This old clunker sat for ages in someone’s backyard near where we walk, along a dirt road next to a gently flowing creek. It sat next to another old mini in a similar state of decrepitude. Because these beauties sat at the back of a ‘bush block’ there were no fences as such, so I would whip out whatever camera I happened to be carrying at the time (never leave home without a camera!) and take a shot. Only last week we went past again only to see the rusting minis had been removed *sigh* so it goes…

This image was my contribution to the exhibition ‘RESPECT’ a benefit exhibition to show our appreciation for this man, which is currently open at the New North Galleries in Fairfield, Melbourne. You can read more about it here.

Camera: Diana F+     Film: Fujichrome Provia 100F (cross-processed) – post process: this image has been grey-scaled and duotoned.

Recently, thanks to the example and encouragement of some friends, I have ventured into developing my own negatives at home. So far I have done a few rolls of B & W, but I also have the ingredients for some C-41 (colour negative) developing, when I feel brave enough. This particular image was shot with my Diana 151 loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400. For those who like the technical details, here they are:
Camera: Diana 151     Film: Kodak Tri-X 400
Rated ISO: 400
Developer: Rodinal
Dilution: 1:50
Temp: 20ºC
Time: 13 min
Method: Initial agitation 55 seconds then 10 seconds every two minutes. 60 sec Stop Bath (Kodak Indicator Stop Bath). 5 minutes Ilford Rapid Fixer. Ilford Wash Technique then Kodak Fotoflow for 30 sec.

One of my favourite Integral Polaroids, this image has recently been printed in the “Roadtrip” theme gallery of Light Leaks magazine (thank you editors), along with many other great images and articles (this one’s on p. 34 if anyone has the latest issue) *grin*

Camera: Polaroid Spectra    Film: Polaroid Spectra/Image Integral film

A bit of abstraction with this detail of some entropy in action…errr, that is all. (I’m on Night Shift so can’t really string many words together, for which many of you should be very grateful!)

Camera: Diana F +    Film: Fuji PRO400H film.

More about this Polaroid later – got to do some angle grinding now, must attend to the Chook shed!
OK, I’ve successfully managed to cut the chook (chicken) shed down to 2/3 it’s original size without actually injuring myself with any power tools (an achievement for someone as clumsy as I, believe me!) Why am I doing this? Well, we want to move the shed further into the NW corner of our yard, so my wife can extend her veggie garden, which is rather constrained at the moment, reducing the chook-shed dimensions will make it easier to move and make more space in the back-yard. There, now you know. Fascinating eh?
About this Polaroid. I had purchased a tatty old SX-70 from evilbay and wanted to try it out with some SX-70 film I had also procured from somewhere (can’t remember where) and my wife was going to visit a local nursery to check out the plants and so forth (as you do). We visited Cloude Hill which is a very pleasant nursery in Olinda (in the Dandenong ranges near Melbourne) with adjoining picturesque gardens which you can roam for a small fee. This shot, taken in the nursery section where they had lots of large sculptures, fountains and so on, shows a portion of sculpture (the spiky, curvy metallic intrusions into the composition) against a blurred background the rear of a standing water feature-thang (the blue). I had uploaded this to my portfolio of Polaroids at Polanoid.net ages ago but just recently received a message from a nice man who works at a French publishing firm who expressed interest in using the image for a cover of a book (of Andalusian Poetry) which is quite exciting as that will be a first for me. Anyway, I signed the contract and sent it off to France last week so hopefully this abstract Polaroid will grace the cover of a nice book soon!

Camera: Polaroid SX-70    Film: PolaroidSX-70 Instant Integral Film