December!

Yikes, it's been a while since I posted in here. I've mostly been blogging over on my work blog (www.anniehallphoto.com/blog) and personal photography has been put on hold - partially due to equal parts winter weather, less daylight, and me wanting to play computer games when I have down time.

Anyway, it's Christmas next week! So Tyler and I decided to take a quick Christmas 2013 photo at 4AM.


Nikon D600 + 85mm f/1.4D

GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY | NIKON FM

My first few shots with the Nikon FM (with Portra 160).
Discovered some light leaks so I installed new seals into it, and also discovered that it can't shoot past 1/500 sec or the mirror can't keep up with the shutter :P

Griffith Observatory Portra 160 Nikon FM
Griffith Observatory Portra 160 Nikon FM
Griffith Observatory Portra 160 Nikon FM

Pinnacles National Monument | Film

A long time ago, Tyler and I went to the Pinnacles National Monument for just a short while. I can't wait to go back. Here are a few frames shot with the Nikon N80 and some Fujichrome Velvia 50 film. Wish I had them scanned somewhere else, though.
Pinnacles National Monument
Pinnacles National Monument
Pinnacles National Monument

FP3000B with Tyler

Some late night shooting with Tyler. I think I only like this "studio" look with instant film.
Mamiya RB67 + FP3000B

Mamiya RB67 Polaroid back FP3000B
Mamiya RB67 Polaroid back FP3000B
Mamiya RB67 Polaroid back FP3000B


Instax 210 at Schabarum Park

Just a few recent Instax snaps from Schabarum Park.
Also, I still need to properly scan my instants.

instax wide 210 Schabarum park
instax wide 210 Schabarum parkinstax wide 210 Schabarum park

The Last of the Instax Mini


I'm happy to say that I was featured over at Snap it See it's Artist Spotlight recently! :)

I was in Gilroy at the time and left most of my instant film back in SoCal, so I didn't have too much to show for my Artist Spotlight images. That'll teach me not to properly scan my instant images immediately! But then again, I don't have a scanner. My "scans" have been me just taking pictures of the images as best I can, like this:

instax mini Fuji X100S presentation board

That's some high tech stuff. I'll have to go over to Tyler's to scan properly.
Anyway, I shot off the last few frames that were still sitting in my Instax Mini (the 7s) and I quite like them.

instax mini 7s
instax mini 7s

New Cameras

I haven't updated this as often as I used to since I switched over my wedding and portrait work over to www.anniehallphoto.com/blog and have since been wondering how to keep this blog updated as well.

"What do you do for fun?" is a question people like to ask, and I think I finally have an answer besides "I still like to take pictures in my free time." I like to learn and shoot with film. In my free time I've been going out with some film cameras, but I haven't really posted any of the results here. I think it's maybe because I haven't been satisfied with my skills yet, but it'd be fun to start keeping track of my progress here.

A friend of mine has access to a darkroom where he can help me develop some black and white film, and I've been playing with the idea of getting an Epson V600 to scan my own negatives. Maybe if I get better at this stuff I can start saving money from sending my film out. I got more time than money! I'm going to try to use the resources I have as much as I can.

Anyway, the two recent new cameras I got is the Nikon FM and the Mamiya 645af. Both were an awesome deal I didn't want to pass up. I wanted a 35mm film camera after the Nikon N80 mysteriously stopped working, and I also wanted a medium format camera with autofocus (Recently I've absolutely just been SUCKING at manually focusing with the Mamiya RB67), and the size of the RB67 has been keeping me from going out and shooting with it.

Nikon FM Mamiya 645af

Someone stop me from buying ANY OTHER CAMERAS from now on. I've covered ALL my bases, and have absolutely NO REASON to get anything else.

I Made A Book!

This is a bit different what I normally post, but I did hear recently that creatives are chronic night owls. Last night at 2am, I was sifting through some of my old stuff and came across some paper that I saved from old notepads and old notebooks. At the same time, I needed a new journal book for my work and I didn't want to buy one, so I decided to make my own!

I followed the instructions from here: http://how-to.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_bind_a_book and then added my own little touches towards the end. I used the paper from an old notepad and the simple cardboard packaging used to keep my 8x10"s from bending and some random fabric I used as backgrounds for my product shoots.

Here it is!

Top of the World, Hacienda Heights.

I used to think Top of the World was an awesome place. Well, it still is, but probably only at night. But don't make your night trips up there too frequent. The amount of broken glass from liquor bottles and beer cans tell all kinds of interesting stories, and I constantly see police cars drive up there in a jiffy. I remember a few years ago someone put an old dirty couch up there. It used to be a really beautiful place until recently the amount of garbage accumulated up there has just been distracting from the otherwise magnificent view.

Hacienda Heights top of the world
Hacienda Heights top of the world
Hacienda Heights top of the world
Hacienda Heights top of the world

Separation of Work and Play

I should have done this a long time ago, but finally I am now separating my blog into my wedding and portrait work blog at - www.anniehallphoto.com/blog

and my personal posts will remain here at - www.anniehallphoto.blogspot.com


Preview. New Wedding Work.

I plan to start sharing more of my recent wedding work. Here is a small preview for now.
{ Second shot for Nadine Photography - www.nadinestudio.com }

Shefali & John-Paul | Clos LaChance Winery Wedding

Shefali and J-P's wedding was amazing. Okay, that is already a huge understatement, but the energy was so high from the very beginning to the end. Good energy and human interaction, for me as a documentary wedding photographer, is what makes a wedding day so pleasant to capture. Spirits were high, and add that in with Shef and J-P's already amazing chemistry, and we've got a recipe for amazing images.

Bonus highlights of the day - The Bharat ceremony entrance included a bagpiper (for J-P's Scottish roots), J-P and his groomsmen had to dance to Single Ladies to earn his shoes back (Joota Chupai), and the crazy dancing at the reception!

See Shef and J-P's wedding portraits in my previous blog post here!
Enjoy!

San Martin wedding bride getting ready Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding bride getting ready Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding bride getting ready Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding bride getting ready Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding first look Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding first look Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian Bharat ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian Bharat ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Indian ceremony Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding cocktail hour Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding Joota Chupai Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception cake cutting Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception first dance Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception parent dancing Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception dancing Clos LaChance Winery
San Martin wedding reception Clos dancing LaChance Winery