Louisiana on Film 2016

My new Minolta 202 took some really interesting "contrasty" photos. I purchased portra 400 film and had them processed at the Photocenter in Brick NJ.  

This sugar kettle's stains give us some insight into its history.  This, and the slave quarters below were taken at the beautiful Evergreen Plantation, the same plantation you might recognize in the movie Django. 

This photo does not do it justice.  Oak Alley Plantation is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  It is nicknamed "The Grande Dame of the Great River".

We spent some time in New Orlean's oldest cemetery, St. Louis.  I'm not sure where my fascination with cemeteries came from, but visiting Louisiana surely made me want to tour the country for obscure tombstones and epitaphs to rub. New Orleans definitely has the strangest cemeteries I've ever seen, besides the obvious fact that people are not buried, but rows of tombs have been made to simulate a "city of the dead". It's a clever fix so coffins are placed above the water table.   These sun-bleached tombs are a testament to their age and the warmth of the area. You wouldn't believe how these cemeteries attract many little lizards, which are fun to spot, and even more fun to catch!  

Richard Kimball?

Texas to Nola part II

 Did you know this? I didn't know what the symbols on outhouses meant.

 A shot from our brief time in Austin. 

Daimon took this candid shot of me.

In Houston, we visited the museum of funeral history. There was a very interesting exhibit on bizarre coffins. Check out this crab!

This is the San Francisco House; once a sugar plantation.

I soaked up the sun all week just like this tiny frog we found at a state park. I tried to identify this little guy; I suspect it's a spring peeper. That's a good sign, even if he does live in Louisiana!

The Summer, on Film

These are the people, places, and things I spent time with. I wished one particular roll came out where I caught a turtle in a jackson pond, or that we already developed our recent one from swimming and climbing fallen trees in the Delaware River. Until then, here's some shots from the summer.

BJ taught me some simple banjo cords, from Thomas Wesley Stern

 Jay and I spent some time at the jetty, of Moon Motel

Tiffany of Salt and Steel, like her page.

I want some grilled mango right about now.

You can find this dino on the Ortley Beach boardwalk.

Here are some of my favorite shots from a family photoshoot at Atlantic Farms, I blogged about here.

Back from Wildwood!

It wasn't too wild down in the Wildwoods. Besides the incredible storm we experienced while eating our hazelnut cheesecake slice in Cape May, catching about 100 waves, and driving between two ends of a double rainbow (ya, it went right over the bridge) it was a pretty relaxed 4-day vacation.   It was my first time using the panoramic setting on my phone and it was perfect timing! Check out the lightning bolt.

Don't let the pictures fool you; the weather couldn't have been nicer.  Daimon and I spent a few days at a beach condo with my cousin and aunt, and we stick to the traditions but try to experience it differently each time. We usually cruise around listening to the Zombies, looking at the bright colored lights from the amusement park area late at night. This year we were able to see a meteor shower on the beach, two nights in a row! It was the most incredible show; I never saw so many in one period of time. Both my cousin and I like time lapse photography, and we had all the right equipment, but no tripod...  We worked with what we had.

We tend to vacation "on the cheap" but somehow I did end up coming home with a few souvenirs. Daimon picked up a beautiful green hardtop suitcase at a vintage store for me! I can't wait to turn it into a face painting station.  I bought him a peanut butter sundae from Duffer's.

Every morning I picked through fiber on the porch while watching the dolphins with my aunt. It was sooooooo relaxing and memorable. I can't wait to wash and dye this stuff lavender!

Most of my turquoise blue washed away in that comfortably warm, salty ocean but it truly is one of the most beautiful beaches.  The only difficult thing is to enjoy the beach without having a constant urge for ice cream. We all need to go on a sugar diet for a few days.

The Subject Photographs the Photographer

Say what? I'm going to be exhibiting photography at the Toms River Library? I think I need to pinch myself because I've never exhibited my shots. As much film as I've shot over the years, it's a little nerve wracking.  Of all the mediums I've explored in my life, I think I'm the most critical of my photography. There's a weird shadow! A distracting line in the background! I don't like that he has words on his shirt! I don't think the expression looks right!

In an attempt to add more to the show, I've set up a series of photo shoots with different people. I can't wait to get that call that the film is done. Yesterday afternoon I shot some pictures of my very flexible, bendy friend at Turkey Swamp Park.  The weather was so perfect that I fell asleep by the river side. After pulling two ticks off and taking two rolls of film, my friend sent me this picture from our shoot. So many tiny toads were hopping around at the park; I had to pick one up!

Roadtrip on Film, February 2015

I got that anticipated phone call that kind of feels like Christmas morning when I was little; "Hey Jen, you're film's all done."  Daimon and I bee-lined it to Photocenter in Brick and enjoyed going through the many envelopes of pictures at Cookie Lady's (I did a small business spotlight on this little breakfast place here).  Here's some of my favorite shots from our trip from Florida to Louisiana.  I hope I captured the spirit of my subjects:

Lots of old boats docked up for years in Florida.

The long drive over water to Louisiana.

I didn't buy any voodoo items but I enjoyed checking them out in all the shops.

We canoed alongside manatees!

 A national park full of sinkholes in Florida:

Our first day of freedom was spent at Epcot in Florida.

If I lived in New Orleans, I'd make paper mache masks all year round to sell at their mask market.

We spent some time with an old friend and NOLA local.  She's so pretty with her peach colored bike and Valentines Day roses.

I was on line buying pralines and spicy chocolate when I decided to take this picture of the guy in front of me.

 Next time, we're spending way more time checking out the cemeteries!