In the past year or so, my use of 35mm cameras has gotten very minimal and erratic. I've had plenty of places to go that normally would be documented with the little negatives, but I kept losing the camera for weeks at a time.
For University Open Mic night in March, I loaded Handicam with its noticeable diverse design. I got into a conversation with the son of one of the other performers. He patiently sat as still as he could for over two minutes. My performance of "Trouble Every Day" turned him on to Frank Zappa. He added the album, "Freak Out," to his playlist on Spotify.
Then, it got stuck in a bag during a camera building workshop at Photo Opp and disappeared. I found it at the end of April, getting ready for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.
While everyone was milling about in academic regalia before the new chancellor's installation, I put the camera on a coat rack and tried for a selfie.
It was with me at the School District's community planning session at the new Menomonee School.
Had to take the opportunity to get the north inlet to Millers Bay from inside the school.
Coffee provided by the new corporate identity of the clinic that did my knee replacements.
Taking notes is a kind of persistent skill, like riding a bicycle.
Each group gave a presentation to summarize their discussion.
As a result of talking to the principal of West High School at the planning event, their Photography teacher invited me to close out the semester for her Photo III students by giving each of them a roll of film to use in one of my cameras. Visitors need to check in, get a nametag, and wait until the teacher they're working with can come and get them. They let me go myself on subsequent days.
The courtyard where the students were allowed outside to take photographs.
A cluster in the corner taking close-ups.
Lost the camera in a bag again, but found it getting ready for the first Farmers Market. It was the first time I've seen this bike rack completely full, but I couldn't find a stable place to put a tripod.
I found the camera again a week later as I was packing up for a camera-making workshop in Madison. I got there a few minutes early.
One of the participants capturing a sunbeam in the gallery with her new camera. An experienced analog photographer, she came with her husband, who had no background in photography. They were expecting a stereotypical event with an Oatmeal box camera, a rough pinhole and paper negatives, and were pretty surprised when it turned out they made a
reloadable film camera and a diffraction-limited pinhole.
Two weeks later, I found which bag I had stuck Handicam in while cleaning up in Madison and went on at least one bike ride with it. Fishers out on the T-dock in front of the north inlet to Millers Bay.
Construction fencing beginning to go up next to the park for the new above-ground clearwell tanks at the water plant. They've closed the entire area off now, but you can still access a narrow strip right along the shore.
What is this? It's on some kind of bench with a manicured border behind it.
Cummins (formerly the original North American Rockwell plant) runs the last heavy industry plant in the center of the city, stretched along a half a kilometer of the Fox River. They and a local city promotion group commissioned noted muralist Mauricio Ramirez to paint the entire side visible from the river into the longest mural in Wisconsin. It's hard to point a camera accurately when trying to place it to see through a chain link fence.
There were a few broken winders during the last few months, not only from stuck film, but also from a few falls where it landed directly on the winder. After making 70 of them last winter using a two-part resin in a mold, it came to me that they would be much stronger with some rebar inside, i.e., a paper clip. I finally tried it and replaced all the damaged ones. No guarantee that it will ensure reliable film winding, but it will take more work to break it. Also decided to do some maintenance on the first two, and the most used, Compact 30's.
I'd better get this roll finished before I lose the camera again. Lunch on the lanai is a classic subject.
There's been a lot of action in the atmosphere over the last few weeks. After one brief blustery blast, it was curiously calm enough to catch a completely still mandevilla blossom.
Still a few drops on the daylilies.
Elwood's pond, much like pinhole cameras, requires periodic maintenance. This year, we've finally adjusted his tune particularly well both visually and audibly, and without blowing the water out of the pond.
Handicam has a hand-drilled .15mm pinhole 24mm from a 24x36mm frame. The film is Kodak Ultramax 400 developed in a Cinestill powder C-41 kit.
