New Project....A Taster.....

Well, this week i have been struck down with feeling rather under the weather, but it hasn't stopped any photography progress.  In fact, things are almost snowballing!

Maybe not quite image making, but ideas and creativity have been rather keen to make themselves shown the past week.

To make this a quick update and just a hint of the project ahead....I'll explain it simply.

1. Found a bunch of old negatives slides that belonged to my Grandfather two years ago.  Chances are they haven't been looked since many years before he died.  Unfortunately, there was no slide projector in sight.

2. I visited a bootsale on the off chance of picking up some decor for my new photography studio when I stumbled upon a lovely vintage slide projector!

The man selling it was quite old but to my surprise, didn't actually know what it was.  I paid £7 for it and got the carrying case with that too.  Bargain.  Felt like it was meant to be.

A lovely find

3. On my way home, I couldn't wait to get to a power socket to try the thing out, but I remembered to stop at an old abandoned house on the way home.

I wanted to stop at the house as I had been here easily 10 times before and knew there were some nice vintage signs left getting dusty.  It seemed a sin for them to sit there any longer!

So, i went to the house and one of the garage doors was open.  It had always been closed before.  Curiousity got the better of me and I took a peak inside.

It was a pretty normal garage.  The usual bits and pieces left behind getting rusty and a wide range of creepy crawlies had set up camp.  Nothing that exciting.  I quick scan around I found a few letters, mostly dated 1970.  It was nice to be able to put rough time and a possible name to the person who lived there.

I had photographed two hats that were left on a shelf over a year ago and had always wondered who they may have once belonged too.

Aside that, I turned around and sitting, looking right at me (no, not a spider) but a rotary slide tray for negative projectors!  I couldn't believe it and instantly was intrigued.

I thought about it for a few minutes then picked up the box and opened it.  It was like new under the layer of dirt.

Upon opening the box I saw that every gap in the holder was filled.  It contained photographs!  I could hardly contain my excitement as I just LOVE old images and the mystery that lies behind them, especially in this case.  

4. I made the decision (which probably upon reflection, was not the right thing to do) to take the slide holder.........

My inspiration to a new project.

 

The rest is to follow :)

However, it will be similar to my last previous project "Then & Now" - Check my website for info:

http://www.suzitaylorphotography.com/#!__suzi-taylor-photography---home/projects

Bootsale Camera 2: The Halina 3000

Been a while since I have done one of these little reports, so thought I would update today with one!

Went to the local town today and the Fairground has returned for it's 'Summer Trading' - If you can call it summer.

If you want to check out some photographs of the fair, check out my account on the brilliantly fun  Instagram (for those using an iPod, iPhone or other Mac devices)

Search: Suzi_nyc

and you will be able to follow my image uploads there :)

Or, if you are using a desktop to browse, visit: http://ink361.com/

Back to the Halina 3000......

It was a rather overcast day, and I was using ISO 400 film to take a few images of streets and shops whilst walking. 

Just a quick roll of film to test the cameras abilities.

I shot on the following settings:

Shutter speed: 1/125

F: 8

The camera was a Halina 3000, a Hong Kong made, compact camera for 35mm film.

Check out more info on the wonderful Camerapedia .

Here is my Halina 3000, it cost me a whopping £1

The results were mixed as halfway through the film, when I wound on to the next part of the negative it sounded as though the teeth on the wheel weren't quite catching the film correctly.

I did however result in some nice abstract looking double exposures.  So not all bad!

Here are the images for those who are fans of Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzitaylorphotography/sets/72157630390107134/ 

Feel free to leave you comments or add, I am only too happy to check out what others in the photography world are up to!

Old Photographs

So!  After unearthing a lot of old photographs, (and I mean a lot) - I have decided to do a post every few days of one of the old photographs.

I'm one of these photographers that is constantly fascinated and amazed at old photographs.  They always leave me wondering.
Who the people were, why they were their, where are they now, are they alive, are they dead, who was standing behind the camera, what was their reasons?
All the questions and chances of getting an answer often, very slim!


So, with that, here is the first image :)  Martin Parr - Eat your heart out!

I love the vibrant colors in the image, the curtains, the shirts, along with the ice-cream and the lady eating it.
It's has classic, Martin Parr written all over it.
Snapshot, color photography.  Showing part of society frozen in time.

I hope that these entertaining and intrigue you as much as it does to I!

Lengthly postings have been slow lately (and I apologize) as I have been busy working on several projects at once and will be doing so until May.  BUT, I will keep you updated and hopefully get a lesson of sorts up after all the hard work is done.

Until then, enjoy some of this vintage imagery! 

Bootsale Camera - IDEAL COLOUR 35

Hi guys,

I just got my first film developed from this lovely little hand held 35mm German camera.  So, I thought I would post a few of the results and give you a bit of insight to the gem.

