Jessica Hibbard Elenstar

At the end of each month, I usually find myself wondering where the days have gone. This time around, the story is in the pages of my notebook. Many thanks to Susannah for creating August Break … I’ve discovered some fabulous bloggers and developed an addictive new photo-journal habit.

Day 30: Blue Bicycle (Church St., downtown Frederick, MD)

Day 30: Standing Shadow (Church St., downtown Frederick, MD)

Day 31: The Old Hotel (Patrick & Court Sts., downtown Frederick, MD)

It’s kind of amazing to think how far I’ve come this month, personally. I was hobbling around on crutches and couldn’t drive on August 1st. Now I’m walking and driving, and I’m well on my way to resuming the independent lifestyle I had taken for granted for so long. (As you can see in the second photo, I’m stuck wearing some rather unflattering shoes for the time being, but by the end of next month, I hope to be back into some slightly more fashionable footwear.)

When I visited my podiatrist at the end of July, she said that it would take four months for my foot to be back to normal. I think it will probably take just as long to really process what happened and what it means for me. Is it foolish to look for meaning in a random accident? Is it foolish to think I might understand the meaning if I did find any? The parable of a Chinese farmer** makes me think the latter may be true.

For the time being, I’ve learned to be a little more thoughtful and introspective. But you don’t need to get run over by a car to think about your life. A camera and a notebook are really all you need. 

** I followed a link to this story from the Communicatrix, another great blog I discovered via Susannah.

via jesshibb.tumblr.com

Tried to post this last night, but Posterous was having issues. So I blogged it with Tumblr, and now I'm using the Posterous bookmarklet to reblog it here. (Are you confused yet? I AM!)

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Yesterday: Shapes and Stripes created by the Purple Heart Tradescantia and window blinds in my office. It's about that time of year when the Purple Heart starts getting a bit unruly, so I snip the stems, throw them in a glass of water, and let them root before potting them and giving them away.

Today: My gimpy grasshopper came to visit this morning. I've mentioned him before, and I'm thrilled I was able to get a proper photo of him.

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Since it has become so scarce and so expensive, I've been feeling sort of protective of my remaining Polaroid 600 film. Until the past couple weeks, when I realized how silly that is. For one thing, the Impossible Project has new color film for SX-70 cameras, and the 600 version will be out in a few months. But aside from that, my stash of 600 film isn't getting any less expired. So my current philosophy is the photographic equivalent of "smoke 'em if you got 'em" ...

Friday: Christopher brought me flowers. He's growing a huge crop of dahlias for his boss. She's using them in her wedding next month! For now, I'm the beneficiary of the early blossoms.

Saturday: Experimenting with expired 600 film in my SLR 680 (on the left) and the new Impossible PX70 film in my SX-70 (on the right). Tang was a willing model.

Today: Once upon a time, we had a rule about no cats on the dining table. We have obviously lost control over this house ... Let this be a lesson to never allow yourselves to be outnumbered by cats.

Some of my 600 shots are already showing streaks and blobs. And some are just crappy photos. But it feels good to indulge, and it feels even better to embrace the future, whatever it might bring!

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I like how the unruly succulents on my office windowsill contrast against the stripey blinds in the background. This is another shot taken with my Polaroid SX-70 with Impossible PX70 film ... I'm hopelessly addicted to this stuff!

Since I'm still not able to walk without crutches, let alone drive, it's been sort of frustrating to not be able to visit different streets and sights for August Break photos. But I have been able to sharpen my eye and find photo opportunities in mundane places that I'd normally ignore. Just further evidence that taking a photo every day, no matter what it is or where you are, can make you a more effective photographer!

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Catching up again ... No new notebook pages, but I have been shooting some instant film over the past few days. I enjoy Fuji's Instax films, but nothing captures my heart and imagination like the square format of traditional integral film.

