This weekend I finally headed over to Domy Books. It's less than a half mile from home, but I knew that I could not resist spending at least a little money if I visited so I held off.
In a way I'm sort of glad that I waited to visit-it was a welcome distraction from this weekend's sweltering temperatures. When I walked through the doors it was almost as if I was transported to a far off land full of goodies that had been placed there just for my enjoyment. In short, it was awesome!
I made a mental list of several favorites (which I just posted over at my other blog) and ended up with this back issue of Aperture. There are several great articles in the magazine, but the one that drew me to it is about the drawings of William Eggleston (pictured above).
I highly recommend a visit to Domy if you are in the Austin area.
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I noticed lately that there have been a lot of questions in the comments about what camera I use and also what "techniques" I use. I decided I'd answer here so everyone could read it.
(Also, I do have a FAQ page that may be of some help.)
I use a Yashica TL Electro for almost all of my shots. I used to play around with all sorts of Polaroids, a holga, brownies and others but it's been awhile since I've done that. If I use something other than my Yashica, I'll try and let you know in the post.
I bought the camera for cheap at a thrift store. It's light meter is broken and the batteries have run out. But the camera can pretty much do everything without the battery. I just load regular 35mm film (I buy kodak from the drugstore or find similar film at thrift stores) and then advance the film manually. I just guess with the settings. What? Yes, it's actually pretty straightforward. I just loaded some film and played with the settings one day-and then I could see what the settings did what. Does that make sense? Notes are helpful with this process.
Anyway, that's all I do, no fancy tricks or techniques. I just load in film and play with the settings. I have almost no clue what each of them means as I have never taken a photo class or done much technical research on the subject, but I know what they look like and I think that is most important. You should do the same! I bet you'll be happily surprised. I really do try to think about what a shot will be before I shoot it-I think that's my real trick. If something is not the right color or shape or has the wrong light-I won't shoot the photo. I think it's the opposite of what most people do with digital.
Hope that answers your questions :)
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Happy day, everyone!
