america's favorite pastime

I love film. Even if digital and film took the exact same image (and they don't), I'd still have a love for film. Every time I get a roll back it's like Christmas. I find myself holding the negatives up to the light to determine just what I got. It's exciting. Sometimes I get a little flustered when people tease me for shooting with film. I just want to scream at them, "Respect your roots!"

I'm sure I could have gotten a shot of Wrigley Field that was digital and edited the crap out of it until it looked like the above. But above is timeless. Since this is film it could have been taken at almost anytime. It means a lot more to me because of this.

zero gravity

I managed to find myself in the middle of an apple festival in a small town in Indiana while on vacation. I think the best part about getting "lost" is all the neat stuff I imagine to find. The clouds were epic this day and really made just about anything photogenic.

delta driving

These sort of shots have been coined "drive-bys." Better with a camera than other options, eh? I had never heard of such, nor did I know it was concerned an art. I have been doing shots like this since I was a kid. What else is there to do on a roadtrip!? I think it's fun and it does capture some of what a trip means to me. This was part of a day trip I took with my parents to see family. It was a great weekend.

wanted: one slinky

I seriously love abandoned buildings. They all have a mood to them. They all have a history. The best part is soaking in the mood of the place and imagining the history. This school was really amazing, and I'd love to know why it was abandoned. Anyway, I spent a few hours here exploring. I actually shot mostly manual this day and am thankful for it. I learned how to capture a mood with exposure. The shot above was intentionally underexposed. That stairwell freaked me out and I wanted to convey the feeling.

where i hang my hat and kick up my heels

I'm feeling a little cheesy today, so please excuse me. One of the things I love most about photography is that it's made me so much more thankful for everything. I've grown to love my state even more than I already did, because I realized just how diverse it really is. Within an hour drive I have delta, mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, cities, farms, and even more than I'm leaving out. I've also learned a lot more about my state since I've been shooting.

I'm thankful for rain, because it makes waterfalls. I'm thankful for the clouds, because it makes nice sunsets. I'm thankful for the winter, because it brings another spring. I'm thankful for early mornings, because there's such amazing light. Yep. I'm being corny, but dang it I can't help it! Today is the first day that really feels like Fall, and I'm loving it.

you spin me right round

One thing I love about Flickr is getting to meet so many people that share something I love. One of my contacts, Evan, and I started a little project. The idea is to come up with a subject matter or technique to try. We both shoot our version of it with a Holga film camera. The catch is that I try to do a urban version in Arkansas, and he does a rural version in Georgia. The general idea is to help push each others comfort level and maybe shoot something we shouldn't have shot on our own.

I have always loved digital stitches, but I don't tend to be very tech savvy. Trust me when I say I will eventually do it, but as of yet I really just haven't tried. One day I realized I might be able to do an in-camera version of this with the Holga by not advancing the film all the way. I shared the idea with Evan who googled it and found someone that's already done it. We decided to add it to our project.

I'm actually slightly obsessed with this pano idea now. I know it isn't perfect and I know I could piece these together in photoshop, but I sort of love it. I have a few more shots I will eventually post.

city of blues

This was taken from the Willis Tower/Sears Tower in Chicago. Chicago is such an amazing city. I have had a love affair with the place for as long as I can remember. We used to take vacations there a lot when I was younger. I always loved it. Of course, I've done all the tourist things, but I hadn't do any of it since I've been into photography. I decided to go back to the Sears Tower, because it does offer some nice view of the city. I went about 30 minutes before sunset and got to enjoy a stunning sunset with a view.