i spent the majority of last week looking through all my photo albums. i found a handful of old pictures of jg. this is the best one of the bunch:
june 1996
taken on a lawn in the san francisco botanical garden. we were hosting jg's mom and sister who were visiting from indianapolis. anyway, the flowers were picked right off the grass jg was lying on. i had him take off his glasses (they're up around his head) because i thought he sort of looked like jesus. with daisies.
that's waffles with a very well packed parcel from mairead in ireland. just two days ago, i got a postcard from her, my very first polaroid postcard.
i loaded the spectra camera with the film my brother gave me and shot a few inaugural shots.
unlike the 600, the spectra has different exposure settings. it makes for better saturation. although, i think the film has expired. see how the upper corners of the pictures are discolored? i checked for the expiration date but there isn't any. it doesn't matter. i'm happy just to have a new format to mess with.
that's the first batch of polaroid postcards. i sent it ten days ago. as of today, only five people have received theirs: utah, texas, sweden, czech republic, and japan. i don't know what the post office did with the ones with california destinations. i sent two to santa barbara (13 miles from carpinteria) and neither has made it.
despite the low batting average, i went ahead and sent batch two today.
by the way, it's not too late to play. leave me your address and i'll add you to the united states postal service's polaroid postcard lottery. come on, it's fun!
jg was in town for the weekend. the weather was very warm so he opened all the windows and the door to the backyard. our visitor got through the sliding screen door somehow and lay frozen on the carpet. i shooed it outside with a kitchen spoon while jg took pictures.
all tail
i wondered if he was someone's lost pet. i have never seen such a curious looking lizard before. it would have been fun to post a found pet flyer for the pink mouthed monster.
sunday jg and i went to lunch at saigon. it's the only vietnamese food joint in town.
pho on milpas
testing the spectra on jg
schmee through water glass
schmee with cilantro
i have to give jg props for those two shots. it had never occurred to me to take pictures like that before.
spring roll
play with your food
jg scooted out of town at the usual time. there was still plenty of light so i decided to go scope out places in town that would make for good polaroids.
drug deposit on east micheltorena
his name is augie
i ended up at the mission. surprisingly, there was nothing worth taking pictures of, not even the multi million dollar houses across from the rose garden.
symmetry
ornamental banana, i'm guessing
birds of paradise
carry a bucket
the mission
i stared at that building for some time. i can see why people think it's such a monstrosity. on the way home i found a building that's a bit more pleasant to look at.
tower at santa barbara high
sadly, none of the polaroids turned out very well. i ran out of film well before the sun set. i ordered a load of 600 film last week but they've yet to arrive. i can't wait to waste them around town.
i don't know what's going on with the weather. yesterday was super hot and this morning felt like regular june gloom.
the opposite direction
on my way home last night there was an intense flowery scent in the air that's a lot like jasmine. curious how it permeated the 101. when i got home i went for a short walk to see if i could track the origin of the fragrance. i couldn't. but i got these silly shots:
makes me want to run out and take pictures of all the reflective signs in santa barbara. a fun with flash series: watch schmee hit a new low.
the two to the right are from folks participating in the flickr postcard pool. i'm not sure about the puppy polaroid. i wish i knew who sent it.
the adorable pug belongs to jenny. it's a real postcard and jenny herself took the picture. very impressive.
bill hard at work
that's my first spectra test portrait. i took it the evening i received the camera from ireland. i think it turned out very well, discoloration and all.
as for the postcards i've sent, recipients are reporting from portland, eugene, brooklyn, and even ireland. the two i sent to santa barbara have finally made it. phew.
i have a handful ready for batch three. the invitation is still open: leave me your address and i'll send you a polaroid. easy.
i took that picture of waffles last week. i forget when. before the fog down, obviously. i like that it has a 70s disco feel to it. saturday night dog.
my postcards have made it to encinitas, oakland, tucson, and the uk. that's a total of 15 out of 34. slow work. meanwhile, the polaroid film i ordered last week is here. i hope the fog will lift so i can put the it to good use.
the week long gloomy clouds finally produced some rain yesterday. it poured for about two hours late in the afternoon and it got really cold. i was neck deep in deadlines but i decided to take a break. i went to starbucks for a giant mocha. then i stopped by the bluffs for a short hike.
puddle in parking lot
eucalyptus pod
clouds moving out
some sun
it actually got lighter as time went on. it felt more like a sunrise than a sunset. even the snails got confused. they were all over the path.
camouflaged
it's still a bit overcast today but i'm glad it's not as heavy as it was before the rain. look at how thick it was last week.
taken on my way home, 16 mar 2007 at 8:35 pm
i got two deadlines done today. i have another one this friday. look at my office.
dog for moral support
it was even worse yesterday. by friday there won't be any floor left for waffles.
my friend jim vodden took that picture. i don't know what i was doing. fixing jg's hair, may be?
i went through old photo albums a few weeks ago and decided to scan a bunch of the pictures. it's slow work but i hope to show them off here as i go along.
i forget that i used to take so many pictures. not as much as i do now but still, a lot. on film, too. an old hobby that required time+effort. thank goodness for digital cameras.
that's one of the 19 polaroids i took this past weekend while i was in san francisco. only a handful of the pictures are worth showing. note to self: spending pricey film in a city known for fog is not a good idea.
same corner
fuji finepix z1
what a neat building. jg and i were on our way to william stout and i only noticed it because we were at a red light. more polaroids of sf tomorrow.
i received that postcard from elsa in encinitas on wednesday. please note that elsa has started a waffles fan club.
waffles loves deedles
that's the more successful postcard from the super eggplant. the lesser one arrived in an envelope today:
schmee loves deedles, too
i'm glad eggie tested the usps. i thought for sure that the extra 16 cents would make up for the odd size. i guess the only way to beat the system is to omit the return address.
rocking the system with batch three: 13 cards
those are going out tomorrow. have a good weekend, everyone. and don't forget to say rabbit rabbit first thing sunday.