The Ideal Color 35mm - Produced in the 1950's in Germany

I picked this sturdy, 35mm up at a car boot sale in Bangor, Co.Down one calm Sunday morning.  The sale wasn't that busy as this was December and it was rather cold by the sea in the morning never mind the rest of the time.
It set me back a whopping £5.00, after a haggle down from £10.  Thus, walking away feeling twice as good.  I was a camera up, and didn't feel as though I had been completely robbed blind.
A quick test saw that the shutter and aperture seemed to be working ok.  We all know there is nothing worse than picking up a broken camera, but you can't go far wrong with old 35mm.  Provided there are no light leaks into the body of the camera, the lens doesn't appear damaged and there's nothing suspicious rattling around inside, then you should be onto a winner.

Film is easily put into the camera - Only issue being, there's no window to show if your film is winding correctly. 

The film I used was a 35mm color Kodak ISO 400, 36exp that thankfully, since the apperance of Poundland in my local town, can be purchased for £1 a roll.  This has been a godsend, as before, ordering batches from e-bay and being constantly involved in bidding wars for cheap 35 mil film is never fun or on ones top priority list when it comes to fun.


I equipped myself with the camera for a day or two over a week and snapped away.  Some shots indoors, some outdoors, daytime, evening & some dimly lit indoor situations.

Club Mono Poster, Belfast City, Northern Ireland.  Taken on an overcast afternoon.

From using a lot of Lomography cameras out and about, I'm a bit out of the way of really taking time over my shots.  Lomography are a photographic society mad about analogue photography and mad in the technique of how their images are taken.  It's all about being spontaneous! - But more on the wonderful world of Lomography on a later post :)



I approached this first film with the 'point and shoot' method.  Mostly for the purpose of getting through a film to see if I had a working camera to add to the collection, or whether it was another e-bay listing for parts.

Stormtroopers & other random Sci-Fi happenings in Belfast City.  Very odd indeed!

The camera feels strong and well built in your hand.  If not, perhaps a little small to grip sometimes, even with my tiny hands!  Otherwise, it does feel rather nuke-proof as I throw it into my backpack, not having to worry about silly plastic attachments protruding and breaking off.

The underground crossing & it's graffiti.  Belfast City, Northern Ireland

The shutter speed is easy as pie to operate.  You are given a choice between 25, 50, 100 and B (for bulb, which is as long as you like)  The aperture operating the same way.  You have F16, 11, 8, 5.6, 4 and 3.5.

Shutter speed and aperture settings are quick and easy.

As I return back to Donaghadee, the winter evening is dim, and the lighting in my room is hardly worth mentioning.  Opening the aperture and moving shutter sppeed to 50 gave slightly blurred results, but they had some character none the less.  Which is the best thing about using this sort of vintage camera.  The element of surprise.

My room.  Picture, wall, flag & bass

I continued to remain snap happy over the next few days.  I headed into the recording studio at college where I used to study music to assist on a few recording sessions.  It was dimly lit for filming in the live room, and even darker in the editing room.

Setting up for a live session & podcast recording.  SERC college, Bangor, Co.Down

A very dim mixing desk and a few of the guys.  Would have said an ISO 800 would perform for this type of low light

Home again, it was time for a quick self-portrait mirror shot, as standard!  The lighting hardly wonderful here as it was the evening.

Self-portrait.  Ideal Color 35mm

Soon enough it was time to get the film developed.  Although I can process 35mm & 120mm myself, I unfortunately didn't have any chemicals for color processing handy at the time, so it was off to the photo lab in Bangor, and negatives are processed there and put onto disk for around £2.50, which is better than paying for a full set of prints!

I was super pleased to see results and the little German 1950's camera is locked and loaded again for use again soon.  Would be a lie to say I wasn't looking forward to it.

Would definitely recommend of of the great, reliable vintage cameras if you are looking something worthy of use, but not exactly a rare find, to add to your collection.

Getting ready to go to processing....it's the Roxy All star style today :)

If anyone is interested on more info on this camera, or any camera for that matter, I strongly recommend checking out 'Camerapedia' - It's part of Wikipedia, so as you can imagine, it's a hive of information, not all of it probably accurate, but a source at least!

Camerapedia's info on the Ideal Colour 35mm

Will post again soon, debating the idea of a bit of a learning topic for beginners and a bit of the history of photography too.....

Laters!

Hello everyone

This is just a first post to say hi and let you know what's going to go down here!

I have a bit more time on my hands now I am not working in retail anymore, so intend on devoting some of that lovely free time to a bit of blogging regarding photography & such.  Not forgetting some free time dedicated to lie ins and the odd photography project / assignment happening here and there.

I wont go on too long, but here I intend on writing about:
Analogue photography (that's right, good old film)
Digital photography (that's right, good old money saving option)
Lomography
Lighting techniques
Travel photography
Set ups & how I go about my different projects
Exhibitions and gallery reviews

and probably a bit of general chat about life in there too.

So, hope to have the first official post up this weekend.  If you like you are a keen photographer or even just have an interest in images, please feel free to follow or comment.  Check out a couple of my other sites and pass on the blog to anyone you feel may benefit or be interested in some of the work.

Anyway guys, have a great weekend and keep an eye out for the first article :)