my eBay days are over . . . (at least for now)

This morning I finally met with success in purchasing a Kodak Duaflex camera!

It has been an intensive week of vying for and bitterly losing several auctions along the way. Up until this moment, the scenario has played out pretty much the same. As you can imagine, I have watched the cameras much like a lion hidden in the bushes as it stalks its prey. I don't even hint at my presence lest I force other predator/competitors to pounce first. No, my stealth is as much about these other predators as it is about the prey. Unlike the lion, however, I have to continually hit "refresh" to monitor the countdown to the end of the auction period. Unlike nature, there are deadlines in the jungle known as eBay.

Nearby, I glance at my atomic clock to validate synchronicity with eBay's clock. I have concluded that they are perfectly synched. With 20 seconds left (taking into account my dial-up connection and processing speed), I submit my bid price, find I am the highest bidder, and upon the final "refresh" learn that I have been outbid by $ .50 to some tool named "geodecember" or "bardb" or something equally offensive in its attempt at a cute alter ego identity. Undoubtedly they all cackled villainously in that last "refresh" moment proclaiming them the winner. This scenario played out several times and as such, I was becoming increasingly agitated and obsessed with winning. This is a mistake I recognize. Emotions were beginning to hold sway over cool, detached reason. Adding to my annoyance was the inflationary spiral in Duaflex prices: $20.49, $21.00 $14.50 (I have no reason for this drop here), $22.49, $21.00 $37.49, $40.00, $40.01!

At some point, one has to decide whether to continue the quest, waiting for the perfect item to recycle on eBay in pristine glory, or to choose instead to pursue an acceptable alternative. There are those coveted items that have been extensively photographed from every conceivable angle on eBay to seduce us into burning desire. They often do go for higher prices in a fevered bidding war. There are two Dualexs that fall into this category coming to a bidding close towards the end of this week. I debated over whether to engage in these forthcoming auctions, but opted instead to try today for a poorly photographed Dualex that lacked the "sexiness" of the others, but claimed to be in excellent condition. Whether this will prove a mistake or not, I'm still not sure. I do know that I'm weary of the time it has taken me to engage in the pursuit, so I decided to perservere one more time today in the hopes that this will all soon come to an end. And, as things turned out, I did win this morning's bid at a price of $21.50.

The seller lives in Colorado, a nice western location that makes me feel comfortable as it has the same regional sensibility of Utah AND a component of the seller's alter ego identity has "mom" embedded in it. I take these all as positive indicators of a good and honorable transaction with the product meeting my expectations of being in reasonably good shape both cosmetically and optically. After all, the primary reason I am buying this camera is to shoot photos through the viewfinder. The camera need not look brand new, nor does it even need to function as a camera. Thankfully, the quest is over. I can turn off the "obsession" knob embedded in my brain and free up space once again to return to the demands of the real world and everyday life. I now have three diverse ttv cameras: the Kodak Brownie Reflex, the Argus Seventy-five and finally, the Holy Grail of ttv cameras, the Kodak Duaflex.

more ttv images

I call this one Baby Godzilla. (I originally thought to entitle it, "He comes for me in my dreams . . . " but thought it revealed too much of the inner workings of my mind.) The sparks were very problematic. I had to manually turn the broken wind up key backwards to produce them. Since it was difficult not to move Godzilla while cranking the key during the long exposure, I finally had to shoot one photo of Godzilla in a stationary position, and another to get the sparks, which turned out very blurred. I then added the sparks later via Photoshop. My goal is to shoot one "good" ttv image a day.

still life

I've been receiving a lot of feedback on the ttv photos I've posted on flickr. It's been very gratifying and helps inspire me to keep shooting in this genre. Here's another photo I produced last night.

yet another ttv image

I know I'm getting a little carried away, but for me inspiration arrives infrequently. I'm enjoying the possibilities of ttv photography. Yesterday I won an eBay auction for my own Argus Seventy-five, the model my co-worker loaned me. I like the curve of the viewfinder over the Kodak Brownie Reflex. This weekend, three Kodak Duaflex auctions will come to a close. If I manage to snag one of these, my eBay days will be over until the next "big thing."

more through the viewfinder images

Here are two more ttv images. Both were taken with the Argus Super Seventy-five camera.

a first foray into ttv photography

Kim, a co-worker and fellow photographer, discovered with much amusement that she possessed an Argus Super Seventy-five in her collection of cameras. Today she brought it to work for me to play with for a few days. These photos are the first I've taken. I should have utilized a Digital SLR with the hood-like attachment, but as I was at work, I enlisted the aid of my digital point-and-shoot that I carry with me. The portrait is a reverse ttv image. I shot it through the lens rather than the viewfinder as indicated by the argus model name on the faceplate of the camera. I'm excited about the prospect of further exploration.

the monster in eBay and through-the-viewfinder revisited

I'm really kind of a terrible person. I base this on my recent behavior on eBay. But lest I get ahead of myself, let me begin by saying that all of this eBay "stuff" started with my new-found desire to experiment with through-the-viewfinder photography.

