I recently had the opportunity to visit my family’s beach house in @OceanIslesBeach on the beautiful shores of North Carolina. I decided to get as many shots as I could to add to my portfolio. There is nothing like beach sunrises and sunsets. The waves were frothy and the sand was as fine as sugar. I think this area is my favorite for beach getaways. Also, a perfect backdrop for a casual beach wedding.
Take your camera everywhere. Take advantage of the beautiful times with friends and Family!
I have been asked to take photos at my best friend’s daughter’s wedding. I have known the bride-to-be since she was a baby. My niece as I call her is a wonderful young woman and it has been a joy watching her grow and thrive. She serves overseas in the Air Force alongside her fiance so planning this small, family wedding has been interesting.
As much as I hate the idea of taking wedding photos I couldn’t say no. I have a lot of respect for wedding photographers and the ones I’ve met love what they do. As for me….I have never wanted to shoot a wedding….NEVER! I have my reasons for avoiding wedding photography mainly the thought of being responsible for the memories of one the most important days of someone’s life. A few other reasons come to mind as I write this…..I cringe when I see wedding guests with their camera phones and iPads. It also burns my butt to see a guest step into a perfect shot ruining it for the photographers. We all know weddings cost a fortune and photography is one way that people try cut costs. Most people do not want to pay a photographer what they are worth and wedding photographers often struggle to get full payment for their services. Personally, it is disheartening to have friends annouce that I was going to take photos at their wedding assuming that I would say yes….it happens a lot. But for this young lady I will put it all aside and make sure her day is perfect.
I have started mentally planning and my first stop is Pinterest. I do not own a quality digital camera so I will shoot this event with film and Polaroid. I decided on Polaroid so a wedding album can make the trip back to England with the newlyweds. The bride has a quirky, fun personality with a natural crown of hair and winning smile so I think a film and instant photo approach will be fun and different. I currently have Polaroid, Fuji Instax and Lomo’ Instant cameras and plan to take them all. I am considering adding a new instant camera to my collection and the InstantFlex TL70 2.0 is on my radar. I am getting super excited about working with a twin lens instant film camera! I will upate this post once I get it this weekend and test it out at Thanksgiving dinner. Wish me luck and stay tuned for pics!
I have always wanted to visit Cuba! It is a dream and will help me expand my street photography experience….the architecture, the vintage vehicles and the people it all appeals to me on a visceral level. The colors, the sights and sounds…it the kind of thing that makes my photographer’s eye twitch. So the bestie and I are going….she writes a lifestyle colum for an online magazine and I blog. It is a perfect combination and she is the perfect travel partner. So I am going to document my research and the cameras I am taking with me. I have to start this now so my head doesn’t explode before I get there…getting it all down will keep me sane.
Cameras
I plan to take 4-5 reliable film cameras and one Polaroid…my new Minty. I am starting to stockpile film so there is no mad dash to get enough before the trip. My most reliable cameras are the Holga 120CFN, the Holga 135BC and the Diana Mini. I think it is a good mixture of 35mm and 120mm film choices. Unfortunately, my La Sardina’s failed the test when I took them on a family cruise. There were too many issues with film loading and rewinding with all four.
Research
There are so many articles to read…people share their experiences and it makes my heart sing. I can’t wait to see and document it all. I am over the moon excited…my soul needs to be fed and traveling with my bestie is the best way to do this. We are Army girls always ready to go with the flow. We let the locale dictate the days…we don’t have to have fancy digs and plan to live like the locals.
My travel research beings with the first link a subscriber sent me. Where to have film developed in Havana….I will check out this photo lab and may get some film developed while I am there. I will see how it flows. This photo lab seems like a a good place to check out. I will give a comprehensive review on the services#309 Calle Obispo, Habana Vieja, Ciudad de Habana. That’s the main east/west street down the middle of Old Havana, running down from Parque Central to Plaza de Armas.
Fashion
Cool, casual and comfortable is my goal and I want to blend in and look like a local. It is not hard in Cuba…the population covers the color spectrum and mostly look like me. My Pinterest page will be my go-to for storing my ideas so take a look if you get a free minute…my plan is to update it as often as possible.
Join me on the journey from planning to touchdown and let me know what you think along the way. Any tips? Send them my way.
I started my Holga journey because I was bored out of my mind after graduate school. I needed something to kickstart my creativity. Film photography is a form of therapy for me and I can lose myself in the camera and the beauty of life around me.
Hipstamatic sparked my interest and after some research I started hunting Holgas, Diana’s, La Sardinia’s and all the different film formats that produced the gritty, grainy artistic photos that I see in my head. My first set of developed prints made me want to cry but I toughened up and soldiered on. I studied my technique, my awful mistakes and the light leaks that destroyed more than a few of my prints. My mistakes made me start paying attention to what the heck I was doing. I will write another blog on my common mistakes this blog is for the light leaks.
Why Tape Your Holga
The Holga is a cheap, light-weight camera from China that comes with a plastic lens and a plastic body. Light leaks are natural to the Holga and there is really no way to avoid them unless you tape the entire camera and what is the fun in that. I can understand how light leaks can be intimidating to someone new to this type of photography but I encourage you to embrace the unpredictablity. Let yourself be surprised by your images.
The first time I developed 35mm film in my Holga I realized I needed to tape up the back of your camera, or light will leak in through the film counter window and over-expose every single shot. Along with my other mistakes I’d ruined an entire roll of film but hey… that’s part of the game of experimenting with your camera. 35mm film doesn’t have paper backing like medium format film does so it has no protection from the light seeping in from the little red window at the back of the camera. Without covering this window your roll will be exposed to light in every shot. A common solution is to seal the window off to keep everything nice and pitch dark inside the camera. I use electrical tape to make a flap so I can tell when I have gotten to the first shot while loading and how many shots I have remaining. I get some leaks but my shots are not completely blown out.
I also cover the bottom of the camera and the metal clips on each side. The cilps are worthless to me a lesson learned after I put my brand new camera around my neck for the day and the weight of the camera was no match for the cheap clips. I watched in horror as my hours-old Holga slipped off my neck and hit the cement. It works….I played with it for hours and coaxed it back to life.
I am not an expert at anything. I research and share my journey with others. Have fun and let yourself go. Follow the Golden Rules! Share your experiences and your photos.
Next up….My common mistakes and what I learned.
The rainy winter season has been taking a toll on my need/desire to take photos so I spend the time researching and choosing new equipment. I have had two cameras on my list since Christmas and finally decided on the HolgaGlo 135BC a 35 mm version of the Holga. It is smaller than the Holga 120 CFN and GCFN’s that I have already but I am pretty happy. It joins my other pretty girls…the Holga family and the La Sardinas. (photo below)
The La Sardina collection was a compete fluke. I ran across them on Amazon and completely fell in love. The set of four cameras was extremely affordable at $159.00 making it a no brainer purchase and the free overnight shipping …one of the flukes of being a Prime member made me pat myself on the back. When you want to start a hobby it is important to look everywhere for your tools. 
Cameras, film, flash units all require tons of research so I am always on YouTube and Ebay looking for that thing that catches my eye and inspires me to hold it in my hand. I need a camera that makes me smile, one that makes me want to carry it and look at it all the time. So that is what the winter months are for…research and camera sprees. It’s sick…I will pass up a great pair of shoes for film and new cameras. I am officially obsessed! Take a look at my babies and stay tuned because the Summer is going to be camera fierce!
Folllow me on my Lomo journey and don’t be afraid to get one of your own.
Adventures of an Awkward Artist 