postcards unsent

my secret place

2010-02-21T16:17:00.001+09:00

my secret place, originally uploaded by wendymd.

found a new photo location! thanks to my brother who took this photo. Post processing done using Nichole Van's amazing urban actions. It is so worth it!

angel

2010-02-18T14:57:00.001+09:00

angel, originally uploaded by wendymd.

I was a guest at a wedding two weeks ago, and decided to practice! I got nice photos with my tamron 90mm - such a sweet, sharp lens! Yesterday, I played around with photoshop, and used an action by Rita of Coffeeteaphotography (i love her blog! Thanks!). Love the pink, vintage tone of this photo. I will be shooting a real wedding next week, my first! Nervous, nervous...but hopefully it would go on fine. Wish me luck!

...and the lomo wall lives on!

2010-02-17T12:01:00.000+09:00

After a few months of absence, i'm finally back to blogging. The lomo wall that i made last october is going places! I tore it down after the exhibit but somebody wanted a 4ft x 16ft wall for display, so i made one for them. This time around, the photos are stuck to eight acrylic boards that will be mounted on the wall. Neat! And ehem, ehem, it's going thousands of miles away from here....Yay!

I just miss shooting lomo...gotta get those cameras out in the sun soon!

The Art Show

2009-09-25T15:21:00.002+09:00

Lomo!, originally uploaded by wendymd.

I am doing my first art show on October 5th. It's a group show, most probably I am the least artistic of the bunch, and I am the only one doing this kind of thing - a LomoWall - old meets new kinda thing, which is certainly classified as contemporary art. Most of them are painters, carvers, old school artists, and I am a bit scared that my kind of art might be met with mixed responses. Oh well, who cares right? Art is meant to be enjoyed anyway and it is a form of expression. So here it is, my huge lomo wall - 13ft long by 8 ft wide. I just wish people would enjoy it!

heaven

2009-09-19T13:12:00.002+09:00

heaven, originally uploaded by wendymd.

I have been wanting to do double exposures for the longest time, but i am kinda apprehensive with it not turning out the way i liked it to. I tried it today with the Polaroid Spectra Pro, and here you go. I shot the first layer in dim light, second layer outside. Maybe next time i shouldn't shoot at the noon sky, maybe i should've waited a little bit later because it almost overexposed. But anyway, i loved the vintage effect...and yeah, it's almost like heaven!

last

2009-09-11T08:38:00.002+09:00

last, originally uploaded by wendymd.

It was a sad day yesterday at the clinic i worked in. Little did i know that this would be the last picture taken inside. Me, blurred, taken by our xray tech, elmer. The clinic is closing its doors for the first time in 28 years, indefinitely, a big shock to all of us. I have very fond memories of working here, the clinic where i built my practice for the last 5 1/2 years. In this clinic that i grew to love. How ironic, since today, 9/11 was a day that changed a thousand lives in the US, and today marked a big change in our lives too, here in our small island. I just wanted to say, thank you for the wonderful opportunity. And thank you to all the people who had faith in me for the past years. I only wish that this institution would rise up again, much stronger than ever. As of the meantime, life goes on for everybody.

vintage

2009-09-08T20:52:00.002+09:00

and my day starts with something vintage, originally uploaded by wendymd.

I decided to go vintage today, just to try out something different. I have been seeing a lot of vintage postprocessing done at flickr which totally amazes me. I tried doing one on a flower photo i got from Boracay last April, used the Coffeshop Vintage Honey preset from Rita of coffeeteaphotography, and i was surprised with the results! I got carried away and decided to do a whole page of vintage! Thank you to Rita, for sharing your PS presets. I am hooked!

I MISS DIVING!!!

2009-09-07T13:24:00.002+09:00

I MISS DIVING!!!, originally uploaded by wendymd.

Okay, for my daily rant....I really miss diving.

I haven't been in the water for almost two months now. Just because Jim isn't here, and just cause it all started when the weather became shitty for about three weeks straight two months ago. Excuses, excuses....but actually i shouldn't have any excuse. I'll try to get my D80 shooting again soon. It shoots best underwater, i think. I always end up with crappy shots on land with it, so i prefer film. The digital is for underwater, film for land. That's the way it goes for me.

Enough rant for today :)

drool

2009-09-06T20:40:00.003+09:00

baby don't cry, originally uploaded by wendymd.

Today I used up my last pack of expired 779 film from '06 and it was well worth it! Look at that cute frowny face - isn't she a darling? I am falling in love more and more each day with my Polaroid SLR680. It spits out nice vintage photos. Sorry i have to say over and over again. I am in love!

We had a fun picnic on the beach today. It was Jay's birthday! Cheers to you, and here's a lovely photo, the one shot deal.

jammed

2009-09-06T07:43:00.002+09:00

jammed, originally uploaded by wendymd.

Me and my friend Det went out to shoot yesterday. We were lying under a nice tree by the baseball field when i took this shot. The SLR 680 accidentally jammed on shot no.10. I thought it broke! Ugh! Apparently it turned out to be an awesome photo (in my opinion, of course!). And the SLR is still working after this...I have more polaroids from yesterday. Awesome ones. But still lazy to scan them all. It is Sunday morning after all, and laziness is forgiven.

