So I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging, not that I haven’t been doing things but just got busy with life.

I have been getting pieces together for various local shows and working on new pieces.

I have been busy trying to complete vamps for Christi Belcourts “Walking with our Sisters” project. This is going to be a Commemorative Art Installation for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada. I’ve completed one pair of beaded and silkscreened vamps (I will do a separate entry on my vamps once they are all completed). And I’ve been applying for some different shows taking place in 2013.

I also completed a recent a second birch bark basket – again, I will post photos in a separate entry.

Anyhow, I am going to try and be better about sharing my ongoing projects.

Happy 2013! A year of changes and excitement!

So this month has been pretty busy so far. I went to Comicon and have been working on cakes and some art projects.

I will be adding some postings on my first airplane cake, my new silkscreening and beading projects but first a few photos from comicon.

* Previously posted on Toy Camera dot com

Specifications:
Film Type: 135
Lens: f/8, 29mm
Aperture: f/8, f/11, f/22
Shutter Speed: 1/10s
Film to be used: suitable for 135 type color or black/ white film with speeds
from ASA 100/ ISO 21 to ASA 400/ ISO 27
Frame Specification: 24 x 18mm x 2
Viewfinder Finder: Centre-line positioned eye level direct view finder
Focusing: Fixed focus
Dimensions: 208 x 103 x 45 mm

Pros
- stereo or half-frame
- hot shoe for an external flash
- simple to use
- bulb option and tripod mount
- reliable results, with test camera
- nice vignette in many cases

Cons
- no English instructions, but since it’s simple to use it’s not so bad
- if you don’t shoot or develop a process for shooting with the half-frame option you may inadvertently create some double exposures or find blank frames on your film
- I have accidently had the shutter fire when the camera was in my bag

I open up the box, I’m excited to see a smiley Holga starring back at me, and there it is – the toothy grin looks up at me. Now, I’m not just excited because this camera is the cutest in my collection but I am excited to try another half-frame to rival the Diana Mini which I’ve been using a lot. I take notice that the instructions are not available in English and after failing to find any online I decide the best thing to do is simple trial and error.

Loading the film is simple as it’s like other Holga 135 cameras so I quickly slide in a roll of film and look at the buttons and switches on the camera. I open one “eye” and then the other.

Using the camera is simple, open both eyes and press the shutter button. Or open one eye, press the shutter, close the eye and open the second eye, cock the shutter (the MX switch) and then advance the film.

I was concerned that I might not remember which eye I used so I started by shooting 2 photos at the same time. However I quickly develop a system where I always shoot with one eye so that I will remember next time to use the other eye. Using a post-it arrow flag to indicate which eye to use next is helpful as well.

I think what first enchanted me with this camera is the light weight and although it’s not as small as the Diana mini it’s still smaller than a regular Holga and convenient to put in a purse.

I took the camera for a walk along the Ottawa River for its debut roll. I wanted to compare results using the different aperture setting to see if there were visible differences. I found that there were visible differences and that the results were accurate.

Figure 1: On the left was the cloudy option in a sunny atmosphere which resulted in over exposed areas. On the right I used the Sunny option with correct results. Read the rest of this entry »

400ISO, natural light

Specifications

Lens : 9 individual lenses. F=24mm, F/11
Format : 35mm film

Range : 0.8m (2.5′) – infinity
Shutter : Mechanical, speed 1/100 second
Viewfinder Type : Direct Vision
Film Transport : Manual
Flash : Built-in electronic
Power : “AA” battery (alkaline recommended)

It’s time to embrace your inner Andy (Warhol that is) – the Pop 9 is a funky little 9 individual lens camera that gives you a photo that’s repeated, you guessed it, 9 times. Personally, I think this camera is very well suited for photos of a specific subject but it is, of course, up to every individual photographer to decide what you prefer.

I had good success with 400ISO film. I did find you could see the grain but it gave some forgiveness in moderate amounts of light. I found even on sunny days the 400ISO worked best. Although, the manual says that 100ISO is good for bright sunlight without shade for best resolution and colors and 200ISO for bright sunlight or indoor flash.

Pros

-       Lens allows you to get close without going out of focus

-       Small enough for a pocket on a night out

-       Internal flash

-       35mm film – affordable to develop

Cons

-       unforgiving in low light with no flash

-       easy to get a hand in the image by accident

My Pop 9 is great for carrying around in my purse and pulling it out for a quick snap shot. I think the photos would be great enlarged and put on a wall or for homemade postcards/gift cards and can make an every day subject, like a cup of coffee, a little more exciting.

400 ISO – natural light from Window

I tried using the camera for landscapes, flowers, graffiti, as well as a host of every day things. The camera is very fun and simple to use. (I did use a piece of gaffers tape on the back just to be sure that it would accidentally pop open.) I found that the 9x effect was especially interesting when I saw the results of the house fire photographs. It really emphasized the devastation simply by repeating the image.

I think this is a great introductory camera and a great addition to a toy camera collection. I would definitely use this at a party!

400ISO – Graffiti Wall on Rochester Street, Ottawa, Ontario; artist unknown

Mods

This little camera is pretty fun but is pretty limited in terms of function so I started thinking about what sort of mods might be possible. My friend suggested cutting some acetate and then coloring it with different colored sharpies. This actually worked pretty well and left the photos with a foggy uneven multicoloured look.  

I believe that a mask could be created for inside the camera as well and could have some cool and unpredictable results!

photo with filter

same shot, no filter

Part of our Christmas tradition is attending “A Very Ayler Christmas” which is an avant garde jazz show that take Christmas carols and introduces them into the music of Albert Ayler (google him – interesting bloke!)

They have two more concerts to go:

Saturday, December 17 at 9:30PM at L’Envers, Montreal

Sunday, December 18 at 7:00PM at the UMI Café, Ottawa

It’s really interesting music, Ottawa Jazz Scene is going to post some of the video from the concert if you are interested.

Here are a few photos of the band

These are all taken with my Lumix, no flash

Celebrating my favorite place to visit in the world – Austria!

Um, just the cutest puppy ever!

So my golden half has definitely solidified itself as one of my favorite of all time toy cameras. Here are a few shots from my recent trip to NYC. I know I’ve not been on the blog to much recently but life got busy and I haven’t had time to be doing my cakes or much photography. I’m definitely hoping to start making time and get back into all the things I love to do.

Thanks to my cousin, AP, and the rest of my family for showing us a great time and giving us fun tours of the city!

So while my cousin has been here visiting we’ve been enjoying activities we normally wouldn’t do – a staycation as you will. Today’s adventures included Parc Omega where we got to see lots of animals in a “wild” environment. It was a nice break as yesterday we were white water rafting and then playing soccer in the evening. Phew! I’m going to need a holiday from my busy holiday

Here are a few photos from Parc Omega. Lots of toy camera shots to come!

This friendly guy ate his carrot like he was smoking a cigar.

I loved this guys ears!

I loved these little guys.

Okay, this was Quebec City but was also lots of fun.

I’ve never been to Parc Omega and had no idea what to expect but it was a really fun time and we all had many laughs which is always nice!