How much do I love my new Epiphanie camera bag?
I’ve never found a traditional camera bag that’s worked for me and had resorted to tucking a camera or three into my purse. It works, but it’s been hard on a few of them and without any padding, there’s a definite danger of damage.
Maile Wilson has developed a line of bags that have all the functionality that a photographer needs with the fabulous style of a good looking hand bag. I’m in love with my Epiphanie bag.
The bag above holds a Zero Image 2000 pinhole camera, a Dacora Digna, an Olympus XA and my Canon SD960 IS point & shoot with more than enough room left over for a few rolls of film, my wallet and phone. And tomorrow, when I want to mix things up, I can move the padded dividers around to accommodate the awkwardly long and skinny Polaroid SLR 680.
Impatient (or, 28 days)
I couldn’t help myself. I sprang two of four solargraphy month long tests last night a couple of days early. Those little film pots were singing their siren song… I can’t imagine how I’m going to keep my grubby paws off them for 6 months.
The above two images are from cameras two and three which I had affixed to one the deck supports out back. The top camera had been angled with a piece of matte board jerry-rigged together to better catch the arc of the sun. While it worked for a month, I’ve got a couple of days before the autumnal equinox to figure out a more long term solution to maintain the angle.
It’s a times like these that I wish I had access to a full wood working shop down in the basement. I can see just what I need in my mind, but alas, having such easy access to tools that can blind and maim wouldn’t be a good thing. I’ve already given up super sharp knives after that unfortunate incident with Derek’s fancy tactical knife and the opening of boxes post our last move. I still feel bad for those slices into his favourite Marmot jacket.
If you’ve the inclination and a view of the sky, I highly recommend giving solargraphy a go. My film cannisters were created following instructions available on Justin Quinnell and Tarja Trygg‘s sites. Once you’ve put them together and affixed them, it’s really all about the waiting. As you can see, I’m not so good with that. The autumnal equinox is Thursday, and that’s a great time to begin capturing the path of the sun where you are. Inspired? I hope so.
In any event, I’ve still got cameras 1 and 4 affixed to the exterior of the house. I’m most excited about camera 1 as it (if all has been going well) captures sunrise — lack of fog willing.
Onward!
The Trees of Buena Vista
Olmpus XA / Ilford XP2 Super
Since leaving Flickr at the end of April, I’ve had the luxury of spending more time with the pups in Buena Vista for our early morning walks. Many of the more majestic trees were planted over a hundred years ago and they’re wonderful to photograph. You can view more of the trees of Buena Vista here.
Data pr0n II
As you can see, I had one other thought about data visualization for 10/10/10. (See Data pr0n.)
Building a pinhole camera
I can cross building my own pinhole camera off my life list of things to try. (At some point I’ll get my act together and actually formulate the master list.) Having seemingly mastered the art of making a pinhole for my solargraphy adventure, creating something bigger. After a bit of searching, I decided to use Earl Johnson’s How to Build a 4×5″ Pinhole Camera at Without Lenses for my initial construction.
Bits & pieces:
– You may need to improvise the design of the piece that fits up against your film holder if you’ll be using a different back than the one featured in the article.
– The camera Earl builds has a focal length of 75mm. I wanted something more like 100mm, so I made the sides taller. If you want something more wide angle, you can reduce the height of the sides. If you’d like to be precise in your construction, here’s an online calculator to assist you in determining the correct size of your pinhole.
– Earl doesn’t go into the actual creation of the pinhole in any great detail. Here’s an article on Silverbased that covers pinhole creation in depth.
– I like duct tape. I decided to strengthen the overall box with lots and lots of duct tape.
– The shutter is a simple slider that I can move up and down. I’ll need to keep an eye on it to ensure that it remains light tight and replace when necessary.
– There’s a wee bit of light leaking into the camera from between where the camera sits on the back. I’m currently taping the edges with electrical tape (another fine adhesive product). I’d like to find thin felt-like material to act as a muffler.
– I still need to work out a tripod mount. I’ve been placing the camera on the ground, angling the front of the camera upward, but I’d like to get the camera off the ground. I’ll let you know what I work out.
Here’s what the finished camera looks like:
And here’s a photo that I took with the camera earlier today in Buena Vista:
Good morning
Running a test roll of expired Fuji Neopan 1600 through the Olympus XA. 800 is the maximum ISO on the XA, so Photoworks pulled the film a stop while processing. You can view more from the roll here.
Sunrise
Impossible Project PX 600 Silver Shade / First Flush
Data pr0n
I’m entranced by the three different numbers that represent those interested in 10/10/10:
194 have identified themselves as participants.
257 have joined the Flickr group.
454 have signed up to receive an email reminder a day or two prior.
As I fall asleep, I find myself trying to imagine ways that these three numbers relate to one another. (Hey, it’s infinitely better than designing a better ear cleaning tool which had engaged my brain for months — not that I’d make them and pass them out to worthy recipients while riding public transportation. That and deodorant.)
Heather Powazek Champ never leaves the house without a camera. A Canadian by birth, she now calls San Francisco home. More »
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