film swap - learning as we go

now, with a big whopping two developed films under my belt, i feel that i can draw some conclusions about this film swap thing and how to make it work. i'm a quick learner, you see. (heehee.)

the film: the first film that shokoofeh developed was a fujichome sensia 400. it was slide film, and so we added another layer to the fun in cross-processing it in C41 chemicals for regular negative film (at least i think we did - shokoofeh had some trouble finding a lab willing to do that). the film shokoofeh sent to me and which my photo lab man lost for nearly a month was a regular fuji 200 negative film. it was developed normally (aside from the losing it). and i think that worked out better.

the ISO:  the film swap people (aka that film swap flickr group) recommend that the person taking the first round on the roll doubles the ISO setting on the camera - so if you have a 400 film, you should tell your camera it's an 800. after these two rolls, my opinion is that that doesn't really work. we're going to try a roll where we've set the ISO to the correct setting and see how that goes.

the light: the shots that worked best seemed to be when they were taken in light conditions that were a bit too dark for the ISO settings. for example, this shot, where the light was good and moreover correct for the settings, shokoofeh's shot is pretty much obscured. then, there were these shots, where the light of the second picture, while obscuring somehow the first one, also brought it out at one and the same time.

half frames: i don't have any theories yet as to what makes one set lined up and one set off alignment, so that the second shots are all half frames on the first ones. one of these ended up with some half frames and some not - it must have something to do with how the films advanced along the way.


the camera: i used a canon AE-1 program to take my shots. and shokoofeh used an olympus OM-1. i don't think the camera matters, tho' perhaps the frames are more reliably lined up if you use the same kind of camera, due to differences in how they advance the film. my sister and i are going to do a film swap and we'll both be using the canon AE-1s, so i'll have more data after that.

the magic: we had a couple of shots on both rolls, where it seemed to be a triple exposure. i don't know if this is because one or the other of us failed to advance a frame or if something else happened, but it was rather magical. other than that, i think the magic is in the serendipitous and completely unpredictable layering of the shots. the magic is just there and you don't have much control of it.

the serendipity: sometimes, the two shots have a similar subject matter, tho' neither photographer could know it at the moment of taking the photo. and it's those times when it seems like the image is as close as you can get to two souls touching.

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ulrika blogged about our photos..please check it out! and thank you, ulrika!

pure creative potential: film swap

on the flickr blog the other day (thank you flickr front page), i learned of a flickr group called "film swap." people shoot a roll of film in their analog camera, leave the tail sticking out then swap with someone else and double expose the roll - two different photographers, two different sets of eyes, many different subjects, preferably two distant locations. once i read about that, i knew i had to try it. so i loaded up my old canon AE-1 program and asked if anyone in the blog camp 365 group would like to do a little film swap with me.

the film swappers in the big film swap group are pretty advanced and into lomography, and naturally so am i (stop snickering there in the back), so i loaded it up with expired (in 2007) fujichrome sensia 400 so we could cross-process it in the C-41 chemicals in the end.

so basically it's got like this mind-blowing exponential creative potential going on. slide film, negative chemicals, analog cameras, two different photographers in two vastly different locations, expired film, and double exposures. one photographer's eye imposed on another. i'm so excited about this i can hardly contain myself.

and i'm hopping up and down happy that the lovely shokoofeh of a new simple something fame is who i'll be swapping with on this first attempt! she has the most amazing, artistic eye and that alone is mind-boggling. but for me, the whole notion of views of iran layered on views of denmark and vice versa adds so many layers of meaning to the creative potential that it very nearly takes my breath away. i feel like an entirely new topography will open up and you know how much i love topographies!

i've finished my first film and just loaded a second one. i made some mistakes with the first...i didn't set it on double the ISO as i should have, which may mean that shokoofeh's pictures don't shine through as much as they should. i was also so worried about losing the tail of the film when i rewound that i opened the camera a little bit early and spoiled the first 5 or 6 exposures. but hey, i learned two things and i won't make those mistakes again. and so i'm sure this second roll will be even better. i think i'll send both to shokoofeh. i really can't wait to see how this turns out.

