It's a new Layout! BIRDIES!

Hello Hello!

Welcome back for more strange pictures taken with crappy cameras!
I've taken a liking to the Kodak 400CN B&W 35mm film.
Our film technology has advanced leaps and bounds since the original production of Belomo Vilias.
It almost compensates for how inefficient my machines are. (almost)

Speaking of inefficient machines. I recently broke down and purchased a Zenit 3M!
It's a real old Russian SLR originally produced from 1962 up to 70.
It's based off of a camera that's a copy of the popular Leica II's.
Which means it's a copy of a copy of a Leica. It's also alot cheaper. ^_^
I'm pretty excited!...but I must be patient. It's flying all the way from the Ukraine.
It won't be here anytime soon....




oh right..so anyway! some pictures!
Some are from the new Highline park in Manhattan. Some are from the Met museum and even from a merrill lynch building that I visit for work every tuesday.
The subway car shot was a fun experiment. We were on the first cart going forward.
I squeezed my camera against the tinted window. Then I held the aperture open for 10, 12 seconds as we emerged out from the tunnel into the next station. And despite the window being tinted, I thought it came out quite nice.
There are also some pictures that are a mystery as to where I took them...that's not surprising is it? meeeh well what can ya do?

I hope you enjoy your stay here!



Unknown Shot.
?,?

Keep your eyes on the tracks.
E train, Manhattan

Ghosts in the shot.
Office Building, Manhattan

Unnatural Nature.
Office Building, Manhattan

City fauna.
Highline Park, Manhattan (shot from)

More Bamboo!
Bamboo Exhibit.
The Met, Manhattan

I Can Tell When Your Mind is Elsewhere.
The Met, Manhattan

Thank you so much for viewing!
Much love to you all.

Photos in this post are taken with a Belomo Vilia and Kodak 400CN B&W film.

Poaceae and a Bridge.

Poaceae is the Grass family.
Bamboo is actually a grass. I bet you learned that from a snapple cap.
It is in fact the largest growing grass. It's also extremely strong and flexible.
Some of these shots are from an exhibit at the Met.
With a guided tour you can go on the bamboo paths and walk up and around through the structure.
I didn't get a chance to do this because of time restrictions but perhaps I will get to visit again.
The rest are from Central Park.
I've walked across the Park countless times but never have I seen this amazing bridge.
I tend to get to my destination by instinct. I have a general idea of direction but for the most part I am going by common sense and feel. This type of navigation is by no means actually good.
But it seems to be good for me. When I start to feel completely lost, I'll try and do things like visualize the name of the block i'm trying to get to on a street sign. This method has never failed me. I always end up finding my destination, but in the meantime I'm also worried sick that I might be hopelessly lost.

This roll was very educational. I learned that my viewfinder is so inaccurate because I am supposed to be shooting within a bracket inside the viewfinder. But the lines are so faded that I never knew they even existed! I was only able to see them after very close inspection.
There will be no more cutting off of foreheads! Enjoy!


Bamboo Exhibit.
The Met, Manhattan

Bamboo Exhibit.
The Met, Manhattan

Bamboo Exhibit.
The Met, Manhattan

Petaluma and Bamboo.
The Met, Manhattan

Timeless Bridge.
Central Park, Manhattan

Petaluma and the Timeless Bridge.
Central Park, Manhattan

Petaluma.
Somewhere, Manhattan

Thank you for viewing!
-y
Photos in this post are taken with a Belomo Vilia and Kodak 400CN B&W film.

Sights from a Cloud

Here are some shots from an expired Fuji 400 color roll, using my Belomo Vilia.
I bought a bunch of these rolls because they were just so cheap.
But it's true. You get what you pay for.
These were exceptionally crappy because they only have 12 shots in a roll.
I will never return to crappy film again.
My cameras are crappy enough, my film should be at least...unexpired.

But that doesn't mean I'll turn down any free expired film. *wink*


The first three are shots from the Cloud Club in Boston.
Half of the fourth is a window view from an attic and the other half is the bus.

I don't really know what this is. A vent?
Cloud Club, Boston

Doors of a cloud.
Cloud Club, Boston

Green Horsey.
Cloud Club, Boston

Daydreaming on the way to work.
Attic/Bus


I've decided to put up some bonus shots from the last two rolls of Panoramic and B&W film.
The shot of the building with all of its magnificent reflections was inspired by Alyse Liebovich.
She has many published photos and is an overall dynamic person. Her photos are just as dynamic, if not more.
She captures reflections and patterns that make you look twice.

