A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

Cameras

Foto Friday: Finding waterfalls

The waterfalls at this area were quite nice after a good rain.

I’m willing to bet that most photographers have their favorite things to photograph.

Maybe it’s people. Or nature. Or landscapes. Or architecture. Or sports. Or countless other things. Parents focus on their kids. Journalists focus on the news. Amateur photographers go with their interests.

A second set of the falls.

I’m a sports guy. I love doing action photography and often had to pull double-duty when I worked at the newspaper, writing and taking photos. It’s my hope one day, I’ll be able to do some freelance photography again (though I need a better “sports” lens. One day).

But I have other things that I like to shoot, too.

I love kids photography because you never know what you’ll get. It’s a bonus that several close friends have kids who are some of the most photogenic kids you’ll ever meet. It makes it easy.

I’m a covered bridge nut, too. But with so few in new York, sometimes it can become repetitive.

Then there are waterfalls. Boy do I love waterfalls. Big, small, whatever. It’s helped me work on different types of techniques. But I hadn’t seen many waterfalls lately. And, well, this summer has been so dry, many are dried up.

A few weeks ago, a new geocache published not far from me. I’m not one to race out to be first to find anymore, but this one was close. And it was a nice day. So, I went for it.

The cache brought me to a wonderful area that I had known about, but never visited. It’s a set of waterfalls and the cache was close to it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much water flowing. Even worse, I didn’t find the cache. I still snapped photos that day, just without the tripod, so I wasn’t able to get the silk look of the small amount of water flowing.

The lower set of falls via the pinhole lens.

It rained that night and part of the next morning. Then the sun came out. That evening, I went back. But, I didn’t bring the camera. I just wanted to find this cache and explore a little. I found the cache and looked around a bit and knew that next time we got a good rain storm, I was coming back.

That happened this past week.

One day and night it unleashed. So, the next day, I headed back. I found a better way into this gorge and got exploring and set up for a few shots. With tripod — and other “lenses” in hand, I headed down in and spent about an hour there, checking things out and snapping photos. I think there might be a few more falls below where I was, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like a safe way down. And, being I was solo, I figured taking a big risk probably wasn’t too bright.

This time, I came prepared with things though.

Obviously, I had the tripod and a remote release, looking for the longer exposures. But I also carried my pinhole cap and the Diana lens. I wanted to see what kind of results I could get out of each of those.

Of course, the exposures for the pinhole needed to be much longer, which was kind of cool.

Water flowing peacefully.

I did learn a few things this day — like the need for a neutral density filter. Using that will essentially knock the sun out of the equation and allow me to go with some longer exposures if needed. I don’t know what it would have done this day as it was pretty much cloudy out and I got decent exposures. Still, I found a cheaper set of filters, one of which is the ND. I’m going to grab those to see what I think about them. I don’t want to pay upward of 70 bucks or higher for an ND filter if I ended up not digging it, so I figure investing in one with a price more my style will give me a bit to see what I like.

Waterfalls really are fun to capture. It’s my hope I can continue to find them. I’m planning a trip to the Ithaca area this Sunday in hopes of finding a few good ones — after all Ithaca is Gorges. Alas, this summer drought has taken a lot of the water away. So I’m hoping the trip isn’t in vain. We’re likely doing a round of disc golf and we’ll find a few geocaches, so it’ll be worth it in that regard. But I’d really like a few waterfalls, too.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Foto Friday: The Archives III

With a lack of ideas right now for Foto Friday, I thought it would be a good time to do another Archive post.

For those new to the blog, the Archives is where I go through my Flickr and click on random pages for random photos. I then post them here.

I think the reason I enjoy this feature is it makes me look at some of my old photos. That works for me two ways — it let’s me look back to see what I’ve done and it also makes me see different things I can work on to improve. Sometimes, it will also give me some inspiration moving forward.

So, without further delay… here’s the Archives III, all from my Flickr stream.

Page 37

When do you think they are open?

When are you open?

Page 49

Gid working in the sap house at night.

Making syrup.

