HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012 has been such an exciting and beautiful year for my small family and I. I accomplished a few of my small goals, traveled quite a bit, spent time with friends and family, took tons of photos, and spent quality time with Christopher and the bunnies.

I'm excited about the prospect that 2013 holds! There are quite a few very exciting things lined up for January, I feel like it's going to be a dream! 

Happy New Year my friends! 

XO

I HEART FLICKR & TUMBLR

I've been a big fan of Flickr since about 2006 and I'm really enjoying the new resurgence of activity on there since Instagram went and scared everyone with questionable Terms of Service. Flickr had just released an awesome update for their app when Instagram announced their changes and it couldn't have been at more perfect timing!

I've slowed down on using Instagram lately. I'm still on there, but have just been enjoying uploading my film photos to my Flickr and Tumblr accounts and then writing all my words down over here. There are so many places to post on the internet these days, it's a little overwhelming. 

Here are a few places you can find me on the internets:

Flickr

Tumblr

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Etsy

Let me know where to follow you! I'm still not sure what to make of Instagram, what are your thoughts about the changes?

XO

MAKE YOUR MARK

Marilyn Rondon / Roxanne Daner / Ani Asvazadurian / Carsten Woywood / Ani Asvazadurian / Ben Innocent (some of my favorites!)

I am so excited/honored/thrilled to have had a few of my images chosen for the Make Your Mark exhibition at The Impossible Project spaces in New York & Vienna!!! I'm so excited to be a part of a show with a few friends and artist that I admire.

If you're in New York between January 17th- February 24th please stop by The Impossible Project space in SOHO to take a gander at all the wonderful instant images with hand drawings on them. Mine are of bunnies, obviously. Here is a link to the gallery of images that were submitted for the show.

2013 is already starting off right!

XO

...AND THE GOLD FRAME FILM WINNER IS...

.....Abbie Madlem!!! Congrats Abbie! I can't wait to see what magic you make with this beautiful film! A great big thank you to The Impossible Project for making such rad film editions and for allowing me to have this giveaway!


XO
Azuree

INSTAGRAM VS BLOG

Is it just me or has Instagram taken over social media?

I have always been a visual, photocentric person so when Instagram I was really hoping it would catch on. And it did! Up until then Twitter had been my favorite form of social media, outside of blogs. I loved to read my favorite blogs, then follow the blogger on Twitter and interact with them both through comments and Tweets. It seems to me as though Instagram has really changed the game a bit though. Although I'm still a huge fan of Twitter I feel as though I read my favorite blogs less and less- mostly because bloggers are micro blogging their content via Instagram. Why should I read the blog post when I already saw pictures of the content with brief descriptions via Instagram? People are even setting up shops on Instagram!

In my opinion, Instagram is a great way to share pieces of your life with people, which is what blogs were originally for. An online diary of sorts, that has changed here and here through the years but ultimately a blog was a way to share whatever it is you had to say with others. Now it seems like Instagram is a much more effective way of doing just thought...and with pictures that can be edited within the app! I mean, it doesn't get much easier than that!

I personally still love my blog. I know it's a place to write more than a sentence or two about something and still a place to reflect for me but I've found that there is so much more interaction and community on Instagram.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear some opinions about were you think blogs will go from here. Oh if you're on Instagram, follow me - @xoazuree !

XO

THANKFUL

A forgotten photo from this Summer. Shot with my Diana Mini.

Christopher and I both have the tendency to be a little skeptical about Holidays. The consumerism, the expectations, the pressure associated with family get togethers, getting the perfect gift, etc., etc. Personally, Holidays have never been the same for me after I lost my little Brother, Charlee almost 9 years ago. My Mom LOVED making Holidays special for us and so I have a fondness for them in that respect but otherwise it all seems so forced- so much tradition without much thought otherwise behind it.

I do, however, enjoy the fact that the Holidays are a time to (hopefully) reflect and acknowledge what you have to be thankful for. I don't always remember it, but I have a lot to be thankful for. Can I share a small list with you?