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psst. for those of you who sew and quilt and aren't so into photography, there's a very cool new project here. i'm going to be doing it as well. after all, sometimes one should use the stash and not just stash the stash.

cameras have to earn their keep

i already showed this camera on flickr, but i realized i hadn't really written about it. i got it in an awesome little antique mall in tea, south dakota on our holiday. it's so cute with its brown bakelite body, i just couldn't resist it. and that flash, how cool is that? plus, it was only $12 and a couple of days later i saw the exact same one in worse shape for $53 in another antique mall, so it was also a steal. (either that or antique prices are totally arbitrary, which is undoubtedly the subject of another post.)

i have recently instituted a policy that all of the cameras around here need to earn their keep, so i began to scour eBay for some 127 film, which they stopped making in the mid-90s and which hardly anywhere processes anymore (i found a shop in CPH, don't worry). i decided it would be worth it to try it out. and although i loathe eBay for being incredibly amero-centric, i located, bid, sweated, bid some more, and finally won several rolls and they have arrived (i hereby thank the people of wisconsin for hoarding old film in their drawers).

the oldest ones expired in 1949 and the rest are from various dates in the 1960s. and i can't wait to try them out! this is going to be so much fun.

the first camera to have to earn its keep was my 1938 argus AF. i loaded it with 100ISO expired fujichrome film and snapped away in the garden. then, i had it cross processed (for those who might not remember, that means processing slide film in ordinary chemicals for negatives - it can produce some funky colors, especially with expired film). only a few of the photos turned out (i'm not sure why) - i did have some challenges in loading it and i actually broke the film trying to advance it (user error, not the camera).

i scanned the negatives in my photo scanner, but these are untouched otherwise, they're just as they came out of the camera.

i've got it loaded again and this time sabin took most of the roll. it's going to be interesting to see what happens. i can't help but think about all of the photos this camera has taken over the years and the scenes it has seen. and it also has a lovely bakelite body in a bit more of an art deco style (but i know from the serial number that it's from 1938).

all this talk about cameras has me thinking about some of the exciting things kristina and i are planning for across ø/öresund. stay turned for more on that. we've had a summer break and are going to be back soon with loads of new ideas and some really cool pictures from our first film swap film.

coming soon: an intersection between denmark and iran

coffee on møllebjergvej

remember that film swap i told you about lo so many months ago?  well, it took us awhile but the lovely shokoofeh has her films back from developing and mine should be back very soon. we'll be sharing our results and what we think about them both here and on shokoofeh's beautiful blog and in the film swap group on flickr.

i'm still pondering how to express how profound i think this project is, but in the meantime, have a cup of coffee with shokoofeh and me on my street....

intersections 3: everyday life and light

scenes of everyday life in two countries. cultures separated by miles and climate and even religion (tho' religion is absent here, unless it's a general worship of light). but the photos are full of serendipities and in their everyday subject matter seem to layer a sense of quiet peacefulness on one another. one wishes the geopolitical scene would learn from this...

these are from the second roll of film swap photos that shokoofeh and i took in the late summer and autumn. my camera shop nearly lost this film forever, as it got separated from the rest of my order. the tears pooling in my eyes made the disorganized owner look through his drawer an extra time. he finally found it, labeled with the wrong name, after i mentioned that it was double exposures. i will not be going back to vefa foto on kirkegade in vejle, i can tell you that. both because of that and because he charged me 30 kroner extra per film in comparison to what was written on the packet. i guess that was my special "tax" for speaking danish with a foreign accent.

but back to these photos...they were worth the wait, the extra money and the almost tears. i think this roll is even better than the first one. more on shokoofeh's photostream and her blog. and as shokoofeh mentioned there, if you blog about these photos on your own blog (which is fine with us), do let us know, as there just might be something special in it for you.  thus far, the ones we know about:

eating a tangerine

wayside violet

do let us know if you've blogged it too!

