A Paradox

One of the reasons I love photo-graphing cameras, aside from he the fact that they are beautiful, is because my favourite paradox is captured there. Here it is: I (could be) am taking a photo of a camera taking a photo of me taking a photo of....etc. Now I'm not really taking a photo of it taking a photo because it is far too old to be worth using. The quality aside, the film for this camera would cost me far far too much, even for the experience of saying I've shot a roll of film on a Brownie. My favourite part of this camera, is the underside of the lens, where you must manually set the focus for "16 to 35 Feet" or "Beyond 35 Feet". I just love how vague that is. Two options for the focal length. That's all. Simply intriguing. That brings me to my final point on these old cameras. The things you can learn from them is limitless. Practical, useful knowledge about modern photography, trapped inside these old cameras, if you just know how to find it. It's invaluable to a photographer to know their roots.

Time to whip myself into shape...

Bootcamp. That's right, bootcamp.
Creativity Bootcamp. If you were me, you'd be ecstatic already. My fantastic sister showed me a site she found today on the Blogosphere. It's called Creative Bootcamp. It's a two-week program in which you complete a creative task every day to further your creative skills in your chosen medium (mine being photography). I am absolutely on board and invite all of you to join me. It starts June 6th and runs for two weeks. Too timid to give it a go? Then just watch me here and see what I am doing for every assignment. I will be blogging it ALL. So enjoy, and take me up on the offer. Let's see what you got!
Archipelago Photography: Islands of thought and image, connected with a name.

Fleas Anyone?

The Grand Bend Flea Market..
is awesome. I've been going since I was little, and it just keeps getting better and better. Looking for a non-sketchy place to find sketchy things? Have I got a place for you! But seriously, it's pretty cool. Especially, for a photographer. I know this isn't a good example but, still. For the aspiring photographer, the GBFM holds all sorts of hidden treasures. One of the coolest being their collection of antique cameras. Certainly not something for practical use (usually) But they are really helpful for learning how cameras work, the history of the cameras, and to top it off, they look really cool. Now, don't get me wrong, that's just a tiny part of the GBFM. It's really pretty big, and photography is not a focus for anyone...unless you know where to look. So, if you have a free sunday between The May 2-4 and Thanksgiving, This is the place to be. Just wear something cool, cause it gets hot as all get out in there.
Archipelago Photography: Islands of thought and image, connected with a name.

Photos of The Day: Theft

First, let me explain the title. What you are looking at is indeed a very old camera. So, because I took a picture of the light the other camera was capturing, it was stealing the other camera's photo, kind of. I couldn't really decide which of these photos I liked better, or if I liked either of them at all. Now that I've seen the potential of this little camera, I might take some time with it again. Try for a photo with a little compostion maybe.

Archipelago Photography: Islands of thought and image, connected with a name.

The Oracle!

Do you go to South C.I.? Do you ever use the internet? Then why aren't you at The Oracle? South has a newspaper?! Answer: kinda. It's a newspaper in blog format. And it's awesome. Seriously, I go there everyday. Okay, almost everyday. Go there. Now. Do it.

The Oracle

Photo of the Day: Halloween

This here is my friend Max. I've known since he was a baby. (He was babysat by my mom since infancy). Last Halloween I was going as The Batman, and he as a giraffe. But in his opinion my mask was cooler so he wanted to give it a try. With the light coming in from the window so spotlight-esque, the photographer in me called me to grab my camera, and make my mom call him to look at her and 'Poof'; A portrait in a few seconds. As funny as the Bat-Giraffe is, I really wish that, at the time I had taken a few minutes to set up a real portrait session. A better background, softer lighting, etc. As nice as that would have been, I can't help but wonder if some of the quality in the photo relies on the subtler details. Details that I might have missed out on had I attempted to 'fix' it. Or I could be dead wrong.

Photo of the Day: Tongue of Fire

So, I love fire. But how can you blame me? I've been making campfires since I was a kid. This specific bonfire was on my birthday last year. We started with just wood and underbrush then when we ran out, we went walking around the neighbourhood collecting wooden garbage (it was garbage day the next day). We burned a couple chairs, and a few doors. This photo is of a structure we created out of some spare wood and a few nails just for the purpose of having something fun to burn. The centre of the photo shows the fire that went through the hole in the centre of the structure and followed it all the way to open air. If you follow the structure down and left you can see the outline of the fire pit. It makes a nice photo, but a better story.

Archipelago Photography: Islands of thought and image, connected with a name.