Weeks 43 and 44

It's hard to believe that I skipped my post for last week. I'm not quite sure what happened. The week just slipped away and I was not here last Sunday or Monday. I was doing an apron show. Which brings me to last week's project (week 43); the apron show.

Week 43: The Apron Show.


Sure I've done a few shows in the past but never for aprons. I spent weeks putting together some fabulous one of a kind aprons. Short ones. Long ones. Half ones. Full ones. In two days, only one sold. It was a very disappointing experience to say the least. My show was held at a synagogue near my house. The crowd (mostly the members of the temple) flocked to the mass produced items. They loved the over sized (and over priced) handbags, the scarves made in China and machine knit texting gloves. Unfortunately they did not respond well to my handmade goodness. But I will move forward. I've got a wonderful product. I just didn't have the right crowd. I learned some great lessons there.

1. How to display aprons in a very crowded and tight space.
2. Research the venue more before committing to it.
3. Never give up; rejection is just fuel to try harder.
4. High maintenance women don't wear aprons :)

Week 44: Through the Viewfinder Photography (TTV)

Let me just say that this is the week I've been waiting for. This is the project that gave me a shot of adrenaline for the 52 Projects. Let me give you a little background.

A few weeks ago my dear friend Kristine told me about a TTV workshop she was taking in San Francisco with a fellow blogger/artist. At first I wasn't sure what she was talking about. TTV photography is the technique of using your digital camera to take a picture through the lens of a vintage camera like a Kodak Duaflex that has the viewfinder on the top of the camera. I had seen lots of those dreamy style Polaroid photos and always figured they were taken by old school photographers with a passion for film. I was so intrigued that I started to look for my very own Duaflex.

I found one on Ebay and won the auction. I paid for it immediately and waited like a love sick teenager at the front door for the post man to deliver her a love letter. I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. Nearly two weeks had passed and my beloved little Duaflex never arrived. I was heartbroken but not deterred. When I got a refund from the seller, I bid on another camera that evening and won it. This time I made sure to ask the seller for a tracking number and it arrived three days later.

Now the thing about TTV photography is that you have to build a "contraption" to filter out all the light between the vintage viewfinder and the lens of your digital camera. This is when I became a deer in the headlight. I'm a highly visual/hands on learner and there was no way in Hell that I was going to build this contraption. So I casually asked Breen to research contraptions if he had a little time. Oh my God. The man was all over the project like white on rice. The inner engineer came out of him like I've never seen before. I haven't seen him so immersed and excited about a project since we made the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty from driftwood we found near Ground Zero. My partner in crime was back and I was thrilled.

We went to the store and bought some foam core. Breen got to work. Observation: there is a whole lot of man love for duct tape.



The first one turned out like this:

Of course I say "the first one" because Breen hated the Ghetto look of it. So back we went to the art store for new materials and Breen finally constructed a new contraption with a professional sleek look and an adjustable top.

Here's the top view. Obviously the hole is where you put your digital camera lens.

So off we went to play. Here are some of my favorites that we took. And the best part? Breen was so loving the photography that he came home last night and bought himself a Duaflex. Now we can spend hours together getting lost in the world of TTV.


















What did you do this week?