Page 84

I hope to get back down to Avalon this fall to be able to do some photos, geocaching and relaxing. Even if just for a long weekend.

Avalon.

Page 107

Last year’s Vibram Open. I’m not hitting it up this year, unfortunately. Hope it goes well!

Reflections on the course.

Page 132

I was at GeoWoodstock in 2011. I wanted to go in 2012, but couldn’t pull it off.

Podcasting…

Page 172

Manhattan — taken from Jersey City.

At night.

Page 207

Oh, Ireland, how I miss you so…

Howth Abbey.

Page 240

Waterfalls in Ithaca.

Ithaca is gorges!

Page 261

The National Soccer Hall of Fame was once in our area, but it was closing at the time I took this photo.

The Soccer Hall ball.

Page 294

Geno’s Steaks at night.

The Ace of Steaks.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Holga Challenge – Your Town: Geneva, Switzerland

This man makes Japanese zen gardens by hand. He looks cool, doesn’t he? This is in the arts and crafts weekly market in Geneva. I love walking around there from time to time. This is a fantastic place to be for street photographers like me. (photo by Shaima)

Note: This is the sthird in a series of six stories that are being done by participants of the HooHaa Holga Challenge. The rest will run through Friday. See information for the rest at the bottom of this post.

By Shaima Marafi

I started using Holga last year in April when I saw another photographer using it on her blog.

To be honest, I thought it looked hip and cool and that is why I bought one. I got it along with some Fuji films and some filters. I didn’t like the results too much at first, especially because my first few rolls had more out-of-focus pictures than good ones.

This is in the Old Town of Geneva, in French “La Vieille Ville.” I love this area. You will find a lot antique shops, the famous Saint Pierre Cathedral and canons in the City Hall. There are also many restaurants and cafes that serve authentic Swiss cuisine like fondue, rosti, raclette and filets des Perche. However, you need good legs to walk around because it is situated on a hill with steep streets leading to the town. (photo by Shaima)

I felt disappointed and stopped using the Holga, leaving it in the drawer for months. However, one day this past February when I was organizing my cameras, I suddenly decided to use it. I found there was a roll of film already loaded. So I just took it out for the day one Sunday and shot with it, thinking I would be disappointed again.

When the film came back from the lab, I was surprised and happy with the pictures. From that day, I decided to use the Holga more often. I read more about using the camera, the best films to use and I think I got a hang of it.

I still do get some out-of-focus shots sometimes (don’t you just hate it when you forget to turn the focus to the desired distance?) and, sometimes, they become too dark, but I am getting more shots that I am very satisfied with now.

Nowadays, the Holga has become a basic camera that travels with me. I just can’t part with it!

A view. I was hoping for better sharpness but oh well. This is also Lac Leman but from a small town near Geneva. (photo by Shaima)

For this challenge, though, I was a bit disappointed with the photos. I wish I got some better shots, but oh well. You know by now that with a Holga, the results are mostly unexpected. To be honest, that is what I love about it — the feeling between dropping my films at the lab and getting them. Waiting and being surprised is truly the best feeling about shooting with the Holga.

I used Ilford 400 for the black-and-white portion of this challenge and Kodak Porta 400 for the color. Those are my favorite films, especially the Porta, which I find works so well with the Holga.

Piscine means pool. That is also at the same hotel overlooking Lac Leman. Yes I love signs. (photo by Shaima)

My town is Geneva, Switzerland. Three languages — German, French and Italian — are spoken in Geneva. I have been living here for more than 10 years and I have grown to love this little town. I love the language, the people and the atmosphere. Not everyone I know does, though. Some don’t mainly because of having to learn French. However, I think that more people are speaking English now, compared to when I first moved here.

Geneva is the most populous French-speaking part of Switzerland (about 1,240,000 people). It’s an important financial center is is the fifth most expensive city in the world. Geneva also serves as the European headquarters for the United Nations, as well as many other international organizations such as the Red Cross and World Heath Organization.

This is in downtown Geneva. I like photographing people while they pass by here. (photo by Shaima)

I have been living in Geneva for many years, but now it’s the time to move back to my country, Kuwait.

