February 2007

2/24/07 - We're heading out to some open houses this morning in Cranston. We have an offer out on a house in Providence, but we are dealing with a bank and the bank is taking it's sweet time gettng back to us. Would prefer Providence, but we want to compare want we can get in Cranston for the same $$$. Plus there are more open houses lised in Cranston. There is a thread on hte APUG site that shows darkrroms people have built in their houses. Im planning mine in my head everyday, can't wait!

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2/23/07 - An interview of Australian street photographer and Andrew Stark. Ive had the pleasure of emailing with Andrew a few times and if you haven't discovered his work yet you really should. Here is his website. He recently sent myself and a bunch of other photographers a personality survey that he is using to do research about the correlation between our personalities and the type of work we do. My results were that Im basically introverted - no big surprise, but Im much more comfortable and accepting of that the older I get. Actually I wouldnt want it any other way as I think it really drives me and helps me in my work. I dont think of it as something to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. It's just what it is.

2/17/07 - Here is a quote from someone on RFF in a thread about why darkroom work is important to them:

"It's difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what I find so pleasurable about the darkroom experience. The solitude, the quiet, the leisurely pace, the retro feel, the cheapness, and the challenge of what you know is a great neg. There you stand, with a bunch of liquids you mixed up, a mediocre enlarger, the cheapest paper you could find, and way more enthusiasm than skill.
It takes half a dozen tries, change your f-stop, tweak your times, adjust your filters, burn or dodge a bit......and then you NAIL it, the most beautiful rendering of one of your best shots you could ever hope for, with a richness and beauty you could never attain in front of your computer. And that doesn't even take the personal satisfaction of taking your image from capture to completion into account.
For me, being born bereft of any real artistic talent, it is the closest I can come to real art. And I'm going to keep trying....

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Ive recieved a few emails from people that have found my website thru Shutterbug magazine. Nice comments and one is a student wanting to do a class project about me and my work. I haven't written back yet as Im not quite sure what to say to him. I'll get back to him this weekend though.
Stacey and I are going out to look at a house today with our agent. After the mess with the last house after the inspection Im looking forward to putting it past us and seeing some new ones. Gotta get out of this apartment. We spent a night this week without heat, the roof still leaks and the downstairs neighbors still smoke and argue.

Spring training begins for the Red Sox next week.

2/10/07 - The Yashica Lynx 5000e came today. It looks pretty good. Needs new light seals,but that's an easy one. I just need to go buy a battery to see if the light meter works. Visits to my site are still increasing and people are looking at a lot of my photos. I wonder if the Shutterbug with my website's review is on the shelves already. If someone out there knows please let me know.

So Kodak is considering selling off their film business. I wonder who will buy it? Will they keep it going? As far as Im concerned just keep TriX alive and I'll be happy. Maybe I should start buying it in bulk now and stick it in the freezer. Im sure there are millions of people out there that could care less about this news.
In house news, the ball in now in the seller's court. It needs some serious work and if he agrees to pay for it we're in. We will know either way by this Thursay the latest.
I treated myself this week to a Yashica 5000e off ebay. Won it for $20 plus shipping. I had one of these,but it had a couple issues. When it worked well it was my favorite camera of the Yashica rangefinders.

2/3/07 - I just posted 3 new PAWs to make up for my laziness. Well, haven't been lazy really. Been dealing with trying to buy a house. We had the inspection and now we are in the final stages. It may or may not work out.
I received my March copy of Shutterbug magazine with the write up of my website in their web profiles section. I'm not allowed to say any more until it hits the shelf. But Im pretty happy with it and it has given me a little shot in the arm, which I've needed lately. I just noticed that my site passed a thousand visiters 3 of the last 5 months, that's a first. Also, Ive passed the 25,000 mark overall. You know, I realize most of my favorite shots on my site I made with a Yashica GSN. The Bessa R is catching up though. Here's a couple from the Bessa.