A new year…

It’s a new year and therefore that must mean it’s time to start blogging again!

I have a few things to post that I shot last year but never got round to getting them on here, and i got some new (old) cameras so i’m sure they will make an appearance. I really plan to pull my finger out this year and set up some cool photo shoots and i have a number of personal projects to tell you about.

I plan to take more photos with my holgas and also give the Dina Mini another chance! I didn’t have much luck with her but i’m looking forward to trying again (and hopefully not waste any more film). I’m also looking forward to using my Polaroid 340 more and have a fridge full of film waiting to be used.

Another thing i’ve been wanting to do for a while is get the Polaroid back back on my Holga and get some cool Holgaroid shots.

So lots to do and lots to blog about. I aways say this but i really do hope to update this more often, especially after seeing my end of year stats. It seems people are actually visiting this blog!

Thanks to you for reading my ramblings and check back again soon for more. Here is a silly pic to be going along with…

Have a great creative year and feel free to comment or follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/swallowingflies)

What am I shooting with?

What am i shooting with at the moment? i hear you cry!!! Well that’s a good question. I have only been and gone and got myself a Diana Mini. Yep, another lomo so called ‘toy’ camera, and it’s a little cutie. I’m not going to say too much about it now as i want to save that for when i post some of the shots i’ve been taking with it… sorry.. with her. I’ve already shot a roll of black & white (well, part of a roll (all will be explained))(love the double bracket) and got a couple of shots of colour left before i send that roll to the lab. I look forward to seeing the results and will be posting some soon.

I’ve also won myself another Polaroid 340 land camera. As you’ll know if you’ve been following my blog i already have one of these vintage beauties but have wanted to try and snap up another one in case something happens to it. I’ve also really wanted to get hold of a close up lens kit that was made for the camera but is very hard to find. The good news is, this one i’ve just won comes with that kit. At least i think it does. I’ve not picked up the camera yet! Fingers crossed. I should be picking it up sometime this week.

Anyway, check back for more on those two gorgeous cameras and here’s a photo i shot some weeks ago…

As always you can follow me on twitter or feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to know what you think.

Shot from the hip…stamatic

Been meaning to post a few shots taken using my favorite iPhone app, Hipstamatic. I still absolutely love it but feel i should be posting more stuff shot on real film so i will concentrate on that over the next weeks.

But for the time being here’s a few hipsta shots i’m really pleased with (apologies if i’ve posted any of these before. i don’t think i have, but i lose track)….

As always feel free to leave a comment (it’s not just for the spammers) or follow me on twitter at twitter.com/swallowingflies

Trio of trees

Was out yesterday shooting some test shots of a model I’ve not worked with before. It was a nice day so we met in the park of Hatfield House (which was used in the Batman films I believe). I’ve not been to this park before, it was very nice and had some great very old trees, one of which you could climb up the inside of.

So I grabbed a few shots. I’ve not gone through the shots of Naomi (the model) yet so I’ll save them for another post… maybe! They were just tests! (Don’t forget to click ‘Read More’ under the photo to see more… unless you are already on this page!).

doll face

A quick post of a photo without me rattling on about stuff.

I took a few shots of this young lady. She was a great subject and stood very still and didn’t complain once. I think this one was the best shot. I may post more soon.

From the hip

 I’ve been playing with a new photography app on my iPhone for the past few weeks and i have fallen in love with it.

Its called Hipstamatic. So right from the ‘get go’ (what ever that odd Americanism means) it sounds cool. The app turns your camera phone into a funky lomo film camera with a choice of lenses and flashes (or rather flash effects as the iPhone doesn’t have a real flash) and types of colour and black and white film. And it does a very good job of it.

Random bobs & bits

Its been a while since my last blog post so i thought i better make an appearance.

The best camera

The best camera is the one you have with you. That is the motto of photographer Chase Jarvis and he’s a big fan of using his iPhone to take photos. Good photography has very little to do with equipment, and the fact that people are taking great photographs with lomo cameras like Holgas and even camera phones is testament to that.

I seem to have about 3 or 4 cameras with me most of the time! I always have my little Canon ‘point and shoot’ in my bag, and i also have a Holga in there too, and quite often i sling my Polaroid 340 in there. But the one camera that is with me everywhere is my iPhone.