Cheapie camera

I took the shot below with an Ansco 1065 camera that I found at a yard sale or Goodwill or somewhere else like that. It cost me all of about $2. The camera has a fixed lens with absolutely no focusing other than distance. As far as aperture, it has Cloud - dull or bright and Sun settings for 400 ASA and Cloud, Sun - hazy or bright settings for 100 ASA. That's it. I'm not sure if the picture is fuzzy because I moved or because I was out of the focusing "sweet spot" (whatever it may be).

Construction site shack

Anyhow, it's a great camera to take with me on my bike since I don't care if it gets sweaty from being pressed to my back or if I drop it or it breaks or it gets rained on or anything, because it cost about $2. Cheap or not, I think I like this little guy.

Salamander?

I don't know whether this is a salamander or some other amphibian or reptilian creature. These guys are really fast. Sadly, this fella wasn't fast enough to avoid getting killed by a car (perhaps my car). Initially, I thought he was alive but realized he wasn't when I went to pick him up (oddly enough, I can pick up dead insects, birds and reptiles, but not rodents).

 I added the leaf to create a sort of dead still life. Would you call that a "still dead"?

 Did you know they have teeth?!! I didn't. It's amazing what you learn when you use the macro function on your camera.

Close-up of his teeth

I hate to say it, since it sounds weird, but I like dead critters since I can actually photograph them. Living are nice but they don't sit still long enough to let you get good shots.

Encaustic workshop with Larry Calkins

I spent the weekend at the NW Encaustic Center learning encaustic collage with Larry Calkins. Collage isn't really one of my skills so it was a challenge to get myself pointed in the right direction. My inclinations are for less elements so I can get stymied when I have tons of materials and options available. It's kind of like having a refrigerator filled with really great food and feeling the urge to use everything in one meal.

I was given two large wood panels and access to lots of postcard-sized boards. Starting with a large panel was too much for me, so I backed off and went to the small boards since I'm much braver on a canvas with limited real estate. I finally got loosened up and started playing with the different techniques Larry (and Shaun Doll, the owner of the studio) demonstrated, the vast array of source materials,  and the variety of colored waxes available. I finally made something I liked when I found a rhomboid-shaped scrap board that I added some of my repeating dead birds, a transfer of a handwritten letter, and some oil paint stamps on tissue paper.

Here's what this first one looks like:

Dead robin detail

Detail of oil paint stamps

Today, I decided to try to make another one with a similar feel. 

Charcoal & pastel drawing on tissue paper

I really like the tissue paper transfers that we learned...much better than the water technique I've been using, which is prone to running. I also learned about using shellac with wax (firing it with a propane torch), which creates beautiful "lace" patterns. I'll post a photo of my shellac attempt on another evening.

If you ever get a chance to take a class with Larry or see his work, I highly recommend it since he's a wealth of information and an extremely talented artist.

When I got back home, we chilled on the deck enjoying the nice weather and a beer. Then, we ate an excellent roast beef with spaghetti squash, salad and zucchini meal that Levi had made while I was out. A really great weekend.

 

The Colours of Ostrava venue

Colours of Ostrava music festival is held in a massive former industrial complex of some sort (yesterday I posted some photos from this year's festival). It seems like the type of place that processed or produced a variety of things. Perhaps heavy metals of some sort. Maybe chemicals. Whatever its previous existence was, it now is the location for a huge music festival. I'm sure its been cleaned up a lot since its active dates, but I still wouldn't want to spend too much time there (or lick the walls).

This is a Lubitel shot I took of a small section of it:

Some photos from Colours of Ostrava

As promised, here are some of the photos I took at Colours of Ostrava festival in July. I didn't take pictures of all the bands we saw. Rufus Wainwright and The Flaming Lips got the most attention from me (mainly because I had the best vantage points for shooting during those shows). Not too bad for the little Canon G9, eh? Enjoy!

Rufus Wainwright

Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips

A confetti extravaganza!

Iridescent beetle

I spent quite a bit of time outside yesterday...soaking in the sun and playing with firearms (target shooting). While I was sitting talking with one of the participants, an incredible, iridescent green beetle flew onto her. I grabbed the little guy and took some macro shots of it on my hand and on my leg. I've never seen one like this before in our neck of the woods. It almost appears that it's covered in glitter (looks like some metallic watercolour paints I have). It's probably some sort of invasive species from Malaysia or another exotic locale. Hopefully, it's a benign critter.

Here's another shot of him so you can get a sense of size...he was pretty decent-sized.

Abandoned house - Fife

I rode my bike to run errands today. I brought my camera thinking I might take a few snaps of some abandoned houses near the library (which was one of my stops). While standing in the alley next to this place, a sedan pulls up. I'm thinking I'm about to get asked about what I'm doing. Instead, the old guy rolls down his window and says, "I'm better looking," and laughs. I agreed that he was way better looking than this beat up house. I like funny, friendly surprises like that...they feel like things I would do since I have a tendency to talk to strangers in a fairly friendly way.