Holga : Roll 4

More Holga photos came in the mail today! Love it when that happens. These are kind of random.

Max’s adventure out on the deck:

I feel like I need to explain why he has a cone and big blue thing around his neck. He had sores on his back because he was licking himself over and over again. He has healed since then and looks much cuter.

I love owls. My parents got me this to hang in our backyard. cute, eh?

Not sure what happened here… I know they’re Katie’s sunglasses though! Haha.

Love this one of Chris!

My awesome dad! Love this one of him too!

For some reason I love power line towers. Especially the ones that are out in the middle of the woods and make a long clearing up the side of mountains. I really liked the way the clouds looked too.

This little guy lived next to a gas station on the way to St. Simons!

The next two are on the drive to St. Simons.

I’m getting better, woohoo!

allie

:) immediately

Time for me to share a page out of my inspiration journal (and post some of my recent holga photos)!

Ever realize how some things – no matter how foul of a mood you’re in – make you smile immediately? I realized this one day as I was driving home from work and a little frustrated with things. As I was passing by Daddy D’z BBQ Joint, the smell of the best BBQ in ATL (according to their website) put the hugest smile on my face. Immediately.

So I started making a list every time this happened. Then I sat down and asked myself, WHY do these make me smile immediately? Looking over them inspires me. I encourage you to make your own to look at from time to time. I’d love to see it!

Here it is. My list of Things That Make Me Smile Immediately!

the smell of bbq and fires

it reminds me not only of fall, but a plethora of memories as well. memories i might not exactly remember, but that left a nice impression in my brain. when the smell hits my nostrils it makes me breathe it in deeper, let out a big sigh, and then smile enormously.

swinging

when i see a swing, i have to be on it. i love the feeling of swinging really high and the wind on my face. if that doesn’t sound cheesy, i don’t know what does. maybe it makes me feel like a child again?

hearing chris speak dutch

it’s so weird to think my husband’s first language isn’t english. he speaks it so well. when i hear him speak dutch it makes me smile – and it reminds me of how awesome he is.

vanilla coke paired with salt + vinegar chips

if you’ve never tried it before, you have to! when you put the two together it makes the coke a lot more vanilla-y and the chips more vinegar-y. Mmmmm. 

the smell of green tea face lotion

once again this smell brings back so many memories that I can’t remember. i have no idea what that means… i put it on my face, breathe in, and smile. i know it makes me remember something… but i can’t place it.

the first chords of “i’m yours”

and only the first chords. not that the whole song doesn’t make me smile, but there’s something about hearing it from the very beginning on the radio and being lucky enough to have been in the car when it came on. i also have about 7 different versions of the song (because it’s actually been around for a few years) and the first chords of each version are all the same. it also makes me proud to be a mraz fan. i’ll stop there – i could keep going.

the sight of airplanes

this is weird. one of the best things about living near the airport is that there are always a dozen planes in the sky above our house. on a really nice, blue-skied day it makes me smile when i can see all of them in the sky at the same time. how they work baffles me, but high above you they’re little, shiny, and fun to look at. maybe it’s just me…

the airport and flying

most people hate to fly. on a day that i’ll be visiting the airport, i wake up smiling. something about it makes me feel like i’m in a film or that i’m important or that i’m a grown up and know how to navigate the busiest airport in the world. it also means i’ll be leaving atlanta, and that makes me happy.

watching 50 first dates

everything about this movie makes me smile. the actors, the story, the soundtrack, and the ending. l-o-v-e it. i could watch it everyday and not get sick of it.

the beach experience (?)

maybe you guys can help me out here. i was a little confused. originally, on my list, i had written “the beach.” but i had to stay true to things that make me smile immediately. it’s not just the beach that makes me smile. it’s the whole experience. the feel of the sand,sun & wind, the sound of the waves, the sight of the water, the smell of the salt. when all of those senses are triggered at the same time… that’s when i smile immediately.

sailboats

i’m pretty sure my obsession with sailboats began when my mom read “the lion’s paw” to me as a kid. since then, the sight of sailboats make me smile. when i met chris, one of the first questions i asked him was if he knew how to sail. and he did! this made me smile, too. it’s one of my favorite things in the whole world to do.

owls

i’ve loved owls for a long time. way before they became a popular fashion trend. my friend, sara, used to call me owlie. (get it? it sounds like allie). the sight of these furry, wise creatures makes me smile – living, drawn, or worn around the neck.

the first warm day after winter and the first cool day after summer

this should be on everyone’s list. who doesn’t smile when you walk out the door after a hot, humid summer or cold, bleak winter and it’s cool and refreshing or sunny and warm respectively?

walking barefoot in grass

especially my parents’ grass. yeah, i know. real original. but it’s true. puts a huge smile on my face.

