Matthias in focus

Matthias wanted to show one of his photos. This one has been taken with the old Meopta Flexomat, with a weird filter in front. I think it rocks.
Matthias brought home his first high school report today, and it was pleasant reading. Top marks in Music, German and Art, and overall very good.

Half term

Mrs Rasmussen managed (don't ask how) to survive the last week of this term. I drove to St Andrews last night to pick her up, as her head of department had decided that the exhibition on the last day should stay open until 8.30 (that's PM). We hung out with a bunch of other people, unfortunately mostly teachers, in the evening, dousing out tiredness in red wine, listening to small talk and trying not to wince when someone said "richard and judy" or "sudoku". Anyway, it was quite nice to switch off your brain for a couple of hours.
Mrs Rasmussen is off on her half term break for the next week. Wee.

6 by 6

Matthias and I have been shooting 6x6 black and white films. Matthias has been using our ancient Czech camera we bought in Prague 15 years ago - for, what, £10? - and I have been trying out the plastic magic of Holga.
It is good to have the old developing tank out again, rolling films up in closets after dark and developing in the kitchen.

Behold

Holga arrived

The modified Holga I ordered from Randy's website arrived safe and sound Saturday morning. It is great.
Currently I have fixed two pieces of sponge to keep a 35 mm film in place, which I am using to test the camera. I have also taped the red window on the back to avoid light leaking in. Anyway, we'll see.
In any case it is very satisfying being back to original low-tech (in this case actually NO tech) photography. Haven't done that since the seventies, where I was taking pictures with my dad's Kodak Retina.

Newspeak

Dear Mr Fischer,

Thank you for placing your first order with Sainsbury's to You. You can now sit back and relax while your order is carefully selected by our trained shoppers and delivered straight to your door.

This is not a joke. This is real copy copied from a real email from Sainsbury. Somehow I cannot get this unsettling image of "trained shoppers" out of my head. The logo is not real, but my slightly modified version.

The milkman cometh

Another small step in the direction of not having to shop in supermarkets. We had fresh, organic milk, straight from the thing that makes it - a cow - delivered to our doorstep today. Three pints, of course, in glass bottles, not plastic crap you have to recycle by driving your car to the nearest recycle place. All thanks to Pete from the Doorstep Deli. Friday we are having more milk and fresh organic eggs as well. It's heaven. Why we let supermarkets kill the milkman I have no idea, but my guess is something with money. But milkmen doesn't give in this easily. They are back. With milk. Good for them and good for us.

Plastic fantastic

Holga is a Chinese plastic camera, originally "built" as a cheap medium-format camera for the masses. And when they say plastic, they mean plastic. Everything is plastic, even the lens. The camera is so poorly manufactured that each individual camera is different. What they all have in common are the light leaks, the two apertures which are the same because of a construction fault, and lots of other quirks and mishaps. The built-in flash version of Holga uses batteries, but has no battery holder so the batteries fly around inside unless you gaffa them to the house.
And speaking of gaffa and glue, people love the Holga. And they modify it beyond belief. They drill it. They colour it. They tape it and cut it. A guy from New York even sells Holgas with the most essential modfications, which he perform in his spare bedroom converted into a Holga workshop.
And best of all, people take photos with the damned thing. And they are gorgeous. Isn't that wild?

Going Lomo

Our friend R bought a low tech Lomo camera, and I had no clue. Man, was I in for a surprise. I have been an amateur photographer since the late seventies, and always thought that the better quality equipment, the better the pictures. Man, was I wrong. Lomo is a Russian built 35mm camera with next to no features, but it has a devoted audience who upload their Lomo shots 24/7, from all over the world. It is truly amazing.
Wait, there's more. There is also a Chinese plastic camera called the Holga. More on the Holga tomorrow.
Lomographic Society

I managed to buy this fantastic light meter from eBay this week. It is a Weston Euro-Master, made in Enfield here in the UK between 1970 and 1974, and is a pure delight in engineering and design. Plus it doesn't use batteries, only light energy. Brilliant.

School trip

Matthias left the house this morning with a giant bag full of clothes, toiletries, towels and stuff. He is going to Pertshire for a four day school trip with all sorts of outdoor activities.
Sofie is continuing her exams, with Maths today after completing Art and English earlier this week.
The parents are both working, working...and working.

Magic