Neptune, hanging out on the dining room table on Sunday morning. She loves bugging us when we're trying to eat breakfast on the weekends. (Polaroid SX-70 with Impossible PX70 film)

Lounging in a dark room. This was my view from the living room couch yesterday after work. (Polaroid SX-70 with Impossible PX70 film)

After the party. We had a lunch event at work today, and I snapped this after most of the guests left. (Polaroid SLR 680 with expired 600 film)

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We had a delightful Saturday afternoon excursion that included some duck-watching at Baker Park and lunch at Baltimore Coffee & Tea. Nothing too exciting, but with my boot and crutches, it's quite a production to do "normal person" activities.

For a fun comparison, here's the same view on Impossible PX70 film:

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First of all, I love the number 13. And Fridays. I was born on a Friday the 13th, so I feel like I'm exempt from the usual superstitions. Nothing monumental happened today, but I had a generally positive feeling the whole time. I'm pretty sure it was my Friday the 13th luckiness. But it could be the two gigantic iced coffees I had at breakfast. Or it could be breakfast in general ... A delicious sandwich at Cafe Nola with several of my favorite local ladies. Who knows.

Cafe Nola -- Polaroid SX-70 with Impossible PX70 film

Remember yesterday, when I said I'd be back to my normal Moleskine-Instax-August-Break thing? Yeah, I lied. I took a couple Instax photos at breakfast, but I gave them away! And I just couldn't resist posting another PX70 photo. I am so smitten with this delicious new film!

As promised, I rescanned the photo from yesterday, 29 hours after shooting. The colors have shifted ever-so-slightly, but not as much as I thought they might. Here's it is:

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Highlights of my day yesterday included delivery of PX70 film from The Impossible Project, and a phone chat with Anniebee, the Queen of ImpossibleUSA. Aside from the aesthetic wonder of shooting instant film, I'm constantly amazed at how much it's changed my life in a good way ... Some of my dearest friends are polaroid friends!

Here's my first (non-test-film) shot on PX70 film ... I'M IN LOVE. Seriously. I took this at my office, around 3:00 p.m., and just scanned it at 8:00 p.m. It will be interesting to see how it changes over the next 12-24 hours. I actually left it on my scanner so I can rescan again tomorrow when I get home from work.

Today is sort of a departure from my regular August Break project -- Instax Mini photos, peeled and taped inside my Moleskine notebook. I'll be back to those posts tomorrow, but thought this photo was more than worthy for Day 12. Unfortunately, it's just a tad too big for the small Cahier pages! I see a larger sketchbook is in my future ...

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Meanwhile, at work: The past two days, when I've taken an afternoon break to elevate my foot for a few minutes, I've seen the same grasshopper crawling on the outside of my office window. The grasshopper has one leg missing. Is this the universe trying to tell me things could be worse? Or maybe the poor little critter is just looking for another bum-legged friend to hang out with? Who knows. But if it happens again tomorrow, I'll stick the close-up lens on my Instax Mini and attempt to get a photo of the little guy.

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I just had to get outside today, but our garden is overrun with mosquitoes right now. So Christopher and I went to the park and sat on a bench, watching the ducks. I like how a simple change of scenery is so good for clearing the mind.

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I've been torturing myself today by imagining all the fun things I'd be doing if I wasn't still hobbling around on crutches. Would I be at my cousin's wedding in Washington state? Would I be taking polaroids of vintage VW's or dressed-up dogs at First Saturday in downtown Frederick? The "would I" and "what if" go on and on, ad nauseum. I feel shut off from the world, creatively and physically. But every now and then a little light breaks through the curtain. A little dappled shimmer of something that reminds me that I, hopefully, won't always be broken.

Thought it might be fun to share this behind-the-scenes photo. I don't always color-coordinate my laptop, camera, and cat ... I swear. This shot did make me think that it might be fun to do a photo series or video that looks at how I peel the photos, as well as some of the materials I'm using. I've received so much positive feedback on this August Break series that I thought others might like to try it. Stay tuned!

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I'm a bit short on words today ... It's been a long week. Here's hoping for a relaxing weekend, with plenty of time for cloud-gazing.

