Wrap the Ham

July 18, 2013 in Summer

First off, we haven't made a blog post for a while - and for that - sorry. That of course, doesn't mean we haven't been taking pictures - in fact, it means quite the opposite of it. We recently did Jon's sister's wedding (to be posted up on the blog soon), so we've been focusing on getting those edited and out to her before editing all the nick-knack photos we take.

Secondly, we've got really corny friends. On the Canada Day long weekend we decided to escape the crowds that come to Ottawa and retreat into the countryside to enjoy a nice day off. This brought us to Pakenham (or as one of our friends called it when he forgot the name of the town, Wrap the Ham). We decided to climb up Mount Pakenham - and it ended up being quite the gem. We found wild blueberries, a porcupine in a tree, a pond on top of the summit... all in all quite beautiful. Except for the deer flies.

The picture with the old train bridge supports is on the Madawaska River in Burnstown. We plan on going back this summer to see if they would be any good for swimming / climbing / jumping off. And then the last picture is from an old, abandoned train bridge crossing the Mississippi River (the Lanark county one), in Pakenham.

Strawberry Summer

June 24, 2013 in Ottawa, Summer

Have I mentioned I love summer? And food? And free things? On a Sunday evening adventure yesterday, I found the trifecta of those three things. Wild strawberries growing alongside the path, ripe for the picking.

Some of my friends were not so trusting of my cultivating skills, but my Finnish senses would not lead me astray on this matter. Check out this Google image search (Finland - Wild Strawberries) if you don't understand. It's traditional to thread them on to a piece of sturdy grass/greenery. I don't know why they do it, but it's cute! Keep an eye out for them on your next walk in the countryside.

-Katriina

Real Life Instagram = Polaroid

June 23, 2013 in Ottawa, Summer, Portraits

Polaroid stopped making instant film in 2008. Any existing (and hard to find) polaroid film has been expired for a few years now. That isn't to say you can't find the better part of a pack of film inside a Polaroid Sun 600 LMS at Value Village for $4. In fact, I was perusing VV boutique recently and found just that. I picked up the camera to see if anything was inside and when to my surprise the battery was still good and it spit out an overexposed frame right in the store. Naturally I bought it.

There's something special about peering through the distant square viewfinder and pulling a very plastic but very mechanical shutter trigger and than feeling the camera whirr as it churns out a slowly developing picture. It's nice to slow down and compose a shot carefully knowing that only have a few chances to experience yesteryears photography medium before the film runs out. The film (being in the camera for an unknown amount of time that was unlikely stored in ideal conditions) had been expired for at a few years at best. There is what appears to be a gold coloured chemical leak at the top of each picture we took as well as uneven exposure and colour across the frame. I find this just adds to the effect and vintage feel and gives the photos a little uniqueness.

The following images emulate Polaroid photos. These are mostly photos of us playing with the Polaroid camera taken with a DSLR. Scroll down for actual Polaroid photos.

We had a lot of fun with this camera and if you want to try it out as well keep your eyes open for old polaroid stuff at yard sales and flea markets. Alternatively if you have a Polaroid camera and want to try out some film check out The Impossible Project or you can look into the Fuji Instax camera.