A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

challenges

Foto Friday: July was a blink

In regard to photos, July went by quickly.

Yes, July was a blink.

Let me explain why.

You see, I have been getting into the habit of posting my 366 images on Flickr once per week. It’s easier that way. However, July didn’t happen that way. I got through the 14th and then didn’t process or post anything until … August 2.

Yikes!

Let’s just say it was a whirlwind to go through all the images, pick the ones I wanted to use and place them in the right spots. Crazy enough.

I’ve come close to ending my 366 a few times this month, I won’t lie. It’s been tough because, well, it gets old taking photos of the same small area. Sometimes I get some good stuff. Other times, it’s plain.

One thing I’ve learned to do is this — recycle.

By that I mean an area. So if I go somewhere and there are several things to take photos of and that would work, I take one. Then I keep a note and I might go back the next day. I don’t take photos of all of it in one day because then the backups are gone. So it becomes a situation where I might visit the same part three or four times in a week, just to utilize the photo opportunities.

I’ve also kept going with nature stuff, so there’s always flowers and such available.

I’m going to try and push myself a bit more in August. Softball is over now, so hopefully I can get into a photographing mood a bit more.

Now for my top images of July…

Paddles waiting to be used. (July 1)

Old glory. (July 4)

Coke. (July 5)

Fair on the Square, (July 13)

Looking out. (July 23)

You can see all my 366 photos from this year at this Flickr set.

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: June brings heat

The summer months of the 366 have been a little slow… but this was one of my favorites from June — a person running through the Hamden Covered Bridge.

Ahhh, June. When the summer officially starts and when photography should be a breeze.

Right?

Not so much.

This summer has been hot and humid. Mix that in with softball, caching, the job hunt and many other things and my camera hasn’t been out as much as normal. I plodded through the month with 366 shots, but at times it wasn’t so easy.

That has kind of continued in July and I’m extremely far behind from posting all my imaged from July (the 14th is the last day I’ve processed/posted! Yikes! I need to get going!)

But, it’s the summer nonetheless.

I got some fun shots this month as I mixed things up with sports, events and everyday things.

As for the 366, it’s been tough! Though I thought it would be much easier than when I did it in 2010, it’s been harder. With taking the photos, processing them and posting them. I’m behind on a lot of photo things. I need to get rolling and get them on my Flickr!

Anyway, here’s my top five (plus one) from June (in order of date posted):

Wiffle ball (June 2).

Disc golf clinic (June 3)

Fog settling in (June 5)

First to find (June 11)

Coming clean (June 20)

Sliding home (June 28)

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

HooHaa Holga Challenge: And that’s a wrap!

When I originally thought up the HooHaa Holga Challenge, it was with the idea that I could find a couple of people who took photos with a Holga and have fun showing off their town.

What I didn’t expect is what I got.

Another of the rejects.

Through Twitter, five others jumped into this challenge. And with that, we had a wonderful variety of photographers from all over the United States and the world. Three women, three men. The USA. England. Switzerland. Kuwait.

What a view!

I’ve always fancied myself a bit of a traveler. Maybe not one who has traveled a ton, but one who would love to travel more. There are many others who have been more places than I, but I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of stuff in the States, and I’ve been to different places in Canada and traveled to Ireland.

In my lifetime, I hope to visit more places. Some of those places include the ones we saw in this challenge. The photographers who brought you these wonderful pieces showed life from around the world.

Reject 3.

In my own country, Mike made Waco, Texas look like a great spot to visit. And Jeff’s take on Seattle made me almost want to move there!

As we got out of the country, Becky’s view on Totnes, England made me want to see some of this town as it seems like there would be some great places to explore. Shaima gave a nice feel to Geneva, Switzerland. And despite the reality that I will likely never be in the Middle East, Nada’s piece on Kuwait City reenforced my belief that the Middle East would be one heck of a great place to travel for photography reasons.

Photography — and writing, for that matter — are ways for people to share their lives, culture and things around them. Without this challenge, I would have never seen many of the items that others featured.

That’s what I learned about others. I learned some things about me and photography as well.

I do still enjoy film. I will never go back to film fully because I love the advantages that digital gives you. I also like that I can take a couple of memory cards and not worry about the money of buying rolls of film and getting them developed.

Another of the rejected photos.

For example, this challenge was two rolls of film. The film cost me, give or take, about 10 bucks. The developing, including shipping, cost me about $15. That’s $25.

Depending on the brand I choose, I could get about 32 gigs worth of memory cards for my digital camera for that same price. And those are reusable.

Film is great. I do love it. But financially, it’s not the best way to go for me. I like to shoot a lot of photos. Are all perfect? No. And they are easily sent packing with digital. But 5-6 screw-ups on a 24-exposure roll of film is quite costly.

