Rollei Crossbird 35mm Film Review

Rollei Crossbird 35mm Film

"Looking for a cheap to process cross process film that will give constant & impressive results? Look no further than Rollei Crossbird! Available in 35mm or 120! Feel the greens, the blues, the yellows... a true Lomo experience.

Back in the middle of 2010 I was in my local photo lab looking at films. Having only ever really used colour negative film in my LC-A I was keen to give cross processing a try… but in all honestly I didn’t want to sound like a fool to the cute dude into photo lab. So on this particular day I saw the Rollei Crossbird film thought the glass refrigerator door and was intrigued. I had read about Rollei’s legendary range of black & white films, known for their quality and use by professional photographers. I decided to take a chance & brought my first roll of Crossbird.

Now, to start with, from the get go Rollei has all intentions of you cross processing this film. It even states ‘Process C-41’ on the canister. I found this brilliant, since it means you can even fool your local photo lab into not charging you extra for cross processing.

With my LC-A loaded up with Crossbird I headed out into the lovely Victorian country side to record a lovely warm autumn day.

The results were amazing. If I was to fault the film a little it would be that the film results were a little dark in parts, but this may also be from my LC-A. Colour-wise expect strong greens, blues & shadows when shooting outside in sunlight, when shooting inside or in minimal light expect warm yellow tones. I can see Rollei Crossbird become one of my favorite films, it’s easy to use, cheap to process & you are always guaranteed rich colours with an amazing cross processed feel to your photos."

This film review was originally published on lomography.com & can be found here. I encourage those who are members of lomography.com to please 'like' &/or comment on this review on the website.

♥

London Love.

I left my heart in London somewhere 

between the pub & a long walk home. 

"Samuel Johnson once said:

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Before I travelled to London to live & work for 2 years I would have never conceived of the enjoyment London would give me.

As an outsider I saw London with fresh eyes, I wanted to absorb all of its glittering brilliance & be absorbed into its shadowy underbelly.

From my favorite coffee shop, Flat White on Berwick Street in Soho, the only coffee shop in London where you could get a Aussie coffee, although sometimes you had to line up out the door & sit on the curb & get your caffeine hit, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Even on a the cold grey days, a long walk in one of her many parks or a hot chocolate on a bench in Soho Square would lighten up even the dullest mood. The fall of autumn leaves showering your shoulders & feet.

To Camden Markets, where punks hang with tourists & market stalls selling all the wares of the modern world, the local pub, where a fresh pint & a bowl of chips would always help clear away a long winter day with the help of your friend’s hearty banter & the life blood of London, buses & trains… every soul in London has had their drunken trip home on the 189 bus or had to walk home from Baker Street after missing the last Jubilee train home at 12:47am.

After 2 years of seasons, I had to leave my lovely London with her dirt & grime, her river, her eye & return back to my life in Australia, but I left my heart in London. Thankfully I have my LomoLondon memories to keep me alive!

I ♥ London."

This Lomo Location post was originally published here. I wanted to post this, not only to reminisce about my time in London, but also to pre-celebrate another article I will have published on lomography.com very very soon.

x

Giving peace a chance.

I find myself thinking about peace regularly. More than anything else I sometimes even wonder what exactly peace means these days.

Wikipedia's definition of peace is:

"Peace describes a society or a relationship that is operating harmoniously and without violent conflict. Peace is commonly understood as the absence of hostility, or the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or  international relationships, safety in matters of social or economic welfare, the acknowledgment of equality and fairness in political relationships. In international relations, peacetime is the absence of any war or conflict."

I believe that too many of us think that peace is simply the absence of war. In reality, we in modern society are constantly at war with ourselves & others. We may not bear arms, we may not be fighting, we are trying to be one better, one richer, one stiletto shoe taller than others. 

To me peace is living in harmony with those in your environment, caring for others & creating happy, healthy relationships with friends & family. In the hope that one day the whole world will be without prejudice, discrimination & war, in every sense of the word.  

What does peace mean to you? 

Australia Day

Happy Australia Day!

January 26th each year is a national public holiday here in Australia. There are some who celebrate it patriotically, some who mourn it & some who have a BBQ, drink beer & listen to Triple J's hottest 100!

However you spend the day, I hope it's a good one! x

I'm spreading the news.

It's said that from little things big things grow. With this in mind I'm working on my new creative project at the moment. In a nutshell it will encompass my writing & photography into my own little creative enterprise. I am excited about it's development & how it will help me bring together two of my most favorite past times into one tidy little website.

I hope to be able to announce more within the coming weeks as I tie all the loose ends together.

Thus far with my ambition to shoot photos everyday & write everyday... It is proving fruitful... so much so that I purchased another Diana Mini camera, this time in white, so that I have a camera I can always have black & white film loaded in. I'm also flirting with the idea of buying a Fuji Instax Mini.

On the subject of the Diana Mini, I would like to give a shout out to the ever wonderful Elle over at Diana Mini Love & Rhianne who had a lovely Diana Mini week this week on her blog For the Easily Distracted . Stay lovely, ladies. ♥

   

Hello 2011!

Hello Blogosphere, I'm sorry it's been so long... you know how it is... 

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" etc.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

This year I haven't made any new years resolutions, but there are a few things I would like to achieve or do. They include:

- Take photographs everyday.

- Write everyday.

- Finish studying.

- Be happy, even when things don't go to plan.

- Worry less about what other people think of me.

- Finish things I start.

& if all goes to plan I will be launching my own little creative project within the next few weeks... so keep an eye out for it!

Peace & ♥.