Tag: Mint

Personal Shenanigans

Backsides and then What?

Ashley

I find myself having the photographer’s equivalent to a writer’s block, and I am not enjoying it in the least.

In the first week of August, I spent all of my time taking photographs during my vacation. I used the time to acquaint myself with the camera I had just purchased, a Mint RF70. It was great because I had the opportunity to drive to different destinations, and take photographs pretty much all day, everyday. I took enough to have a decent shot to post on social media once a day for the majority of August.

Anyways, after I got home, I realized that I was coming up on my anniversary from my, “Look Up,” series. I thought, “What a great idea! I will do a specific themed series every month!” So I settled on September’s theme being, “The Backside of Buildings.”

Side Tangent: I’ve always been intrigued with the backside of buildings because they seem to have so much more going on than the front. Between electrical boxes, dumpsters and alley-way doors, it is almost like walking into another world. The front of the building is the mask, showing what the world is supposed to see. Viewing the backside is the equivalent of looking into the building’s soul.

That being said, I have 10 posts (11 photographs total) for Instagram, depicting the backsides of buildings in various towns of Colorado & Wyoming. The exploration involved in finding these photographs was great! I discovered places I had never known to exist. However, I will not be continuing the project any further. You see, I had quickly become bored with the subject matter. Urban photography has never been my forte. It can be fun for a change, but nature and scenery are my passion. I miss the world outside of the cities.

The other issue, besides boredom: I am finding myself trying to take photographs for daily Instagram posts. The shots were no longer for me. I was just taking them for the sake of social media. I can’t keep this practice up. It’s wrong. I like sharing my work and I enjoy helping others, but when it really comes down to it, my photography is for me.

So, this is what I have decided: After posting my, “Backside of Buildings,” series, my feed will be less structured. The promise I make moving forward is to only share the work I am most proud of, or the work that I have learned something from. No more posts for the sake of posting. I know I can do better than that, and I will from now on.

What is next, after, “Backsides..?” Not a clue in the world. This is my final delima. I wish to explore places I have never been. It can just be difficult when I only have one good day of energy to do so (night shift problems). I have one week to figure it out before I am back on my weekend. Wish me luck.

Until then, enjoy the above preview of the aforementioned series that starts tomorrow, September 1st, 2020. And thank you for reading this little rant of mine.

Instant, Personal Shenanigans, Photography

New Beginning: Mint InstantKon RF70

Ashley

I’ve been looking at this camera for some time now, and I have finally decided to take the plunge! I purchased the Mint InstantKon RF70 on Saturday morning and received the shipping confirmation early this morning. I am hoping it gets here before I leave for my trip to my Mom’s place. That is 13 days away, which is cutting it close. The camera is coming from Hong Kong and with COVID causing all sorts of delays, I may be out of luck for my vacation. I’m staying positive though that it will still show up before I leave!

Some background: The RF70 is considered a top of the line Instant camera. I believe it is the only fully manual Instant camera available. When using it, you have control over the aperture and shutter speed. Currently, the camera alone costs $899 US, and that does not include some of the extra accessories you can purchase. Since I was spending the money, I went ahead and selected the Ultimate Package. This will include 3x Neutral Density filters, a hood, 2x packs of film, and a camera strap. I’m glad they have the ND filters available, as Instax Wide ISO is 800, and I prefer to shoot during bright, sunny days.

So, all of that being said, I am stupid excited for this camera. It will be my first instant venture outside of Polaroid. I’ve been doing a lot of research on it and have found some interesting hacks that I plan to attempt. The first one I am going to try involves making another filter attachment. I found this hack through an Instagram account that I follow, @myinstantimages. This person uses the RF70 frequently and has a lot of really great tips. I’m basically following his mod instructions to the T. I will post another entry on that modification specifically, once I get the equipment. The best part about all of it is, the filter setup that I am going with will be compatible with my Sony camera as well.

I also took the time to reacquaint myself with how to use an external light meter. This is something I was taught back in junior high school and never used again. It’s definitely interesting. I don’t have an actual light meter so I will be using the application, “myLightMeter.” I have no clue how well this works, so I will probably post on that as well once I have some experience using the app along side my camera.

The final purchase I have made for my camera was a journal. Being a total Disney nerd, I decided to use this great find from the Disney Store in order to track the settings used on all of my shots. Since I try to incorporate a sense of adventure in all of my photographs, this “Quests of Yore,” journal is perfect! It’s from the most recent Disney Pixar movie release, “Onward.”

So, in short, I’m motivated and excited again. This purchase was much needed. Life in general has been rough with everything going on in the world. I feel like this camera is saving me from the stress and anxiety that has resulted from that craziness. I can not wait to begin this journey.