For my photography class, we're required to use a toy camera--a Holga, to be specific-- for one of our assignments. Although they're not very expensive, I haven't really had a reason to acquire one until now.
What makes a Holga special is its simplicity and flaws. No two cameras are the same, and the cheap, plastic pieces make light leaks and fuzziness a built-in "artisticness" to your photos. There is no zoom, no shutter speed. The focus adjustments are "one person", "two people", "group of people", and "landscape", and the aperture settings are "sunny" and "not so sunny". It also takes a different format film: 120 instead of the standard 35mm, so all photos are square. Here's a sampling from my first roll on my Holga (digitally adjusted in Aperture):
Saturday was the Lafayette Oatmeal Festival! Last year, I did the 5K, and the year before that, I just indulged in the oatmeal (have I really been keeping a blog for that long? Dang!).
The starting line...it was chilly that morning. The giant, inflatable bowl of oatmeal to remind us all why we're there!
The 5K was pretty standard fare...here's a swiped picture from the official event photographers. I'm sprinting for the finish line!After the run, Ryan and I were ready for our hard-earned oatmeal breakfast. The toppings line was a bit long for Ryan's patience... Supposedly the "World's Largest Topping Bar"...complete with candies, dried fruit, fresh fruit, sugars and spices, sauces, jams, dips, peanut butters.... Mmm breakfast...I promise there is oatmeal underneath all of that fruit! We also got oatmeal pancakes. They were serving muffins, too, but we were stuffed!
Completely random, but...the trash cans at the elementary school where this was held are decorated to look like trash monsters. Complete with arms! Ryan suggested this makes throwing away trash more fun for kids, so there is less litter...interesting idea...
First, the venue: Mercury Cafe is an eclectic (albeit hipster) place, hosting an organic, locally-sourced restaurant, a staged open-mic area, and an upstairs ballroom complete with larger stage. They are home to Slam Poetry national champions, Swing Dancing champions, and instructional evenings that bring these arts to the community. I frequented the place freshman year, so it is near and dear to my heart...we drove down there for many evenings to see Dan or his poet friends perform, followed by swing dancing to a live band. It is a warm place that gives off good vibes.
Now, the bands: DeVotchKa is from Denver, and they are probably best known for bringing us the lovely soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine. They've got a unique sound (how many bands can you name that utilize both a sousaphone AND a theramin?), blending mariachi with gypsy punk and folk. While I do enjoy DeVotchKa very much, the main reason I was in attendance was for the opener, Gregory Alan Isakov. A Boulder musician, I first heard his album as a soundtrack to a video a friend sent to me:
Looked into a bit more, and turns out his latest album in its entirety is streaming from his website. I bought the album on vinyl, and love it!
The concert was fantastic for both sets of performances. After the opening set, I noticed none other than Gregory himself standing behind me, chatting with his friends. I sheepishly asked him for an autograph, and he introduced me to the rest of his band. They were all very nice, especially considering how dumb I was being (I couldn't muster any other conversation other than, "good show, how was last night's, good luck tomorrow, etc."). They were all kind enough to sign my record!
