When Camille Porthouse put out a call on Facebook a couple of months ago that she was looking to shoot tattooed gals with brightly coloured hair, I leapt at the opportunity. This was my first time meeting Camille and we developed an instant rapport. I love anyone who gets completely fired up about their work and let me tell you, she has so many incredible ideas running through that mind of hers. Our concept was  ”rock ‘n roll pin-up” and we took to the colourful, graffiti-laden alleys of our city to make it come to life. I absolutely love how they came out. Take a peek…

I’m wearing… dress: Bodybag by Jude (purchased at From Mars) // shoes: Jeffrey Campbell // vintage skull ring // necklace & amethyst ring designed/made by me

This dress is one of the most extravagant purchases I’ve ever made and it had to be on layaway for several months before I could take it home. But it makes me feel like a superhero, so it was totally worth it.

And who knows, maybe I’ll be back in front of the camera sometime soon…

Do you have a garment that makes you feel like a total badass hanging in your closet? I’d love to hear!

Images Copyright 2013, Camille Porthouse Photography

The post Wild rock ‘n roll rockabilly, she’s my baby doll. appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

These photos are from the first roll of film I developed towards my birthday goal of shooting 12 rolls of film this year. While I was still living in Toronto, I was given a roll of expired FujiFilm by one of the staff at my favourite camera store. It turned up while I was unpacking some things and I decided to put it to use during our first beach trip of the year. These are the only shots that turned out and given that they’re grainy and out of focus, the whole thing might seem like a bust. But, I have to admit, I absolutely love each of these photos. The intensity of the light leaks, the double exposures in the first two, and the relatively monochromatic colour palette all add a lot of character to these shots. I’m so glad I have friends who are willing to spontaneously pull over to the side of the road and shoot photos at an abandoned fry stand. These photos will be quirky reminders of all the fun we had this summer. Now I’m trying to think of creative ways to compile a photo album to take overseas with me… any ideas?

Living life in analog,

P.S. Self-Love Book Clubbers, check back at 6pm EST so that we can chat about our first week of reading together! xx

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1. Starting up with film photography is cheap. This is probably the main reason I got into film photography. I bought my film SLR camera for $40 at a Local thrift store. That is nothing compared to the price of a DSLR (around $450 for a basic Canon Rebel starter kit, for comparison). This means that you can get your hands on a camera for a reasonable amount. It also means you won’t be scared to bring that camera with you everywhere. I wouldn’t have brought a $500 Camera on a canoe ride in open water, but I was okay bringing a $40 one!

2. Film doesn’t cost much to get developed. At Walmart, I get my film developed & scanned onto a CD for $5/roll. A roll of film costs another $5/roll for a basic film that I can easily find at walmart or a drug store. That’s $10/roll for 24-36 exposures, or $0.27 a picture. Not as bad as you thought, hopefully!

3.The price of film can be a good thing! The fact that film does cost something makes me very careful about when I choose to press the shutter. It forces me to focus on what I’m shooting and really think about whether or not I want to capture it. Funny how when you put a price tag – however small- on something, you become more aware of what you’re doing. That means I don’t have 5000 pictures that I’ll never look at again taking up my hard-drive. It also means I take great care with composition and lighting.

4. You will be forced to learn the basics of photography. You will quickly know what aperture, ISO, Shutter speed, and depth of field mean, and how to use or achieve them. I have trouble figuring out how to set these on my own on my DSLR! On my film cameras, it is so easy to locate and change your settings because there aren’t a million buttons to press.

5. Your film camera will never go more out of date. That’s a classic piece of equipment and it won’t be re-released every year with a few extra features and a bigger price tag.

6. That incredibly loud noise your camera makes when you press the shutter is addictive. You learn to love it, it will soothe you, and you’ll want to do it many times again.

7. There is a colour quality to film that is obvious and wonderful. Yes, you can recreate it in photoshop with digital images. It will cost you whatever photoshop costs nowadays ($699 for CS6, according to the app store). There’s a reason people try to recreate it, though.

Lastly, If all else fails, it’s a conversation starter. People will ask why you’re shooting film, and probably be fairly interested in your reasoning.

So, now that you know a little about film photography, would you consider picking up an old film camera and giving it a try? If you think you’d rather relax and watch somebody else experiment with film, you can always visit me here. Either way, I hope I presented some interesting ideas and got you thinking about film!

x Jess

The post Photography // Film, It’s Not Just for Hipsters appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

One of my goals on my birthday list is to “understand my camera.” I have to admit, I feel like I’m still a ways away from being able to cross that one off. I shoot pretty much exclusively on auto. But I’m still proud of the images I’m making and plan to crack on with learning the technical aspects of my camera. I’ve been taking photographs everyday and that’s the really important thing. I love catching little moments or pretty scenes like this, that might otherwise be forgotten.

Do you have any tips or suggested reads for learning more about using DSLRs? What’s your favourite photograph you’ve taken lately?

Happy snapping,

The post Raindrops on roses. appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

This is a long weekend in Canada, which I love because it feels like having two lazy Sundays in a row. My mom came down for a visit and yesterday she had the opportunity to meet someone who’s become very special to me. We ate a delicious brunch at Fresh before hunting for treasures at the Sunday Antique Market. Even though I didn’t buy anything, I had fun dream decorating my future office and imagining the histories of the objects that caught my eye. Afterward, we sauntered around the Riverdale Farm, giggling at goats and enjoying the scenery. I swear there’s no heartache or soul sickness that breathing in that hay-infused fresh farm air and staring at a horse won’t fix for me. It was lovely to spend the day at two of my favourite east end destinations and escape the everyday hustle and bustle for an afternoon without even leaving the city. Here’s a peek at our adventures…

And a few Instagrams to give you an idea of what I’ve been up to lately …

Celebrating tattoos over onion rings; coffee shops that double as offices; purple lipstick to match my pixie ‘do; library trips for research assignments; espresso drinks with almond milk & coconut water, kitty kisses …

A birthday party in the park complete with glow sticks, colourful flags, and cute kitty cupcakes; 1930s shoes spotted at the museum; a fruity concoction at Fresh (we went four times in the four days my mom was here); raspberries from the farmers’ market; a summery lunch on a patio …

Vegan phyllo pastry at Fressen paired with a grapefruit fizz; if I had room for a typewriter collection, this baby would be joining my Underwood; holding hands in the sunshine; the full moon at a baseball game; sharing a cupcake before bed.

