Agfa Isolette I

My family has been trained to keep an eye out for nice working vintage cameras for me. They know I want ones that I can shoot with, so they need to be able to work with available films, be in good condition and actually function. The shutter needs to fire, the aperture can be adjusted etc. They know I don't want cameras just to fill up my shelves, I want to shoot with them. That is what interests me about film, using old cameras.

While my parents and my sister were at a big housing development yard sale over the weekend and they found me a new one. It's an Agfa Isolette 1. A folding camera, made in Germany, that shoots 120 film. It's all mechanical, no batteries of any kind needed.

In all honesty it looks like it was never used! The only issue with it that I have seen so far is that the focus ring is frozen. Based on my reading over the past couple of days it seems this is very common, a reaction between the lubricant used by Agfa reacting with the metal and seizing up. I can shoot with it as is, I can send it out for repair, or I can try to repair it myself. I am going to research a bit more before I make a final decision about how to handle it.

Just for fun, here is a little video of the lens opening.

 

Playing with the 1-5x Macro

Part of me doesn't want to share this photo, because it isn't very good, but at the same time I want to be honest about learning new things.  Last week I finally got out my 65mm 1-5x macro to try to start figuring it out, especially now that I have my focusing rails.  I new using manual focus would be difficult and that there would be a lot less light getting in that close, but wow.  I brought out my OCF setup since there wasn't as much light left as I wanted when I finally had a chance to play and I really had to crank it up.  It was just hard!  But the only way to get better is to keep trying right?  And now the embarrassing part, the "best" photo I got. 



What makes this one the best?  The exposure was pretty good.  Most of the others I had to pull up 1 to 2 full stops.  Also some part of it is actually in focus.  I think you can kind of tell these are forget-me-nots.  What makes it less successful for me?  The focus wasn't where I would have wanted.  The DOF is really too shallow (and this was stopped all the way down).  The composition leaves a lot to be desired. 

Hopefully my next attempt is more successful!

Can I keep them alive?

I don't think I have talked about it here much but I have really awful track record at keeping plants alive.  The longest living plant in our house (and until recently the ONLY one) is a gerber daisy, which is basically a weed.  We decided to live dangerously though and buy two plants and see how long I can keep them alive (so far we are up to 10 days).  We went with some succulents, which I think I tend to kill by overwatering them. 

First I picked out this donkey tail, (the tag at Lowe's actually called it a burrito plant). 



And then I also added this split rock.  Just because it was cool looking. 



Anyone willing to gamble on how long they will live?  I would be happy if they make it a couple of months!

Double Exposure

While digging through my Lightroom catalog the other day for film images (which are not hard to find since I handily keyworded them "film") I found this one accidental double exposure.



It is mix of the Tribute in Light and Christmas, both in 2011, from my first roll of film out of the brownie. I kind of like it, even though it wasn't done on purpose. 

Then yesterday VSCO posted this article about an amazing photographer shooting digital double exposures in camera.  The images are stunning.  And inspiring.  And make me desperately want to pick up my camera and go out and play. 

New Trees

Remember how back in October we lost two of our street trees (darn bradford pears!) to Hurricane Sandy? Now that spring is here it is time for our new trees to go in.  We decided to stick with the other new trees we have put in over the past couple of years.  So an Eastern Redbud out front.



and a white dogwood down the side.



They both have a lot of growing to do (of course so do the ones that have been there a while) but it is nice to have them there.  Maybe someday we will have some of that privacy back. 

Ikea Balcony Furniture Options

While I was shopping at Ikea the other week (after my Friday off work trip to Longwood)and picking up the solar lights I mentioned, I took a few photos of some of the outdoor furniture options they had on display.

I really liked the look of this option, but it wasn't all that comfortable to sit on (the sectional part) and I would prefer to find something with wider feet. While I think the new floor/roof we put on the balcony will hold up better than the tar paper roof that was there I don't want to risk damaging it. Though I plan to put down an outdoor rug and I think that will hopefully help protect it.

I like this one, it looks really comfortable, and I am debating having an umbrella up there to make the balcony more useable in the afternoon when it gets a lot of sun. It also does have wider feet. Aside from the fact that this is beige (which is a color I tend to shy away from), it looks like every other sectional out there.

This isn't the kind of louge seating I am looking for but I really like it. Could be a good outdoor dining option when we figure out where that is going to go in our yard!

This one was definitely my favorite, and not just because it is gray (which is one of my favorite colors), it was also really comfortable.

Any favorites? Suggestions for other options I should look at? There are so many options out there, it leaves me feeling rather overwhelmed!

Planning the Balcony - Part 1

Our progress on the porch and balcony have been slow over the past two years but the balcony is finally structurally finished. New side walls, new roof/floor, new railings.

Now it is time to start thinking about how to make this a space we want to use and can enjoy. My first step was hanging up the solar lights you can see in the photos above. I bought them at Ikea. They don't make it quite as bright as I would like out there, but for only solar powered they are pretty nice!

Next up, shopping for a rug and furniture. I don't really know what I want, but I did draw up a floor plan so that I could start testing out what will work.

What would you be looking at?

Instagram - April 2013

Beach Film

Remember our trip to the beach with Mike's family back in July?  I finally got around to getting roll of film I shot developed, scanned, edited and uploaded!  I think these are totally out of order but that's okay.




This is my favorite shot. 

Longwood - April 2013

I went back to Longwood again just this past Friday.  It was really a perfect day, no work, gorgeous weather, only doing things that I think are fun (Longwood, Ikea, seeing friends).  And I was just getting over a miserable head cold, so it was the kind of day that makes you happy to be alive.  I went with my friend Karyn from work, it was super crowded for a Friday, it was peak Tulip season.  We had been planning to shoot with tripods but because of running late, the crowds and a few other things I skipped it and just went back to using only my 100L handheld.

















This is one of my new favorites. I think it is getting blown up for the wall in our bedroom above my dresser.