I will continue to use the Holga. I’ll just likely pick and choose a little. I like how it works and such, but I want to make sure that when I do use it, it’s for things I want to see with the Holga feel or on film.

Film is special. That’s how I treat it, too. It’s not my everyday medium for various reasons, but one of those reasons is because it’s a special thing and I love to have that feeling when the film arrives. By happening too much, that feeling would shrink. As would my wallet!

To go back and check out all the Holga Challenge pieces, click on the links below!

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: Delhi, NY

This gazebo, located on Delhi’s Courthouse Square, is a somewhat iconic place for our village. The square is where many area happenings go on, including the annual Fair on the Square, which runs each Friday in Julys.

Note: This is the sixth and final in a series of stories that are being done by participants of the HooHaa Holga Challenge. The series ran Sunday through today. See links for the rest at the bottom of this post.

This has been quite a challenge – especially in a photography way.

The others in this challenge, it seemed, had bigger areas to explore, discover and shoot. That’s one of the reasons I made this challenge within a 15-mile radius of your home area.

When this first started, I went back and forth with Mike about his “town,” which is Waco, Texas. His “town,” you see, is a city. With the space and population he has (including a major college), there were many possibilities for him.

See Jeff, who brought us to Seattle.

We also had close-ups of places like Geneva, Switzerland and what life was like in Kuwait and England.

And then there’s me, with Delhi (pronounced Del-hy, not Del-ee, like the city in India), a small town in upstate New York.

Though the business that owns this car wash has changed over the years, I remember it best when it was owned by a local car dealership. I had a lot of work done on cars there and bought a few cars there as well. Back in the day, there used to be three dealerships in town. Now there’s one. It’s much like everything else in this area when it comes to business – it’s hard to stay above water.

Nestled in the Catskill Mountains, Delhi is a wonderful little town. It’s an outdoorsman’s paradise in some places. We have a lot of history here and during the summer, it’s quite the peaceful place.

During the other months, our population swells up with an additional 2,000 or so people when the students of the local two-year state school come back for the year.

Despite all of these outdoorsy things, it’s still sometimes hard to get creative with photography. For someone who is a city dweller, I’m sure this would be a great place. The chances to shoot nature and see something different other than a concrete jungle would likely be welcomed.

For me, the city is where I’d like to be. Maybe not a place the size of a New York City, but somewhere slightly smaller, such as Albany, our state capital.

A lot of people say their places are small – as Mike. He thought Waco was small. But when I say Delhi is small, I mean small.

As with many rural areas, Delhi – and our county in general – has quite a few old cemeteries. Many of them aren’t active anymore, but they are a source for history, local and afar. I’ve come across many cemeteries with graves of people who have fought in the Revolutionary War. There is a lot to be learned in these old cemeteries and it’s nice that most of these places are still kept up decently well.

In the 2010 Census, the village of Delhi had a population of 3,087. If you go a little bigger and make it the town of Delhi, we’re now up to a whopping 5,117.

Let’s put this into a bit more perspective.

Delaware County, which is where Delhi is located, had a total of 47,890 people, according to the 2010 Census. The county isn’t small, either, as it’s a total area of 1,468 square miles. Of that land mass, only 22 square miles are water!

We’re surrounded by rolling hills and mountains. Trees are abundant. If the Census counted cows, our population would drastically rise.

It’s a great place to be and a nice area to raise kids. The crime rate isn’t high (crimes do happen, though) and, for the most part, one can feel safe being outside at most hours of the day.

In Delhi, there isn’t much to do.

I had to leave this photo in for two reasons. First, it is one of the photos that got hurt when the back popped off my Holga. Second, it shows something this area is really known for – it’s fishing spots. Whether it is small ponds or our branch of the Delaware River, there are some great spots to fish. And with there being a lot of DEC land, there are more opportunities for other outdoors adventures.

If you’re under the age of 21, you can scratch off the local bars for hangouts, too, so it becomes even less exciting. Despite being the county seat, Delhi doesn’t have any movie theaters, malls or shopping areas.

There’s an outdoors basketball court and a few parks. There are also some softball and baseball fields; soccer fields and some nature trails.

Heck, we don’t even have a village pool anymore, though they are trying to raise funds to put one in again.

Oneonta, which is in Otsego County, is the nearest “city.” It’s not even that big with a population just shy of 14,000. There are movie theaters there and some other activities people can get involved in, but it’s a 20- to 25-minute ride.

As I said, that makes challenges like this quite difficult as you need to open up and see things slightly different.

The village became incorporated in 1821 and has been featured in some pop culture places.

One thing about this area and the mountains is that it produces a lot of excellent spring water. In some places, hoses run off the mountain and people can stop and get cold, crisp water from the source. It’s a wonderful treasure and one I try and take advantage of any chance I get.

