Monthly Archives: September 2009
A Study in Flower
These two photographs were taken within a minute of each other. I am certain that I didn’t change the shutter speed on the Diana camera*. There are only a few settings anyways. And since it’s film, there is no metadata to be sure.
A few words.
Vintage. X-ray. Photogram. Photographing Fairies.
* I may have changed the lens setting as it appears the focus is quite different in both exposures.
Summertime at the County Fair
Summertime just isn’t complete without the county fair. I grew up going to the Santa Clara County Fair. The sights, sounds, and smells are all very vivid memories to me. We went to the LA County Fair last weekend. As we drove up, the Pomona Fairgrounds seemed like a tiny oasis lost in this mass land of Los Angeles. As we stepped closer, it was as if we had drank from the same magic bottle as Alice. Everything grew bigger as we shrunk to tiny bite size people. There were at least three or four ferris wheels, game alley spanned most of the fairgrounds, fried food every where you turned, drinks galore, and farm animals in a giant barn bigger than what you’d ever seen on the side of the Pacheco Pass. While I did take color photos, these few black and white photos taken with my Diana + bring back those happy memories of summertime at the county fair.
Eternity
To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. – William Blake
Peekaboo
This one was a surprise. I aimed and the flower wanted to hide. Either that or the wind shoved him No matter, he’s still pretty.
Cotton Candy
This is the color version of Garden Gnomes & Faerie Flowers. The setting sun casts a warm glow on cotton candy petals which also serve as fair rides for the faerie folk.
Pink Bouquet & Purple Bouquet
I was walking around the Vintage Car Show in Burbank on August 22, 2009 photographing tiny wisps of another kind of purple flowers, when these caught my eye. I became entranced with what wonders these could possess. I really don’t know what the names of these flowers are. I wish there was a Google Search where you can enter photos instead of words to find out more information about things you see but have no idea what their names are. I suppose that is what people did do when there weren’t any names to things; they gave them names.
Southern Skies
This is the window of my previous bedroom. It faces South. The chariot of the Moon raced through the night sky while I slept beneath this shaded palace. The cool air would kick up from the swiftness but I would sleep peacefully in this southern direction.
In Native American spirituality, South is the place of the child, where life begins. The animal in the South protects the child within and reminds us to be humble and when to trust so that innocence will be balanced in our personality (David Carson)
Hello Holga, Meet Diana
My Diana had her second outing last month. The first time was in April to Venice Beach and she saw the drum circle and the green ivy man and a bunch of billowy dancing women and men. The second time was on August 14 when she traisped around with Holga in the garden. Here is their interpretation of the same plant & flowers.
Living in the Spirit by Diana +, with FP4 Plus
White Flowers by Holga, with Delta 100
Garden Gnomes & Faerie Flowers by Holga, with Delta 100
We need to keep the people away from our garden.
The Phoenix and Her Dragons
I woke up this morning to find my prayers were answered for rain… it was minimal, almost misty, and perhaps the result of the smoke from the fires. Nonetheless, the sky was overcast and you could not see the blue sky. Without regard for the time, I saw sunbeams crawling under my door, and I opened it to see what surprises lay ahead of me. The small window facing the sunrise beckoned me and I walked over to it. Then I ran over to my old room where I used to hang out on the balcony and started taking photos of this miraculous site. The sun had won the battle with the little bit of wind and the tufts of cloud and smoke that was crawling over to cover LA. In 10 minutes time, a Phoenix and a Medieval Dragon came to visit me, to bid me tidings, to give me hope, that the angry fire would leave soon but only when it was done ravaging what it could before the slumber. And on my way walking into work, I saw another dragon in the sky. He was a Chinese Dragon, making drumming sounds and dancing away the bad spirits that were left behind. He cleaned the air somewhat, and brought the message of a hope for rebirth and renewal for from the smoldering ashes of the angry fire rose the beautiful Phoenix.
The Phoenix
The Medieval Dragon
The Chinese Dragon