Simple.

Simple (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid 600 black & white *expired 2003*

Signed print in my Etsy shop.

Concordia Cemetery

Although I haven't explored one lately, cemeteries are some of my favorite photographic subjects. I've visited several beautiful cemeteries over the years, but there is one in particular that really stands out to me. It is Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas. This graveyard is rich in historical significance; however, what really appeals to me about Concordia is the amazingly vernacular sensibility of the place. Many--perhaps most--of the graves are handmade, usually by the families of the deceased, rather than by memorial professions. It is a cemetery of the poor as well as some of the most famous people in El Paso's storied past, and this really shows in the grave markers. It is a cemetery dropped into a brutal landscape--a punishing desert rich with snakes, scorpions, prairie dogs, birds of prey, squirrels, lizards, fire ants, and other creatures. It also has a history of crime; my husband (an El Pasoan) has always warned me about Concordia's violence, not only in the night, but sometimes in the day as well. Most of all, though, if you're shooting in Concordia, you need to beware of the sun. Even on a day that doesn't seem too hot outside the walls of the cemetery, inside Concordia you can succumb to heat exhaustion--or worse--very quickly.

I first shot a lot of photos in the cemetery back in 2005 when I had just got my first SLR, a digital Olympus e-300 (which I still have; it's a great starter camera). You can see those photos here and here. This is my favorite grave at the cemetery, and my favorite photo from that summer of taking photos in Concordia:


Guadalupe of Concordia (2005)

However, this past August I was able to go back to Concordia to take some photos with some Polaroid cameras. I am excited about these images, because they seem to evoke the haunting pain and beauty of this brutal place.


The Concordia Polaroids (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Artistic TZ
view larger here


Concordia, Beautiful (2009)
Camera: Polaroid 104
Film: Polaroid UV/ID (expired)


The Chocolate Graveyard (2009)
Camera: Holgaroid
Film: Polaroid Choco80

Concordia is a place of desecration and crime, but also of love and honor. It's my favorite cemetery I've ever visited; I can't imagine a place that so perfectly mingles loss and sadness with beauty and hope. If you are ever in El Paso, you should visit Concordia Cemetery.

Circus Liquor

Anyone who has a casual acquaintance with my photography knows that I love to take pictures of signs, particularly of the retro neon variety. One of my favorite signs I've ever seen is the classic Circus Liquor Sign in North Hollywood. This was the sign under which Alicia Silverstone's "Cher" character was mugged in the film Clueless, and it's one of the best examples of mid-century neon I've ever seen. I was lucky enough to shoot some photos of it in August, and these two are my favorites.

Probably my last-ever Time-Zero photograph:


Circus Liquor (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Time-Zero (expired)


North Hollywood's Circus Liquor (2009)
Camera: Polaroid 104
Film: Polaroid UV/ID (expired)

Signed prints available in my Etsy shop!

A New Mexican Sky

There is nothing like the sky in New Mexico! It's always so big and so breathtaking!


A New Mexican Sky (2009)
Camera: Polaroid SX-70
Film: Polaroid Artistic TZ

Horses Need Motels, too!

Happy Tracks Horse Motel (2009)
Camera: Polaroid Spectra
Film: Polaroid Spectra (expired)
Location: Near Amarillo, Texas, USA

The Grand Canyon, Part I

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? I went for the first time this summer, and its vastness and beauty was truly humbling! Until my analogue photos are all scanned, here are a few digital photos for you...


Grand Canyon at Desert View


The Grand Canyon at Pima Point


The Grand Canyon (in shades of...)

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150

Many more to come! You can see a few of the many Polaroids I shot in my Flickr...

Fun at the Fair!

Recently, the local fair was in town, so I just HAD to go out and get some photos! I've been enjoying shooting Polaroid 600 film in my SX-70 camera, too. Although the film is too fast for the camera and an ND Filter is recommended, I've been enjoying shooting without one, just to see what comes of the colors. I really like the faded-out feeling!


SPIN!


Butterfly Fries
I wish I had a dress in these colors!


The Wave Swinger


Starship 2000

Signed prints are in my Etsy! Thanks for looking!

Peak-A-Boo!

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!

Hollywood

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*

UPDATE: Sold my Rolleiflex T1

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)