Margot Jan_09 048

Margot Jan_09 048, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

I was on a hat kick. This is Margot, of course, with a borrowed hat - one of three we took last week that I thought worked pretty well...

Colour_Film_Scan_19.jpg

Colour_Film_Scan_19.jpg, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Film, same wall - I have to thank Evaan Kheraj for painting this wall for a shoot he had - we share a studio. The colour is great.

Colour_Film_Scan_04.jpg

Colour_Film_Scan_04.jpg, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Another shot from last week's shoot. Large format film.

Polaroid_Scan_03

Polaroid_Scan_03, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

I did some testing last week - something to keep me sharp, I suppose. I wanted to shoot of the last of my Polaroid Type-55 black and white film but it was all kaput - I only managed one frame out of about 8 or 9.

However, I did have some old Fuji Instant film - it's a bit magenta because of the age, but it looks pretty cool. I just scanned in the print. Of course, there is the small matter of dust and scratches and some very prominent thumb prints, but I still think the shot is nice...

Rasberries

Rasberries, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Old shot - I took this years ago of my sister-in-law's hands and my Mother-in-Law's garden. The berries were fantastic. I shot this just after sunset - one of my favorite times of the day from a light point of view. You only get a couple of minutes but that strange blue hue you get from a bright summer sky is pretty cool...

T55-Molly-1.jpg

T55-Molly-1.jpg, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Another shot from the Summer on Polaroid Type-55 and the Linhof. I love the dropoff of focus in this image.

Monique_Testing_05

Monique_Testing_05, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Another shot of Monique, on grey seamless. Little vignette for effect...

Monique1

Monique1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Some testing last week. Monique is a good sport...

Christina_Lake_06

Christina_Lake_06, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Margot, in Gill Creek at Christina Lake. Her aunt bought her this dress - I love it against the green of the trees.

Christina_Lake_05

Christina_Lake_05, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Elise, standing still just long enough for me to get a single frame off. Shot on 4x5 neg film with the Technikardin.

T55 George

T55 George1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

My Nephew, George. On the dock - Type 55 Polaroid and the Linhof again... It's funny, he's not much of a pose-for-the-camera kind of kid, but I was really blown away by his pose for this shot. Lucky, I guess...

T55 Elise

T55 Elise 1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Elise on the dock - another Type 55 Polaroid photo.

T55 Margot

T55 Margot 1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

On the dock at Lake Simcoe. Margot, trying to stand still in the high wind. Shot on 4x5 with Type 55 Polaroid film.

CH Shoes

CH Shoes, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

My niece's shoes, left on the dock.

Margot sitting

400NC Margot 1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

She's pretty patient, for a 5-year-old. Well, for any age, really. At any rate, this is Margot, only too happy (although you wouldn't know it from the photo) to pose for her dad. Shot on a 4x5 camera with neg film of some sort or other. I used that Xenotar 150mm lens again - my favorite.

SunYatSen Pond

SunYatSen Pond, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

This is the pond at Dr Sun Yat Sen Gardens in Vancouver. I was out shooting early(ish) in the morning a while ago, and got this shot. It was taken with film and my Hasselblad - I just got around to scanning it last week.

New York

New York, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Bedroom in the Metropolitan Museum. I took this shot for reference, just in case I think about getting an inlaid headboard or gilt wallpaper... Amazing, but not to my taste...

Knife on Plate

Knife on Plate, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

This is my homage to one of my most favorite photos, La Fourchette, by Andre Kertesz This is another old image, scanned in and among some other images I recently found.

Organic Beets

Organic Beets, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

I Just re-found this transparency after quite a long time thinking it was lost. It's actually Agfa Scala (sorry, best link I could find to it) film, a black-and-white transparency film that came out in the 80s. It was really nice film but it had to be sent off for processing, a la Kodachrome, so I don't think it really did that well. Interesting stuff, tho...

Battery

Battery, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Another tidbit from the house. I love the black-and-white stripes on this battery.

Golf Ball

Golf Ball, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

A Gatke golf ball. According to the box it came in, it was made by Zippo, the same people as the lighters. Also according to the box, it's guaranteed for 18 rounds. I'm lucky if I get 2 or 3 holes out of a golf ball before it gets, uh, lost.

Telephone

Telephone, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Mrs. A's Telephone (for those of you wondering what all this old stuff is, well, about 7 or 8 years ago I did a promo called '(some) things from my grandmother's house' These are some of the things - I'm working on a show in late July and I'm scanning all my old film.

At any rate, this phone was actually in service until just a little while ago. I could never remember which way to spin the dial when I made a call. My kids had no idea how to use it...

Turmeric

Turmeric, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Old, old shot. I must have done this close to 10 years ago - maybe not quite that long... At any rate, it's from my grandmother-in-law's house - she wasn't using it any more. Love the design...

Real Weddings Cover

Real Weddings Cover, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Well, they did go with that shot for the cover of Real Weddings. I think it looks smashing, glad I took the extra few minutes to get this shot...

Ginger Box

Ginger Box 1, originally uploaded by Alastair Bird.

Ah, the old Choy Heung Candied Ginger. You have to wonder about any food product put on a ship and sailed half-way around the planet. I bet it didn't taste too good... The box was pretty cool. Shot on hand-made paper from Paper Ya.