Sequoia National Park

Last weekend was my first trip out to Sequoia National Park and it was a blast. I loved every minute of it. The only thing I wished for was more daylight hours. Alas, there was only one day on our schedule for running around and taking in the big trees, so we made the most of it.

We walked around the Round Meadow and not only got to see so very many giant trees, but also two brown bears. It was so exciting!

Enough story-telling. Here is photographic evidence of this wondrous place:

I love how Polaroids can capture a moment and give you a physical image instantaneously. And yet, I had a couple of other cameras out and about on this trip as well. I dusted off my Holga and two other less often used cameras. Each camera has its own personality and asks me to take photos from different angles and in different ways. I've found that certain cameras are made for certain shots. So once everything is said and done, I should have a few different flavors of California to share. I can't wait to get that film developed. Alas, there is no where local for me to take my 120 format film around here. This means that either I'll have to start developing at home, or I have to deal with paying shipping. Currently I've just been waiting for my infrequent trips north to get my developing done in  huge batches, but that gets old, you know?

The rest of Polaroid Week. . .

It was such an amazing, inspiring week. There were people that came out of the woodwork, so to speak, and tried their hand at using their old Polaroids and found that they could work magic. There were people who had taken an amazing shot months ago and held onto it to share it during Polaroid Week. And there people like me, running around taking road trips so that they'd have a few new sights to share. Granted, I didn't get that far away from home, but I still wanted to try to share a few new things, some stuff out of my comfort zone. . .
So here are the rest of my submission from Polaroid Week:

at the dock

curious lamb

little lambs

beachcomber's collection

radishes

wading

homestead

view of redcliffs

'Roid Week 2011

Polaroid Week kicked off today, and I'm so excited to be a part of it. I missed out last year because I was busy preparing to get married.

Here are my entries from today:

Tree growing in Quail Lake

Kanarra Falls hike

I chose these two for today because of their similarities and contrast. They are both photos of fresh water, both photographed in southern Utah, and both taken using Polaroids, but that is about where the similarities end.
The first image was taken on my SX70 using new PX680 film from The Impossible Project and the tones went all warm and yellow. On the other hand, the second image was taken using my 350 Land Camera using expired Polaroid ID-UV film and the colors most definitely shifted to cooler tones. So I ended up with a warm square and a cool rectangle of water in the desert.

Sun lit

This past weekend Jon and I went wandering around the banks of  the Virgin River at the outskirts of the Virgin River Gorge Campground in northern Arizona. We went with the express purposes of gathering river-worn wood, photographing the beauty, and wearing out our dog. We accomplished all of our goals.

For the first two photographs I waded out into the river to get the shots I wanted. The current was swift and kept pulling the sand out from under my feet, but the excitement was well worth it. I mean, just look at those tones. My previous experiences with ID-UV film tended to shift to aqua tones, but these turned lovely cool blues and violets.

I love the reflections and light in this one.

Check out the moon. How cool is that?

It was a serene day. We walked around, dipped our feet into the river, listened to the rush and roar of the river, and saw standing waves build into white caps and then collapse on themselves. We watched as the red desert around us shifted into cool tones and experienced the drop in temperature as night came on. It was a good day.
These photos were taken using a Polaroid 350 land camera. Film: expired ID-UV film (05/2007).

Tranquil

My hubby and I have this habit of taking spur of the moment drives that often lead into hikes, and we did just that a couple of weeks ago. We packed the dog up and drove off in search of the last bit of sun before night set in. We decided to drive on the road that follows along the edge of Quail Lake outside of St George, Utah, and it felt like we were chasing the light. We weren't sure that we'd have enough light to take a decent shot. But just after the lake came into view, the sky turned pink and purple and aqua and I knew that was my moment. I just had to stop for a few photos. The one I have readily available to share was taken with my Polaroid SX70 camera, using PX680 Beta film. The others are still waiting to be developed. I only had a handful of minutes to take my photos before the light slipped away and we were left with a quiet evening, so I did my best to take advantage of the opportunity. I took a few photos, and then I just took it in. 

This photo will forever remind me of following the curve of the road and finding myself in a spot that was perfectly glowing with the last remnants of a lovely day. 

Three Falls

Three Falls, otherwise known as Toquerville Falls is located in Southern Utah near Toquerville. There is a rough 6 miles of  "road" to traverse before reaching the falls, but that doesn't keep people away. It is a popular destination for locals to sunbathe, picnic, or when the conditions are right, do a little cliff jumping. (In fact, that is just what we did two years ago in July.)

