Moo cows...

Haha, I tried to think of a better title but nothing came to me... so I'm sticking with it.
I have no shame.


The weather was glorious last week and I think even these friendly and inquisitive cows were enjoying it too.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a long Bank Holiday weekend and then we also have the rest of the week off too - I'm so excited, I can't wait to spend the week with Thomas relaxing (this year has been hectic so far) and hopefully taking lots of pictures with my new and old cameras. I'll have some posts scheduled though don't worry - I still have lots to catch up on if you can believe that :)

Have a great weekend!! 

Camera: Refurb LC-A
Film: Kodak ISO 200
Location: Leeds

Starting all over again... again...

When I got my first refurbished LC-A I mentioned that with each new (to me) camera I get, I feel like I'm on a new learning curve trying to figure out its mechanics and then learn how to use it to get the results that I want... 

I also mentioned that I thought my LC-A had a steep learning curve as the results weren't exactly as I was expecting. However, now that Lomography have sent me a replacement and I've succesfully tested it, I'm now wondering if that original camera did have a steep curve, or if it was just malfunctioning. Looking through the photos they don't seem that consistant and more were underexposed due to the faulty shutter than I first thought...

So, I'm starting all over again... again with a refurbished LC-A.

 Here are some results from my first test roll.


The major problem with comparing these photos with the photos I took from my first LC-A is the sunshine... we've had a lot of it lately and the other photos I took were all in winter.

Obviously, like all film cameras, this LC-A loves the light but these photos seem crisper to me with a lovely contrast and colour balance but it will be interesting to see the results with this replacement LC-A in the winter for a better comparison.

It's silly how much better I feel having a working LC-A again, although I didn't have my last one for that long, it definitely made an impression on me and I can't wait to use this replacement more, especially if this weather continues.

Camera: Replacement Refurbished LC-A (from 1991 this time)
Film: Kodak ISO 200
Location: Leeds

A new phone means... camera apps!

You would think as someone who uses mostly film that I wouldn't be interested in camera apps that recreate the look of retro cameras... but I've always loved the look of Instagram and Hipstamatic - especially Naomi, Nicole and Katrina's photos - its such a great way to capture fun memories without worrying about the cost or if something might go wrong developing, or you've left the shutter on B instead of N...
And now I have my own to play with - hurray!

Here are some photos that I've been experimenting with this morning whilst waiting for the bus and walking to work.

Admittedly it's an android and not an iphone - and after trying a number of camera apps yesterday there is only one I really like - Vignette - some of them look better aesthetically than others and some were just terrible but I'm quite taken with the final results of Vignette - especially the grungy instant transfer one frame.

What do you think of camera apps? I would love to know - I can't wait to use this phone to finally upload fun snapshots onto twitter - even if it just an amazing sandwich!

p.s. thinking about it I used to use Poladroid and Rollip all the time when I first started blogging, its not much different... sometimes I just need to take photos whatever the camera.

Location: my walk to work just outside Leeds
Camera: HTC Desire Camera with Vignette App.
Effect: Grungy Instant Transfer 1 frame with either the toy camera, portra or velvia effect
(I think these will be my top 3 choices)

Feeling alive in Malham...

I mentioned yesterday that the time I felt most alive this year was on the top of Malham Cove and I realised I had only shared about half of the photos in the first post I wrote about it.

Looking up...

Looking down...

Feeling alive!
{Thomas always takes the best photos of me...}

A few Diana mini's around Headingley...

A walk around Kirkstall Abbey in the sunshine...

Holgas from Malham...

Can you believe that other than Kay's wedding this was the first time I have taken Helga the Holga out to play this year? I feel so bad... I think I need to set up a camera rotation system...

We were so incredibly lucky to go to Malham on a gorgeous day (which is rare, the rain here today is awful!) so pretty much all of the photos turned out lovely, I always forget how much Holga's like the sunshine.

When fuji instax mini's go wrong...

On Saturday we went to Malham, the weather was gorgeous, we took a picnic, sat by waterfalls and everything was good.

Until my fuji instax didn't work - cue complete panic...

After opening the back of the film I realised that one of the photos had a small nick in it (can you see in on the top left?) which meant the photo couldn't pass through the rollers, so I had to pull it through resulting in the yellow fuji. The other photo didn't even make it through the rollers (I don't remember why) but I did have fun pushing the chemicals up and around the photo - you can even make out a partial thumb print on it - how cool is that?!

As a result the next two pictures came out with light exposure on them, however you can still make out the pretty waterfall.

In fact I kind of like them...

I really love the two that turned out properly though - especially my little holga - I put her down for a second and though she looked so lovely that I had to take a photo!

Why hello there...

It is gorgeous outside today which for England is pretty rare... its the kind of day you wish you weren't working and you can hear the pub garden calling your name :)

Luckily we are going out for tapas and a gig tonight so I think I may insist we sit outside for a little while... I really hope the weather holds out for the rest of the weekend... in fact weather gods, the next few weeks (months would be pushing it right...) would be amazing!

Exactly* a year ago I wrote this post... and today I want to write exactly the same thing again!

So I am :)

Such a pretty blue tree.

I don't know which type of tree it is but it makes me smile

everytime I walk past it.

(and the colour looks gorgeous in fake polaroid, yeay)

*Isn't it amazing how nature works and just seems to know the passage of time.

I actually couldnt believe it when I saw it was the same date but last year...

Sometimes...

We forget about how much we love living in Leeds.

However we were reminded at the weekend when we walked along the canal into the city.

It's easy to forget that you are in the middle of the city...

even if masssive blue cinema's creep into your photos...

And massive buildings eventually start to pop up in the distance...

Luckily it was also sunny enough this weekend to go sit in a pub garden... where a spider tried to drink my beer. Hurray for sunshine!

p.s. My lovely blog friend Jenni is hosting a giveaway of two of my prints in honour of an amazing cause: The American Cancer Society - please head over and take a look at the amazing work her and her friends are doing!!

Summer...

The more I think about it, the more I can't wait for it to be actually summer here... I keep hearing rumours that its going to be sunny! I hope so. Maybe in time for Supersonic? That would be great!!

I saw this bag in Topshop last week and oh my, it would be perfect for the summer! I found it on Polyvore and heres what happened... oops :)

Is £25 too much for a bag....?

The perfect summers evening!

I honestly can't believe that it is June already - where has the time gone? I can believe that it is Summer though! The sun is shining, the evenings are long and the flips flops and pumps are out... (yeay)

Yesterday boyfriend and I had the loveliest summer evening - we baked bread (well, all we had to do was add water to a mix and put it in the oven) which smelt amazing and we had home made potato salad with cold sausages... yum!

We also finished off the last of the Norfolk ale and sat on our front door step in the sunshine...

It really was perfect!

p.s. I love him :)