I’m sure I’ll add more to the list as I keep smiling.

  allie

Old becomes new.

Do me a favor.

Take a moment and really look at the photos below.

Believe it or not, these were taken by Mervin Joseph Pius O’Gorman in 1913 with an autochrome lumiere.  I’m in love with the way photography has pretty much come full circle – people try to adopt this look using Photoshop.  Maybe it’s my love for the whole toy camera look, but there’s something about these photos that makes my head turn with ideas – the textures, locations,  composition, model, poses, and wardrobe.  Hmmmm…..

I’d love to know your thoughts – pretty, please?

allie

Holga : Roll 2

 

Yay for finally getting around to posting my second roll of Holga photos!  See my first roll and to learn a little more about it here.  I was still taking some test shots with this 2nd roll and playing around with it.  Here’s what it captured :

 

This is a double exposure I took at Little 5 Points.  The first exposure is of a brick wall and the second of mannequins in a store window :

 

 

View of ATL from on top of the garage I park in everyday :

 

 

Not sure why I even took this, it’s inside the airport waiting for our flight to Vegas.  You can see the Delta sign way in the back :

 

 

Once again, I need to use a tripod!  I took this at the top of the Palms while we were partying it up at the Real World Suite for the [b] school party in Vegas.  You can see the strip far off in the distance :

 

 

Boo, Chris’ eyes are closed!  Oh well, I guess that’s what you get with film.  :)  This was on top of the Hoover Dam :

 

 

On top of the Hoover Dam.  They were building a bridge and it was kind of scary!  I wanted to include the “Danger, Keep off Wall”  :

 

 

I love, love, love this one!  Here’s why.  You probably can’t tell by this small photo, but it’s a double exposure.  I wanted to create a textured look to the photo, so the first exposure is of a grey concrete wall.  The second exposure is of the view from on top of the Hoover Dam.  The final photo has that textured feel to it and I love the way it looks when it’s at full size!  You can kind of see what I mean when you look at the water – almost like a grainy look… but that’s the concrete image.

 

 

Random photo of a cliff and plant looking up to the sky and some power lines :

 

 

Taken from a bridge of the Vegas strip on our last night there.  Tripod, anyone?  Kind of cool, though :

 

 

Let me know what you think.  I haven’t been able to play with it lately, so hopefully I’ll have some more photos soon for you.  I love playing with it and hope to get better and better.

 

allie

 

Holga : Roll 1

 

I’m so excited!  Yesterday I finally got my first roll of film back from my Holga!  They gave me prints, as well as a CD so I can post them on here!  If you don’t know what a Holga is, click here before looking at the photos!

 

It was cool looking at the first set of prints because it made me understand the camera better.  They came out pretty good…

 

My mom and I drove up to Mt. Alto in Rome one day when the weather was beautiful so I could get some shots of the awesome views up there.  This first one is a double exposure :

 

 

This is practically the same image without the double exposure.  The house you can see on the left has the most incredible view!

 

Two more views from Mt. Alto:

 

For the Owens – their house on Mt. Alto.  So many memories there!

 

For my family – the house I grew up in.  I took this while driving by out the car window. 

 

Broad Street in Rome…

 

And Broad Street in Atlanta!

 

View from Luckie Street

 

Eating at Fox Brothers

 

Graffiti wall!

 

 

Things I learned from the first roll :

*where the light leaks are! (the pink streaks at the top of the photos)

*I need to use a tripod instead of Chris’ shoulder for night shots to come out clearer

* I want to buy different kinds of film to see how differently it reacts

*I want to try out different modifications

*Chris doesn’t like to smile in photos

*I love my Holga 

 

 

I’ve also been journaling each photo… why I took it, how I took it, the story behind it, etc.  I thought it would be cool to share one.  I’ll be posting a story from one of the photos later, but if you see one that you’d like to hear more about, let me know which one!

 

allie