A Spooky Camera for Sarah

Last year as an anniversary surprise, and this year with her full cooperation, I have made Sarah a spooky camera to aid in coming up with content for her countdown to Halloween.

Like a chatelaine with a project on Escape to the Chateau DIY, I can't reveal much about it until the blog hits the internet. I can tell you it's another Compact 45mm with a pinhole drilled in beverage can aluminum and of course, it had to be film-tested.

It seems appropriate to photograph the haul we brought back from a pumpkin adventure on a return to the far side of Lake Winnebago. I had noticed the sun filtered through the plants at lunch while Sarah and I were having some kind of important conversation that we couldn't just pause. Tell me if you've heard this one before. As soon as that was concluded, I got up and set up the exposure and the sun moved. The shutter stayed open for another half hour while we had dessert. The way the skin of these gourds reflects the diffuse light is pretty cool anyway.

This month's challenge in the Fox Valley Photography Group is street photography. Just before my camera making workshop, I went out into the Appleton Farmers market right in front of the museum. It was pretty early so the light on this old dude (I can say that) singing the blues was at that low angle you read about in photography books. He was really wailin' so I just set the tripod down and took the picture. He didn't miss a beat.

Holiday decorating is fully deployed.

The first thirty-eight minutes of our weekly video call with Andy and Kristin.

The weekly cabbage report. This head is starting to look like something to eat and also a little like a muppet.

Not everyone is doing so well.

Even in monochrome, the habaneros look hot.

A dappled rose blossom not taking the role of center of interest as well as I'd hoped.

Another not particularly unified composition on the western shore of Elwood's Pond,

I spent 10 minutes trying to rig a tripod to get a picture of a fierce thicket of big thorns at the top of the arbor. I ended up having to hold the little Joby tripod against the structure to get it where I wanted it. I'm surprised it wasn't shaking. Only two or three thorns are visible.

I intended to feature the lily-fruits and didn't notice the serendipitous merger of the unknown hairy plant erupting out of them.

Another ill pointed and ununified compostion. The corpse of the dahlia featured in the Macro challenge.

The film is Artista.edu 100 developed in full strength caffenol with normal agitation.