I am thankful for:

- Christopher, who supports my every endeavor with all his heart. He's a wonderful friend, husband and bunny rabbit Dad.

- My Mom. There isn't another person on Earth that I admire and look up to more. She's the most courageous, strong, beautiful, insightful and thoughtful person I know. I hope to one day be 50% the woman she is!

- Our bunnies, Franny & Seymour. How is it that a human can have such love for two small creatures? I adore them.

- My friends. It is such a warming feeling talking to someone who truly knows you and sharing your life with them. My heart swells knowing that I am fortunate enough to have a group of girls that have made the effort to stay in touch and remain "best friends" even though we are all so far from each other / don't have the opportunity to see each other as often as we'd like.

- The Internet. Is this a silly thing to be thankful for? I don't really care. The Internet allows me to explore the art of others, to connect with people I wouldn't have met otherwise, to remain in contact with old friends and to keep building relationships, to find out the answers to almost any question that may cross my mind, and it keeps me entertained and inspired!

- The Impossible Project. This group of people that forged a company to keep instant film alive truly inspires me. It hardly seems like they're a company at all. It seems more fitting to call them a group of enthusiasts propagating their love for instant analog photography. I've made so many friends through the instant film community fostered by The Impossible Project and am so grateful for their enthusiasm, hard work, generosity, passion for photography and for all that they do to keep us engaged/entertained/connected!

- My health

- My job. While so many Americans are struggling to stay on their feet, I am fortunate enough to have a job that encourages me to keep shooting film. I am also very grateful that Christopher is able to free-lance and have extra time to pursue his dream- making music.

- Music. The magic that hearing a song which takes you back to a specific memory will never cease to amaze me. I am in no way musically inclined so I really appreciate the folks that have the gift to put some words to a tune in a way that can be so meaningful to another person. What a wonderful form of expression!

Last but not least, I am thankful for Ryan Gosling. Have you seen The Notebook? Have you heard Dead Mans Bones?

This week, I'm going to remind myself not to get stressed out about finding the perfect gift for my sister in laws or feeling a ton of pressure to get Christmas cards out in time (I do love sending letters though!) - I'm going to think about all the wonderful things in my life! (Am I gloating?)

XO

LOVING LATELY // DECEMBER

This one was taken with my LC-Wide & Lomography Sunset Strip Film

A few things I've found here and there, that I love:

- One Second Everyday App (what a cool concept)

- The Impossible Project's Gold Frame Film (one of my all time favorite editions, leave a comment to win your own box here)

- Ban.do's absolutely ridiculously awesome hair pin set (don't forget to read this for 20% off your purchase!)

- How adorable is this Le Petite Prince Moleskin planner ?!

- I always wanted Doc Marten Mary Janes

- I'm absolutely smitten by this Lomography X Tungsten 64 film. Those dreamy purple hues! 

What do you have your eye on lately?

XO

SILVER & GOLD

Christopher and I went to the "Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-Along tour" show in Chicago this weekend. I thought it was a wonderful exaggeration of Christmas & the Holiday Season in general. The over the top decorations, the spectacle that is the big "Christmas Song Wheel", the costumes, The Christmas Unicorn -which seemed to me, a perfect representation of the bastardization of Christmas in all respects.

I thought the show was interesting, you could walk away feeling the joy that Christmas songs usually bring, have fun at the chance to dress up in your Christmas best or enjoy the mockery of the Holiday Season.

Thanks for the lovely evening, Mister Stevens.

Did you see this show when it was in your town? I'm interested in other peoples opinions about it!

These photos were taken with The Impossible Project's PX680 GOLD edition film, which I love!! The Impossible Project was generous enough to give me a pack of film to giveaway to one lucky person! Leave a comment on this post to get you some! 

XO

MY PHONE IS A FOUR TRACK

Christopher wrote a new song that I really love! Give it a listen here. 

