting for the final image choices to come in, I figured I had an hour or so, so I processed 5 rolls of film. As I discovered when I stepped into the film processing room, there was lots of prep work to do first. The summer session class in June was managed just by the professor- no lab tech this time. The place was a mess when I went in yesterday. The chemistry was old (developer), bad (fixer), empty (permawash) and moldy (photo flo). There were beakers, reels, thermometers, and developing tanks all over the place. The trays to catch drips were a disaster. The counters had so much chemistry on them I had to scrub for a LONG time to get it off. The sink was slimy. Aaaargh! At any rate, here are some dog park photos.

Martha's Vineyard June 2008

This year's trip to Martha's Vineyard was the 4th for me. The annual gathering of "Tom and Stephen's" friends at a rental house in Lobsterville has been going on for eons. Way before my time. It comes with a deep seated mystique to it from all the years of hearing stories about the Vineyard gatherings. The first year, I shot to document Stephen working on the beach. The second year, I shot a few digital images, nothing special. The third year, I took was some Holga images (both color and BW). This year I hardly shot at all, but what I did shoot was also with the Holga, BW only. I had a hard time down there this year. Let me give some background...the trip was scheduled for June 17, 18 and 19. My last day at WSC was Friday the 13th, and right after work I had to rush to Sturbridge to shoot for Old Sturbridge Village. First thing on the 14th, I had to pack everything up (and leave early) to drive the 5 hours to NY to photograph a cousin's wedding at 2. Sunday I left by noon- had to drive back home to meet with wedding clients at 6pm. Monday, I had to work on a ton of stuff and get ready to leave for MV the next day. Tuesday we drove down, got on the ferry with the bikes, and headed to MV. I called a wedding client to meet us in Vineyard Haven, for her proof book/DVD pick up. Once that was all set, Jonathan and I biked the 18 miles to the Lobsterville house. I was tired, mentally disturbed (I do not do well with whirlwinds of activity...), beginning to bleed (period) and wanting to be alone. The house, when everyone arrives back at it, has anywhere between 6 and 9 people in it. I really should have thought it all thru a little better and simply stayed at home. This year I was miserable; Jonathan and I had a few misunderstandings, I was not feeling well (above and beyond the period related issues), and I couldn't get home fast enough. However, getting home included a stop at Jonathan's moms house for the night, and I took an antihistamine because I couldn't breathe. Intending to lay down for a little while, I ended up sleeping for 15 hours, which was actually a wonderful gift. I headed home Friday morning and then geared up for another wedding that weekend. I am exhausted just thinking about it. It is a wonderful thing that I have had this summer off from WSC, but this whole experience was right after I was done, and I had no time to calm down from all my jobs. Sometimes I think I need to be more careful about how I schedule my time...I do tend to get stressed about too many things scheduled tightly together. It makes me want to run and hide from the world. Or scrape paint. Either one.

Night Holgas

The fireworks display in Worcester did indeed happen...it stopped raining just in time, really. I bought several rolls of color film to try in the Holgas. It's amazing how fast the fireworks display went by without even actually seeing it. Well, I saw it, but because I was running around from spot to spot with the tripod and camera bag, it feels like it was over in an instant. All I remember is holding the shutter open and running thru some semblance of counting in my head. Then a precise 4 counts for the winding between exposures.
A holga recreation of my current header image...

To see the photos in the grid above bigger, go to my pbase galleries. I can't figure out how to make things clickable in this blog.

House bandaids

My poor house...it was obviously given a quickie "fix up" when it was for sale, and now the poor thing is showing it's true colors. Last year I fixed the roof- that was a very important part to deal with right off. I also had the hardwood floors refinished before I moved in. But the other home improvement projects- siding, walkway, patio, new front steps- they may need to be put on hold. There's only so much I am capable of doing, and so far I have done it. (Painting walls, bathroom wall board, cleaning.) I am currently scraping the paint off of my window frames (exterior) and fixing things up- tacking down/replacing trim, filling holes, recaulking, priming, painting, etc.

The more time I spend on a ladder in close proximity to my house shingles, the angrier I get. I mean, I knew I needed to deal with the siding, but I had no idea HOW bad the shingles really were. They are all falling apart, splitting, peeling badly, and rotting in areas. Unfortunately, the siding quotes that I got last year range from $16,000 to $27,000, depending on the contractor and the type of siding quoted. And don't even suggest vinyl siding, I can't stand it and will never put it on my house even if it is less expensive and has no upkeep. It is gross. When a sales rep came out last year to quote me for siding, I made him take the vinyl sample back out to the van, out of my house.

If this is not the sexiest get-up I own, I don't know what is. Good thing I don't wear this to weddings.A mid-process shot of the side window, and then a finished shot. Oh, and I decided I don't like the fake shutters so I am leaving them off. Why put something like that on a house if they don't actually DO something? Seems silly. Back in the days when shutters had a purpose, I can understand that. But now? Nah. And besides, as I quickly discovered, they make great places for wasp nests...

I went to the bank today, just to see what my options might be for financing the siding. Final answer: none, unless I want a co-signer. Nah. I am sure that the bank can see that I am financially stretched right now and they want to be sure that people pay back their loans. In all honesty, I agree with that. But it leaves me figuring out other options for fixing the siding. I could simply scrape, tack, and do touch up painting, and hope that got me thru a couple of more years. I could start to re-shingle it myself, one small section at a time. I have never done shingling, but I'd be willing to try.