Instagram

You might be surprised that in addition to an obsession with analogue photography, I also like the various photo apps available for my Droid Incredible.  Many look at digital as being in opposition to film, but they are both artforms in their own right and as a photographer, I enjoy hopping the fence back and forth between both worlds.

I think Instagram is to digital photography what the Holga is to film.  The camera in a phone itself is fairly low quality (mine is only 8 megapixels) with few manual controls.  It’s essentially a toy camera.  Instagram adds in the fun of sharing photos via social networking.  Much like a Polaroid, there is also the enjoyment of instant gratification.

If you have a smart phone, I recommend trying a few of the apps.  Here’s an article I wrote for MCP Actions about fun photo apps for Droid.  I have also used cell phone photos to make Cyanotypes, read about that here.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram @KellySamuelson
If you don’t have the app, you can also view some of my photos at http://kellysamuelson.tumblr.com/

PS: The lo-fi filter is my favorite.  The frame simulates a filed film carrier.

-Kelly

Thrifting, Gifting and Ebay. The story of my camera collection

I get questions about how many cameras I own… which are followed by questions about how I afford purchasing of 40 or so cameras.  I’m here to tell you the story behind all my cameras and how I got them.  This has the potential to be a long post, so I’ve inserted a post break after the first few photos, so… Be sure to click READ MORE
I started shooting film when I was about 14 years old.  Snapshots of friends, which morphed into portraits of friends.  I fell in love with black and white CN film.  I continued to love photography in college.  I had a couple higher-end point and shoot cameras over the years. 
Eventually, digital became a thing and for my 20th birthday, my mom dropped $300 on my first digital camera (a 3 megapixel Kodak, still point and shoot.  Digital was still pretty new and my mom still has this camera at her house when I want it back).
Toward the end of my senior year of college, I took a film photography class that used traditional black and white film and SLRs.  I borrowed a Pentax 35mm SLR from a friend for the class and fell in love with developing my own film.  By the end of the class, I had spent about $100 or so on eBay obtaining my first film SLR – A Canon AE-1 Program with a couple lenses.

Flash forward a few years, and I now have everything ranging from $1 thrift store finds to this, my Canon 50D.  Picked it up at Best Buy for only $1200… and that was before I bought lenses for it.  I love it and always look at it as a true indicator of my dedication to photography.  When you spend that much on a camera body, it’s gettin' serious.

After I graduated with my BA, I still went back to the local CC, College of the Siskiyous to take film photography classes and play in the darkroom.  I can't remember where I first heard about the Holga and all it's Lo-Fi goodness, but I was intrigued and had to have one.  Once I had purchased my first Holga, I fell in love.  I got it from Freestyle Photo for $30.  I’ve since painted it pink, taken it apart, modified it and a bunch of other scary things, but I loved the toy camera and all it’s toy-camera-ness.

I also loved using 120 film.  Nothing like an enormous negative to play with in the darkroom.  I needed a vintage TLR in my life and grabbed this Yashica on eBay for $30.  If you haven’t noticed by now… I keep getting EXTREMELY lucky with the prices of my eBay and thrift store finds.

Printing Photos on Fabric

I recently printed a panoramic photo on fabric using Spoonflower.com.

One yard of Linen Cotton Canvas ($27) was enough to print the design 3 times at 52 inches wide.

I was worried about how much detail the photo would retain printed on fabric, but it came out beautifully.

Unlike canvas prints, the designs on Spoonflower are dyed into the threads of the fabric, so the print retains all its texture.

See my design setup here: http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/920270.  You can sell prints through the website as well (though I don't).

Happy Printing!

Kelly

PS. Spoonflower isn't paying me anything to write this, I just wanted to share. :)