Cutest Housemate November 1, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Friends, Photography , add a commentI usually don’t like using the word cute, but I have to in this case.
The Hand of God? October 31, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Photography , add a commentI just learned that the grandfather of the people that I’m staying with has a darkroom in his garage, lives a mile away, and he likes to teach others how to use it. And I coincidentally just bought five film cameras. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited.
Spoils from an Estate Auction October 29, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Photography , 4 commentsA week before I left for San Diego, I traveled to the Royal York Auction Gallery in East Liberty. They’re housed in a storefront in Penn Circle, across the street from AAA. I heard that they would auction off different photographic equipment. Since it was within walking distance of my house and I was on a hunt for a TLR, I decided to check it out.
An estate auction is an experience. The adrenaline dosage was drastically higher than eBay. Two men sat on a high pulpit overlooking the bidders. The man on the right described the item to be sold, while the other one auctioned it off. When you actually bid on an item, the auction is intense as the Micro Machine man is slurring together numbers and babble as he points between the different bidders.
My eye was on a Rolleicord TLR and a tray of antique cameras, which contained a few TLRs. One of them, a Yashica D, looked like it was in great condition. I ended up winning both auctions for $22 a piece. The tray of cameras ended up having a few more goodies than I had first thought.
One is an interesting Olympus Pen F, that is a compact, half-frame 35mm SLR. That means that the camera uses half the size of a regular 35mm shot, and doubles the amount of exposures on a roll of film. A 24 exposure roll turns into 48. I’m interested to develop and make some prints, and see how they turn out.
Another interesting camera is a Polaroid SX-70, which is a Polaroid SLR. I was pretty excited to have a Polaroid camera that was also an SLR. Unfortunately, I cannot get it to work yet. It shoots out the test card, but doesn’t make any prints yet.
I just had several 120 rolls developed at Chrome Digital in San Diego. After I get some images in digital format, I’ll post them.
Hand me another ‘arn July 3, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Pittsburgh, Photography , 1 comment so farPittsburgh nostalgia from seventy years ago. It’s good to see the ‘arn being a mainstay back then. The ad is a bit more refined than the metal bottle campaign they started a few years back.
And speaking of iron…A couple days ago, my girlfriend and I were talking about friendship and the verse in Proverbs that says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. For the life of me, I couldn’t pronounce that sentence without the Pittsburghese blunting my tongue. The descent continues!
Not Quite Steve Carell January 21, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Photography , 3 commentsNew Year’s Recap January 6, 2007
Posted by Patrick in : Travel, Photography , 4 commentsTwo new sets are available on my picasaweb site. The wedding that I photographed a year ago was put up. I didn’t upload all the photos yet, but hope to get some of the better ones up. An opportunity to shoot a wedding in July has just sprung up, so I wanted to post some of my previous work.
Also, Albert and I visited New York right before New Year’s. We left for NY on Friday evening and exited NY on New Year’s Eve for a party in Allentown. We had a good trip. We spent most of the time walking around the city. The first night, we slept at my brother’s place which is between Chinatown and SoHo. It’s sort of like the real world there. He has nine roommates and there were ten people visiting that weekend. So, there were about twenty people in all crammed in a ten bedroom dormitoryish apartment.
On Saturday, we visited the MoMA with one of Albert’s friends. The place was packed and it was difficult to view some of the more famous pieces. Their collection is impressive. Some of their modern pieces were incredibly challenging and I didn’t understand them. Someone needs to help me with that. For instance, one of their pieces was an empty room with the lights switching on and off every five seconds. It’s difficult because you cannot appreciate the subject itself unless you know the artist’s statement. And even then, it’s a stretch sometimes.
We ate dinner at a place in West Village called Sushi Samba, which fused Japanese and South American cuisine. For dessert, we ate some of the most delicious cakes at a place in Little Italy - Lo Spuntino Cafe. We stayed at a new friend’s place. She was incredibly hospitable to us - the procastinating day trippers. Thanks Liz!
On Sunday, we visited the Village Church in Greenwich Village. As some of the community pointed out, the church was half its size because of the holiday. They take a great interest in outsiders, which refreshed us. Multiple people sought to accomodate us to their community even though we were just visiting for the weekend. We accompanied some of them out for brunch and I ended up talking at length to one of the elders for a couple hours. When I visit NY next time, I hope to visit again.
We finished the day off by walking around Brooklyn. Around 5 PM, we left the city and celebrated with some of my friends from college. It was great seeing and spending time with them. It was a good trip.
Some promised pictures October 22, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Travel, Photography , 6 commentsI uploaded some of my recent photos to picasa. Two sets were added. My trip to Minneapolis for the Desiring God conference has been posted. Also, I took a tour through my new place yesterday. There’s more work to do than I first thought. Plus, it’s a bit smaller than I remembered. But, I think everything should work out. The location will definitely be sweet. Trader Joe’s opens within a week and Borders should move in by Christmas. Not to mention that Pittsburgh’s greatest beer selection will be three doors down from me. That might be dangerous.
Finally! September 23, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Photography , 1 comment so farAlbert, you’re posting again.
Mountain Goats show September 21, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Photography, Music , add a commentJohn Darnielle put on another great show this year. Most of his setlist came from his latest record, Get Lonely, which I picked up today. My coworker James accompanied me to the show. At first, I was nervous about inviting him. It seems like you can be obsessed about this band or not care for them one iota.
By the end of the concert, James counted himself in the first group. He ended up like me. The music itself does not draw me in as much as Darnielle’s personality and lyrical storytelling. His shows have a sort of mystical aura about them. It’s difficult to explain.
I took my camera to this show, but I might leave it behind next time. During the last few songs, I thought more about taking a good shot than enjoying the music. It’s probably why I don’t take that many photos at friend’s weddings anymore. With a camera, I feel more like an observer instead of a participant.
Vote for Caleb August 31, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Friends, Photography , 2 commentsMy ex-roommate Caleb is in the running for BBC’s photographer of the year. Vote for him if you think he’s earned it.