Just closed out another month of photos for Project 365. I missed a few days here and there, mostly because the day was bo-ring and I was lazy.

Ten more months to go… eesh.

The best thing I’ve come across lately is called CHDK.

CHDK is a firmware enhancement that operates on a number of Canon Cameras. CHDK gets loaded into your camera’s memory upon bootup (either manually or automatically). It provides additional functionality beyond that currently provided by the native camera firmware.

It’s pretty sweet. I haven’t really explored the finer details, but the feature that I’m excited about is the ability to run scripts.

Scripts like time lapse photography.

Ever since we lost our Nikon camera in Mexico we haven’t had anything (save the computer + webcam) that could do time-lapse photography. Which obviously isn’t very practical if I’m outside of the house. My trusty(-ish¹) Canon A540 doesn’t have a time lapse mode. But now it does, and I can make time lapse videos again, and I didn’t have to go spend $300 on a new camera.

So to celebrate I made this video when we went to dinner tonight:

(3.6MB / 00:27)

¹It’s been draining batteries like crazy lately. I first thought it was that my rechargeables are starting to reach the end of their life, but normal disposable AAs drain just as quick. I don’t know…

About a month ago I started what’s known as Project 365. Simply, you take a self portrait each day for 365 days.

I’ve done it for twenty-eight days so far. I’m not totally excited about each and every photo — a lot of days I’m getting ready for bed and think “oh shit, I need to take a photo,” but the important thing is that I haven’t skipped a day yet. Only 337 more to go.

Clicking on the image above will bring you to the set. I’ll be adding one photo to it each day so keep checking back (on Flickr, I won’t be updating here often).

Today was Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, a day when — as indicated by the name — people all over the world go out with a pinhole camera and shoot photos.

The original plan was to go to Six Flags (it’s opening weekend) to shoot since the subject matter is a lot more interesting than stuff around the house or the scummy retention pond out back. But we had a late night — we made it home sometime after 3am from the Halo party at Kevin’s house — so we got a late start on the day. Justin actually didn’t get to sleep until almost 5:30am because he had to drive his parents to the airport at 4:30am. Then I check and the park closed at 5pm … so we decided to skip it. Instead we went to Justin’s parents’ house so I could photograph some flowers and such.

I’m submitting the image below to the pinholeday.org gallery; it’s my favorite of the batch. Once it’s approved you can see it on their site here.

You can see the rest of the shots I took today right here.

I need a new scanner. I have an Epson Perfection 3170 Photo which has been my faithful home-photo-lab companion for years. But I think a bulb burned out in the lid, because if you look at the photos above you’ll notice a dark band across the center of the image. It’s only an issue when scanning medium format negatives — 35mm and flatbed are fine — so I’m hesitant to throw it out since it works great otherwise. Maybe I’ll give it to someone who won’t need to use it for transparencies.

I’d love to get a dedicated negative scanner but I don’t have a grand or two lying around to spare. So I’ll probably get the more reasonably priced Epson 4490.

Today I dug out the Polaroid camera (I think it was a Square Shooter) that I had hacked up a few years ago in an attempt to make a Polaroid back for my Holga (I stopped the project because coincidentally I got Holaroid from Craigslist right after I started hacking).

I cut off the bulk of the front of the camera, covered the big hole with some foam and gaffer’s tape, and stuck a pinhole on the front (the pinhole was made from a section of a soda can).

I didn’t measure the size of the pinhole or the focal length, so I have no idea what the approximate aperture is — and therefore have no ballpark idea how long my exposures should be. I took two test photos inside the house — each exposure was for about five minutes (another thing I didn’t measure).

Interesting subject, I know.

I really, really like this camera. Everything is relatively sharp (Polaroids and pinholes generally are a bit fuzzy by default), and the view is extremely wide angle. The camera was on the edge of the sink, so only about 1-2 feet away from the faucet, but look how far away it looks!

The wall was about 2-3 feet away from the camera in the above photo. This demonstrates just how wide of an angle this camera has — you can see both the front door (left) and the King Kong poster on the stairs on the right. Well, you can see it in the actual print; the scan isn’t the greatest.

