I'll be posting all my personal work from here on out on Tumblr only. Simplify Simplify.

I've made the habit of taking Diana with me everywhere now because she is so small and fits in my purse, and I just got the last three rolls back from the lab. That's always a treat. I also got my hands on some of the new kodak Portra 400 that works pretty well in low light and I like having the latitude to run that film through when it's early morning or near twilight, even if you over expose on the sunny setting it works really well. (Since Diana is made for ISO 100). I did have one issue with a color roll that didn't seem to wind forward properly and overlapped, but I kind of liked the results. None of that is obvious here with the way i've got them grouped, but it's something that may be fun to play around with if I can control it in the future.

Beauty Edges Up to Death

Spring is a mixture of rotting as much as it is a time of new growth. On a recent trip to Sacramento with some friends we pulled over at the State Capital to wander around. There must have been every imaginable kind of camellia there in the gardens. Old bushes, established, thousands of flowers. I was, of course, drawn into the trampled, damp flowers on the ground. The perfect petaled versions were pretty, but not quite as interesting to me. In fact, the decay seemed to intensify their beauty. Two snapshots later and I had a new little project on my mind. Luckily for me, Grass Valley is covered in Camellias (having three in my own yard). These images are the results of my nightly walks along the streets here in town.

I got a Diana mini for Christmas this year that takes 35mm and shoots half frames, which means, after winding the film on and tossing a few frames, I get about 60 or so shots of each roll of film! YAY. It's really lightweight and it's turquoise and I've already lost the lens cap, which stops me from accidentally shooting with it on (a common complaint from other diana mini owners I guess). I started slow and I've only run 3 rolls through so far but now that I've gotten the scans back I'm sure i'll just toss it in my purse and try to shoot a few frames each day to get my analog fix alongside shooting my iphone. I also have a couple holga 120mm and a holga 35mm but I like the Diana better so far.

Glitter Trees

A grid of my glitter trees that is meant to be printed up at 40x60. Haven't made the print yet. I have about 700 of these tree images taken over the course of the past 8 months or so. I'll get some larger ones posted into this blog soon. I surprised myself with the compulsion to search and find them because I'm not an addict in any sense of the word. But I did spend many hours waiting and watching for the moments when all the needed elements would come together. Soon enough they began to find me and though I have slowed down on this theme a bit recently, I still keep my eyes open. Now that spring is coming, the newly leaved branches may lend some uniqueness and difference.

I updated my facebook status one day as i was thinking about my move out to the boondocks away from city life and I wrote...I'm a country girl now, but I paint my trees with glitter. Hence the, maybe not so visually appropriate name I've given them.

Pavement Trees

Last summer I started shooting concrete and parking lots and dividing lines, fading paint and patterns. Alongside my compulsive inclination to take a photo of every tree branch I see, this contrast to the natural world was a break from the norm. With all the rain this winter, my eye was drawn into the glistening cement and of course...puddles. I am fascinated how my two worlds seem to magically intersect and become one dimensional galaxies both in reflection and in print. It's almost like tree trapping ... yet transient as we know that summer is just around the corner and these accidental worlds will exist no more.

Lola and Sally

Lola is the car and Sally is the girl. This set would be number two in my personal top ten of photos I do not hate. They are for sale. As soon as i get my Etsy site up and running, I will be sure to post something on facebook or here or someplace.