This next paragraph details my obsessive nature in the world of cameras, so if you're not interested in this sort of thing, I recommend you skip it.

I've been doing further research and concluded that there are cameras better suited to the ttv genre than my Rolleiflex. The Rolleiflex is simply too nice a camera to be utilized as a ttv "lens" since it possesses considerable weight, bulk and inherent value. Most ttv shooters utilize older Kodak or Argus cameras that are fairly inexpensive and lightweight. The camera of choice seems to be the Kodak Duaflex (the original, not the II, III or IV). The original Duaflex has the advantage of not having a "hood" over the viewing lens, thus making it easier to affix to a "contraption" (basically a tube that runs from the shooting camera to the viewfinder to eliminate extraneous light in the final image).

And thus my eBay visits have begun. Can I say here that I truly hate the bidding process? It encourages the worst behaviors in me and I seem to enter this "combative" mode that easily overtakes all reason. I have resolved to keep my bidding within a certain price range that I feel is reasonable as per guidelines set down by ttv forums. Using reason and restraint, I have successfully purchased a Brownie Reflex (an evidently, less desirable ttv camera at the moment) for $ .99 plus shipping. Buoyed by this triumph, I'm now contemplating bidding on a Brownie Starflex, another lesser valued ttv camera, that I am confident I can obtain for the same $. 99 plus shipping.

The Duaflex, on the other hand, has become more problematic. This is apparently THE ttv camera for the moment and I confess that I have deliberately bid in minimum increments moments before the auction close, to force my hungry competitors to pay prices that are probably acceptable to them, but in my scornful way, higher than they would have preferred. I know, I know. Despicable, spiteful, combative and mean. Road rage run amok on the information superhighway. Karma will undoubtedly ensure the fact that I will never obtain a Duaflex at the price point I have set it my mind. I would therefore like to publicly declare that henceforth, I will abstain from such behavior. I will be a sporting bidder and only vie for the Duaflex without regard to vengeance, poor sportsmanship, annoyance or testosterone flare-ups. I may have to concede and move beyond my original price point as I sadly witness the Duaflex go for increasingly higher and higher prices (at least judging by the last week's activities). But I will not let panic and acquisitiveness get the better of me. No, I will enter the eBay arena with honor and restraint. I will have my Kodak Duaflex, no matter how long it takes, no matter how persistent I must be. I am resolved. May the best man (or woman) win!

toy camera revisited

Occasionally, I'll revisit some of my old images to see if age or the perspective of time alters my opinion of previously discarded photos. Once in a while, I'll find an image I like. This is one of those from my toy camera foray.

through the viewfinder

There are a number of photographers who create images by shooting through the viewfinders of old twin lens reflex cameras. These cameras have collected a lot of dust in their viewfinders and they tend to have a lot of light fall off at the edges. The resulting images are thus very dreamlike and look more like fading memories than photographic images. Toy cameras like the Holga and Diana render similar effects.

I happen to have a very old Rolleiflex that I inherited from my uncle that I re-discovered this morning. I immediately popped open the viewfinder to look through it. The view was even worse than many of the images I had seen shot through other viewfinders, but it occurred to me that it would be fun to try this genre nonetheless. The above image is the result of my first attempt. I had to perform a lot of digital clean-up to produce this image due to the condition of the Rolleiflex's viewfinder. Even at that, the quality is very, very poor, but I like the image and can't help but think this technique has potential. Look for more postings of my ongoing experiments.