Thank you Det for a photoshoot well done!

fogged

2009-09-05T11:53:00.002+09:00

fogged, originally uploaded by wendymd.

I got a Polaroid Onestep AF from Jim, all the way from Mt. Prospect Illinois. This is the first time I used it to shoot and surprisingly, it works! Kinda magical too. I loaded it with expired film from '03 and decided to experiment a bit with a type of manipulation called "fogging". The trick is very easy to do and can be found here:

FOGGING

I wasted one shot because i exposed it too much, but was able to produce these. I think the effect is cool...oh well, i love it! I also wasted another shot on trying to do a photogram. Boy, it's hard! I just cant afford wasting films like that. But maybe someday when i'm brave enough to do it again, i probably will try it for the second time. Here's a cool, cool link on Polaroid Manipulations. Such an awesome site!

Polaroid Manipulation

polka dot panties

2009-09-04T15:27:00.006+09:00

I have been ignoring my Holgaroid for almost a week now, in favor of the new Polaroid SLR 680. Quite unfair for the old dog. I got a stash of expired Fuji FP-100c, 16 packs total for about $2.50 each from Manila this week, so i decided to give it another go. I went with the most expired of them all, from 2001 - and these came out. First photo above was a polka dot panty (not mine okay) hanging on my neighbor's clothesline for a week already! I've been meaning to take its picture, since polka-dotted panties are kinda nice on photo!

Then i set up the tripod in my room, and took a snap of my window, holding down the bulb button for a second, which resulted in a solarized shot. The actual photo is much better than this.

Of course, film tests aren't complete without a selfie. Just in front of the house. I got hungry after the intense photo shoot, and decided to have lunch with a few friends, who became willing victims for the 'roid! Silly, but oh well, they liked it! I have a few more experiments that i did in the bathroom today, if i get motivated, i'll post them later....

polaroid long exposures

2009-09-03T22:45:00.004+09:00

my first night, originally uploaded by wendymd.

As I have said, i will experiment on night exposures on the polaroid SLR. I was able to do it by just setting it to manual exposure and letting the camera do the rest! I actually have to restrain myself after shooting four in a row. It is addictive. Pretty wild results, and i love it! But since film is mighty precious, i have to control this relentless shooting of mine. I'll save the films for more photo inspirations to come.

Polaroid Night Pool @ Flickr

something not yellow for a change

2009-09-03T15:21:00.003+09:00

something not yellow for a change, originally uploaded by wendymd.

Okay, the SLR 680 really works. It doesn't only spits out yellow photos! The previous results were all due to the seriously expired films. I used Polaroid 779 for this one, which was only 3 years out of date. Oh well, the films have their limits!

I will stop here, and take my afternoon nap now. I rest my case. Next project is a night time exposure. Hmmm, will it work? Let's see!

project

2009-09-03T14:25:00.006+09:00

I used to have a small wall of polaroids in my room, but i tore it down a couple of months back since it was falling apart. Today i went to the hardware and bought some hooks, which i tried to nail to the wall, but carpenter i am not, so i ended up just sticking it with Blu-tac. Hey, whatever works! I took this shot with my Polaroid SLR 680 and film from 2003, and again ended up with this yellow photo. I am beginning to think that i am being unfair to the SLR 680, feeding it with too much expired film. That, being my first frame from the pack, i decided to go to my darkroom (aka, the bathroom) to take out the expired pack and transfer it to an old Polaroid One Step which i haven't tested yet (a gift from the boyfriend). I am feeding the SLR 680 with still expired film, but this time it's more recent - from 2007. Okay, now i am going to shoot that STOP sign at the end of my street and who cares if i look stupid shooting a street sign. I will be posting the results later.

First.

2009-09-02T15:11:00.001+09:00

Yay! I am finally starting a photo blog!

I am currently obsessing about Polaroids, and dreaming about Polaroids. When I was young, my father used to shoot with a Kodak instant (yes, Kodak used to make those), which uses instant film that costs only about $2.50 per pack of 10. We had boxes of Polaroids in the cabinet, and I've been meaning to scan them all, hopefully, if i have time. Those are priceless memories, and in my opinion, nothing beats analog. Last 2007, i bought my first Polaroid camera, a gray chunky Polaroid impulse plus a bunch of 779 films off Ebay. I wasn't too happy with the results so the camera stayed in the cabinet, and the films stayed in the fridge. I occassionally take some snaps of friends and give the instant films away. Two weeks ago, inspired by all the polaroids i saw in Flickr, I decided to shoot again. I was blown away by the vintage-y feel it gave.

So off to Ebay i went and fell in love with a Polaroid SLR 680. I got it, and it takes magical pictures! So there! (The first photo above was taken with the SLR 680 and seriously expired film, circa 2001). And here it goes, my endless profession of love for POLAROID.

Since Polaroid films are no longer made, please support:

the impossible project

save polaroid

P.S. If you know anybody selling polaroid films, please let me know!