The Courthouse Square gazebo was even featured in the Saturday Evening Post on July 7, 1951. It was the cover for that magazine for that edition.

Delhi was also the setting for the award-winning children’s book, My Side of the Mountain.

The village has a size of 3.2 square miles, none covered by water, outside of the West Branch of the Delaware River, which runs through and opens up the chance to canoe, kayak or tube down the river.

Delhi isn’t perfect by any means. Many people who graduate high school here leave for better opportunities. Much of the village is off the tax rolls, be it for government buildings, non-profit places or whatever else. It’s also a village with an older population.

Being the county seat means Delhi is home to the county office buildings, courthouse and jail. The DMV is also located in town.

Just outside the village of Delhi and in the town, there is this rock wall. It’s the Greek Wall of sorts as the walls are painted by the fraternities and sororities from the local college.

Recent years have shown a gradual push toward some better things, such as a few restaurants, a better nightlife and local events that draw the village residents together. Still, there’s not much to keep the younger generation here as jobs aren’t as plentiful and getting decent-paying employment isn’t easy to do.

That leads to houses sometimes being sold to people who turn them into student housing and now college students sometimes mix in with everyday residents and that doesn’t always end well. Town-gown relations are up-and-down, depending on the day.

Some kids are respectful and quiet after a night of partying, while others are loud and destructive. I witnessed one year (and called police right away) a couple of kids walking up the street and kicking cars, breaking mirrors and whatever else – seemingly just to be destructive.

Politics are not the greatest here, either, as can be expected in a small place such as this. The good ole boys network is still prevalent with some things and not with others. But many times it is definitely who you know. I imagine many small towns and villages are like this, but when you live in an area, you notice it much more.

Ahhh, a picnic with nature. This is something that you can do around here as there are many picnic tables in local parks. On a summer evening, you can grab some food and go sit in a park, watch the world go by and have your dinner. Delhi’s small park system has grown in recent years and there are several where one can go explore, walk and enjoy being outdoors.

Delhi is a massive part of my life and has been, even when I was away. And, with the latest happenings in my world, I’m realizing it will likely be part of my past soon enough. This area is tough to keep people, as I’ve noted. And I’ve tried and tried to stay here, but things aren’t working out and reality is, I’ll be heading elsewhere sometime.

No matter what, though, Delhi is always a part of me. I’m actually writing this on my laptop in one of the local parks – the Courthouse Square. It’s peaceful and a nice place to go and write and people watch. It’s times like this that I’ll miss when I move on. I have a feeling it would be hard for me to go to a park in a place like NYC and do what I am doing here, without being a bit worried anyway.

The photos I chose for this story aren’t necessarily the biggest or best things about Delhi or the area, but it’s some of the things I always relate with my home area. And it’s the things I’ll take with me when I move on.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip through Delhi!

Here are the rest of the photos from my challenge:

Delaware Academy. The local high school and home to the 2001 Class C state champion football team. I have to be honest – I hated my time at this school, for many reasons. But it doesn’t take away that it’s a major part of our town. It’s on a hill and it’s quite scenic from many different parts of the town. The clock tower is something many from this area – whether they stayed or left – will always remember. This shot is also a double-exposure as it has the image of a “welcome to Delhi” sign I had taken, too.

Fitch’s Covered Bridge (black and white) and Hamden Covered Bridge (color) are two historical structures in our area. The two are separated by about 10 miles. There’s another – the Downsville Covered Bridge – that’s about 22 miles from Delhi or so. These bridges are two of about 25 remaining historical covered bridges in New York State. As a big fan of covered bridges, I love being close to a couple as they are constantly a source of photographic inspiration.

Hamden Covered Bridge.

I’m not sure how it is in places where you live, but we have quite a few seasonal roads. Basically, they are roads that aren’t taken care of, say, from November to April. In reality, they aren’t kept up that well in the other months, either. They are rough dirt roads and places where you usually want to only go if you have a vehicle that is higher up off the ground and/or has four-wheel drive.

These blue and yellow signs dot the land all over our state, but there are many of them in Delaware County and in Delhi. These signs identify historical places, houses and lands or historical happenings. They are sources to help us connect to events or places that came before our time.

HooHaa Holga Challenge:

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: Kuwait City, Kuwait

This is what your regular Kuwaiti suburb looks like. I pass by this street every day on my way to uni. I’d normally hate it, except for the fact that both of my grandparents’ houses are across this street. I could always make a stop there if I didn’t feel like going to class. They don’t mind!

Note: This is the fifth 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 Nada AlMarshad

My love for medium format photography began when I purchased my Holga back in early 2009.

