Once Upon a Time in Abbotsford

LC-Wide (Fuji Superia 200 film)

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. I've been focused on my other work at the moment (which you can check out here) & I've never been one to post photos just for the sake of creating a post.

These are a few shots from a couple of months ago, when it was still quite cold and my friend April accompanied me on a little photo walk around Abbotsford Convent.

x Mel

Winter, just passing through

LC-Wide (Kodak T-Max 100)

I seem to be shooting more black & white than usual these days, discovering new film favourites and letting the winter light speak for itself. I'm enjoying spending my days at the studio, working on projects and having the time to go out and shoot in daylight hours.

x Mel

P.S. I'm running a Introduction to Lomography workshop in Melbourne on August 15th if anyone is interested! You can find all the info and booking details here: Introduction to Lomography Melbourne.

Former Yorkshire Brewery, Collingwood.

LC-Wide (Kodak Ektar)

I managed to catch one of the last sunny warm weekends to spend on a photo walk around Collingwood with a few of my fellow film shooters. One of our main destinations was the former Yorkshire Brewery in Collingwood, that is now derelict & awaiting council sign off before being turned into a multi-storey apartment building.

However, currently it is a mix of bright graffiti & urban flotsam... with nature slowly taking over. Sometimes its nice to get out and shoot in places you've not been before & if you can find some friends who have local insider knowledge of what is out there, then that's even better!

How that winter is slowly setting in, there will be fewer warm sunny days... so it looks like I'll have stick to Portra 400 film & try to overlook the clouds & rain that are on their way.

x
Mel

Surprising Studio

LC-Wide (Kodak BW400CN) - ACDC Lane - Cherry Bar.

So, Melbourne. You have been been impressing me lately. Yes, you are getting colder, but you have resisted too much of that silly rainy windy mess that you are known for. Among other things you have opened some pretty amazing doors lately, including of the physical variety... the physical art/creative studio variety. 

I have longed for a little while now to have a place where I can dedicate my time to my creative artistic projects, my post-grad coursework and my Lomography freelance work. A few of weeks back I responded to an advert of the Creative Spaces website for a desk space in a communal studio just a couple of blocks from my house in Carlton. After meeting the awesome bunch of people who share the space, they decided that I fit the bill & I was welcomed into the world of Bouverie Studios! Hurrah!

The past few of weeks that I've been working in the studio have been super productive & very much worth the extra rent. I recommend anyone who doesn't feel like they have the space or solitude they need in their current working space to seek out a studio space, it very much worth it for your own peace of mind & the best outcome of your work. I'm surprised just how much I can get done on nights & weekends, more than I ever did working out of my bedroom in a share house.

What has surprised you lately?

x 

Mel

Mother Megan Love

LC-Wide & Belair X6-12 (with black borders)

To say that I'm over the moon about the birth of my best friend's little girl, Harriet would be an understatement... so I wanted to post a few more of the photographs I took back in February for Megan's pregnancy photo shoot.

These are some of my favorite shots from the whole day & I really love the way that they show just how happy Megan was to welcome her first born into the world. I feel that they are a mix of celebration and heartfelt happiness, which were exactly the emotions that that Megan was expressing on the day.

I had the opportunity not only to use my beloved LC-Wide, but also my new Belair X6-12... this was only the 2nd time I had used my Belair & I found that it gives such a beautiful quality to these portraits. I can't wait to use it in more portrait sessions in the future.

I especially can't wait to take photos of little Harriet when I am next in Brisbane. 

x

Mel

Spotty Melbourne

LC-Wide (Kodak BW400CN) (colour spots added in Photoshop)

I'm a big believer in being authentic in analogue film photography, especially when portraying the end result truthfully. I'm not big at editing my film shots, I pretty much just remove dust & straighten the occasional photo. However since doing Blogshop in Sydney back in December, I've been inspired to add a little something to a few of my film photos. I don't think this will become a regular occurrence but it was fun &interesting to play around with a few effects & such in Photoshop.

These photos are from a selection from I took in Melbourne back at the end of last year... & these three just seemed to work well together to me.

How do you feel about post-processing / digitally editing your film photos?

x
Mel

Photo Swap 2012 - Part Two

My Melbourne photos from the photoswap with Margrethe from Norway. 

(LC-Wide with expired Agfa 100)

Oh the joys of a Melbourne spring! Sunny 28 one day, rainy 8 the next... thankfully there is always just enough light to snap up the sights of the city.

I can hardly believe that it is already November, the year has gone so fast & so many things have happened. Next weekend I am spending a long weekend in Sydney, a little mini break is exactly what I need & if I manage to take some photos while I'm there, that's a bonus. (Although I am limiting myself to only taking 3 cameras with me!) I'll also be catching up with a couple of old friends from the UK & Europe that I've not seen in ages... fun times!

Then 3 weeks after that I am back in Sydney for a Blogshop workshop which I'm going to with the spectacular photographer Olivia... we are making a big girls weekend away of it & I just can't wait for cocktails harbourside & learning loads of neat new photoshop skills.

Sometimes you just need a little travel time to clear your head & heart.

x Mel

LC-Wide x Fisheye 2 on the Streets of Fitzroy

LC-Wide x Fisheye 2 (Lomography 800CN film)

On Saturday morning there was a brief, yet exciting few hours of sunshine here in Melbourne... so out I went with my LC-Wide & recently borrowed Fisheye 2... one swapped double exposed film later & I'm super happy with my results... I love experimenting with double exposures & I think I will really learn to love the Fisheye 2.

I love how well the two very different lens of the LC-Wide & Fisheye 2 complement each other & give different angles... I will most definitely be using this combination of cameras again very soon. I also love how forgiving the 800 speed film can be, without too much grain... I look forward to maybe even giving some xpro a go next time on this little doubles combination.

I love walking the streets of Fitzroy, if for nothing else than the awesome old cars that you see around the place... I'm always a sucker for a cute old car & a bit of lane way street art... oh & don't forget the occasional (done too much these days) feet shot.

Come on Melbourne sunshine, stay just a little longer?

x Mel 

A Yarra Valley Weekend

(1 -3) LC-A (Lomography 50-200 Redscale) & (4 -5) LC-Wide (Fuji Sensia 100)

During the winter months in Melbourne, the light isn't ideal for film photography... especially in the city. So when a friend suggested we go for a wine tour of the Yarra Valley, I was all ears. It rained for most of the day of our tour, but thanks to my LC-A & LC-Wide there were still plenty of photos to be taken. It's so lovely to visit the countryside, it make me miss Queensland a little,with all of it's wide open spaces & fresh air. 

Just a little reminder to those of you who have taken photos with Lomography cameras (including Holgas) anywhere in Victoria, you still have time to submit them into the Vignetting Victoria Exhibition that will be running in September at the No Vacancy Project Space in Federation Square. The deadline is midnight tonight August 3rd... so quick sticks! You can see all the submission & exhibition details at Vignetting Victoria.

x 

Mel