Yearly Archives: 2011

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My Own Personal Way Back Machine

Today’s story begins thusly:

Soooooooooooo, I’d had this roll of film hanging out in a spare camera bag since 2006. Every once in awhile, I’d run across said roll of film, tossing it aside once again, figuring I’d get ’round to developing it one of these days. That was, until a few weeks ago, when I realized “There’s no time like the present!”

Of course, since these undeveloped photos were made 5 years ago, I only had faint memories as to what I might have captured on those 12 frames back then. All I knew for sure was that the camera I’d used for the photos was a beat up old Rolliecord IV TLR from the early 1950s, which I’d gotten my hands on by means I’m not at liberty to divulge at this time (so mysterious!)

The roll of film in question was my “test roll” in the Rolleicord. As a  rule, when a new (or “new to me”) camera comes into my life, I blaze through a test roll so I can see what I’m working with (or if something about the camera doesn’t work.) I’m not even particularly careful with the artistic merit of photos on this roll- it’s just for utilitarian purposes, you see. Well, I blazed through the Rollei’s test roll alright, but then didn’t take it to be developed before I began shooting other rolls with the camera. The Rollei worked pretty well, so I never bothered taking the first roll for development (see also: my Rollei shots taken and actually developed back then.)

So, what were the results of this little trip back in time? Nothing particularly earth-shaking. But I enjoyed the ability to hop in the way back machine with these photos, seeing what I’d bothered snapping when I needed to test out the Rolleicord.


Vegan cookbooks I’d just gotten in 2006. Now, that one on top has been used so much that it has fallen apart and the pages are all stained. Makes me want to order a shiny new copy of the book again!

Um, the front cap to the 1954 Plymouth Belvedere I bought when I was a teenager but never got to drive…and soda cans that were set aside for recycling. Very artistic, right???

A relic from the 2004 presidential election…I am sure I must have been going for “irony” with this photo

Okay, I kind of like this one. I see where I was going with it.

This was worth the price of admission for me. A never-before-seen photo of my niece, Little AM, when she really was little! Aged approx. 4.5 years! And she’ll be a 4th grader this year! My heart is breaking as we speak.

In conclusion, there was nothing on this forgotten roll of film that would have won me a Pulitzer if only I’d taken it to a photo lab in 2006. But, still, it was a bit of fun seeing these new-to-me photos.

Now, to hunt down any other film that might have slipped through the cracks over the years…

Green with Envy…or With a Mustache


Nikon FE • Nikkor 24mm/2.8 • Expired Fuji Super HQ 200 film

The first of the mustachioed flamingos I have spotted in Memphis during the past month. This green one was sighted and photographed early in the month of June, near Broad Street. While I’m “so over” ironic mustaches, I like this green version better than the pink flamingo avec mustache, which I photographed last week. I even find it somewhat charming.

The Night the Sky was Yellow

We have had some freaky weather in Memphis in the past couple of months. Tornadic activity, floods, unseasonably cold days, and unreasonably hot ones. The blaring of tornado sirens had virtually become the soundtrack of our lives in Memphis.

A couple of weeks ago, there was talk of tornadoes yet again. At one point, I looked outside and the sky was yellow. This was worrisome and downright eerie. I decided, of course, to have a little photographic walkabout.

The photo I thought best captured the color cast by the strange light that evening was this one of a chair outside the house where I live.


Yashica D TLR • Kodak Ektar Film

And I didn’t get taken away by a twister for the sake of photography that night. The TV weathermen told the city afterward that the yellow sky was a good sign, that the troublesome weather had passed for the night. Thank goodness! Thank goodness that the trouble had passed…

Seis de Mayo!!! [Mini Cupcakes]

Mini margarita cupcakes. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo. Or for Seis de Mayo, when you don’t have time to bake on the 5th of May.

I had so much fun setting up my little food photography shoot with these cupcakes. I chose the deep, jewel-toned cupcake liners specially for these little treats because I knew they would make the cupcakes look as festive as they tasted.  And, hey, my friends who recieved boxes of these for Seis de Mayo pressies didn’t seem to mind that I was taking Cinco de Mayo celebrations into extra innings!