The Old Obsession is Back!

I spent most of my teen years playing basketball, watching basketball, playing b-ball video games, dreaming about basketball, covering my walls with any basketball imagery I could find. Well, you get the idea. I was obsessed.

I stopped playing when I was 18 or  so I guess. I'm not sure why, but I'm assuming alcohol and self-induced teen drama probably had something to do with it in the beginning. Then came college, family, work, business, etc... No basketball. A few times over the years, I tried to get into the routine of going to the nearest schoolyard and throwing the ball around, but it never stuck.

At about six this morning, I was laying in bed and decided to hop out, go for a little jog, then throw the basketball around a bit. A bit turned into 2 and a half hours, until I figured it was time to come back home and get some work done. I went outside of a school nearby where I spent a lot of time playing back in the day, and it felt great. I definitely wasn't moving quite as smoothly as I once did, but there's something that just felt natural and comforting about being there. Like visiting an old friend.

Back in high school, the only place I was comfortable was on the court. Well, the outdoor court anyway. When it came to playing for the school team, I was so preoccupied with the fact that I was not well liked (short, scrawny, shy geek who didn't know anyone... easy to make fun of) that I was nervous and even afraid to touch the ball. I don't think I ever even took a single shot in the two years I played on the team. I've always regretted that.

Anyway, when it came to street ball, it was a different story. I was very confident, in control, and enjoyed making people look bad. It was the complete opposite of the rest of my life at the time. Being there today I found myself remembering a lot of the moments and shots & passes I made in the games I played so long ago. I don't know why I remember it all so well, but like I said I was obsessed, and those were some of the only moments I didn't feel like an idiot back then.

I guess you could say those were my glory days... with absolutely no glory because there were no fans, crowds, or any record that any of those matches ever took place at all. hah. Maybe I dreamt it all up.

Here are a few pictures from this morning. It really took me back, but I wish someone else would have showed up to play. I miss the competition. 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hipsta-fun!

I love lomography, and I've posted about it a few times now. Something about the low tech cameras and the unexpected result is just exciting to me.

A few days ago, I saw a post from Amanda Palmer (who I follow on Twitter) about the hipstamatic app for the iPhone. The picture she posted had that lomo look I really dig, so I jumped all over that app right away. It did not disapoint. The app is slow, and a bit glitchy, but overall I love it.

Looking into it a bit I discovered that the hipstamatic was actually a camera that was produced a while back. The interesting thing is that there were only 200 of them made. I'd love to get my hands on one.

Until then, I'll just keep using the iPhone version. Here are a few shots I took with it today...









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I've stocked up!

I finally got around to bringing a roll of film from my holga to get developped. It's been a while since I took that camera out to play around, and I can't really remember what pictures will be on that film. I'm anxious to see the prints, and that's part of the fun of using an old school camera every now and then.

There's only one place left in town where I can get this medium format film developped, and where I can buy new rolls. Having said that, their supply is running quite low, so before long I'll have to order online. The plus side of buying the film in town is that because everyone has been digital for years, the rolls are not in demand and have expired in 2005 or so, which means I get them for next to nothing, and the film works just fine.

So, with a handful of rolls in hand, I'm stocked up and ready to play around for a little while. I'll be posting some new Holga pics soon!



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Goin' low tech

Thanks to digital photography, and not having to worry about the cost of buying and developing film, people went from just taking the same old boring pictures at special events like birthdays & holidays, to now really documenting their lives. With 100,000+ pictures sitting in my hard drives, photography is definitely an everyday thing for me.

Digital is obviously great, but when I received my Holga (a very low tech, all plastic camera) in the mail, I got a little excited. Like a kid with a new toy, I was giddy when I opened the package.

There's nothing fancy about this camera, it's not much more than a plastic box that houses medium format film. It even comes with a roll of black tape that can be used around the seams to prevent light leaks. That is if you want to prevent them. Letting light in and getting random burns on the film can be a nice effect too. Thanks to the flawed plastic lens, the shots have a nice hazy retro feel. The results are completely unpredictable, and that's why I love it.

Here are few of thd shots I've taken with the Holga.

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