and we're back

new york city burning

after a long summer hiatus, kristina and i are back on across ø/öresund, sharing creativity across the sound separating denmark and sweden. we'll be posting highlights from the first roll from our summer film swap. i exposed a roll of expired slide film (oops, those pretenses again) in south dakota (or should i say sabin took most of the photos one evening when we had a bonfire) and then sent the roll to kristina in new york city. then kristina got it cross processed and here is the first of the results.

while of course the entire roll doesn't turn out as well as you might hope, there are some very cool and unexpected effects. kristina's camera rolled the film differently, so not only are they double exposures, but also half frames on top of my originals. i think it's especially effective on this shot of city streets.

be sure to stop by across ø/öresund in the next few days to see more. and do check out the interviews we did of one another. kristina's interview of me and mine of her.

we've got more fun planned over there, so keep checking it out. we'll definitely be getting up to photo fun at blog camp berlin in 10 days.

100 happy days :: day 61

i'll admit, 40 days of happy still stretch ahead of me and that seems like a lot. like really a lot. but then, tucked away in a box, when i was looking for something else, i ran across the film from my film swap with the lovely shokoofeh. so i put it on the scanner and scanned at higher dpi rate (that takes a long time, by the way) so that i could have this photo printed in a larger format for our upcoming spring exhibition. our theme is reflections and although this is an alternative interpretation of that, i think the double exposure of denmark layered on iran is beautiful and deep and ponderable. the light, the objects, the dreamy quality, all give pause for reflection. and for a moment of happiness.

intersections 4: magic on film

you may have noticed that i am quite an immediate sort of person. the photos i use here are usually taken on the day i post them (tho' my clarity birds from a couple of days ago were taken last summer).  i have a bad habit of not really looking back, even in my iPhoto. which means that i completely forgot that i hadn't shared all of the wonderful photos from the second roll of the film swap with shokoofeh. so here are some more for you here on the cusp of the weekend.

i think i'll just let them speak for themselves.

happy weekend, one and all.

double exposure

in many ways, it's my friend mik's fault that i'm as enchanted with photography as i am. he taught me to do jump shots and he taught me about lomo and he made me realize i needed a DSLR. he's a graphic designer and flash developer and truly one of the most talented, coolest people i know. if you want to know what the next big trend is, you've just got to ask mik what he's into at the moment, because he's at the leading edge.

so when he recently put these amazing pictures on facebook and called them a "happy accident," i asked him if i could share them with you here.  it's a roll of film that he took on a recent visit to japan and then accidentally double exposed on one of his frequent outings to the fabulous philippine beach paradise that is boracay. and i think they're some of the best photos i've seen in ages. and they make me really excited about my coming film swap photos with shookofeh and kristina.

this is my favorite one

scenic overlook

the beach meets mt. fuji

just a hint of mik there on the right.

so haunting

double exposure, accidental or not, gives such possibilities - the philippines vs. japan, city vs. beach, sand vs. mountains - it all speaks of something deeper and more profound than a single exposure can do on its own. it was a happy accident indeed, but i wonder if intentionality would have added anything in this case.  that's the question i'm pondering....but i suspect the art is in the accident.

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check mik's tumblr here. and more from this roll here on flickr. and thank you, mik, for letting me share your gorgeous, multi-layered, deep and profound (even if accidental) photos here...you should seriously have these up in a gallery.

intersections 2: denmark meets iran

more of the shots from the film swap with shokoofeh. i'm still finding it difficult to put words to how amazing and profound i think these layered photos turned out, so i think i'll let them speak for themselves...

intersections 5: weaving meaning

a few more shots from the film swap with shokoofeh. see the others i've shared here.

i'm still finding magic in these shots, i think they're probably some of the most amazing photography i've ever done. and to think of how unintentional the magic is feels profound. i feel there's something so deep about them, so deep that it defies words, but definitely doesn't defy meaning. and meaning without words is an interesting thing to consider...

thoughts from a sunday evening

~ we had wild weather this weekend and there wasn't even a hurricane where we are. but we had loads of wind and a veritable deluge of rain. that's why the bobbaloos, who had wanted to go on a walk and look for mushrooms, are looking wistfully out at the rain.

