She is also known as Queen of the Night for that is only when she blooms. She opens up her petals to dark sky capturing the brilliant stare of the Moon and the Stars. Before the Sun rises, her petals fall into morning air.
Ilford Delta 3200
Tag Archives: Black & White
Through the Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree National Park
October 6, 2009
Ilford Delta 400 film
In which the words to the photos are here: www.okcoorl.com/2009/10/08/october-in-the-chair
Posted in Diana+
Also tagged 2009, desert, Diana+, Joshua Tree
Buffalo Dreams
I have nine totem animals. The Buffalo is my South totem animal. The animal in the south protects the child within and reminds me when to be humble and when to trust, so that innocence will be balanced in my personality. I have waited to post these photos of the buffalo I have met. I see buffalo in my dreams. I see buffalo in my life.
Rancho Luna
Pala Indian Reservation
Pala, California
Buffalo…
You bring us,
The gifts of life,
Hear our prayers,
Smoke rising,
Like Phoenix.
We are reborn,
Within the sacred words.
Buffalo was the major source of sustenance for the Plains Indians. It gave meat for food, hides for clothing, warm and soft buffalo robes for long winters, and hooves for glue. The medicine of Buffalo is prayer, gratitude and praise for that which has been received. Buffalo medicine is also knowing that abundance is present when all relations are honored as sacred and when gratitude is expressed to every living part of creation.
– David Carson
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.
Posted in Diana+
Also tagged 2009, Amusement Parks, Diana F, Fairies
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)
Posted in Photography
Also tagged 2009, Diana F, Film, Magic
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.
She Dreams In Color
I learned to play pool from Donald Duck. He hosted a short reel called “Donald Duck’s Magical World of Mathematics”. I learned that pool involves a lot of geometry. But I don’t think Donald Duck explained the chalk. Here is what Wiki says.
“Chalk is applied to the tip of the cue stick, ideally before every shot, to increase the tip’s friction coefficient so that when it impacts the cue ball on a non-center hit, no miscue (unintentional slippage between the cue tip and the struck ball) occurs.”
Here’s to chalk!
Posted in Photography
Also tagged 2009, Billiards, Chalk
As the Air Changes…
We can feel it change, the drop in temperature, the drumming of the Earth. Seasons change, and we honor them all. It’s harvest time, a time when we reap our rewards, and we give honor to our Creator/God/the Universe for providing us with life. This is a Native American Pow Wow that I attended back in 1990-something for 3 days. The drumming drummed me back into the circle and I shot 10 rolls of film, all in black in white. I couldn’t stop. I was absorbed in this wonderful dance of thanks and honor. We were allowed to take photos only when they allowed it, for when it was a sacred dance, a photograph could steal away their souls.
Posted in Photography
Also tagged 1990's, Pow Wow
Shangri LA Hotel – 2001
This is the Shangri LA in Santa Monica. I took this photo circa 2001. I have a tendency to not know the dates of photos if I shoot film. So anyways, this was shot with a Holga, with Ilford film, maybe 400. Afterwards, I walked inside, walked some of the halls, and the atrium/patio/gardens. It was exactly how I had imagined the settings for some of the Francesa Lia Block novels as they were based in LA about fairies and creatures of the like. So, I found out that it is closed now for renovations, and my friend’s friend’s family actually owns the place. When he told me that, I realized I never posted this photo for any one to see. Now, here it is. The Shangri LA. I love this place. I cannot wait until it opens again.
Posted in Photography
Also tagged 2001, Beach, Fairies, Los Angeles, Santa Monica