Reading Materials

This is a photo I did not take of two gentleman in bright blue winter coats sitting beside each other on the bus, an orange afternoon glow streaming in the window behind them; the elder intently gazing at a thick book in his hands, almost complete with only a few pages from its end; the younger intently staring at the sleek futuristic form of an eReader, a Kindle or maybe a Nook, gripped tightly in his hands...playing solitaire.

(For reference, and with respect to Unphotographable)

Disappointed...

I know, I've been a little down too. January is supposed to be all about photos, the challenge of creating something each day, of sharing them here, on this particular blog. Instead, when the shutter clicks, it's a mixed sigh of knowing that that day's shot is done, but also that no one will see it. January feels extra empty without photos even though I've actually been taking a ton of photos (digitally in addition to my Holga). I've even picked up a brand new used camera (which I haven't had a chance to shoot with yet, but I will soon enough).

I've been reluctant to post anything new, maybe it feels like I'd be taking away some of the magic of the upcoming Holga Days, or that it will reduce January from the all kinds of epic Photo a Day to just a regular, run of the mill month.

So the question becomes, do I post some stuff in the spaces in between? Do I let you in on the Big Secret project? Do you, gentle reader really want to know what's the Big Secret? Will knowing still keep you excited for Holga Days, which feels so far away? Or will its potential of unquantifiable epicness desensitize you to what was meant to thrill your senses in January?

If you feel so strongly one way or the other, make your voice heard, though I would recommend against signal flares or semaphores. There are more efficient, though maybe less effective means of communication.

Actually, There Is a Thing for That...

So to begin, yes, I know there is no photo, and yes, I know you were expecting the annual photo a day with the start of the new Julian calendar. It's coming, and I did take a picture today, you just can't see it yet. You see, I'm not done with the roll yet.

To take a step back, I'm sure you've heard the little slogan, "There's an App for that." Well, specifically, I've noticed a few apps for recreating things like plastic lenses, old film, even things like the light leaks found in an old plastic camera, like a Diana or a Holga.

Well, I got news for you, you tech savy hipster. There is a thing for that. It's called a plastic camera! It already has a plastic lens, it already uses film, and low and behold it already does weird things with the exposure. It is a physical thing! You can hold it!

So, because I haven't done it in a while, and against all of my better judgment, this year's Photo a Day will be by holga. And because I happen to be not made of money, I will take one photo a day with my Holga. Just one. And I will post it here, later.

What does this mean, exactly? Well, for starters, that means no photo a day will be posted until after every day has been developed, so later. Probably February. Also, this means that not every image will be a gem. Some may be completely over exposed, or so under exposed that the image will be black. The composition may be imperfect (as is often the case with old range finder cameras) and there may be scratches on the negative, light leaks, or just weird things that pop up when processing.

So now, the big question is, why? Cause I'm nuts. That's probably an acceptable answer, but the truth behind all of it, just ask yourself "How many photos do I take" and then ask yourself "Out of those, how many of them are any good?"

"One in a Thousand." In the age of digital, you can take a thousand pictures to get one good one because there's no real "cost" to it anymore. People don't take the time to see the shot they want in their head before they push the shutter. They just push and maybe they'll see something that works. And I guess that's fine, if you don't mind doing all the editing on the back end.

So what this is, it's about getting "One in One," about slowing down, about being as certain as I can be when I push the shutter.

So that's that. I assure you that I'm shooting. I mean I spent a half hour in the film cooler at Denver Pro Photo debating what film I should even use, so yeah, I'm shooting. I can't promise it will be perfect, but I can promise it will be real.