Wordless Wed. #9

Wordless Wed. #8

Wordless Wed. #7 Happy St. Patrick's Day

Test images from Yashica 635

I tested my new Yashica 635 last week. It was an overcast day with very flat light, but it was the only time I had to shoot. It worked great. I have timed the shutter speeds and they are a little slow, by about 1/3 of a stop. That I can work with and won't worry about having it worked on. I use Ilford HP5 film and hand processed it last night. I scanned the negatives on my Epson 4990 at 4800 dpi. I think that was a little too large of a file. They are very slow to work with in photoshop and my computer is pretty fast. If I keep scanning that large I will have to add more
memory to my computer.

I also shot with my Dianna and I used the same film and scanning process. Here are those images.

Cache Lake Country

Years ago when I was in Boy Scouts, one of the Scout Masters suggested I read a book called "Cache Lake Country". So being the good scout I went to the public library and found the one and only copy that they had. I read it and decided it was the best book that I had ever read up until that point. I always loved this book and wanted to find a copy of it, but it was difficult since it was out of print. The a few years ago my mother found it for me for my birthday. She gave me two copies. One was a new reprint and the other was an original hard back. Last week I finally decided to read it again, I had been afraid to read because I did not want to disappoint my self by thinking this great book was not so great. Well, it is still a really good book and if anything I understand it better. So here is what its about.

Cache Lake Country, Life in the North Woods. By John J. Rowlands.

I will not give you all the authors history, but it is pretty interesting and if you think you would like this book, you should look him up.

The book is set on Cache Lake in the great north woods of the northeastern U.S. and takes place in the early 1900's. John, the Author, was a timber cruiser for a logging company. He was on a trip to inspect some timber when he came across a the lake and thought it was a place he would like to live. Upon returning to the timber company, he was asked if he would live in the area and watch over the timber and land. He accepted and built a cabin on the lake. The book is written to describe what a year is like in the north woods. It starts in January and continues through the rest of the year. It mostly describes the way they lived and survived in that rugged country with long winters, short summers and wild animals. He has two friends that live on lakes near by, the Chief is an Indian Chief that lives near by and teaches the others his ways of the woods. Hank, is a wild life photographer and artist who is studying the local flora and fauna. Together they have several adventures and always help each other when needed. There a many drawings in the book where Hank is providing the visual aids for the descriptions that John and the Chief are giving. It is a quick and easy read and show you to survive on what you have on hand and a little creativity. If you like reading about the old ways of doing things and see what is was like to live in their conditions, it is well worth the read. If you know some Boy Scouts or young boys that are into the outdoors, please suggest it to them. They will enjoy it. I hope my boys read it one day.

Wordless Wed. #6

Yashica 635

I got a new camera this weekend, well its new to me. It is a Yashica 635 TLR (twin lens reflex). This is the model that can shoot 120 (medium format) film and with a special adapter it can shoot 35mm film. It is in perfect condition. It could use a new leather case, but it will most likely not spend much time in it. The glass is in fantastic shape and it is super clean inside. I plan on running a few rolls of film through it this week then I will scan the negatives and post some of the images. Nothing like a new toy.

Creative Out Loud

So I went to a meeting of Creative Out Loud this past Sunday in Holly Springs. It is a group of artist that have gotten together it inspire each other, teach each other, and bring art to the community. It was a great group of artist with many media represented. Painting, Mixed Media, Photography, Film, Performance Art, Fabric arts, Music, well you get the picture.
It is always nice to meet other artist and share ideas. The also have a monthly project to help spur your creativity. Several words or phrases are pulled from a box and you create a work of art with one or all of those words or phrases as a theme. They also have a guest speaker every month.

This month Kris Wheeler of Liquid Coast Films, llc came to speak to us about his journey as a journalist and eventually his move into film making. He has had a very interesting life and after seeing the scissor reels, I can not wait to see his movies. Check out his web site www.liquidcoastfilms.com. One of the projects in the works that is due to be released soon the the documentary about "Dread Clampitt" a roots band. The movie is called "Back from the Dread". Its web site is not up yet, but will be soon, keep checking back at www.classicdread.com. Also check out a site for a movie that they are working on called "Bayou Country". It is about the man the wrote the song. The story is great and I am looking forward to this movie. Here is its site http://www.bayoucountrymovie.com/. They also have some TV shows in the works, but those are being kept on the DL until everything is in place and ready to go. I have an idea of my own for a documentary and maybe one day I will get to work with Kris.

Wordless Wed. #5