It is quite an emotional time for me as I made so many friends here. I am glad to have done this challenge as it motivated me to use the Holga to take pictures of the town. We usually take photographs when we travel or visit new places, but we tend to forget doing it where we live. We really should record our surroundings more. I think it’s a great way to document the town and also parts of our everyday life.

More photos from Shaima’s challenge are below:

I love tomatoes! This is the farmers’ market that takes place every Wednesday and Saturday in the center of Geneva, in an area called Rive. If you, like me, prefer buying local and organic produce, this is the place to be every week. Even if you don’t want to buy, just smell the flowers, the cheese and the bakery as you walk around. I love snapping street shots there, too.

This is also at the farmers’ market. I love street photography, and I find many interesting people there to photograph, but I am somewhat scared to do it with the Holga (I do it a lot with the iPhone, though, since it is much more discreet). I fear that it would scare people off. So, I tried a photo from the back. I love her hat and I love how sharp it came out.

Who doesn’t love balloons? Yet another shot at the market. This is a stand where some school children were selling homemade baked goods. The money they make goes to their class. I am not sure for what exactly, but I find many children doing that in markets here.

That is my three-year-old son. I love the colors here. This is at the Hotel President Wilson poolside. This hotel has the most expensive suite in Geneva, or so I’ve heard.

My seven-year-old son. I was hoping for better sharpness here. I love this lake, “Lac Leman.” It is also known by “Lake of Geneva,” but I guess “Lac Leman” is more accurate since this lake is huge and goes as far as France and other Swiss towns. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. This lake was formed by a retreating glacier, and has a crescent shape.

A chair at a small hotel overlooking the lake.

The ice-cream man. It is summertime, so you will find many Movenpick ice-cream carts and stands around the city.

See more of Shaima on the web:

HooHaa Holga Challenge:

Day four of the HooHaa Holga Challenge is Wednesday, with Jeff Soderquist and Seattle, Washington.

Holga Challenge – Your Town: Waco, Texas

Note: This is the second in a series of six stories that are being done by participants of the HooHaa Holga Challenge. The rest will run through Friday. See information for the rest at the bottom of this post.

By Mike Davis

Waco, Texas – Population 124, 805 as of 2010. Waco was founded in 1849 and is named for the Huaco Indians who lived in the area.

Located in the Heart of Texas, directly between Dallas and Austin, Waco was relatively quiet for some time. It gained some notoriety, perhaps infamy is the better word, in 1993 during the Branch Davidian Standoff. While the Davidians weren’t located in Waco city limits, we were the closest town to their compound.

President George W. Bush also chose Crawford, a little town outside Waco, as the location for his ranch and spent quite a bit of time there during his terms.

The Bosque River from Lover’s Leap

One of the jewels of Waco is William Cameron Park. Cameron Park in 416 acres inside the city limits located along the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque rivers.

The cliffs in the park were formed because of the Balcones fault that runs through the area. Lover’s Leap is a popular area of the park complete with a legend — A Huacoan Indian chief had a daughter named Wah-Wah-Tee who fell in love with a member of the Apache tribe. The two lovers had to run off together, as the Apaches and Huacos were enemies, but were intercepted by her angry father and brothers.

The tale ends with Wah-Wah-Tee kissing her lover before the two of them jumped from a cliff at the east end of the Bosque River and plummeted to their deaths.

Just to the top left of the Bosque River picture is the location of the Waco Mammoth Site where the bones of 24 Columbian mammoth were buried approximately 68,000 years ago when rapidly rising waters from the Bosque River flooded the site. They are currently working on receiving National Park status for the site.

Jacob’s Ladder

The park is also home to the Cameron Park Zoo, as well as some of the top-rated hiking and mountain biking trails in Texas.

A true test of fitness is a hike up the 87 unevenly spaced steps that make up Jacob’s Ladder.

Waco Suspension Bridge

Continuing down the Brazos River, we find Waco’s iconic symbol, the Waco Suspension Bridge.

