My own darkroom! Really!

Remember when we used to take our 35mm film to the local drugstore for developing? When I wasn't looking, film developing became a boutique service not easily found in my town. Only one store handles film, and it costs about $15 to develop a roll and get the photos on disc. Sending my film out took a month and cost $12 per roll. The results were great, but the cost and turnaround time were frustrating.

As you know, I recently rediscovered film photography about two years ago. I own a bunch of nifty Lomography cameras, an Electro 35 from the early 70s, and a Canon Rebel SLR. I have been experimenting with different films and processes, but never at home. Then I did the math and realized how inexpensive it would be to set up a home dark room.

I started with this Pinterest board, where I pinned all of my research and created my own little self-study course. I watched dozens of videos, visited a camera shop, and talked to film veterans who knew a thing or two about processing.

Then I went shopping. Before I knew it, I had my own little darkroom, complete with developing tanks, reels, chemicals, and all kinds of helpful little gadgets. It looks something like this:

I am starting with C-41 processing, which is what you use with color negative film. I also want to try E6 for cross-processing when I gather more confidence.

A camera store owner in York, PA recommended this tank and reel set, so I can develop 120 and 35mm film:

I added some Lomography posters for inspiration...

And now I am ready to go! And yes, I do realize that I am the only person who repurposes a perfectly good third bathroom to make a dark room. I am awesomely weird that way.

Check out my Pinterest board for links to some helpful and interesting tutorials, videos, and how-to guides that will get you started with film developing. And watch this blog for updates as I dive into the deep end of home film processing! Thanks for reading!

Retro analogue FUN with the Polaroid Spectra II

As an aspiring hipster, I decided to take up crap photography. And no Lomo endeavor is complete without a journey into instant photography. I found this fantastic Polaroid Spectra camera at an antique shop, mint in the box, for only $2.50. This is a much better price than the refurbished models available online, but I was taking a chance with an untested camera that had been sleeping in someone's attic for decades.

Of course, I had to drop $34 on a twin pack of expired film to test it out, but that is the price you pay for coolness.

It fits nicely in its assigned shelf in my fridge...

This, of course, is a symptom of an illness.

Last weekend, we went on a photography adventure, and the Polaroid came along for some fun instant gratification. We got some really interesting shots as we experimented with light settings and angles. Because we were using film that expired in 2009 that had been living in the fridge for a year, we discovered some obvious imperfections, but those just added to the excitement. I primarily focused on my favorite humans and canine for this experience, as my fondest childhood Polaroid memories center on capturing special moments with the family.

But I threw in a shot of an inanimate object to see what would happen, too.

The Spectra has three light settings - Lighter, Normal, and Darker. We found that the Lighter setting resulted in washed-out images when used outside or in brighter inside light. The Normal setting worked best inside, and the Darker setting yielded the best results for outside shots, like these of my crazy dog, Cooper O'Connell-Myers-Ferrell:

My next project will be testing the two Polaroid 600 cameras I recently picked up at yard sales, for $3.00 each. I grabbed a pack of Impossible Project film at Urban Outfitters over the weekend, and I have high hopes for some analogue heaven! Stay tuned, my friends!

Achieving the IMPOSSIBLE! I found the Impossible Project space in NYC!

You remember those old, yellow-y Polaroid photos from your childhood, don't you? The quality was sometimes terrible, never really good? But back in the 70s, they gave us instant gratification. What a thrill! Now we have digital, so who cares about Polaroids, right? Wrong. As any self-respecting hipster will tell you, instant is where it's at.

When Jesse and I planned our week-long trip to Manhattan in February, I put two must-see locations on my list: The Lomography Store in Greenwich Village and the Impossible Project Space in Soho. You may remember my previous Lomo blog, in which I gushed about the awesomeness of a WHOLE STORE devoted to analogue photography. I also broke my Diana Mini camera that day. Sort of sadly poetic, don't you think? One freezing, windy afternoon, I decided to track down the elusive Impossible Project, so hidden in Soho that it almost dares you to find it. (Clearly, they are going for that hipster vibe.) Well, I found it, and it was really something:

I climbed five looong flights of old, creaky stairs...

And found myself in instant lomo heaven!

I was amazed to see so many old cameras, once believed to be obsolete, in various stages of rebirth.

I spotted this beauty pointed out the window. I am not sure, but I suspect this may be for shooting 8x10 Polaroid film, a new, expensive release from the Impossible Project:

Naturally, I decided to peer out the windows to see the five-story view:

I found a beautiful example of my Spectra Camera, too! Of course, I paid $2.50 for mine, mint in the box, at an antique shop. Spoiler: I just shot some expired Spectra Image film last weekend, so watch this blog for the glorious, low-res results!

I was excited to see the new Polaroid films available to bring my thrift-store cameras to life, although the prices were a bit shocking.

