Windows to the soul
We just added a dozen new Lomos to lomo-motion.com -- seven by "her" and five by "him". The last one is our 50th one -- see, I told you I'd use the domain if I bought it! *wink*

Todd's anniversary present showed up a bit late today. I bought him a Kiev 35A, supposedly similar to a Lomo. He plans to find out ASAP. I bought it from these guys over the phone, and I was very pleased with the service and turn-around. (It wasn't their fault we have issues with our UPS guy. Don't even ask me what condition the box arrived in!) Ignore the fact their website says it takes 120 medium-format film though. It doesn't. It's a 35mm camera. So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the Lomo, watch this space for comparisons soon. (UPDATE: I just noticed that Amazon has more Holga camera starter kits in stock again. See this entry's comments for other alternatives.)

And somewhat related...when we were at Ritz getting reprints made late this afternoon, we saw something that made both of our hearts melt. An elderly gentleman -- he must have been in his early 80s -- was at the do-it-yourself enlargement equipment working very gingerly on a photograph. You could tell his hands had problems with arthritis, but that didn't seem to be the reason each and every movement was slow, meticulous and calculated. He caught my attention and I did my best to not be obvious, yet see the photograph he was working on so diligently. I tapped Todd on the shoulder as the man pulled it out of the machine and held it up to see his hard work. It was a beautiful 8x10 hand-tinted photograph of a young woman. The photo had to have been from the mid-to-late 1940s. You could tell he stopped to take a moment to collect himself while looking it over. Obviously we'll never know the true story behind the gentleman and his precious photograph, but we were both very moved by the whole thing. Love truly is timeless...
posted at 11:00 PM | link-

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Trial and error
We just added six new Holga photos to lomo-motion.com.

It was our first trial-run with the camera (using color film). We were basically testing out how sharp the images would be, the colors it shot with, and where our light-leaks were. So nothing too spectacular. It's going to be fun getting the hang of it, and figuring out just which parts of the camera to tape up, nonetheless. I just wish we knew of a local lab to process the medium format film. It took almost 2 weeks to get the photos back from Ritz. For more Holga links, start here...
posted at 04:00 PM | link-

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My little baby sister can do it with ease
I've added ten of my Lomo shots from last weekend to lomo-motion.com. We tried using a new color film this time around (Fuji Superia 400) and weren't as happy with it. Our previous color images were shot on the Lomo film that originally came with the camera (which we just purchased 5 more rolls of). We've been following Lomo sites and forums closely for film recs, and Fuji was one of them -- but for me, it's getting a thumbs-down for now. A lot of the images were just a tad bit more dark than I would have liked and not nearly as vivid as the last batch. I'm really pleased with this one, however.
posted at 08:19 PM | link-

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I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
As mentioned earlier, Todd took off with my Lomo this week. His b&w Lomographs have been added to the newly redesigned lomo-motion.com.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to add the Lomo images I took in downtown Tampa and Ybor City last weekend (separate from the preview of images taken with my G3). But for now, check out Todd's photos -- I'm very impressed!
posted at 01:57 AM | link-

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Bling-bling
Attention Lomo owners:

lomography.com and MAC Cosmetics are sponsoring a "Pop-It from the Hip Contest". The grand prize is a 5-day/4-night trip for winner and guest to New York City, $500 spending money each, a make-up lesson at the MAC flagship store in SoHo, and a "World of Lomography Box". The deadline to enter is June 15, 2003. See official site for more details...
posted at 01:07 PM | link-

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Oh, snap! Guess what I saw...
I'm a very happy girl. Somehow I managed to snag the very last Lomographic Holga Medium Format Camera Starter Kit in stock on Amazon and it shipped today. I had an affiliate credit from WM!'s last quarter so I ended up paying less than $10 total for it. It's a great deal though -- the kit includes the camera (with built-in flash), a photo book by Fred Lebain, 1 roll of film, and 2 AA batteries. It uses medium-format film in color and b&w. Amazon is currently out of stock (thanks to me - mwah!), but the site allows you to pre-order and says more will be in stock soon. At $56.99, that's about a 1/3 of the price of the Lomo Kompakt Automat. You can even find them on eBay for less than that. Click here to view Holga galleries linked from Holga Camera Photo. See, I told you I'd use the new domain if I bought it!

UPDATE: Babz just passed along two great links to go with my new aquisition: toycamera.com and holgamods.com Check out some of her photography here.
posted at 03:45 PM | link-

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Oh, well I think you got the knack
Just in case I haven't been able to get the song stuck in your brain yet, the domain has finally resolved and lomo-motion.com is mine all mine. Yes, I officially own more domains than flip-flops now (and that's saying a lot) -- but the deal is, if I buy it, I'll use it. And that's really the point since it took me five months to finish the first roll of film. The design will look familiar for now since I don't have much free time to spare, but keep watching this space for changes -- and additions -- very soon!
posted at 10:10 PM | link-

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C'mon baby, do the Lomo-Motion
My first ten Lomo-shots are in Shutterblog now. Baby steps...
posted at 10:51 PM | link-

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Spies like us
What a welcome back home we've had.....we're just getting back online again since my last post yesterday. Our DSL went out. Again. We're seriously about to switch back to a cable modem.

But since I was forced offline, I finished up my first Lomo roll of film (that I've been working on since my birthday) and had them developed today. Wanna peek at the first one I've scanned (shot down by the Savannah River)? About half of the roll were "misses", but for my first try with an auto-nothing camera, I don't think that's too shabby. Todd isn't a big fan of the Lomo-style now that he's seen the results, but I love it! If only I were as good as Dawn... I've got a lot to learn from her, that's for sure!

UPDATE: You can now see my first ten Lomo-photographs here.
posted at 06:35 PM | link-

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