For further examples and explanations of through the viewfinder photography, here are a few links:

http://www.ttvblog.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/groups/throughtheviewfinder/
http://jennycisney.1000words.kodak.com/default.asp?item=273519

dark stairs

I go up and down these stairs every day at work, but only saw the chiaroscuro effect of the morning light today. Admittedly, the image is blurry, but I think it enhances the ambiance of the setting. The sharp images just didn't work for me.

mexican coke

While we await the end of the world as we know it (see below), may I recommend what has become my latest guilty pleasure? Mexican Coca-Cola! Coke produced in Mexico is sweetened with cane sugar rather than the high fructose corn syrup that now dominates EVERTHING sweet in the U.S. of A. The cane sugar yields a nice crisp, flavor that is sadly lacking in the U.S. version. It is not cloyingly sweet. Instead, it is sophisticated and nostalgic - stirring up memories of the taste we remember from our childhood. Mexican Coke can be purchased in the Mexican Food section of your local supermarket. It comes in the traditional glass bottle with a paper ingredients label affixed.

No need to thank me. Just enjoy!

the end of the world . . . revisited

The Large Hadron Collider (see August Archives, "The End of the World . . .") fires up today. There are those who are still worried that the LHC will inadvertently create a black hole that will result in the destruction of the world. Although today will begin a series of preliminary tests (firing protons in one direction, then later, in the other, with the actual experiments taking place in several weeks or months), I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the doomsayers are right. Good luck to us all. See you on the other side.

design - the audi R8

Truly a thing of beauty . . .

gallery show images

It occurs to me that I may have neglected to include the link to my show at Phillips Gallery (in May) on this blog . For those of you interested, the URL is:

www.phillips-gallery/artists2/stse_08.html

textural images

Here's an example of my latest experiment with creating textural images. The texture is added in camera. It is not done digitally with the computer. This technique admittedly lends itself better to some images than others.

the influence of pete turner

Here's an example of some of my early photos that were obviously inspired by the work of Pete Turner as mentioned previously. For a reference, Turner's work can be viewed on his website at www.peteturner.com.

how to kill a rattler - part two

My good friend, "Celeste," the rattler killer, called The Department of Game and Fish in Arizona (Fish and Game everywhere else) to find out how to get rid of Mojave rattlesnakes since it seems a good bet they have a den on their property. The response was an emphatic, "You can't!" Killing rattlesnakes is frowned upon and illegal unless they pose an imminent threat to you. It doesn't count if they're a threat to your pets, they are on their own. Apparently, the woman my friend talked to didn't believe rattlesnakes were an imminent threat 13 times. (I'm imagining 13 little squiggles representing each snake on the stock of her shotgun.) The Game and Fish lady asked if my friend was hunting them. She vigorously suggested my friend get a hunting license which will allow her to kill 4 a year. The rest she should spray with cold water. "Celeste" didn't think she should ask if that was after they were dead.

blue peach

This is a photo I shot this week. I normally don't like to "invert" photos to produce a negative image or alter its color rendition - I think they tend to be gimmicky at best - but in this case, I liked the clean white background that resulted from this technique and the idea of a blue peach.

The first photograph to inspire me to explore photography as an art form was just such an image. Entitled "Magenta Horse," Pete Turner, the then pre-eminent photographer, manipulated an image of a magenta horse set in a bright red background. It was very graphic, bold and beautiful. I can't remember the exact technique he utilized to achieve this effect, but he is known for re-copying his slides multiple times to increase color saturation and contrast. I think he may have cross-processed his film (either developing negative film in slide film chemicals or vice-versa), then re-copying this image onto positive film multiple times perhaps even using colored filters to enhance the color. In any event, all of my initial attempts at photography were greatly influenced by his work. I'll post some examples shortly.

I am still excited by a Turner photograph and happily, he still produces images. Over time though, the graphic nature of his work, although clean and crisp, began to feel a little sterile to me. I think his images lacked texture (and still do). In general, a lot of photography lacks texture to me, so this is not just an indictment of Pete Turner's work. I think it is a general criticism of the inherent nature of photography. I continue to work on techniques to imbue texture into my images and think I’ve done a relatively successful job with my latest work. I’ll includes some of these images shortly to allow you to be the judge. All in all though, I am still inspired by Turner’s work and continue to be re-vitalized whenever I see one of his images. It hearkens me back to that initial excitement I felt at the possibilities. It is like hearing an old song on the radio that re-kindles all of those same emotions you felt with your first love.

true love . . .

I shared the fact that I had started my own blog with a friend the other day. Her response (after something like, "You mean, like EVERYBODY else?") went like this:

"I would have a blog if I wasn’t so lazy, but it would be all about potato chips, my only true love."

Which prompted me to solicit an appropriate response (mostly from women). I share some of them below:

Potato chips will never disappoint you in bed (or anywhere else for that matter).
Potato chips will never say, “I’m just not that into you.”
Potato chips are willing participants in WHATEVER video you choose.
Potato chips will never feign interest in you.
Potato chips will never make promises they can't keep.
Potato chips will never leave you for somebody else.
Potato chips will never disappoint you in bed, unless you sleep on them.
Potato chips will never borrow money from you and forget to pay you back.
Potato chips are too good for their own good.