XO

LINCOLN PARK ZOO PHOTOWALK

A few weekends ago I went on a cozy photo walk with some fellow Impossible Project enthusiasts. It's always fun to meet new people, and better get to know friends while walking around shooting pictures. I have really grown to love intentional photowalks. It's really fun to take the time to look around and capture the world / city / life we live in and all it's glory and wonder on film.

I'm looking forward to the next one. You can see some photos from the Lincoln Park Zoo photowalk here! I shot those photos with The Impossible Project's awesome new color protection film which you can find here. If you've never been on a photowalk before, I highly suggest planning or attending one. The two instant walks I went on were so fun and a great way to meet people with common interests!

Speaking of Impossible Project's awesome films, don't forget to leave a comment on this post to win a pack of their beautiful color protection GOLD FRAME film!

XO

ROCKY

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you know that last week Christopher found a dog in our yard. We brought him in, since he had a collar and seemed to have an owner he just got separated from. We called all the numbers on the tag to no avail. After spending an hour or two with him and seeing how relaxed and sweet he was we knew he had an owner out there that was probably devastated to have lost such a cute dog!

Before deciding to take him to the vet to see if he was microchipped I asked Christopher if we could please keep him we couldn't find his owners. Christopher told me not to get attached, but I couldn't help myself and we needed something to call him while we had him anyway, so we came up with Salinger Archibald. It's a truly fitting name for this dog. A trip to the vet to check on his microchip was fruitless. Sal wasn't registered so our options were to keep him until the morning and figure it out then or to let Animal Control come and take him, which was a scary option.

We brought Sal back to the house, took some photos of him and hung out until he started whining and standing by the door. We figured that maybe he needed to go out to the bathroom so Christopher took him out for a walk. After sometime had passed, I heard the door open and Christopher returned, no dog in tow. I asked what had happened to Archie and he said he had walked around the our block a little bit and eventually he kind of walked Christopher over to a house and ran right up the steps. Christopher rang the door bell and much to the surprise of a woman and her son, their dog was standing there with a stranger! She asked Christopher how he got the dog and he explained the whole situation. Turns out that his name was Rocky and that he lives...get this....in the yard of the house directly across the street from us! His owners hadn't even noticed he was gone!! Somehow Rocky had escaped and Christopher unknowingly kidnapped the dog!

I was pretty sad seeing as finding a dog in our front yard seemed like a Christmas miracle, but glad that we could return the pup to his owners. Luckily we still have our two bunnies to love and dote over and man alive, are they super cute!!

Just wanted to give those interested a little update on our funny story!

XO

STAY GOLD

The Impossible Project has brought back one of my all time favorite special edition films, Gold Frames!! This year the Gold Frame film is Color Protection formula so you don't have to shield your film from light as it's ejecting from your camera!!

I was over the moon when I heard the news and even more delighted when I saw the packaging. It's gorgeous! I think it's gift ready as is. Just add a bow and hand it to the favorite photographer in your life! 

The Impossible Project was awesome (as they always are) and sent me a pack of PX 680 Color Protection Gold Frame Film to giveaway to one lucky person! Just leave your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win) in the comments and tell me what you think you'd shoot with a pack of Gold Frame film! Get inspired by taking a peek at what other people have shot with this film on Flickr. I'll announce a winner next Wednesday, December 19th!

If you don't want to wait to see if you won (I don't blame ya), you can order a pack right from The Impossible Project here!  If Gold Frames aren't your thang (are you crazy?), you could always pick up a pack of their regular Color Protection film that comes in this cute limited edition holiday packaging which is also perfect for gifting! 

Good luck!

XO

FEEL PRETTY

The girls over at Ban.do have decided to be extra rad and offer y'all 20% off of everything in their shop this month! Perfect timing with Christmas just around the corner. I think the sequined hearts make the perfect little gift, in fact I've purchased them for one occasion or another for all of my besties! 

Just enter the code "feelpretty" at checkout for 20% off! 

There's a lot to choose from! If you feel overwhelmed, here are some of my favorites:

- sequined mini hearts (my very favorite AND they have new colors!!)