The second shot is of well...a tree! and a REALLY dark chandelier.
I really like how the left half with the light bulbs came out so dark and soft.


Reflecting patterns.
Undisclosed location, Mid-town

Treedelier.
My home/Quercus

Thanks for viewing!
-y

Look who it is!

And these are the last of the black and white roll, but certainly not the least.
This is the beautiful Petaluma Vale at her University after receiving her scholarly awards.
Congratulations!

This was around 6 or 7pm. The Sun was setting and the skies became overcast.
I love when far from optimal conditions create surprising effects like this.
Just because your conditions aren't optimal doesn't mean you shouldn't go for it anyway.
Keep Shooting. Don't stop.
As my main man Chosan would say.
Keep Shining.






Hope you enjoyed this roll. More to come with expired color film from the 80's.
-y

Here are the Bronx photos from the previous black and white roll.
Shot during one of my travels through the south Bronx at work every friday.
I feel a strange affinity towards this area.
It reminds me of Queens, my early childhood.
Astoria has those huge ominous subway tracks above ground, just like the Bronx.
There's a permanent shadow on the streets below.
I still remember, how it always feels so much cooler under the tracks on a hot summer day.
-y



176th St. Station.

Burnside Ave. Station.

4 train

Burnside Ave. Station.

Back in Black and White.

These were taken with my Belomo Vilia. The Vilia is an old Russian camera with very limited settings and a plastic lens. Shoots 35mm film and is one damn sexy machine.
I used (NEW!)Kodak 400CN 35mm B&W film.
The Vilia is becoming more and more popular among the Lomography community.
This camera actually goes for almost $80 on some sites.
I bought this camera off Ebay from someone in Russia for $15. s&h was $8.
Please always look at Ebay before buying anything from the Lomography site. They are absolutely unreasonable with their prices.
Many people sell these Russian cameras for very cheap, but are usually not in the US.

This was my first go with BW film and my Vilia. And on top of that, it's NEW film!
That's a first as well for this camera. I've been using expired film because they're just...so damn cheap. But new film is so worth it. I have one more expired roll of color film left and after I'm done with that...I'm only buying new film.

Here are some shots taken in Brooklyn on top of my friend's studio.
King Killer Studios, please check them out. They are by far the best rehearsal space/recording studio in Brooklyn.

Next will be shots taken in the Bronx.
Enjoy!

-Y




Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn, F train.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn, F train.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn, F train.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn.

Gowanus/Red Hook Brooklyn.

The Reverend in a room full of sound. King Killer Studios.

Thank you for viewing! Enjoy.

Back in Panoramic.

Hello!

I've been on a long hiatus from updating this site. Yes I know, I'm sorry.
But in the meantime I haven't stopped shooting and I've started to take an interest in film cameras. And I don't mean SLRs. I mean old..crappy...used..light leaking...Russian cameras.
And any toy like plastic 35mm cameras. I am basically talking about Lomo cameras at a tight budget. Lomo cameras like the Diana and Holga can be a bit pricey considering they are garbage, plastic, unreliable cameras. If you do a little research online you can find cheaper cameras on Ebay that are essentially the same thing as the well-known Lomos.

These shots are taken with a Vivitar PN2011 Panoramic Camera!(Not Russian)
Sounds like a crazy camera right?
Well it is!
But not for reasons you are thinking of...most likely.
PN2011
(I love how it says FOCUS FREE like it's a good thing)
That is what it looks like...sweet right?!(Roughly $10 on ebay, though I found mine for $1.99)
it is very technologically advanced. The plastic fixed lens shoots at 22mm.
It has a switch you move down...and it goes into PANORAMIC MODE!
which brings up these black bars that cut off the top and bottom of the film.
This technology is so advanced..I don't expect you to understand.
It's so awesome that it didn't even wind properly.
Enjoy.


Boogie Down 183rd St. Station

Brooklyn Bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge.

Boogie Down 183rd St. Station.

Cloud Club.

Cloud Club/Brooklyn Bridge.

Thanks for viewing.

-Y

LAU LITM Showcase

Photos from Lau's LITM showcasing show. (Jersey City)
Lau is a dear old friend and one of the few who are taking art by the balls, and making it kneel before them. Her talent seems limitless. I'm honored to be able to witness her artistic metamorphosis, and proud to be her friend.

Please take a look at her work:
http://laugallico.com/

LITM website:
http://www.litm.com/