We went out there on Memorial Day to see how it looked this time of year. There was a lot of snow-melt flooding going on, so there weren't too many other visitors. The ones who were there left soon after my hubby and I showed up and we were left with a two hour window in which to shoot photos without the occasional random person stumbling into a shot.

It was such a great afternoon-- we had a make-shift picnic on some rock slabs, we took a short hike, and I sketched and took in the sound of water roaring. This is the closest I get to the ocean out here, and I was soaking it up.

I had a few different cameras at work, but only my Polaroids that are ready to share so far. The first three photos show the falls overflowing:

This last photo shows the view looking down river from the falls: 

The color photo was taken on my SX 70 Alpha camera, using PX 680 First Flush film from The Impossible Project. The black and white photos were taken using a Polaroid Swinger camera and expired (May 2007) Polaroid 667 film.

As always, you can see more of my photos HERE.

A new place to walk

My hubby and I took a walk/hike in a National Conservation Area near our home on Saturday. We took our dog along with us and I dare say, we all had a good time. We stretched our legs and enjoyed a windy, partially cloudy afternoon in our beloved desert. If that doesn't sound particularly appealing, consider the alternative-- an unrelentingly hot and sunburn-inducing, blindingly bright hike. So, like I was saying, the conditions were perfect.

I find cloudy days the ones that are the most interesting to photograph. As much as I love our sunny to rainy day ratio here, I appreciate the occasional storm front.

So, what did we find on our hike? Well, first off, there were incredible views of a variety of hills and mountains in a rainbow of colors. Proof:

Look at the greens, oranges, magenta, purples, blues, and yellow. I love our redrock out here, even if it means we have to amend our soil to grow a vegetable garden and there is an endless amount of red sand and dust tracked into the house. The inspiration I get out it is worth it.

Further on, we found Palmer's penstemon in bloom all over the place, as well as this flower:

Neither of us had seen this plant in bloom before, but after getting home I looked it up online. I did various searches using descriptive word combinations until I found it-- it being a Giant four o’clock (Mirabilis multiflora).

After walking along for a while and taking loads of photos on my other film cameras, I was rewarded with this golden field, fluffy clouds, and disappearing mountains:

Luckily, you can't look too closely at the "golden" in this picture, as it is mostly dried out weeds and cheatgrass. Luckily, there are a lot of happy native plants like sage and cacti and the aforementioned flowering species out there as well.

I really like this little slice of desert. My first visit was super short, and this one only made me want to come back for more. There are a quite a few more trails with interesting names to travel.

*All of the above photos were taken using my Polaroid SX70 Alpha camera, using PX 680 Beta film from The Impossible Project.

Valley of Fire

I lugged a bunch of cameras through the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It was really warm and dry and boy was I ever thankful for the water we'd packed.

The landscapes out there are surreal. The rock changes colors in so many places, and erosion leaves behind some crazy formations. Not only that, but there are petroglyph panels all over the place. My favorite was the "mystical bat woman." 

These first three photos were taken on my SX70 Alpha camera using PX70 PUSH! film (from The Impossible Project). I had a turquoise filter over the lens to cut down on the pink tones that normally come out in bright sunlight. (Not that I don't love that, I was just looking for something a little different.) 

The photo above was my favorite of the SX70 ones of the day. It was super bright in this spot so it helped more of the colors come through. Plus I was really fascinated by this section of rock. (Mouse's Tank trail.)

The next shot was taken on my Spectra System camera, using PZ 600 Silver Shade film (also by The Impossible Project). In the winter I get more black and white shades out of it, but in the heat of Nevada, it develops sepia, with what looks like flames in the sky. 

This last shot was taken just after exiting a small slot canyon. I love how the rock has vertical and horizontal waves carved into it, and how there are these large river stones surrounding it. I would love to see that place with water running through it. I doubt that'll ever happen, but that's what my imagination is for, right? Anyway, the below loveliness is brought to you by my Keystone 60 Second Everflash camera, using Polaroid 100 Chocolate film. (And thanks to my hubby who carried that beast around--it is neither little nor light.)

I realized while looking through these photos that none of them are true color representations of what the Valley of Fire looks like. However, I took a few shots on my other film cameras, and I'll be sharing those when I get them developed. Or if you're impatient, you can check it out yourself. It is for sure a place worth visiting if you are ever in the area. 

Taylor Creek

I hike the Taylor Creek Trail with a couple of friends yesterday. It is found in the Kolob section of Zion National Park. The trail is an easy hike with a bunch of creek crossings, two historic cabins, and at the end of it, there's a double arch alcove. The first photo is from the alcove looking back towards the trail home. I took it on my SX70 Alpha camera using The Impossible Project's PX70 PUSH! film. For this photo I used a turquoise filter and had the lighten/darken wheel in the middle. I like that some blue came out, but that the photo retained some hazy pink tones.