Built in 1869 by the renowned New York firm of John A. Roebling Co., the firm that had originated the suspension span bridge concept, and later oversaw the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the bridge spanned 475 feet and contained nearly 3 million locally produced bricks.

The bridge helped Waco grow along the Chisolm Trail.

It was closed to vehicular traffic in 1971 but is still in use today.

ALICO Building

Another Waco icon is the ALICO building. Built as the home of the Amicable Life Insurance Company in 1911, the ALICO building’s 22 floors made it the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

At one point the building was entirely self-sufficient, with an electrical generator, oil wells across the Bosque River to fuel its heating system, and an Artesian well for water. The bottom floors were damaged in 1953 during a tornado that devastated most of downtown Waco.

The building is still in use and still the tallest building in Waco.

McLennan County Courthouse

Waco is the county seat of McLennan County.

The McLennan County Courthouse was built in 1901 by architect J. Reily Gordon. The Beaux-Arts style building is said to have been inspired by St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.

On top of the courthouse’s dome is a small lantern, crowned by a statue of Themis, the Greek goddess of divine law and justice. The statue is holding the scales of Justice in her left hand and the hilt of a sword in her right. The dome is also ringed by eight eagles.

The roof and dome have recently gone through restoration giving Themis the blade of her sword back.

Dr Pepper Museum

Waco’s most famous export product was created at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store.

Dr Pepper, created in 1885, pre-dates Coca-Cola by about a year. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison’s store, is believed to be the inventor of the now famous drink.

The Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company, is now the home of the Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute. The museum houses all sorts of soft drink memorabilia and the Institute provides a hands-on lab where students learn how to create and market their own beverages.

If you were wondering, Dr Pepper dropped the “.” in the 1950’s. The 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the “Home of Dr Pepper.”

Pat Neff Hall

Waco was known as the “Athens on the Brazos” during the 1880s because it was fast becoming the hub of education in the Lone Star State.

In 1881, Paul Quinn College moved to Waco from Austin; AddRand College (later changed its name to Texas Christian University) moved to Waco in 1895, in 1882, a city tax was levied to fund the Waco Public Schools; and in 1886 Waco University and Baylor University consolidated locations in Waco.

Waco is still home to McLennan Community College, a Texas State Technical College, and Baylor University. Baylor was founded in 1845 and is the state’s oldest continually operating private university. Baylor moved from Independence, Texas in 1885.

Baylor has actually been a university longer than Texas has been a state.

Pat Neff Hall was opened in 1939 and is home to the Administrative Offices, as well as the McLane Carillon. The instrument was built by the Paccard Bell Foundry of Annecy, France. The weight of the bells ranges from 29 pounds to 4,370 pounds, with a total weight of more than 22 tons.

Judge R.E. Baylor

Rufus C. Burleson

Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, a native of Kentucky, moved to Texas where he co-founded Baylor University with the Reverend William Tryon and Reverend James Huckins, the first Baptist missionary to Texas. He was elected judge of the district and supreme courts of the Republic of Texas and was a member of the convention that framed the State constitution of Texas in 1845.

Rufus C. Burleson was the second president of Baylor.

He was accused by William Cowper Brann of fathering a child with a young Brazilian girl who lived with the Burlesons, eventually leading to his demotion to President Emeritus in 1897 despite being found innocent by a grand jury. The building behind his statue is part of the Burleson Quadrangle, the first common area to the students at the Waco campus.

Founders Mall

Just behind Old Main, and the R.E. Baylor Statue, is Founders Mall and this column monument.

According to Michael White’s History of Baylor University 1845-1861, the memorial is built of stones from Tyron Hall, a building from Baylor’s original Independence campus about 80 miles west of Houston. The memorial also contains pieces of Old Main, Carroll Science Building, Alexander Residence Hall and Pat Neff Hall.

Buried beneath the monument is a time capsule from 1945, when the stones were dedicated for Baylor’s centennial celebration.

RGIII

A visit to Baylor wouldn’t be complete without paying homage to a young man who brought a new spark to are generally less-than-stellar athletics program (with apologies to women’s basketball, this is Texas and football is king.)

