TexasGirl Photography

In early February, I noticed a post by a fellow Medium writer that indicated she was taking part in a photo-a-day challenge, and inviting people to join in. Probably just that first sentence will tell you where this is going: can I resist a project challenge? No, no I cannot.

A few years ago, I tried to get into doing a 365 project with my Instax Wide camera. I found it daunting and too expensive, so I quickly abandoned it. However! Not too long ago I started messing around with my daughter’s Instax Mini, and was surprised by how great those little photographs can be, provided you use the camera to its best advantage. Sometimes I guess the wind just blows in the right direction: I picked up her Mini again and got to work. . . . . then I decided the project was going to stick (the film is cheaper) so I took a little trip to eBay and got myself a sweet Lomo camera that I am really enjoying.

I’ve sold some gear in the past few months, with the intention of putting that money back into my photography, so. . . . .sell a little gear, buy a little gear. . . .the herd really never gets any thinner, does it?

Thus properly armed, since I didn’t feel right about using a camera that doesn’t belong to me, I was off to the races. Granted I have only been at this for about 3 weeks now, but it’s my firm intention to keep it going no matter how challenging it gets to find a photo in my daily life. The Automat is pretty flexible in terms of indoor use (it even has a remote in the lens cap, although I’ve yet to use it since it took me a while to realize it required batteries), with a variety of settings including multiple exposures, so I am confident!

Warts and all, here I present to you the photos from February:

Brace yourself! There’s more!

Some days, I made more than one photo – way more. When I went to the varsity tennis match on a sunny afternoon I couldn’t help myself; same story when I went to Mayfield House on Mardi Gras. You’ll notice the last image above is a bonus: made with my Diana Instant Square and the fisheye lens. I guessed at a long exposure and was happy with how it came out.

So: feedback time. If you made it this far, hopefully it means you look at least a quick look at the photos. Borders or no borders? Some I edited out because of the way they scanned, some I left. Different people share their instant photos in different ways, but I am curious what you, as the viewer, feel makes the better experience in terms of looking at them online.

Happy March! Wherever you are, I hope the weather is being kind to you and the light is falling just the way you like it.