We won't be fooled again

Being forced to stay indoors the past few weeks, I'm starting to "get to know" the light in our new place and this corner is one of my favorites between 11 and 1 in the afternoon. This is good since we are pulling out all of the science to help fuel the Hate against winter. That's right. We are declaring Winter an insidious form of Evil that we will no longer tolerate quietly.

So consider this our manifesto: We, the people of Chez Smith, are officially sick of you Winter.


[/end]

A bridge too far

A bridge too far, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

The need for a trial run on a new (to me) camera beat out the need to avoid a red air quality day...
I'm the Bad Dad.
My excuse is stupidity.

Sorry or Please

, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

I'm just getting to the huge backlog of photos I've had building since the first part of December. Add to that, Heidi has been sick for the past week and I've been helping someone else learn to develop film and I'm just not posting as much these days (kind of missed a whole month there in December, which we've only done a few times in the past three and a half years). Although, I'm taking photos again, so that's fun.
Polaroids. More Polaroids.

Escape is so simple

, originally uploaded by mothslayer.


And if you're into Polaroid stuff... there's good news on the horizon!
[LINK]

Casiotone for the painfully alone

... We are alive - barely!
Have been busily bustin' our tails to get the reno done on our new place (yeah, right!), then said "to hooey with that" and moved in a week and a half before Christmas. Christmas. Crazimas. New Years. Yay!
And the boys turned three.
More to come. Hope the holidays found you well.
Happy New Year!

Heidi, Marcus, Ian, Mike

Ghost of Noir Recessions' Past

I've been going through some older photos trying to remember what it's like to use a camera... and I found this little gem on the cutting room floor. You want a little insider information on blogging? It's all outtakes, people.

Given certain national/world economies, I thought Ian's badge of capitalist pride and expression rather prophetic. He's like the creepy kid from one of those demon child horror movies - and this one is wearing the mark of the beast!
Mwahahahaaa!

Truly...

They're all wondering what I'm doing holding a $30 camera with a plastic lens. Actually, a lot of people wonder that.

Kids Rock: Reason #17

This is the look that Marcus gives when he's imitating me. Seriously. Kids are shameless. Where's the respect?
I'm your father! You better shape up, kid, or I'll subtitle all of your photos with self-gratifying ego pumping slogans.
Right.
That's better.

Visiting with Piper

Shooting Guns

Don't touch him, don't touch him. Stay away from him, he's got a gun...
Watch your wife.

On the doorstep

More HERE

The Future is in the palm of your hand

The Future is in the palm of your hand, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can."

Happy Halloween!

Click image for larger view.

Ian, Man of Steel & Bat-Marcus.
POW!

Bronica SQ-A :: Polaroid back | FP-100C

Art Nouveau meets Action Star

She's some kinda heavy hitter. Arrives on time and leaves the place in ruins.

All aces.
So you know.
_ _ _

On the case

On the case, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

So, I got another Bronica med format camera so I could make some mods/upgrades to mine. This shot was from a test run of the new system so that I, like Solomon, could make the proper decision.

Here is Heidi, and from the look of it, she's getting ready to lay the flippin' smack on somebody. I recognize the look. This time it wasn't for me, but it won't be long before that jaw clenches because of something I did.

Here's to the future!

**I will be selling a fully functional (I don't want to say "leftovers" cause I'm a born salesman) Bronica SQ-A with a prism and a 120 back SOON for anyone interested in a really cool camera**

The evening redness

, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

There may be even more to come from this series...

Little treasures

This photo is one of the survivors from a roll that met with an unfortunate accident named Mike. Because of this and the ensuing frustration, it had been literally sitting in a basement locker for the past several months undeveloped. So, when Friday night came along and I was full of self-hate and felt the urge to satisfy the beckon call of masochism, we ventured back into the dark. However, this time I had the blessing of a zen master and thus was able to overcome.

Hence, this little treasure of Marcus catching some of the evening sun was born.

The moral of the story: face your demons. But do it in the dark otherwise it could get messy.


. . . . .
Olympus OM-1 | Neopan SS black & white film scanned as color
. . . . .

Honey child what can I do?

. . .

...And in color

So I had Heidi buy a pack of this crappy fuji x-tra film at costco the other day because it was so cheap they were practically paying us to take it.

Hence, the color.

I'll try and make up for it with another three months of black & whites.

Excerpt:

"Like all modern intertextualists, and being a critical studies dork, Mike has moment of artistic crisis when he suddenly comes to the realization that he's shot several rolls of photographs of people taking photographs of other people."
.

Say...

Ian was on a serious post-nap high. For about forty minutes he was all over the place, hollering, and pulling faces. Armed with nothing short of a bag full of cameras, we exploited his cheer with the most sincere intentions.

1/60 f9: Heidi in action

Left-eye dominance. What a drag.
More to come from our little "lets not work on the house and just take pictures" photo session.

What she really thinks

Attitude. She's got it. Keeps me in line.