Robert Griffin III led our football program to our first bowl game in years, our first bowl win in years, and then he went ahead and won the Heisman Trophy for excellence in football this year.

Lake Waco Dam

He did all of this while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master in Communications. He was the second overall pick in the NFL draft and, much to my chagrin, will be playing for the Washington Redskins. He kicked off “The Year of the Bear” that had us set an NCAA record for combined wins in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball and saw all of our teams appearing in post-season play. Needless to say, I’m a touch excited.

There is much more to Waco than I could ever cover in 12 photos.

Waco has been a great place to grow up. It has just the right mix of activities and its proximity to larger cities provides one with outlets for just about everything else without having to deal with traffic. We have access to sports, great golf courses, good food and plenty of other activities.

See more of Mike on the web:

HooHaa Holga Challenge:

Day 1: Totness, England

Day three of the HooHaa Holga Challenge is Tuesday, with Shaima M and Geneva, Switzerland.

Holga Challenge – Your Town: Totnes, England

Fore Street and East Gate Arch (photo by Becca Gulliver)

Note: This is the first in a series of six stories that are being done by participants of the HooHaa Holga Challenge. The rest will run through Friday.

Second note: Becca had some issues with her camera for this project and only has seven of 12 images for her town.

By Becca Gulliver

This was a challenge in in every sense of the word.

Devon has had one of the wettest, dullest summers I can remember. Then add to that a Holga that was accidentally drop-kicked across a car park, causing the back to fly off, the film to pop out and land in a coiled heap about a foot away.

I had to kiss goodbye to that roll of Ilford Delta. Whilst scooping up my belongings from the parking bay, it didn’t even occur to me that the impromptu game of football could have caused any damage.

North Gate (photo by Becca Gulliver)

This was something that wouldn’t come to light until both films were developed. My Holga now appears to be permanently stuck in B mode (bulb) and if you shake it you can hear something rattling inside.

At least I can still use it for low-light shooting. Anyway, enough about that.

Most of my shots were taken in the Totnes area of South Devon (England), using a Holga 120gn, Ilford Delta 400 and Fuji Superia X-tra 400.

Here I stand and here I rest. And this town shall be called Totnes. – Brutus of Troy

Totnes is a small market town, with a population of between 7,000 – 8,000 people.

Situated inland within a nationally recognized Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is a short drive to some fantastic beaches (the nearest beach is a 15-minutes drive).

Bridgetown (photo by Becca Gulliver)

If you go further inland, you have the wide expanse of wilderness known as Dartmoor to explore.

Central Totnes is built on a hill, which has the River Dart at the bottom and the Totnes Castle at the top.

On the other side of the river you have the suburb of Bridgetown, which is where I live.

Totnes is very old. The first recorded history of the town was in 907 AD, which makes it the second oldest borough in England.

Because of the age of the of the town, the architecture is varied and even boasts one of the oldest Norman Motte and Bailey castles, a medieval church and Tudor buildings alongside more modern offerings of the 18th, and subsequent centuries.

River Dart and Totnes Bridge (photo by Becca Gulliver)

During the 12th century it was an important and thriving market town and in very prosperous times minted it’s own coins.

Nowadays, it probably comes across as quite sleepy at times, but Totnes everything but. It certainly seems to have more than it’s fair share of artists (painters, potters, woodwork, metal work, fine art printing and photography, just to mention a few) and musicians.

The music scene is pretty varied with live bands and electronic music nights during most weekends. We probably have the largest DJs per capita than anywhere else.

Dartington Hall (photo by Becca Gulliver)

If music and art isn’t your thing then we also have a lot of people into alternative lifestyles and alternative medicines.

I would imagine it’s possible to find treatments from most corners of the world here.

Until recently we also had an internationally known art college, which unfortunately was relocated despite protests from the locals.

There is so much one could say about Totnes, but for more information about the town, type in Totnes in Google.

Other images from Becca’s series on her town are below:

Totnes Castle.

Path.

Becca on the web:

Day two of the HooHaa Holga Challenge is Monday, with Mike Davis and Waco, Texas.