I didn’t know much about film photography back then, and getting a toy camera felt right at the time. I instantly fell in love with this camera the minute I held it in my hands, and grew to appreciate it even more since then.

Each Tuesday, our local supermarket has sales on the fruit and vegetables section. Finding a parking spot on a Monday morning is almost always impossible. According to mom, either you go very early in the morning, or don’t bother going at all.

All of my favorite photos that I have taken over the years had one thing in common — they were taken with a Holga! The nature of this camera gave me room to experiment with film and techniques without being afraid to ruin it.

I used to be an avid photographer, always trying different styles of photography until I found the ones that suited me best. That was until I started university in late 2009.

I enrolled in Kuwait University’s civil engineering program, a very demanding major that requires a lot of hard work and dedication (even sleepless nights at times!) School took most, if not all, of my time.

Two years went by and I felt like I wasn’t improving as a photographer. I started to lose interest in photography all together, until the end of 2011. I read a quote by Henri Cartier-Bresson (my hero!) and it stuck with me forever.

Sharq seafront promenade. A cool place to chill and read a book (but definitely not in the summer, unless you fancy a sunburn!) For some reason, I always find myself coming to this place whenever I get a new camera and want to shoot a test roll. I shot my first Holga film at location three years ago.

He said, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”

It all made sense to me.

I made it my goal to challenge myself as a photographer this year, and take whatever opportunity presented to me to try something new, and just keep taking pictures. Naturally, this challenge was perfect to me. Another reason I decided to do this challenge is to re-discover the beauty of my own town, something that I desperately needed in the midst of the political chaos my country is going through.

I’m mostly used to taking photos when I’m abroad, since it’s easier to snap pictures of people when you’re a tourist. Carrying my Holga with me wherever I go and taking it out whenever I see something interesting and worth capturing was a challenge by itself, since people here are a tiny bit sensitive about having their pictures taken by a complete stranger, which I totally understand.

A very popular fishing spot. These kids were very camera shy at first, but after I talked to them, they didn’t mind me taking pictures. The building in the background is a huge fish market.

Another one of the difficulties was using 400ISO film. I usually work with either 100, 160, or 200 ISO film. Fast films (+400 ISO) will always result in overly-exposed frames, since it’s almost always sunny outside.

Now, back to my home town.

Kuwait City is the heart of this country. All together, Kuwait is roughly about the size of the state of New Jersey — 17,820 km to be precise.

Kuwait City occupies about 200 km of the area. That’s about 1.12% of the country, so you can imagine how tiny it is!

More fishing.

From the famous Kuwait Towers, to the Seif Palace, to theNational Museum, to the tallest sculpted tower in the world (Al Hamra Tower, that is), Kuwait City is home to most of the country’s landmarks.

What I love most about Kuwait City is the mix of the old and the new, which is greatly reflected in the architecture.

You have high-rise buildings at one side of the city, and the old souks at the other, and somehow the two blend so well together.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them, even though I know they won’t do this beautiful city any justice.

More images from Nada’s challenge are below:

The Kuwaiti parliament, or as they call it, Majlis AlUmmah (House of the Nation). I absolutely love the exterior of this building (not so much a fan of what’s going *inside* though). Anyway, the building was designed by the great Danish architect ?Jørn Utzon? sometime in the 70’s. (Same guy who did the Sydney House of Opera. Awesome, isn’t?)

Since the temperature can reach up to 52C during the summer, it’s very common to see ice cream vendors roaming the streets. (And if you happen to catch one, always go for Barrid Lulu! Best ice-cream .150 fils could buy)

One of the alleys of Souq AlMubarkeya. Kuwait’s oldest, and largest traditional market. You can find pretty much everything at reasonable price there if you are good at bargaining. Beside the shops, the souk includes a fish market, farmers markets for fresh fruits and vegetables, and a gold market. Interesting combination, I know. Also, if you happen to be a street photographer, this place is excellent for you.

Dalag Suhail, a restaurant in Souk AlMubarkeya, where they specialize in serving traditional dishes. It’s usually packed during the winter, when they serve the tea kettle on a coal plate.

Restaurants in Souq Almubarkeya.

The front of a Bisht* store. The sign on the left reads “Worn by the grandparents. Inherited by the grandchildren. Made from the finest wool.” (*Bisht: a traditional Arabic men’s cloak popular in Arabia and some Arab countries. Mainly worn for special occasions.)

Marina Mall, the second largest shopping mall in Kuwait. Between all the shopping malls in Kuwait City (not complaining since I’m a bit of a shopaholic), this, by far, id the quietest.

See  more of Nada on the web:

HooHaa Holga Challenge:

Day six of the HooHaa Holga Challenge is Thursday, with P.J. and Delhi, N.Y.