This next photo is of a grove of Juniper trees growing along side the trail right by one of the historic cabins. It was taken in the same conditions as the shot above, except the wheel was set all the way to lighten. A lot more green tones came out in this photograph, which I thought was really pretty great.

I adore the new film that The Impossible Project came out with, but I have really learned to love playing with the PUSH! film. I'll admit it--initially it wasn't my favorite. I'd gotten used to First Flush (how it worked, its color palette) and it took me a while to really take advantage of what PUSH! had to offer, but I think the challenge of PUSH! is what endeared it to me. While the day will soon come when I'll finish my stash of PUSH!, I'll be grateful for the things I've learned from it. It really did help me push myself to try new things (like development temperatures, filters, lighting  settings, etc).

How I spent my Easter

First was church, and enjoying the real meaning behind Easter. And then when everyone else was doing family dinners and such, Jon and I took a drive with our dog out to Arizona. We took her on a hike with us and I took a bunch of photos of the storm that rolled through. We thought we'd be avoiding the bad weather by driving south, but instead we got caught in the middle of it. It made for some pretty nice photos though. There were lots of mountains, clouds and Joshua trees.

The first shot was taken on a Polaroid SX70 Sonar camera. The film is PX70 PUSH! from The Impossible Project.

As a comparison, the next two shots were taken on a Polaroid SX70 Alpha camera using The Impossible Project's new PX680 film. I was using a beta test pack, so it has some tiny white specks, but those are sure to disappear when the real stuff rolls out on May 5th!

The next two were taken on a Polaroid Spectra System camera using expired Softtone film.

The last three shots were all taken on my Polaroid 430 land camera using expired 690 film.

As you can tell from the last photo, the storm didn't last terribly long. Within a couple of hours it was all but spent and the clouds really started to dissipate. Our pup did awesome for all the new stuff we were throwing at her on this excursion, and we really enjoyed being out in nature. 

Ridiculously lucky

So earlier this month Jon and I had the great luck to be able to visit my folks in Texas. We ran about taking photos of all kinds of things we don't have around here and just enjoyed ourselves. On our last full day there, we all drove out to Galveston and wandered around taking photos of downtown before heading out to the beach. That is one big thing that I miss living in my landlocked desert. I was so grateful to have that day though. And now I have photos to remind me of that wonderful day spent in saltwater and sand.

I am still waiting to get some of my film back, but I do have Polaroids of that day to share:

Sand dunes captured by my Polaroid Spectra camera. Softtone film.

More sand dunes as seen through my SX70 Alpha camera. PX70 PUSH! film.

These next two shots are ones that I feel really lucky to have caught. I mean, who doesn't have a few shots (or fifty) of seagulls flying overhead? I remember some pretty lame shots of birds half cut out of the frame when I was a kid. Then the digital age came around and you could snap a few hundred photos and either keep the ones you liked or Photoshop them to make them into something cool. But these shots? They are straight out of a Polaroid camera--no photo manipulation is involved. This is where the luck comes into play.

The first is overexposed because it flew right away from my black box (where I put my film the second it comes out of the camera to keep it from getting overexposed). Normally I hate it when my shots get overexposed--they get all washed-out and boring. But not in this case. You still can tell what's going on and I think that the pink adds to the dream-like effect. Plus, just check out the way the birds posed for me while flying:

Geometry in flight.

Seagulls captured on my SX70 Alpha camera, PX70 PUSH! film.

The second photo has a more flowing geometry. It is much more organic. But again, I lucked out-- it isn't too busy and I caught several birds completely in the frame and focused. Did I mention that this camera doesn't have auto-focus? I had to dial it in and capture it while the gulls were busy doing their thing. 

Lavender Gulls

More seagulls, this time in a more loose pattern. 

SX70 Alpha camera, PX70 PUSH! film. 

Please stop by to check out my Flickr photos if you have a moment. 

Flickering leaves

I just had to get a photo that really demonstrates how well the new 680 film by The Impossible Project captures blue skies.

This photo was taken on my SX70 with PUSH! film a while back.

I love the effect, don't get me wrong. But magenta is not the color that the sky was that day. And the mountains the background were not purple.

But look at the sky in this next shot:

Blue. Yes, indeed. It just may have made my heart skip a beat to see it fully developed.

Something new

Beta 680 film from The Impossible Project. Their film just gets better and better.
I used my SX70 camera with an ND filter for these shots, taken in the backyard:

Compare the above tulip with this one, taken five minutes before, on the PUSH! film:

I'm not sure what caused the fogging at the bottom of the frame, but just look at the difference in color.