- crystal crush bobbi (my Mom bought me the "multi" one and I wear it weekly)

- metallic mini pom pom flower (the gold lame one is on my wish list)

- sequin fanny pack (this might be a little gift I give to myself)

- heart tote 

- good time blast riot (if you wanna get real fancy)

If you like the pretty Polaroid in this post, it is the month of February in my 2013 Instant Film calendar. Snag yours right here! 

XO

DANSE ALL NIGHT

After the party there's the after party.....

....and sometimes you dance so hard at the after party that you wake up with bruised knees. The true mark that a fun time was had. 

XO

2013 INSTANT FILM CALENDAR

My 2013 Instant Film Calendar is the Etsy shop! This is the third year I've made a calendar using all real deal Polaroid and Impossible Project films. 

The calendar is not bound in any way, leaving you with a ton of options for displaying it! Each purchase includes some pretty bakers twine and mini clothes pins to hang up your calendar with, or you can frame each month's pages (the Ikea Ribba frames are prefect), stick it up on your fridge, washi tape it to your mood board....the possibilities are endless!

I'm really happy with the way this years calendar turned out, it's my favorite to date! I had such a fun time putting it together! Go ahead and get yours here. I'm making daily trips to the post office all month.

XO

CHARLEE

My brother was born today, 29 years ago. I wish he were still here to celebrate it together. Life is so unpredictable. Grab the ones you love, hold them tight and tell them you love them.

I love you, Charlee. 

XO

MINNEAPOLIS

It's no secret that I love my Mom. I admire here, I look up to her, I think she's pretty much the raddest lady on the planet. One of the many reasons I love her is her totally spontaneous spirit! She's always up for an adventure and is often the one scheming ideas on how to make something dull exciting. 

She recently visited me around my birthday here in Chicago. I had taken a few days off of work to spend with her, doing a little bit of shopping, eating good food and relaxing around the house. My Mom saw those days as an opportunity for an adventure so she booked a last minute quick trip to Minneapolis so we could have a little adventure together! It was so much fun. We went to the Mall of America, in which we indulged in all of our suburban pleasures (Hello, Auntie Aunies Pretzels, Panda Express, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc. etc.) and of course a little bit of shopping. 

We also headed out to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit which was really amazing to see in real life. If there's an exhibit near you I would highly recommend it. The sculptures were so life like and the story behind them is just incredible. At the museum, I also saw prints of two really inspiring photographs, one of them was this iconic image by Dorothea Lange (PS- the mother in that photo was 32 when that was taken, just ONE year older than me!) and the other, one of my favorite of Henri Cartier-Bresson's images which I couldn't help but steal my own version of! I took a shot of the print with my Polaroid 680 camera and some of the Holden Edition Impossible Project film (I love the borders on this film!). 

Going to museums always makes my heart race. It's so inspiring to see prints from photographers that inspire you in person. Large! I love seeing the grain or guessing the printing method! I saw a Chuck Close print that was as large as an entire wall! I've seen so much of his work online it's just really impressive to see in real life. 

But, I'm a dork like that. I love museums. They make me feel alive. You can see a few more of the photos from our trip to Minneapolis here! 

XO

NOVEMBER INSTANT PHOTOWALK

Last month's instant photo walk was so much fun that I thought I'd try to get another one going before the holidays get too frantic and before it's simply too cold for one!

Bust out your favorite instant camera, buy some film and a cold clip and let's go exploring together! Sunday, November 25th. Last time we explored Wicker Park, this time I say we give Lincoln Park Zoo a whirl or an industrial part of the town off the Green Line.

Chime in on the conversation over here. If Facebook is more your way to keep up with what's going on, I made an event here.

Let me know if you have any questions and make sure to order some of Impossible Project's latest (and super awesome) Color Protection films! 

XO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I turned 31 years old today. It's official you guys, I'm in my thirties. If I didn't intensely love birthdays so much I might feel kind of sad.

