Fading summer

I visited Tasmania in February, and today I got a roll of film developed which is mostly shots I took over there.
I especially love the photo of the cemetery.  It's hard to infuse that kind of gothic subject with playfulness, but the picturesque background of rolling hills and fluffy clouds kind of  plays off the darkness nicely. Also, I love reading the epitaphs in cemeteries.


View from MONA


Hobart


Hobart


Kingston Beach


Kingston Beach



Cemetery, Richmond


Second hand bookshop, Mornington Victoria

Alternative processes and journalling

Well finally I get around to posting some of those things I've scanned! I've been experimenting with some 'alternate processes' which, really, is all chemical processing these days if you ask me because who still prints in the darkroom? Very few people, that's who.
Anyway, the first ones are cyanotypes, and the others are instant film image transfers. In between them are some random journal pages. My image transfer technique needs some improvements (or a lot of improvements) but word on the internet seems to be that fuji instant film just doesn't compare with polaroid when it comes to images transfers. SIGH. They didn't scan too well either, which is probably because I fail at scanning. It's funny how scanning makes some things look better than in real life (snapshot film prints, collages) and some things look worse (see example below).


Wigwam motel, San Bernardino


The Heidelberg Project, Detroit


Phillip Island





(quote from My So-Called Life)





Accompanying this quote by Ira Glass is the first ever cyanotype I made, about 4 years ago from a crappy kit I bought online.


These are quotes transcribed from an article I really like written by Martin McKenzie-Murray called 'We can communicate clearly, but who listens anyway?'

Mentone Beach


Santa Monica pier

Candy Coloured California

I bought a scanner online last week, and when it arrives I will be able to scan lots of collages and film and objects and post some of it here. These photos are getting in before they start seeming boring in comparison.



San Francisco



San Francisco



Santa Monica



Santa Monica



Santa Monica

Salvation Mountain

I have some grand plans for varying the content of this blog, but they mostly require a scanner and/or more dedication so for now I'm still posting straight-up photographs.

I visited Salvation Mountain while in CA, and I loved it. LOVED it.
Not even the place itself so much, but the area around it and its history and Salvation Mountain is just like the cherry on top. To get there I drove through Niland and past the Salton Sea and stopped at Bombay Beach, a tiny town I saw a documentary about last year. It was all amazing, probably my favourite place in California.



[Salvation Mountain]


[Salvation Mountain]


[Salvation Mountain]


[Salvation Mountain]


[Salvation Mountain]


[Salvation Mountain]


[Bombay Beach]


[Bombay Beach]


[Niland]

Coney Island

For christmas I was given a book of Peter Granser's Coney Island photos, which are starkly different to the photos I took at Coney Island in December. Which is not surprising, given these are winter shots of an area that was quite severely affected by Sandy. This is only a small selection because I mostly shot slide film which I haven't scanned yet. It's easy to like Ganser's images more (probably because they are better) but I enjoy comparing the two interpretations of the place.

Sunny California Pt. II

I have also taken some instagram photos, which I mostly took on the first day and actually DO have sunshine. They're a bit more tourist-y and idealised.


Santa Monica Beach


Santa Monica Pier


Santa Monica Beach


The Perks of Being a Wallflower


View from the hotel window

Sunny California

I'm in California on holiday at the moment. I've been staying in Venice this week, and am driving to San Bernardino tomorrow, and then to San Francisco.
The weather was perfect the first day, and has been overcast ever since. When it's overcast here it's super dark and everything looks dirty and dull from the pollution. So most of the photos I've taken are rather depressing looking, at least compared to how everything looked when it was sunny. It's a funny place, Venice, and the sense of it that I've gotten in the time I've been here suggests that the photos I've taken are perhaps quite apt. There aren't many tourists at this time of year, and there are a lot of odd characters and homeless people around. The buildings are mostly quite old and shabby, in a visually enjoyable kind of way, and there's the kind of vibe that seaside towns tend to have in winter.
 
Market St


Nile Collective


Coin Laundry, Santa Monica


Motel, Santa Monica