BK Deconstruction

They are currently tearing down the Burger King in my neighborhood to make room for an Advanced Auto Parts store (almost directly across from the Auto Zone I work part-time at). I walked over to take a few shots and say a last goodbye to an old friend.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day seemed like a good day to hang a flag pole on my parents barn. Well, the day before Memorial Day that is - Auto Zone hates our fallen heroes so I had to work today....

My Dad and Bro did most of the work while I snapped a few photos(as always).

B-Day Bike

Can you remember anything better than getting a new bike for your birthday?

Ryen and her new bike last weekend.

Its Black, Its White(part II)

So now I'm thoroughly annoyed with how dirty these negatives are. Shooting film is supposed to cut out Photoshopping - not increase it. But I've spent hours removing water droplets and dust. A friend recommended a different lab for me to try out - my next roll is heading there - I'll have a full review soon.

This is also why I look forward to having my own dark room completed - I can deal with my own mistakes - but not other peoples.....

Its Black, Its White(part I)

I just got a roll of Ilford XP2 Super 400 developed at Akron Commercial Color Lab and scanned in to my computer today. I shot the whole roll with my Minolta X-700 and MC Rokkor f/1.7 55mm lens attached. I was happy with the results of what I shot but found the development to be lacking - the whole strip of negatives was covered with water spots. I used Photoshop to do some cleaning of the images but I will have to clean the actual negatives to make prints with the enlarger(which hopefully I'll be able to do soon).

I used Photoshop to crank the contrast up in most of the shots and I did some limited cropping too. More on flickr and I'll post the rest of the roll tomorrow.

Return of the Green

I love the first truly green hike of Spring - the color almost feels over-whelming in the woods this time of year after the bare landscapes of Winter. I snapped this in the North Hawking area of Sand Run Metro Park.

The nice weather of the weekend also allowed for some gardening and yard work to finally be done - this is a new hanging basket over my garage....

Tough Shits @ The Matinee

Akron loves Philly's 'Tough Shits'. Its always an amazing scene/show when they are in town - last night was no different. They played two sets - the first was their new "record"(which is on cassette tape(which is awesome because my car has a tape player - move over Back to the Future Soundtrack!)), and the second was the sing-along-classics. Awesome night, awesome dudes, you shoulda been there.

View the rest on Flickr.com.

Stringing Along

These new lights are going to look pretty rad at night.
Thats all for today - off to see the Tough Shits at The Matinee!

Movie Stuff

I traded another photographer some work-time for some old movie cameras and film that he wanted to get rid of. Its just some cool, classic-looking stuff to put on my shelf.

I like how these reels have "Akron Motion Picture Service" stamped on them.

Couple Classics

I scored two really cool cameras the last few weeks. Above is an original Polaroid SX-70 from 1972 - probably the most sought after Polaroid camera. I picked it up for 10 bucks at an estate sale! I need to get some Impossible Project film to see if it still works.

This is a Nikon Nikkormat FTn(1967), in my opinion one of the coolest/most iconic looking cameras of all time. It has many interesting features which I'll expand upon when I add it to the Vintage Camera page.

B-Day Fun!

...at my girfriend's niece's 5th birthday party....

Below is the modern piñata - no more baseball bats - just pull the string...

The Luxuries III

On Saturday I was at the Matinee for my friend Wes's birthday show. His band, The Luxuries, played along with Hell's Information. I used my bounce-flash technique to capture the action. I shot much of the show at an ISO of 640 to be a little less taxing on my flash and close the aperture a bit to obtain more depth-of-field.

A classic hold-the-camera-out-shot...I love this one.

Grillin'

First cookout of the year!

After the Storm

Unfortunately Blogger was down for a few days and I couldn't put up new posts....
....this photo is a 30 second exposure in my front yard a few nights ago after th storms passed...

Wide-Angle-Weeding

I'm finally getting around to doing some of my Spring cleaning and chores. I cleaned the garage a few days ago, today I weeded. While weeding I thought of the idea/angle for a photo - I had to take a weeding-break and make the picture....

Crab Apple Study No.1 & 2

A couple different views of the same, blossoming, crab apple tree branch. That is all for today. Carry on.

Oh yeah - I shot some Ilford XP2 Super B&W 35mm film today also - I'll have that soon....

Northside Lofts @ Night

These are a couple of 30 second exposures I shot of the Northside Lofts on my way home from the Downtown Akron Artwalk on Saturday.

Cool, eh?

"Break"

On Saturday I went to check out some of the art shows associated with the Downtown Akron Artwalk. I spent a good deal of time at the Millworks Gallery viewing Greg and his friend's show 'Break'. It was a fun night full of good art and good people, lotsa people. Akron is happening nerds!

Greg

More Nikon L35 AF

So I shot the last roll of expired Fuji Super HQ 200 that I had(which was acquired at an estate sale) and I'm kinda bummed about it. Shooting this film with my old Nikon gave photos and a classic old look - no messing with Photoshop or "apps". "Instant Vintage" - hows about that phrase?

I was even more bummed because my camera stopped taking photos after #20 on a 24 exposure roll...and now I can't get the camera to take up the next roll....

Oh well - enjoy some of my faves....

Twins

I always carry a camera with me even when I don't plan on taking pictures...because you never know when you girlfriend and a friend will show up to the bar in the same shirt....

Gaussian Blur

Well - I was going to write about my use of gaussian blur but I flipped on TV and saw they just killed Osama Bin Laden....I'll write about blurring stuff tomorrow...and I'm not talking about the Iraq War. Zing! In your face Bush!