Last day of Americorps. For now.

there and back again, an itinerary

Finally finished up that first roll of 120 film for the TLR. Twelve frames in two weeks, I'm a speed-demon. That's one of the nice yet frustrating things about shooting film. The cost of the film and processing combined with the low frame-count on a standard roll of film turn most people into meticulous and thrifty photographers.

So my inaugu-roll is sitting on the counter at Thompson Photo on Middlebrook and 21st, awaiting enough brethren to merit firing up the processor and mixing the chemicals. The negatives and a CD containing the images will be waiting for me when I get back from Texas in a couple weeks.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I'm going to Texas. Eventually.

The Great Roadtrip of Summer 2011 starts on Friday with a short drive up to Mammoth Cave National Park in central Kentucky. I have an 11:15am Grand Avenue tour slot reserved. Unfortunately the tours are the only way you're allowed to explore the gargantuan cave system, but the Grand Avenue tour is supposed to take about 4 hours (over 4.5 miles), so it should be worth it. Probably gonna go find a backcountry site once I finish up with the tour and camp out Friday night.

Saturday I drive up to Indianapolis to meet my family for an old friend's wedding on Sunday. For the 2nd time in 2 years all 5 of us are finding our way back together from 3 continents. Should be a bunch of old friends from Senegal at the wedding, so it'll be a reunion of sorts.

Sunday night/Monday will find us caravaning up to Iowa, stopping periodically in Illinois to see extended family (whom I still only see every 4 years or so, even though I live in the same country now...). Cedar Rapids, IA is a home-base of sorts for my parents and where one of the sisters lives, so I'll hang out up there Friday which happens to be Dad's birthday.

Next I'm off to the minuscule town of Menno, South Dakota, where the first Aisenbreys to America decided to park their wagons and set up camp. I've always been enthralled by my family's genealogy, and lucky enough to have a name rare enough that the lines can be traced back to 1600 (and maybe earlier, which I hope to find out if I can track down the family historian in Menno). My great, great grandfather, Christian Aisenbrey, whose name I borrow for my middle, is quoted describing the area, "When we came in this region in May 1874, it was a bare open prairie. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but green grass and above it, the blue sky; no trees, no bush. On occasion, one could see small herds of antelope and a few buffaloes, prairie wolves and coyotes."

So after a day or two on the "bare open prairie", It's a straight line south, about 700 miles, to my next designated stop in Denton, TX, about 30 mins north of DFW. Friends and friends-of-friends, good food, and Texas heat for three or four days before making the slow and muggy drive back to Knoxville on I-20 (I-40 is just too monotonous).

So look forward to posts and pics and travel-logs and whatnot, and say a prayer for safe but adventurous travels.

This droid's got a bad motivator!

Sorry, no pictures today. The novelty of a 1.3+ megapixel camera on my phone has worn off. Maybe one day I'll splurge and go for a bonafide all-inclusive smart phone instead of a moderately clever phone trying to run with the big kids.

Warning: The following text may be boring.

Saturday saw the auspicious occasion of my graduation from "Lazy Car Owner" to "Car Owner Who's Actually Crawled Under Their Car And Unscrewed Something". Oil change? Child's play. We're talking about an automatic transaxle fluid transfer (which is the fanciest way I could think of to say 'transmission fluid change', and which happens to be easier than an oil change). So yeah, after half a dozen mechanics suggesting that I get my ATF (automatic transmission fluid) changed, and then quoting exorbitantly inflated labor charges, I set about researching if it was doable for the amateur home auto mechanic.

I found out that there is a heated battle going on between the proponents of ATF flushes, and those who believe in ATF changes. Simply put, the flush involves a machine which forcefully pushes a solvent (I think) through all the ATF-containing components in your vehicle, exchanging the whole ~10 quarts of fluid in the system, but potentially breaking off chunks of built-up grime and getting them lodged in valves and whatnot. The alternative is to remove the drain plug or drop the drain pan from the underside of your engine, and let 3-4 quarts drain out of the main fluid compartment, then repeat the process 15 miles later, thus diluting the old fluid out of the system (although some forums said 10,000 miles later).

ATF Flush: $100-150, 1 hour at the mechanic

ATF Change: $30 (4 quarts of ATF, funnel, drain pan), 2 hours of research, 30 mins of labor

So next time your mechanic suggests an ATF flush ("What's that? You offer that service here? And you promise your suggestion is unbiased?) I say try it yourself. You'll get a little dirty, and spend longer doing it, but you'll emerge from under the hood with a fuller wallet and a sense of accomplishment. And then you can brag about it on your blog!

Ok, fine, here's a funny-looking coffee stain:

time to check that prescription...

I've never really been a big fan of Mark Rothko's work or most color field painting, but regardless, they seem to be a key influence, along with abstract impressionism, on a series of photos I've had simmering on the back burner for the past six months or so. I think one of the main differences is that unadulterated photography could never qualify as expressionism, but I guess that depends on whether you think a photograph can be entirely subjective.

















I think everyone likes Bokeh, but there's only so much you can do with an out of focus shot of Christmas lights/falling sparks/etc (I hear it makes a good blogspot background).




















Obviously some of these are pretty easily recognizable subjects, and I'm fine with that, they don't have to be purely abstract. Mostly I just like the atmospheric quality of them, and creating a composition out of the very basic light and color that nature offers.

















All of these are straight out of the camera, with very minor editing of levels and cropping on a couple. I'm always a little amazed by the gradients and color blending achieved by a couple of glass discs and some distance. It really reveals some of the physics that photography is based on. Light is pretty damn cool.

the whole

Some people are just really adept at putting words together in sequences that work their way into you and connect to something.

Some people can be bitter and scathing and fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow.

Some people are really good at looking like they're getting all they want out of life.

Some people sit under fluorescent lights all day, then go home and use their hands to create intricate and beautiful things that they never share.

Some people take the next logical step. On the wrong staircase.

Some people are really nice in theory, but just creep you out a little bit, for no particular reason.

Some people try to assert their social dominance in passive-aggressive little mannerisms that tire you out.

Some people know what they're doing.

Some don't.

water+sun+dirt=food

It's a garden update!

Tomatoes are flowering and looking strong, no fruit set yet though. Haven't had any problem with insects on the tomatoes yet, so I think their slow progress is due to limited sunlight.

The beans are really starting to take off despite numerous transplants and rough handling. Even the two that I moved to the shallow flowerbed next to the porch are working their way up the railings! It's pretty fun to see their progress day-to-day and guide the inquisitive tendrils. I don't really know what these are supposed to look like full-grown, so hopefully they're on track.

Potatoes are going crazy in their buckets! I was worried I hadn't given them enough soil, but they don't seem to mind at all and can't even hold themselves up anymore. No big bug problems on the taters either, must be a combination of the containers and luck.

Greens and broccoli are pretty unremarkable at this point.

Well there she is, in all her minuscule glory.

In Soviet Russia, picture takes you.

Guess what came in the mail yesterday?

summa this:











to go in this:












out of which will come things like this (hopefully):
































All these photos came from an awesome Lubitel Universal 166 site you should check out if you're into vintage or medium format cameras. They've built a new model of the classic Soviet medium format "Lubitel" camera, and have a bunch of great medium format galleries.

So, budget willing, I'll have some new stuff to show you soon. I think I'm gonna try to document next month's roadtrip with it, but I need to get in a little practice first.