oh san francisco

looking at last december's polaroids of san francisco and I am giddy.

photobooth friday

so last december, I took a little trip to san francisco to see what I could see and visit the people I love. one of the things that happened while I was there is that leslie and I finally got our photobooth strip. after two years and several failed attempts, we finally got our photobooth strip. at a vintage shop on haight street (no less) and not before we tripped the power circuit two, maybe three times and shut down the power on our side of the store. I'd like to think it happened because we were just so stunning and electric that the photobooth freaked out and shut down. though I'm pretty sure it was because said photobooth was old and the wiring in the store was wack. but whatever, I'm going with option A. a little fantasy never hurt anyone.

anyway, I'm excited for next week-- for the show, the workshop, for san francisco. and I'm excited to see the people I love. the countdown is so on.

list twenty-eight: things to do this fall

1. paint nails burgundy.

2. photograph spiderwebs.

3. make self sick on candy corn.

4. ride bike down tree-lined streets.

5. make butternut squash soup.

6. purchase cayenne-colored scarf.

7. fill buckets with apples and pears.

8. hit the big tree swing.

9. build the season's first fire.

10. resurrect vintage brown clogs.

11. score big at school carnival cake walk.

12. hit rasmussen's farm.

13. dig into sufjan's new one.

14. make things with leaves.

15. carve pumpkins.

16. mull cider.

17. bring out the pink wig.

18. watch halloween with that guy I like..

19. bake banana bread.

20. bake more banana bread.

21. plan imaginary overnight train trips.

22. cut the last of the cosmos.

10.10.10

on the tenth day of the tenth month of 2010, we found ourselves in the hospital. everyone is okay-- namely ezra, who was having great difficulty breathing saturday night. I do believe the whole ordeal shaved a year or two off my life. I'd planned to take a photograph on this most auspicious day and while I never saw the whole emergency room thing coming, that's how the day went down.

10.10.10: sunday afternoon after the worst of it was over. kids playing on the hospital bed, the cot I slept in, ward's crossed legs. thank goodness for big purses where cameras are thrown in and forgotten about until you really need them. thank goodness for terrific doctors and nurses and thank goodness ezra is okay.

plus brown

and finally, friday's brown.

last day of poppytalk's autumn color week= boo. but friday= YAY.

plus red

thursday's red and I never get tired of color week. never. not ever.

yellow plus orange

poppytalk's autumn color week is in full swish and I'm so late to the party. like, totally late. I missed monday's green but I'm here now and I have tuesday's yellow.



and wednesday's orange. tomorrow, I'll have thursday's red. and then friday's brown. if all goes as planned, that is.

thanks, peeps

the workshop filled up in about 24 hours and I sort of can't believe it. thanks to all who signed up. and to those who wanted to sign up, who still want to sign up or even contemplated signing up. it's possible I'll be hitting a city near you. if you're interested in bringing through the viewfinder to your neck of the woods, gimme a holla. things be cookin.

workshop!

workshop! in the mission! while I'm in san francisco for the show! graciously hosted by victoria of sfgirlbybay! and there's just no controlling my exclamation point usage! this is how excited I am! I've lost all control over rational punctuation!

moving on:

shooting through the viewfinder of a vintage camera with a digital camera is where old school brilliantly intersects with new. I first started experimenting with ttv technique back in 2006, wrote a little bit about it on ye olde blog in 2008 and taught my first through the viewfinder workshop at squam in 2009. serious fun, friends-- whether you're brand new to photography or not. in this workshop, we'll use old twin lens reflex cameras and digital cameras together to produce dreamy images with an authentic vintage aesthetic and lo-fi feel. once we've constructed the light-blocking contraptions this technique requires, we'll take our army of cameras out for a little photo walk. a photo walk in the mission, people. which is so perfect I can't even talk about it. but if you want, I can talk about it. I can talk about the color and the people and the murals and the buildings. I can talk about how in all my travels, the mission neighborhood has been one of my absolute favorite places to shoot. through the viewfinder photography plus the mission= special brand of magic.

so if you're interested in taking the workshop, here are the vitals:

date: sunday, october 24th

time: 11am-5pm

location: ferney art studios, 766 valencia street, second floor, san francisco, CA

you will need to bring:
a vintage twin lens reflex camera (i.e. kodak duaflex, argus seventy-five)

a digital camera (DSLR with 18-55mm standard kit lens or macro lens OR digital point and shoot with macro setting)

pen and paper (totally optional)

note: if you do not have a vintage twin lens reflex camera, do not freak out. they are easier to find than you might think. also, I'll have a variety of extra twin lens reflex cameras on hand for use.

cost: $75
to register, email me at hula70 [at] comcast [dot] net. I'll bill you via paypal and once I've received payment, your registration will be complete and your spot in the workshop secured. space is limited to 12 participants so if you want in on the fun, do not wait.

(extra special thanks to victoria of sfgirlbybay for organizing and hosting and to jordan ferney of oh happy day for the space-- thank you, thank you, thank you)

show!

dear people, I'm having a show. in san francisco. and I AM STOKED. built like this opens october 22nd at arkay workshop (a terrific shop in the mission) and will run through december 31st. if you're in the san francisco area, I'd love to see you at the opening! I'll be there! maybe with bells on. the wearing of bells is entirely possible given how excited I am. special thanks to mati rose for helping to make this happen and to rachel of arkay workshop for hosting. girls, I really sort of love you.

also, I'll be teaching a one day through the viewfinder photography workshop in the mission on sunday, october 24th. details to be announced here tomorrow, peeps. again, my excitement level. it is dangerously high.

self

is the word over at words to shoot by. stop by and say hello, if you like.

part three

and the last of the vacation polaroids. for a little while, anyway.

part two

wigwam village inn! our roadside stop halfway between illinois and georgia. and maybe one of the best things we did all summer long.

part one

so not the right thing to post on the first day of fall. but the parade of summer vacation polaroids, she has begun. and I'll not stand in her way.

this story begins in the middle

when I get home from a big trip, I like to let things sit for a while. I like to let things float around in my head while I settle back into the business of everyday. I put the images away and let the proverbial dust settle. I am slow to process, so slow. but I think this is because when I'm traveling, I am all the way in it. up to my elbows, up to my eyeballs, up to my everything in whatever is happening around me. and I love when I'm in it, I live for the times when I'm in it but one day mushrooms into the next and I am too close to what's happening. I can't see it, not really. it's only when I pull back that the whole thing finally comes roaring into focus.

this summer, we took a trip back home. when we do this, it's big. it's three weeks and a few different states, it's a trip that starts in the midwest, somersaults into the south and then loops back to the midwest again. it's three weeks of family and friends and home-cooked meals and hours on the road. it's spectacular thrifting and fleamarket sundays and sticky, sweaty skin. it's mosquito bites and too many cherry slushies and maybe a few arguments and definitely a few meltdowns. it's humidity so thick it can be carved, it's grandparents and swimming pools and movie nights and cousins and cornfields for days. it's backyard croquet and the sound of cicadas at dusk and overwhelming waves of nostalgia. it's everything a trip back home should be.

dear people, I'm done processing said trip home. expect a parade of images this week. starting here and now with the ladies lounge in the old chattanooga choo choo hotel. chandeliers and checkered bathroom floors, I am a sucker for such things. tennessee fell somewhere near the middle of the end of this epic trip but it feels like the perfect place to begin.