~ about 15 minutes before the deluge, i convinced husband to go on a walk with me, assuring him that those clouds weren't going to amount to anything. about half a kilometer from home, the rain began and we ran for it, reaching the relative shelter of the trees before it started to come in buckets. it made me think i missed my calling as a weather girl, since i have no apparent ability to predict the weather and it seems that's a prerequisite for that job.

~ when will i learn not to keep reading a book that sucks? why, oh why, when life is as short as it is and books so plentiful, do i slog on through one that i know i don't like. i'm speaking here of anita shreve's all he ever wanted, but i could be talking about the completely over-rated visit from the goon squad by jennifer egan. reprehensible characters about which i don't care should be a sign to stop reading.

~ we attended our annual crayfish & schnapps party last evening and i am blissfully reminded of how very good it is to spend time with intelligent, interesting people. my husband has some seriously awesome family. and i got my quota of laughter for the week. it's pretty mind-blowing how much energy it gives you to laugh well.

~ looking forward to testing out our apple cider press this week. if it works, we're thinking of hosting a cider event at our house - where people can come, bring their apples, help with pressing them and do other fun, autumnal things on the farm.

~ shokoofeh and i are planning on making a 2012 calendar of our film swap photos. we'd like to know whether you'd be interested in buying one?  please note, leaving a comment does not constitute a commitment to buy, we'd just like to have an idea of how much interest is out there, so please let us know if that sounds appealing.

~ lately most everything we're eating is from the garden - zucchini (courgette)/eggplant (aubergine) ratatouille, herbed tomato salsa, broad bean hummus (thank you, kristina for the inspiration), salads of thin ribbons of zucchini and tarragon with a bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, artichokes with plenty of butter and salt, mushrooms gathered in the forest. i love having a garden. and this time of year it seems like it would be quite easy to be a vegetarian.

~ i made a batch of raspberry jam today. who knew that berries and sugar could smell and taste so heavenly? i'm so glad our raspberry canes are autumn ones.

here's hoping your weekend was wonderful and full of laughter and great conversation.

save the drama for your mama

i realized something tonight, once and for all. it's pretty much over for me with pretend, made-up drama. i don't want it in my life anymore. whether it's of the corporate variety or of the local. i love a dramatically-told story, don't get me wrong, but i'm thinking of the kind of drama where people get all worked up over something that's really not important and which doesn't actually exist except in their own head (usually because they're not listening). i'm done with that kind. this evening, i had occasion to observe some drama of that sort and i found myself physically backing away from it. slowly, but surely moving my chair back to physically remove myself from the scene. it was uncomfortable for everyone concerned - participants and observers. and totally unnecessary. pettiness and condescension with overtones of sexism and a bit of martyrdom thrown in. it makes me shudder now, just thinking about it. life is simply too short.

*  *  *

so onto more positive things:

like these thoughts on my film swap with shokoofeh

and pressing our first cider.

and sweet bobbaloos with mushrooms from minnesota.

and the fact that monday is almost over.

intersections 1: copenhagen meets tehran

since shokoofeh shared the album of our film swap pictures with me on picasa, i have poured over it again and again. on first viewing, i felt that only a few of the shots had turned out. some are aligned and some split frames. the one i was most hopeful would turn out - a shot of a bus in copenhagen where it was spelled cOPENhagen was a split frame and not as good as i had hoped. i was initially fixated on the technicalities - should i really have doubled my ISO to 800 when i took the intial shots here in denmark? what could we have done to align? should we have left well enough alone on the cross-processing? but then, i looked again, and the technicalities melted away and suddenly the magic jumped out at me.

~ a parted curtain in tehran opening onto a copenhagen street.

~ a chocolate cupcake on the ghost of a bicycle

~ another ghost of a bicycle viewed through a magical white curtain

~ a peaceful afternoon coffee scene on a graffiti-covered window

~ a cup of colorful pens and pencils juxtaposed on that copenhagen bus. 

the magic was there. all of my hopes and expectations were there after all. all of the layers of meaning. the surprises. the beauty. quietly profound. calm and zenlike.

for more, please visit shokoofeh.  i will be sharing more as well in the days to come.