But luckily for me, I LOVE BIRTHDAYS! All of them. I love your birthday, my husband's birthday, my Mom's birthday, my own birthday. The idea of treats, gifts, confetti, balloons, and a reason to get together with family and friends really excites me. Plus there's the surprise element. Man alive, I LOVE surprises.

So far everyone tells me their 30's were their best years, so I'm kind of excited about this one!

PS
How ridiculous is this picture Christopher took of me last year on my birthday?!

OCTOBER // GONE

October was a fantastic month!

- I went to Florida to shoot a wonderful wedding
- My Macbook Pro had to go to Apple to get fixed and they wiped everything off of it, including unsaved scans but I'm excited at a new beginning with my computer!
- Finally got an LC-Wide camera! I've wanted an LC-A for almost ten years!
- It started to really feel like Fall here in Chicago, which I love
- Went on a fun Impossible Project photo walk. I hope to go on at least one more before it's too cold!
- I begun to make a better stride at not drinking Coca Cola as much as I do (a real vice for me!)
- A pair of gold glitter shoes made their way into my life and I'm a little obsessed with them
- An Impossible Project image that I shot showed alongside of some very talented photographers at The Holden / Impossible Project exhibit in NYC. This was such an honor.
- Christopher & I had a few wonderful relaxing days off together which is always so nice
- I fixed up my Supersampler camera all by myself, which has been broken for over a year and is one of  my favorite little fun cameras to play with. I felt so accomplished.
- I drew some bunnies on dud instant photos for The Impossible Project's Make Your Mark photo contest! I used their super awesome pen set, which are perfect for writing on your Impossible images! I made a little blog post about them here. The contest is running until the end of November- everyone should enter!
- I dressed up like Misfits era Glenn Danzig for Halloween (!!)

The Holidays are afoot. I have mixed feelings about this time of the year. I like the idea of spending time with family but I hate all the pressure and consumerism built up around the Holidays...or perhaps that the Holidays are built upon! I suspect I'll enjoy them just the same....if I don't think about it too much.

XO

NEW BANDO

Photo by the talented Max Wanger!

Y'all know I love Ban.do. I mention them on here all the time. It's because I love every single aspect of their brand. I really do! I love their branding, their blog, they have one of the best Pinterest accounts, their photo shoots are so dreamy, and of course - all their little accessories are right up my alley! They just released a new line of accessories, just in time for my birthday in November! I am in love with everything. 

Metallic Mini Poms!  Crystal Crush Bobbi! Glitterati Twist Scarf! Double Trouble Headwrap! Big Shot Sparkle Headband! Sparkle & Shine Bobbi Set! I'll have one of each, please and thank you!

As if all that wasn't enough, how cute is their hashtag - #feelpretty. I love that. I love those little things that just make you feel pretty. For me they are mascara, blush, bows, my sequined Ban.do hearts (yes, I have one in every color), getting my bangs trimmed, a good curly hair day, and mini skirts! 

What makes you feel pretty?

FULL

Sometimes life is good. Chicago weather has been awesome. Christopher and I have had some fun, relaxing days off together. My camera lust is currently under control, and I actually feel good about recently unloading some of my SX-70 hoard. Recently my Macbook Pro got sick and had to go to Apple, which terrified me. The worst case scenario happened- they had to data wipe it and I lost 100's of scans that I hadn't published (sad face),  but I feel great about having a clean slate to work from laptop wise and thankfully, it was still under Apple care. My Mom is coming to visit for my birthday in a little over a week. Our bunnies are cute as ever. I'm on a pretty good roll of not drinking Coca Cola (this is huge for me). I've just been feeling grateful for our good health, great friends, wonderful family, and our little home. 

Life is good! 

I hope everyone else is experiencing blissful days as well. 

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // RAINBOW : ORANGE

Words to Shoot By was incredible this week. The word was Rainbow and all the participants were assigned a color to complete the Rainbow. My color was Orange which I know is perfect for Fall but I thought it might be too cliched so I dug around for some of my favorite Orange things and this is what I came up with.