What moments, big or small, have made you smile lately? I’d love to hear!

xoxo
S.

The post Escaping the city without leaving town. appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

A break from dancing to show off our whiskers. A sprinkle donut to get through the work day. Wise words on the street. Sampling the Skinnygirl wine line with my co-workers …and then making ourselves sick with cake pops. Snapshots from the long weekend.

I enjoy a green smoothie, even for dinner. Although I spent much of Friday trying to dry out my flooded apartment, the day was rescued by margaritas with two of my favourite ladies and a night of listening to great music while wearing my favourite shoes. The next day called for a real zoo of an outfit…

I spent Saturday afternoon at the ball game and the evening drinking sinister looking cocktails …luckily not by myself. Today I decided to combat the dreary weather with flowers …and freshly baked cookies.

What have you been up to lately?

If you’re a fellow Instagrammer, you can follow me. I’m becoming_sarah. What’s your username?

xoxo
S.

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I love snapping photos with my iPhone. As much as I’d love to drag my DSLR everywhere I go, there are times when that’s just not feasible and shooting everything with my Diana would be far too expensive. Phone shots are a great way to capture little moments and now that the camera feature is integrated with almost every social media site, it’s an easy way to share what’s going on with friends.

I went on a photo app downloading rampage after Gala’s post – snagging many of her recommendations and a few others that I found by searching around the App Store. While I haven’t played with all of them yet, I’ve gotten totally hooked on Duomatic – a nifty app that lets you merge two of your iPhone photos together to create a fun double exposure look.

I love creating double exposures with my Diana – the results are so dreamy and magical. Granted, this app takes the surprise factor out as you manually choose the exposure levels, but it’s still a lot of fun and the results are fantastic. Here are some of my favourites so far …

Do you have a favourite photo app? Have you played around with double exposures, whether with film or digitally? I’d love to see your results!

Happy iPhone snapping!

xoxo
S.

The post a new (to me) photo app: double exposures with duomatic. appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

Since she had to drive home Sunday morning, we had our own Mother’s Day celebrations on Saturday and spent some time walking around, admiring the beautiful blooms, and stopping to smell the lilacs. She had the fun idea of a blog post showcasing the most awe-inspiring flowers that we found. So, in that vein, here are a few of my favourite shots from our walk…

xoxo
s.

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The post wordless wednesday: more analogue moments appeared first on The Laughing Medusa.

In September I acquired a Diana F+, a 120mm all-plastic replica of film cameras from the 1960s. Upon taking my first shot, I joined the ranks of an international movement of analogue photographers called lomographers.

Lomography is a relatively new movement, very much in sync with the resurgence of interest in analogue music technologies. It began in the 1990s when two Austrian students stumbled upon a Lomo Kompakt Automat, a small Russian camera from the 1960s. They threw the rules of proper composition out the window and started taking shots of everything around them. Loving the colourful, eccentric images that came out they commissioned a replica of the camera they’d found and a global art movement of experimental photography was born.

The lomographers claim “The future is analogue”, which is a bold statement to make in the 21st century. However, I can’t help but thinking that they’re onto something. As we continue to worship advancing technologies and strive after impossible ideals, I savour moments where I can slow down and appreciate life’s simpler offerings.

The Diana F+ isn’t my first film camera. I have a secondhand 35mm Canon AE-1 that I received as a birthday gift in high school. What I’ve always loved about film is that it forces you to surrender a certain amount of control. Unlike with digital, where you can instantly see your results and try again until you get exactly the shot you want, you don’t know what you’ve captured until the film has been developed. I’ve always found this so exciting: giddily opening up my paper envelope of prints to see what I’ve created. But for a perfectionist like me, it’s also somewhat therapeutic.

With the Diana F+ you have even less control over the focus and shutter speed than with a conventional 35mm camera so each photo is its own “happy accident”, as they call it in the art world. Light leaks, obscure angles, and double exposures all contribute to the imperfect, colour-drenched images that result. So instead of trying to take the “perfect shot”, I’m enjoying letting go of my need for control and embracing the quirky, offbeat shots I’m creating which, in many ways, are a lot more true to life …

According to the rules of Lomography, I’ve been trying to take my new camera with me on all of my adventures. Here are a few of my favourite shots so far …

(Click to view full-sized images)

From walks around my city…

On perfect brunches…

A Thanksgiving walk to the beach…

And a trip to the fair…

And my favourite…

A. lost in the trees. Isn’t it magical?

What do you think; is the analogue movement a weird hipster fad or do you see the value of these technologies? And for any fellow lomographers out there, I’d love to see some of your shots!

xoxo
S.

Full disclosure: My Diana F+ was a sample given to me by the Lomography store. However, they did not ask me to create this post and I promise, my love for this camera is genuine. :) If you’re interested in becoming a Lomographer yourself, Torontonians are in luck. GroupOn has a $20 coupon for $50 worth of cameras and accessories from the Lomography store, which can be redeemed in person or online.

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