It was really something to see a beautiful, bright space dedicated to reviving the lost art of Polaroid photography. Was it ever really an art, or is that just wishful thinking? At any rate, it inspired me to explore the possibilities of instant photography. Who knows what could happen?

Stay tuned for more instant beauty, courtesy of my awesome budget camera finds!

Visiting the Lomography Store in NYC!

When I found out that we would be spending a week in New York City in February, I made a list of must-see spots around the city. The Lomography Gallery Store in Greenwich Village was at the top of my list, so we hit it on our first night.

I am a fan of what I like to call crap photography. I don't mean this in a derogatory way because I appreciate the art behind Lomography. I joke about the quality, but in truth I really love how Lomography film cameras encourage me to be creative. To say I was excited to visit the store is an understatement. I was like a kid in a candy shop! First stop was the Diana F+ display, where I drooled over the awesome little 120 film wonders.

I decided it would be fun to take pictures of the Diana mini display with my own Diana mini. Perhaps fortuitously, I managed to jam the film in my little Diana. The super nice counter guy unjammed my camera and sent my film to the LomoLab to be developed. The next day, I had a CD full of analog images! (More on that in a future post.)

The Lomography Gallery Store is more like a museum than a shop. Well, it is a museum that encourages you to pick things up and play. I touched almost every camera and accessory on the sales floor. It was lomo heaven!

Naturally, I couldn't leave without a new camera. I was happy to grab the Diana Baby 110, the tiniest of all the Lomography cameras! I also grabbed two 110 film cartridges to do some outside photo shooting in Soho!

I spent hours in Soho and the Financial District today, shooting 35mm and 110 film like I did when I was a kid. I can't wait to see the results!

My obligatory New Year's resolution post

It is here. Well, almost. In less than an hour it will be 2013 on the East Coast. And, not being a party animal at all, I am in the FamCave, at my desk, writing this blog. I actually bought cheap champagne to make mimosas at midnight, but who am I kidding? I will surely be asleep by 11:55.

Before I crash for the night, I will publicly commit to a New Year's resolution. I usually don't make resolutions because I have the attention span of a gnat and forget them within days of the new year. But this year I am determined to give this a try. So here goes...

I have this idea. And it is actually a good one because it will motivate me and keep me focused throughout the coming year. I am pledging to create something new every day in 2013.

What does this mean? To encourage my own creativity and challenge myself to learn new skills, I am defining this broadly, to include crafting, designing, writing, and generally making anything new. My goal is to take on new crafting projects, continue my technical and marketing copy writing work, and even take on a little creative writing to stretch myself artistically. A recent Pinterest convert, I have been pinning like crazy, making lists of creative sources of inspiration in 2013. I am starting the new year with a modest list of projects, including these:

Crocheting - I learned to knit and crochet when I was a kid, and now my daughter has inspired me to relearn and expand my knowledge of all things yarn. I am collecting patterns and tutorials on Pinterest and have big plans for this year!

Making Amurigumi Animals - I have loved these cute little yarn creatures for years, but 2013 will be the Year of the Knit Creature for me! Stay tuned!

Expanding my photography hobby, including digital photography and crazy, artsy, lomo photography

Learning to create beaded and wire jewelry - This just looks like so much fun, and I want to create the kinds of beautiful pieces I admire on Etsy.

Encouraging my daughter's film making efforts because she is awesome and talented and I know she will continue to create amazing things!

Writing this blog - I am taking a blog design course and plan to set aside time each day to code, design, research, and learn as I develop this blog into something you will want to read every day.

And there is much more I plan to do this year, so watch this space!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2013 is a blessed and wonderful year for all of you!

Fun with Jelly Lenses, Pt. 2

Now that I've finally figured out how to manage my fun little Jelly Lenses, I am ready to discover how they can enhance my Android-phoneography experience. I decided to start with a simple series of comparison shots to understand how each lens changes the look of my camera phone photos. Some lens effects were fun, some were crap, and others did not appear to make any difference at all. Have a look...

I started with a photo taken with the default camera app on my Android Hero HTC 4G at 8M:

The first Jelly Lens I tried was the Soft Focus. It definitely gave me a soft focus but also sacrificed some of the quality I expect from my phone lens.

Disappointed, I switched to the Vignette lens, which not only did not give me a nice vignette effect, but also degraded the image quality.

The Wide Angle lens was the first Jelly Lens to give me a noticeable effect, so this one is probably a keeper.

Encouraged, I tried the 3 Mirage lens, and I was rather pleased with the results. I have a lens filter for my Holga that gives me a similar effect.

I had doubts about the next lens, called "Polorization" on the package. I am pretty sure they meant to say "Polarization," but who knows? This lens didn't give me anything I will be able to use in my camera phone journey.

The Close-up lens really surprised me. It allowed me to focus on tiny details in the subject flowers and was much better than I expected. This will become part of my phoneography kit!

I loved the filter effect I got with the Antique lens! Of course, I could easily achieve this effect or something similar with almost any phone app.