See the awesomeness of the rainbow in it's entirety here!

XO

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT PEN SET GIVEAWAY WINNNER!

The winner of The Impossible Project Pen Set giveaway is Julius Santiago! Congrats Juls, can't wait to see what you come up with!

The photos above are some of my entries for the Make Your Mark photo drawing contest! There are a lot of great entries so far, so get your pens out and make your mark on your favorite (or least favorite) Impossible images! 

I can't say enough great things about the pen set. We all know by know I am amazed at the cuteness of the case but the pens themselves are wonderful. They dry quickly on the image, don't smear and don't have a weird smell. Get a set here! 

A great big thank you to The Impossible Project for the pens to giveaway and also, for keeping instant film alive for all of us fans and for the folks who will soon fall in love with making instant images! XO

CHIN UP // CHEER UP

How cute is Franny?!

Last week I got the colorful pinwheel of certain computer death. I backed up all my digital files and rushed my MacBook Pro to Apple for some help. They took my baby away, probably data wiped it and now I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I'm thankful it's still under Apple Care but am fretting re-scanning hundreds of instant photos I didn't take the time to back up :(

These things are helping me stay cheery:

- Make your own 8x10 camera...um OKAY! (Cary also made a 4x5 camera out of Legos!)
- I laughed so hard at this blog, #myfriendsaremarried (even though I'm married)
- I'm in love with this super cute and well done blog about hair! She even has Curly hair tips!
- The Impossible Project's PX70 Color Protection film... and their scanning adapter....and their pen set.

Don't forget to enter to win a set of The Impossible Project's awesome/cute pen set on my blog right over here! Then, make sure to enter your masterpieces in the Make Your Mark photo drawing contest!

Now I'm off to get a pumpkin spice latte and forget my (first world) woes.

XO

I HEART BAN.DO

Well the girls at Ban.do have stolen my heart, yet again. How amazing are these pieces? I mean seriously, these jewels need to be nestled into my mess of curly hair! This one is my very favorite!

I love keeping up with current fashion trends and styles, and although I am attracted to all things bright and glittery, I'm not that bold when it comes to what I'll actually buy and wear. For instance, I pin just about every sequined piece of clothing I see on the internet but I'd never have the courage to wear it. I'm more comfortable buying subtle pieces that I can wear over and over and throughout the different seasons. That is were my love for Ban.do products come in. Their shiny hearts, golden poms (have you seen these yet?! They are new!!), and neon bows give me that p o p I'm so into. The gold sequined heart has jazzed up many a t shirt and jeans day!

Their pretties always make me feel done up. That and mascara, duh.

XO

INSTANT PHOTO WALK CHICAGO

Calling all instant photography fans in Chicago and surrounding areas! Let's meet up and shoot some photos Saturday, October 20th from 1pm until..whenever! Let's meet up under the Blue Line Damen L stop in Wicker Park and walk around an area with lots of interesting street art, shops, people, cute pets and great coffee!

Make sure to bring your camera and plenty of film. Have you seen The Impossible Project's newest Color Protection films? You no longer have to shield your instant film as it ejects from the camera! The colors are amazing and everyone I know who has tried the stuff is in love! Take a peek at some of the photos that have been tagged "color protection" on Flickr. Impressive right!?

If you don't have a camera but have been interested in trying to shoot instant film, I have a few cameras I can lend out if you supply your own film. I have a few loaner cameras, please just comment below to reserve one for yourself!

I hope to finally meet some of my internet photo friends and make some new ones! Feel free to keep up with any news about the meet up on the Facebook event page we made!

XO

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT PEN SET // MAKE YOUR MARK!

The Impossible Project recently came out with this pretty set of pens to write on your Impossible images with. They tested dozens of pens until they found just the right ones that would stay on the shiny surface of their films. The possibilities are endless, you can write a note on an image, draw a picture, color in a scene, recreate your favorite works of art, etc. etc.!  I dug up some "failed" images I've hung onto and drew little notes on them. I plan on using these postcards to send them off to some friends!