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And there are *more* tweets I never posted today. Partly because Twitter was down for an hour or two, and partly because I've found it's an easy way to write random thoughts in my journal ... I may run out of space in this Moleskine Cahier before the end of August! 

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For some reason, I decided to peel the back & borders off my Instax Mini shots. I love these rough borders ... And it's nice to have less bulk in my notebook. 

Today: More out-the-car-window scenes in downtown Frederick. I can't wait until I'm a little more mobile and can get out to take some better shots.

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I've always enjoyed taking photos out of car windows, but it's even easier this week because I'm not driving. Since my driving foot is injured, Christopher is chauffeuring me to and from work. (Luckily, my office is on the way to the nursery.)

Today's August Break photo is a scene from our drive home, out the car window while we were stopped at South & Ice Streets in downtown Frederick.

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Today is the first day of August, and therefore the first day of August Break. I wanted to do something interesting with this ... Since I've already done a 365 project, a daily digital photo just didn't seem like an appropriate challenge.

Somehow this + this + this combined inside my brain and inspired me to use a little Moleskine Cahier for my August Break notebook. I have a mad love affair with notebooks, but I have a hard time using my favorite finds because I keep waiting for the "perfect" thing to put inside them. I thought it would be a good exercise for me to put aside those silly perfectionist tendencies and concentrate on filling a spread each day with photos, colorful tape, words, and whatever else makes sense.

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I think it's safe to say that July kicked my butt. It was a crazy month, with way more stress than should be allowed during the summer months. Of course, getting hit by a car was the main source of my frustration. I'm still limping around on crutches while I try to recover, so we made the tough decision to cancel our upcoming trip to the west coast. But a new month starts tomorrow, and I'm ready to march (or hobble, as the case may be) forward.

There are a few things on my to-do list for the month of August:

• Mail "What Would Edwin Do?" postcards to all the lovely people who entered this week's PZ 600 Giveaway ... My heart is still bursting with happiness after reading all the delightful responses.

• Enter a few pieces in the juried photography show at the Delaplaine before the August 20th deadline. (You should enter, too ... Click here to view the Call for Entry as a PDF.)

• Shoot, scan, and blog a photo every day for August Break, a delightful idea initiated by Susannah Conway. Of course, I'm going to try to do an instant photo every day. Because I'm extra crazy like that.

• Work on plans for some informal meetups and events in October. If you'll be in New York during PhotoPlus (October 28-30) and you're interested in attending a special event at Impossible USA and/or an instant photography excursion, let me know. I'll share more details here (and in my email newsletter) as plans are finalized.

• Try to establish some sense of organization for my ever-expanding collection of photos. I (sort of) have a system for organizing scans and digital photos, but my storage of instant photos and 35mm negatives is not what it should be. For the polaroids, I'm considering these sleeves in archival 3-ring binders. But I'd love to hear your suggestions!

What's on your list for August? Please don't say "laying on the beach, sipping drinks adorned with colorful umbrellas," or I might explode with jealousy!

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Thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who entered the PZ 600 Giveaway. I was truly overwhelmed by the volume of entries ... I'm going to be printing lots of "What Would Edwin Do?" postcards to send all over the globe! Everyone who entered will get one in the mail soon.

Reading your comments about your love for instant film made me a little misty-eyed. It's so heartwarming to hear your enthusiasm for the nostalgia, unpredictability, and beauty of this amazing genre of photography. All of the comments were so genuine that I knew I couldn't just pick one favorite. So I let Mr. Random choose a winner ... There were 76 lines in my spreadsheet, starting with the first response on line 2.

Congratulations, Danielle! Impossible USA will be sending your film soon, so get that Spectra ready!

Here's what Danielle had to say about instant film:

the thing i love most about instant film is its unpredictable nature. even if a picture doesn't turn out the way i expected, i still love it because of the soft focus and color that only comes from instant film!

If you want that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from bonding with other instant film lovers, go back and read all the comments. Thanks to everyone for making me smile, and special thanks to The Impossible Project for supplying the PZ 600 film for this giveaway!

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