Finally, I was pretty thrilled with the Star lens and its crazy blue filter. Again, it wouldn't be hard to achieve this effect via software, but it wasn't a total disappointment.

I was disappointed to discover that, although these lenses are touted as being able to adhere to the camera phone lens, the design made it difficult for me to make these lenses stick to my phone. In fact, I had some "mistake" photos taken when the lens fell off my phone in mid-shot.

We paid about $12 for these 8 lenses, and they are worth about that much. You can find Jelly Lenses on some of my favorite toy camera and photography accessory sites, but they generally charge $4 to $6 each for similar lenses. We found these on ebay and purchased them from an overseas vendor. We waited 3 weeks for delivery, so there was definitely a trade-off for the lower price.

I plan to carry the wide angle, close-up, star, and antique lenses on Android-phoneography adventures, and I consider the $12 money well spent.

I would love to hear from readers about alternative phone lens options that have worked for them, so feel free to comment below!

Happiness is an awesome workspace

It has been years since I worked full time, away from home, in an actual office, but some of my earliest workspace comfort habits persist. I think we all have a ritual to prepare ourselves for the workday. For me, it was always important to have a hot cup of coffee at the ready as I checked my email and browsed my favorite news sites. It focused me. Not much has changed in the intervening years, except now the coffee is decaf and I check Facebook first. Having more recently worked in a classroom environment, I haven't had an actual office or desk for years. I've been on my feet and engaged with kids in a wonderful and positive way.

But work circumstances change, and I was forced to reinvent my work persona after a layoff earlier this year. We discovered that I had the luxury of flexibility to create my own work, and I spent the last six months developing my own business opportunities and structuring our living space to accommodate my new ventures. (More on those in a future post.) It has been fun! I love to nest, and work-nesting is really something!

As you can see, I still have my coffee, outfitted in a cool Dunkin Donuts mug (I have a collection now). This aerial view was achieved by standing on my cushion-y desk chair in a way that was probably unsafe, but necessary, I assure you. My favorite computers are poised and ready to work, with a new iPad on hand just in case. My desk is covered in gadgets and toys. After all, who says work can't be fun?

My awesome best friend and love of my life, Jesse, hung my uke and baby banjo on the wall for inspiration. I can barely play either, but having them looking down on me every day is bound to guilt me into practicing. We recently built an inspiring collection of Lomography cameras and Jesse gave them a display shelf. I have found that having things in front of me and ready to use increases the chances that I will actually use them.

I couldn't function without my shiny MacBook Pro. This is my third MacBook, purchased last fall after the Great Iced Tea Disaster of 2011 destroyed its predecessor. I do almost everything on this wonderful machine! I love that a laptop makes every room a potential workspace! I am running OS 10.7.5 and recently started exploring new productivity tools in the Mac App store. I also have a red HP laptop, but it just sleeps on my desk and angers me when I am occasionally forced to use it.

I have tons of computer-based organizational and note-taking tools, but I still think best when I have everything on the wall in front of me, organized with brightly-colored sticky notes. I am using the memo board in the background to sketch plans for this blog.

Squeeze is my favorite band of EVER. I got this poster on a recent tour, after which I probably stalked the band for hours. I love having a reminder of all the fun I have following my favorite musicians. It gives me something to work for!

Music has always been an incredibly important part of my workday. When I was a teacher, I used music to help my students learn math. When I worked in nonprofit development, I always had a stereo in my office. For years, I worked to the accompaniment of the University of Pennsylvania's WXPN. These days, I alternate between Sirius/XM radio, Radio Paradise, and a bunch of fun online radio stations (including XPN). All of these great sources of music are made better by our seriously awesome stereo! Regard the gorgeous Vestax turntable that frequently spins my vinyl collection. Music is absolutely necessary as I build my business and find my rhythm as a writer and creator.

This is where I get to spend my workdays. I honestly don't think life can get any better than this!

The unifying theme in my life is happiness

For weeks I have been pondering whether to start a new blog to tie together my work and personal interests. Being an eclectic person with interests all over the place, I was unable to find a unifying theme. This morning, while enjoying my coffee and listening to Radio Paradise, I hit on an idea that just seemed to encapsulate my mood over the past few months - Happiness.

Yeah, I know it's corny. Extremely corny. But that is ok, because it is true. Everything I do today - my freelance work as a content creator with Lion Tutors, selling personalized purses and bags as an Independent Consultant, and experimenting with photography - is tied to, and contributes to, my happiness. The people I see every day - especially my precious daughter and my beautiful partner in crime, Jesse, are the reasons for my happiness. And this over-the-top sense of being HAPPY motivates me to work, love, live, and create in this crazy world.

So it is settled. I christen this blog Enjoying the Happy. And herein you will find nifty tips and tricks to harness your own happy. Because why should I have all the fun? How is that for corny? I think it works.