As if the pen set wasn't awesome enough on it's own, it comes in this super cute miniature sx-70 case! I LOVE it!

The Impossible Project is hosting an open call for images spiced up with their pen set. 50 favorites will be exhibited in their New York space in the Make Your Mark exhibition in January. What an exciting opportunity! Take a peek at some of the awesome images that have already been uploaded, get inspired and enter your best photos!

To get you started, The Impossible Project has given me a pen set to give away. Aren't they so rad? Of course they are! To enter just leave a comment and an email address, so I can contact you if you win! I'll choose a winner at random next Friday, October 27th. If you can't wait to see if you won, get your own set here.

XO

GABRIEL KELLEY // DIRECTED BY PICKLE

How cool is this video my friend Casey McBride made for our friend and very talented musician, Gabriel Kelley?!

It has inspired me to give making a music video a spin, a goal I made for myself earlier this year.  I mean, I can at least give it a try right?

I need some more inspiration, what are some of your favorite music videos?

ON THE ONA BAGS WEBSITE

Ona used a few photos that I shot for a review of their wonderful Roma Insert on their website (remember this one?)! I am still in love with my insert. I've taken it with me on my two most recent trips and it helped me transition well from my camera bag to my purse without having to reorganize everything while I'm on the go. Totally in love with it's design and functionality - it's so hard to come across both and the Roma Insert is only $59! A steal, if you ask me.

Now I have my eye on The Camps Bay. How gorgeous is that backpack? Doesn't even seem like a camera bag!

THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT'S SCAN ADAPTER // A REVIEW

Earlier this week The Impossible Project came out with a scanning adapter to help rid the world of Newton Rings. I jumped on it as I've noticed recently that my scanner has suddenly been having trouble with Newton Rings. What the heck are Newton Rings, you ask? Devilish little rings that appear when a reflective object is sandwiched against another reflective object, such as an instant photo and scanning glass. To rid yourself of this kind of evil you need to lift the photo off the glass which is precisely what the adapter does.

The adapter is a tray with sticky magic that hold your photos slightly off the glass. Thankfully not too much off the glass, so you don't lose sharpness when scanning. The tray has holes beneath the sticky stuff so that you can easily pop the pictures off the tray without having to bend your images or get your grubby finger prints all over it. The scanning adapter also comes with a handy cloth to help you adhere your image to the tray, again without having to get your finger prints all over. The photo comes up off the tray with ease- the tackiness is just enough! The tray also comes with a little tab to pick it up off of the scanner with.

My thoughts? It's awesome. Not only does it do what it claims, keeps Newton Rings out of your scans but it also allows me to scan four images at once!! I'd recommend this to anyone with Newton Ring problems or even just to expedite the scanning process. Where was this when I scanned in my entire archive of instant photos?!

You can get your very own here!

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // WATER

This weeks Words To Shoot By was "water". There was an open call for entries and I'm in love with pretty much every single one. So honored to be among such talented photographers!

Don't forget, if you live in New York you should head over to the Holden / Impossible Project Party! 

XO

STOREY THREADS

All images by the talented Benjamin Stone

Do you have a friend that always finds the best vintage finds AND is beautiful and knows how to work her wardrobe / body / hair / make up? Yeah, I do too and her name is Naomi Storey and luckily for you and me she's decided to share her amazing vintage finds with us in her shop, Storey Threads.

Naomi has such a gift for knowing what pieces will look excellent and which to leave behind. She selects her pieces carefully and mends/cleans all of her beautiful garments to guarantee wearability! I'm pumped on her store not only because of the amazing pieces, but how great are these photos? Ben Stone killed it!  I love the detailed diptychs and the styling is wonderful for someone like me who lacks imagination when putting outfits together!

Take a peek into the life of this hot momma on her blog and do yourself a favor and like Storey Threads on Facebook so you can see the latest and greatest vintage clothes and accessories!