No WONDER you can't eat just one . . .

chocolate souffle recipe

I love to cook. I don't know a lot of people these days who engage in this activity, at least not to the extent that our moms did. Drive by any popular restaurants on any weeknight and you'll see plenty of cars in the parking lot. And the weekends? Well, forget it. Reservations are a must. I know we all lead busy lives and cooking meals has been reduced to yet another annoyance we must endure, but occasionally a nice warm meal prepared by your own hands in the comfort of your own home just can't be beat. I've reached a level of proficiency where I can usually equal (and a lot of times exceed) a meal at a good restaurant. As a result, I have my favorite recipes. The really good ones are those that aren't that difficult, but are very impressive due to their amazingly high "delicious" factor. I'd classify this as possessing a high effort/impress ratio (henceforth, "e/i factor"). Following is one that I'd like to share with you:

Ingredients:

6 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. Cornstarch
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
fresh raspberries (optional - no, make that mandatory)

Serves 4

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a saucepan and set aside.
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and set aside.
In a third bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together. Add the melted butter-chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and combine thoroughly with a wire whisk. Stir in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate.

Lightly butter 4 small ramekins (about 4 1/2 inches in diameter). Divide batter equally into ramekins.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees.

The chef suggests making this in advance and refrigerating overnight so that the batter (which is extremely sticky) is easier to work with. I have ignored this if I am pressed for time and find it is sticky, but not impossible. Also, it's important to NOT overcook. It will look bad and taste worse. I have tried to stick to the 18-minute cooking time and sometimes, the center is not thoroughly cooked (although my family prefers the center to be slightly underdone - sort of like a molten chocolate cake dish). You can use a wooden toothpick to assess the center. Again, I would advise you not wait until it comes out clean, but you will be able to tell if it is still too liquid.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and raspberries on top. Enjoy!

bees and ccd

By now you've heard about the alarming loss of entire colonies of bees. The phenomena is referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which in itself is disturbing. Can you classify the deaths of so many bees as a "disorder?"

Two articles appeared in the latest issue of Gourmet magazine (of all places) that I wanted to share. The first, was written by Ian Knauer regarding lessons learned from his grandfather who was a beekeeper. The author points out that the pollination of produce by bees amounts to approximately $21 billion annually. I think it is telling that the impact of the loss of bees is felt most when quantified in dollars.

Thus far, entomologists theorize the cause of CCD is a virus, which by itself "is not enough to kill a bee, let alone a whole hive. But when combined with other viruses, predators, pests and bacteria, the virus appears to cause a breakdown of the immune system, and the insects become unable to fight off disease. Autopsies performed on infected bees have found almost every virus, bacteria, and pathogen known to affect bee health. The hives, frames, and wax that remain after the bees have disappeared contain toxic levels of any numbers of diseases." Beekeepers in the past have prided themselves on the longevity of their hives: a hallmark of their caretaking skills. "Over time, the wax (in these hives) becomes dark golden, even chocolate-colored." Thus the legacy of time and many, many generations of bee colonies are now being destroyed in an instant of fire and smoke. "Wax melts over wood and sets a flame that seems too great for its kindling. Pollen sizzles and honey boils."

The companion article by Heather Smith, discusses what can be done if the population of honeybees continue to diminish. A honeybee is one of 20,000 bee species. Apparently there are also 200,000 other species of insects that are responsible for pollinating fruits and vegetables. One strategy suggests allowing small sections of cultivated land to revert to their "wild" state (simply leaving them unmowed for example). Also, placing small "habitats" for these insects in these areas will promote the presence of alternative pollinators. The author states that honeybees are really not the best pollinators since they usually settle upon repetitive flight patterns as they go about their business. Disruption of these flight patterns by other bees and insects actually promotes a wider range of pollination. While this article suggests that we may not be impacted by the loss of bees as much as we might fear through such strategies, it is still frightening to me that we are suffering a loss to our ecosystem that may not be resolved.

I am reminded of the people who claim there will be benefits to the melting of the polar ice caps; the opening of new trade routes through previously hazardous ocean territories or the opportunity for tourists to easily visit areas previously confined to a few intrepid travelers. Is it just me or do such perspectives only reveal further our own self-absorption and interest to the exclusion of the larger concerns that deserve our attention?