Depite being in Japan for about 10 days I don’t think I really got to experience a good garden. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places, got too tired with all the walking - don’t know!?
Anyway I captured some shots today of the Japanese gardens ad the Denver Botanical Garden to make up.
The premise was to get a cheap Nikon Film SLR and have it in our trailer all the time. Then I just need to bring film and batteries. I selected the Nikon EM because I just got it back from repair and needed to ensure that it was working. I selected in date color film and Japanese Camera Hunter ( JCH) Black and White film to shoot.
The Nikon EM is a beginner’s level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single lens reflex camera. It was manufactured by Nippon Kogaku K. K. in Japan from 1979 to 1982. The camera was designed for and marketed to the growing market of new women photographers then entering the SLR buyer’s market.
It is a bit awkward in that it is aperture priority only camera. So for adjustments you either have to change the ASA dial ( and not forget to set it back after the shot) OR use a button on the front of the camera that opens up by two stops. My review of the negatives show that when I shot plain and then opened by two stops that the 2 stop button worked fine.
I did not do my own developing on the JCH film - I had The Darkroom lab process the film. The color film turned out great as well.
Of course you know that Vicki and I are very proud of ‘collections’. Here’s our K pod collection which we lovingly refer to as the K Pod Shrine
We also like our Spirit Shrine - truth be told it is mostly Bourbon
Hard to believe that this is a movement. Not liking it much
Remember my previous post. Not as bad as I thought it would be. An intermittent light leak from the camera - but given that people now buy digital filters to replicate light leaks this is acceptable. The film had to be tweaked a bit to get the magenta out of the frame so to speak
Have you ever tried to like something because it was the thing to do? We all have. I was told that Susan Sontag was a genius so I picked up her book ON PHOTOGRAPHY. As I’m trying to read her book I thought that she must not have ever photographed anything. It was so much garbage I never made it very far. At the first opportunity I sold it.
Quotes like this convinced me she was an idiot:
“To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never have; it turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed. Just as a camera is a sublimation of the gun, to photograph someone is a subliminal murder - a soft murder, appropriate to a sad, frightened time.”
Well finally I stumbled upon an old editorial putting into words what I couldn’t about why I hated her book
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3613939/I-wish-I-had-kicked-Susan-Sontag.html
If ever a single person was living proof that intelligence is a meaningless quality without modest common sense, it was Susan Sontag who died last week. The reverential tone of the obituaries served to confirm that self-proclaimed intellectuals, no matter how deluded or preposterous, exert a strange, intimidating power over non-intellectuals – especially if they employ that infuriating literary device, the epigram.
Beware the epigramista. Beneath the veneer of apparent profundity of the epigram’s internal contradiction, there is usually a deep well of meaninglessness, from which other intellectuals can extract similarly worthless academic baubles. The foremost proponent of the apparently profound but actually worthless epigram was Oscar Wilde – as in “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That’s his.”
I was invested in The Impossible Project early on but didn’t think the film was that great. Just today with cleaning up I found my stash of photos taken with this film. Not as negative as I once was.
Thanks to the nice neighbor lady who moved to Florida - she gifted me a Canon Ftb which is great. She also gave me the 4 point and shoots which I think I will love shooting. She also had in the box a Vivicam 335 - a 1.3 MB digital camera. Here are the results. Safe to say the camera is well on it’s way to some landfill
The surest way to fail in photography technically is to grab an old point and shoot that you’ve never used and put in 16 year expired film and go shooting. You folks will just have to wait till I get the film back but his is exactly what I did.
Porsche Club Racing which is a national series actually started in the 1970’s here in Colorado at 2nd Creek Raceway. This weekend was the 2019 installment. Just a few photos from the time spent at the track
A very few of the offerings at the latest Christie’s Photography Auction
This weekend in Santa Fe the Colorado Airstream Club had a rally. Just down the road from Santa Fe Skies RV park was the grand opening of the Vintage Trailer Supply Store. They put on talks, food trucks and a place to see some vintage trailers. A very good time.
Every year in South Eastern Colorado there is a migration of Oklahoma Brown Back Tarantulas. These are 8-10 year old males looking for a mate. The females are in burrows in the grasslands. Once the males have mated they are usually dead by November because of cold exposure. They are docile for the most part. Their bite is not poisonous but if bitten one could get infected. They also have hairs on their abdomens that can be “sprayed” at an attacker. The hairs are irritating.
If you’ve every wondered how YOU could become more American than your friends or neighbors, here’s the solution.
Get yourself a big ole ass of a truck and hang the Stars and Stripes on it WITH a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag for good measure. I will never understand this phenomenon. In a much milder form are those folks who wear an American Flag Pin on their suit coat. What is your point. We’re all American’s here ( for the most part). But somehow you need to be a Super American? Sheesh.
Working on a new self publish photo book. It is called ’ Instant Story’ and consists of shots made on the Fuji Instax camera.
First track day since open heart surgery. Went slow, had company in the car so am not anxious to cause them a heart attack!
Started off as a BW Cinema only film. Now is available in 35 mm cassettes for still photography. Here are a few shots, M7 35/1.4 ASPH. A little graining on these scans. When the film is sent back to me I will rescan and see if that’s what the problem is.
The Fence is a nationwide traveling photo exhibit. Boom Box of Shame is how we hear about every Rockies loss - another today is headed our way
Is really a Flight of Japanese Whiskey:
Suntory Toki
is a blended whisky from Suntory’s three distilleries: Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita. This is a round and sweet blend with a refreshing citrus character and a spicy finish.
‘Toki’ means ‘time’ in Japanese. Toki has a different composition to its sister blend, Suntory Hibiki, and its main components are Hakushu single malt and Chita grain whisky.
Hibiki Japanese Harmony
is a blend of Japanese malt and grain whiskies from Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita. Presented in the brand’s trademark 24-faceted bottle representing the Japanese seasons, this is light, approachable and moreish with enticing notes of orange peel and white chocolate.
Mars Iwai
“Here we have a full meal from the whisky’s kitchen. Fumes of briny peat, malt, and robust smoke emanate from its double doors. The palate serves up smoked meats, crushed almonds and peppercorns, along with a generous helping of creamy malt. You’ll want to chew on this for a bit.”
Mars had the boldest taste followed by Hibiki Harmony. Suntory Toki was very light with little in the way of a “hug”. My favorite was the Hibiki Harmony
As we are about 5 weeks away from being in the Land of the Rising Sun it is now time to learn how to use chopsticks.
Largest outdoor photography exhibit is what The Fence purports to be. Went to the Cherry Creek Park installation this morning. Very nice exhibit and very inspiring.
