skip to main |
skip to sidebar
On my drive back home during my recent summertime roadtrip, I stopped at a roadside rest stop in southern Arizona, to take a photo of the beautiful Saguaro cacti that were sprouting up everywhere. Because I know that the desert has all kinds of poisonous snakes and insects, I looked carefully and thought I didn't see any. However, I apparently didn't look carefully enough, because this creature suddenly stood up, hissed, and rattled at me when I got close to him, on my approach toward a cactus!
Mojave Rattlesnake (detail) (2009)
Location: Sacaton, Arizona
Camera: Olympus e-300 Digital SLR
EEEEK!!! I jumped and shrieked, then went back to my car to get the longest-lens camera I had on me. It was only 150mm, but it did the trick and I got the above photo! He was already curled back up, but that was fine by me! I have since learned that this was a Mojave Rattlesnake, and that they are the most venomous rattler in North America!
Needless to say, I did NOT get my Saguaro Polaroid photo at that stop! I kept driving, and eventually, by the time I got to the lovely Picacho Peak turnoff, I felt secure enough to try again. This is my resulting diptych, taken safely from the paved road!
Picacho Peak (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Artistic TZ
click here to see it larger
Moral of this story? Don't assume there are no poisonous creatures near you in the desert, just because you cannot see them! Fortunately, rattlesnakes give you a loud warning!
My heart goes out to everyone in my home state of California dealing with horrible fires, including the Station Fire, which is, apparently, the biggest wildfire in Los Angeles in over 100 years.
I was in LA a few weeks ago, and I shot the remains of my last pack of Time-Zero film. I have had several "last packs"--packs I thought were my last, only to be blessed by kind souls who keep giving me more! However, I'm pretty sure this really was my last pack, RIP. In any case, this is my second-to-last Time-Zero shot. I've named it after the place where I shot it. I wish it didn't remind me of the current fires; I think of it more as an elegy to lost hopes, coupled with a smog-drenched sunset. Hollywood is, after all, a pretty nasty place, but it continues to draw us, moths to flame...
Hollywood (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Time-Zero *expired*
Thanks so much to everyone who inquired about my Rolleiflex T1. It is now with a new owner, who I hope will love it!
My Rolleiflex T1 (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid 600 Black & White (expired)
Sometimes you meet a star, and you don't even know it! In February 2008, I traveled to the beautiful city of Lisbon (Lisboa) in Portugal, and I took this photo of a dog in his window:
Doggie in the Window II (2008)
Camera: Lomo LC-A
Film: Kodak Ektachrome/Cross Processed
Well, imagine my delight when I discovered this fun photo of the same dog, in the same window, while glancing through Flickr's Explore this morning!
.
Originally uploaded by whateveryou...
Click the photo to visit the page and see the photo larger!
I love him!!! I hope he's still there if I am ever lucky enough to visit that beautiful city again!
Oh Summer, you're fun and all, but here in Tejas, you're just too darn hot! Please, please, consider leaving us for the next 9 months or so...it's not that we don't ever want to see you again, but it's just that you're SO fun, we can't bear you all the time!
Shade (2007)
Location: Dead Sea, Jordan
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Time-Zero
While I was on my three-week road trip that I mentioned in my previous post, I spent some time looking through old family photos, some of which I had never seen. One of the exciting discoveries was a stash of old roll Polaroid photos that my granddad had taken in the 1950s! I had never seen them, and not only are they beautiful family treasures, but I loved seeing old roll Polaroids for the first time in person!
This is the beginning of a series I'll present, while I'm busy scanning a myriad of images from my trip.
These two are photos of my beloved maternal grandmother, Hazel, taken by Herbert Carpenter in 1956--I love the dramatic lighting and offset poses!
More to come!
Hello! I'm sorry for my extended silence here on my little blog, but I have a good excuse! I went on a three-week road trip! I traveled from Texas to California and back, taking different routes each way, visiting family and friends, taking loads of photos, and enjoying some summer fun before the new academic year begins! I've got scads of Polaroids to scan, many digital photos to edit, and lots of film pictures to develop, so I imagine I'll be posting images here from the trip for some time!
To begin, I'd like to share a photo that I'm very proud of, which I took in Holbrook, Arizona along the old Route 66, that famed road of the American Imagination. This is one of only three wigwam-style motels left operating in the USA, and arguably the most fabulous! I definitely want to go back and stay there one day!
The Wigwam Motel (2009)
Camera: Holgaroid
Film: Polaroid 89 (expired)
Signed prints are in my Etsy shop! Stay tuned for more photos from the American Southwest and California!
I always try to keep at least one camera on me at all times, because invariably, if I don't have one, I'll find a photo opportunity! Still, there have been a few times in the recent past when I've stumbled upon something wonderful and only had my phone camera! Fortunately, the camera in my G1 Android phone is pretty nice for moments like this. Here are three of my favorite PhoneCam images.
This one begged me--a lover of all cool signs!--to take its photo! I was impressed with the sharp quality and vibrant neon colors of this little Googlephone Photo.
Sigel's Liquor and Beer (2009)
Location: Addison, Texas
This one comes from a random encounter on campus. I walked up to the priest and said, "May I please take your photo?" He said, "Why you would want to, I don't know, but ok!" Why would I want to!?!?!? Are you serious?
Talk to a Catholic Priest (2009)
Location: University of North Texas
This is my terrier, Orson. He is hard to photograph, so even a decent cell phone picture makes me very happy! I LOVE HIM!
My Little Boyfriend (2009)
Location: On the furniture!
Even if you only have your cell phone at hand, get out there and shoot the world around you!
Today I went to Fort Worth, and what did I find? A rare creature...the iconic Jackalope! It was an extremely hot day, but that didn't seem to deter this mighty animal (not quite a rabbit and not quite an antelope) from surveying his terrain! I just had to share these images right away...it's not every day you can get a Jackalope to pose for a photo!
The Elusive Jackalope
Turn Left Here
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Artistic TZ
signed prints in my Etsy!
My whippet, Laika, loves to sunbathe! She loves the heat so much that I have to monitor her when it's hot, to be sure she doesn't get burned! Here she is earlier this weekend, enjoying the 100+F heat of Texas in the summer!
Laika, 3 July 2009
Camera: Diana+ Edelweiss with a Fujifilm Instax Mini Back
Film: Fujifilm Instax Mini
And here's a secret special for you! From now until Friday, 10 July 2009, buy anything from my shop, mention "blog!" at checkout, and I'll refund your shipping!