Mad Men

A little bit of hangin'. A little bit of pontificating. The women showed up later with the beer and cigars.

Oh, and note the cool Peter Pan skyline mural that Kirk painted on the wall!

. . . . . . . . . . .

Technical note: These are good examples of what happens when you go against the recommendations of film manufacturers, developers, and pretty much 100% of the people on the internet and push a film that's not meant to be pushed... Grain Fest, baby!

________

Automatic Stop

So, it must be Saturday (or the end thereof). Saturday is the new Monday. Either way, I'm here and you're there - somewhere (we're all still a bit fuzzy about the details of this). I'm jamming to The Strokes and getting the feeling that those guys have the worst luck with the girls. I hope that, whilst you enjoy the sort of detached out-of-body (they call it virtual, Mike) stealth that the web allows, you're listening to something just as inspiring.

"The point?" you ask.

I will tell you. Marcus and Ian seem to be having a whole bunch of fun here, sitting on the steps while being blasted in the side of the head by a speedlight. And yet, there's an element of chaos here. It's like they are also aware of this existential crisis of skimming virtual insights from the internet. And, while they don't seem to care about the darkness that is surrounding them, the ambiguity is still there. It's like sitting in a movie theatre where the images are flashed on the screen at a rate of twenty-four frames per second. Information travels to you as light passes through each frame (24 times a second), but in between is a moment of darkness. When you think about it, that's a lot of time in the dark...

The photo is making more sense isnt' it?

Now you're wishing you had something sweet to listen to. Kind of like The Strokes.

________

Saturday's gone

The little guys love their slide.

What really seems to try their patience is the guy with the big brick-of-a-camera looming over them as they are trying to get their rhythm on. If you asked them, I'm confident that they would tell you that guy should climb in a well. And get out of the crappin' way. Move out. Shove off. There's sliding to be slid.

Until it gets late and we have to go in.

_

Viva la Grain Fest!

*, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

The actual positive from this Polaroid type print was hardly as wicked as the salvaged goopy negative.

The Legend lives on!

Bronica SQ-A w/Polaroid back | Fuji FP-3000B high-speed instant film

there was magic, then

Look for the 180 gram vinyl in your high street record shops.
Shoe-gazers unite!
______

William, in color!

Film photography is weird. Just ask William. But, if you really want to impress the kids, whip out your Polaroid back (because it's just wasting space in your bag) and explain the goopy business of peel-apart instant film! Your place is sure to turn into an outright circus. They'll ask you to do it again and again. If you're smart, you'll listen to them.

This photo is the lucky result of a patient subject and Aaron's lighting wizardry (I just showed up to pull the trigger and smear the goop). As always, I should have taken way more than I did. Listen to the kids, Mike. Listen to the kids.

Bronica SQ-A w/Polaroid back : 1/125, f/11 | Fuji instant film FP-100c | Alien B800

Ooo, wrapped rectangles!

For all ya'll who aren't booky people, in our home this is the preferred shape of birthday presents (i.e. squarish, medium-to-large size, usually of solid build).
Nerdy, but so hip.

Head like a bucket

Marcus has a thing for hats... and buckets, apparently.

All hands against his own

Party Patrol

One of my all-time favorite shirts. Below the letters is a group of people strolling the beach wearing chemical warfare suits.
Total party.

Grain Fest oh eIGht

It could be a living gallery, the obsession of a madman, or just a freak of nature. But my intuition tells me it's some kind of riding dirtay raw grainy scratched dusty distorted depth of field insanity big pimpin' film type stuff. Buckle up killaz, 'cause this fizzle rides tonight!

The recycle bin may be full, but there's plenty of space on the blog.
Stay tOOned...

And you were laughing at my helmet head...

They love to ride and they love their helmets.

Seriously, so brilliant!

Since we just love our awesome life and have SO much that is super FUN and just awesome, we'll share one of the FUNniest things we've come across lately:
Seriously, so blessed!

If you have time and retinas to burn, you've definitely gotta click through. You know these people. You may have even gone to business/dental/law school with them. Trust me.

... and she would be sleepy

, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

I wish I got sky miles for every photo of this couch!

Lounge Lizards

Lounge Lizards, originally uploaded by mothslayer.

...

Tabasco Kid

... Speaking of Tabasco, if you haven't tried their garlic marinade, then you really haven't begun to live a life of joy. I also recommend the new chipotle salsa, sweet 'n hot pickles, and the sweet & spicy sauce.

The Imitation of Life

I've got quite a collection of photos similar to this one ^^ with Marcus imitating me taking his picture. Now they even go so far as to say "Look at daddy" while I'm shooting.

Ian with his "I'm so bored with you" expression. I get this a lot.

____

Wish you were here

The hesitation that Ian seems to have in this one reminded me of the sinister undertones on the Pink Floyd album cover for Wish you were here. He wasn't in the mood to shake hands and was pretty much done with fire, so this is what was left.