Central America: Black and White

The trip to Central America was done months ago...and then I remembered I had 4 rolls of B&W film in my office to develop. Because I had set them aside (on reels, and in tanks) at the end of January, they had awhile to sit on a shelf in my office until I found/made some time to work with them. One of the tank lids was under too much pressure and burst, just a crack, but anyone who knows film knows what that means. Light leak. Big time. So, out of 4 B&W rolls, I ended up with only 3 that were workable. Tonight I remembered to bring them home to scan, and of course this is bringing back all kinds of memories from the trip. I am actually having quite an anxiety attack just thinking about it. This can't be good. But, at any rate, the above images are some favorites.

Dogs dogs dogs

Sometimes lots of time goes by before I get caught up with dog park negs, but I think I am on a roll again. These images are from the last couple of weeks, and I have several favorites. I went into the darkroom to print last week, and have discovered (to my horror) that I find myself wanting to digitize them so that I can adjust things...just so. I know that I used to spend 12 to 14 hours a day printing and such, but in many ways I get better results from the digitized files than the real negatives. Yikes.

Old dog park images (Fall '08)

After many months of other activities, I finally developed some rolls of film that I'd been storing at the lab. To my surprise, there were a couple of rolls from last fall at the dog park. I also found some from a wedding in October (another surprise!) and there's still film to develop. I know that some of it is from the recent trip, but I can't say for sure which ones. Today was about 55 degrees...and although it was muddy, I took the dogs to the park anyway and shot a few more rolls. We'll get to see those in August, right? Well, maybe not that bad, but they do take a back burner to weddings or freelance work. It's interesting how the group has changed. Out of maybe 15/20 dogs today, I only knew two from last year. I am hoping that as the place dries out and weather gets nicer that I will get to see some of the familiar faces from last year.

Wedding: Stephanie and Rob

Stephanie and Rob...

Wedding: Valentines Day

A Valentines day wedding...Aliza and Paul. I was actually the assistant for this wedding, and Corey Fitzgerald was the lead photographer. What does this mean? For one, it means I got to photograph the guys, which doesn't happen often (the lead photographer is with the bride). Two, I got to do many of the detail shots and candids. When I first got to the house, Paul and his groomsmen were playing poker, which was fun to watch. It always amazes me how much more relaxed the men are...

Trip is over

The trip is over. I have been home for 4 days now and am so grateful for it. For many reasons, I had an awful time on this trip. I have never felt so alone and so out of control as on this trip, and it scared the hell out of me. India was jarring, too, but in a totally different way. However, the color holga negs I have so far (still need to process the BW ones...) are really making me happy. A few favorites are posted here, but the whole set is in my pbase gallery to check out. As usual, I am drawn to inanimate objects for the most part...textures, colors, shadows, and light. Building materials always fascinate me- the signs of erosion, decay, and time that usually present in layers. I have never been really good at personal contact, people pictures, even with my friends at home. (The wedding photography is a whole 'nother thing...I thrive on photographing people at weddings.) I was going to try, but once I realized where my head was at on this trip, I stuck to the houses, walls, and fences that I knew best. It is safer (and it is much more comforting to me when I am stressed) to be alone and stand there studying peeling paint for chunks of time.