I can’t wait to test this camera outside… and I’m definitely shooting with this camera for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day (April 27th, mark your calendars).

My most recent camera purchase was of a Holga 135BC toy camera. My New Year’s resolution was to not buy so many cameras and photography-related stuff… but yeah, that didn’t last long.

I already have a number of “regular” Holga cameras but I thought I’d give this one a try since it seemed pretty neat.

Yesterday I finished my first roll and developed it, and I gotta say… I really like what I get from this camera. Being winter and low on daylight hours I haven’t had a chance to shoot many interesting things (all we have around here is snow), but this little camera will definitely get a workout once spring/summer hits. I took some indoor flash photos that turned out surprisingly well, so I may make this my “party camera.”

The whole set can be viewed here, but below are three of the better shots from the roll.

Ilford HP5+ (iso400), developed in Diafine

I have so many cameras in my collection (sixty-eight, to be exact), and most of them are functional, so many times I end up not taking a lot of photos just because I can’t decide what camera to use. I usually have film in about four different cameras at once, which means I never get anything developed.

My solution is to narrow my camera use down to a handful of models. I think I came up with the list:

• Nikon D70 - for when I need guaranteed “good” photos
• Canon G2 - for band photos (it’s converted for IR, so great for low-light shows)
• Holga 135BC - carry everywhere camera
• Canon A540 - digital carry everywhere camera when I don’t want to use the Holga; also underwater shots
• Horizon - my new favorite, for events when I think there’ll be good photo ops
• Diana+ - when I want medium format shots; outdoors only

It will be tempting to drag out some other models, and I very well might do so if I think the subject warrants it. But I will try my hardest to limit myself to only those cameras listed above.

When my mom forwarded me a link to a photo contest put on by Picture.com, I figured “What the hell!” and entered a photo of my cat. This was months ago, and I didn’t think much about it (forgot about it, actually) until a few months ago when I received a letter in the mail.

This letter said that my photo “Nougat” was one of the hundreds (thousands?) of photos selected for print in a collection called Endless Journeys. As an exclusive offer for this honor, I was able to pre-order the limited-edition hardcover book for the low price of $70. There were also some options available to have the photo printed larger than the default “postage stamp” size — for an additional cost. I wish I had kept that letter so I could relate the prices as they were slightly insane.

Pssshhhhtttt.

Well… shortly after this amazing offer I got an email that stated that I was nominated to join the International Society of Photographers Hall of Fame — and to “commemorate this amazing achievement” they are “proud to offer [me] a one-of-a-kind gallery print” of my photo. I checked on the pricing and the least expensive (ie smallest) print available is $120 + $20 shipping, and they range all the way up to $300 for a poster-sized print.

Funk dat.

Then a “vote for me so I can win an iPod” contest started, and I received an email or three asking me to forward this link on to everyone I know so they can vote and I can win an iPod. (For the record, I don’t need an iPod but if you vote and I end up winning one, I’ll donate it or sell it and give the money to a charity).

Today I got yet another email. Apparently I have been selected as Editor’s Choice award recipient! Because only 12% of all entries received this high honor, they are offering a limited edition wall plaque commemorating the achievement PLUS I am invited to join the International Society of Photographers (ISP). How much do you think this would cost me? Oh it’s quite reasonable. The plaque and membership are valued at $135.00, but I have the exclusive offer to order them together for $75.00 (plus $14.00 shipping & handling).

So let’s add this up. If I order the book, get the smallest gallery print and get that plaque and join the ISP… oh, and factor in shipping… I’ll have to shell out over $300. That cost would grow higher if I want my photo to appear larger in the book. All for a picture of my freakin’ cat!

No thank you.

I’m seriously tempted to start marking all these emails as spam (I get a few each week) but there still are some actual prizes to be awarded… so we’re told. I think I’ll wait this out.

If you’re interested, you can view my photo on their site here.

I heard back from Canon a few hours after my last post — I can order a replacement part if I call the parts department.

I picked up a replacement battery, and once I got it taped in there well enough the camera is working fine. I’m still debating whether or not I should order the little holder thing; the tape is working well enough for now. I should call and see how much it’ll cost me — if it’s not much I can order it so the inside of my camera doesn’t get all goopy from the tape.