Holga Happy!

My Holga arrived yesterday! I'm so excited to go and shoot something today. I know my first roll will be messed up already since it took me about 15 minutes just to load up the film. I just had a hard time locking the film into the spool. But I'm still uber excited. It definitely does feel a bit odd going back to film though, but also nice in a way.

On a side note....I wished my apartment smelled like freshly baked bread every morning. So warm and toasty.....

So much to choose from!

Everything looks so deliciously good here! I also love the vintage flour and sugar cans in the bakery.

(1. Interludio, 2 + 3 + 4: by Annika Vannerus, 5. Cannelle-vanille)

A Little Light

I'm enjoying the beautiful light streaming through my windows and here are some shots.

Let's Sail Away

After watching The Lovely Bones, I'm in love with these ship-in-a-bottle collections. I just love the intricacy of the ships tenderly placed in the glass bottles. Although I have never gone sailing, these collections do project the feeling of a perfect leisurely day out at sea.

(1. Gettyimages, 2. Mosaic Telecom, 3. Charles Wesley Hobbs, 4. Gettyimages, 5. Dragon Gifts)

Going Holga

I decided to do it. I got my own Holga. Until yesterday, I didn't even know what a Holga was! It happened accidentally as I was browsing through UrbanOutfitters and I saw the Holga camera. I fell in love with its design so I researched about it and my oh my, it took my breath away. I love the vintage-esque look about the pictures that I can't get from a digital point-and-shoot. And although, I can get photos from a digital camera to resemble a Holga look, but it doesn't have the same texture or lighting that makes a picture truly a Holga.

I was hesitant at first since it would mean going back to film and not being able to delete the mediocre work while keeping the brilliant pieces. However, I decided to take the jump since it seems worthwhile and totally enjoyable.

When I did decide to get one, I was also debating between the Holga 120 and the Holga 135 since Holga 135 would be much cheaper in developing prints. But as I googled the image quality between between the two, it seems that Holga 135 does not have the same vintage style as the Holga 120. The image quality of the 135 looks similar to a cheap digital camera. This may have been just a fluke with those certain photos, but I decided to be safe and go with the 120 since it's the retro effect that I'm aiming for. Of course, I did order the 35mm adapter so I can have the option of shooting 35mm on my Holga 120 as well. My Holga will be coming in at the end of next week so I can't wait!!! =)

This is the model I ordered from BHphoto. I decided to order it from there and not UO, where I had originally saw it, because it was MUCH cheapter at BHphoto ($36 compared to $48 at UO) and they gave free shipping.

(Holga images from Urban Outfitters)

These are some of my favorite Holga photos from the talented Microbai.

These look like big, red, juicy berries that you just want to pop into your mouth.

I love the sky....

What a beautiful path this is, so peaceful and tranquil.

I love the blue in this photo, so light and relaxing.

Let's Dance Shall We?

The weather has receded to 40 degrees (I can't believe it was just a nice 65 degrees on Monday!) and it was softly snowing this dreary morning. Well, that's Wisconsin weather - always a teaser. I guess that's good since I will be less distracted this weekend as I study for my exam on Tuesday, but it would still have been nice to see sunshine from here on out until Winter. Although the cold weather of Spring is not participating with me, I feel like dancing and twirling and dancing (especially as I'm listening to Forever - Chris Brown).

(images by Anton)

Chest Full of Treasures

I think I may have found something I really want to collect - vintage suitcases. I used to collect stamps and aluminum soda caps but I lost interest and eventually gave both of them up. I just couldn't find any interesting stamps or caps to keep my enthusiasm alive so I quit. After that, I just never really found something that I really wanted to have a collection of.

But now, I think I have found my calling. Vintage suitcases are not only hip and stylish, but they can also be used as storage - a two for one for anybody. I think they would be perfect for storing my scrapbook photos and other miscellaneous items. They would also be good for storing my fabric scraps. I would love to hit a vintage shop and score one of these babies but these photos will have to do for now.

How cheerfully pink!

So many to choose from...

This one is just too cute! It's supposed to be a coin purse and a bit small for my liking, but still so lovely.

(1. Yvette Inufio, 2. Yvette Inufio, 3. Gabrielle Kai, 4. ZSita, 5. Yvette Inufio, 6. Alphanumericc)

Pretty Braids

I wish my hair was not so flat and straight, but had a little more volume in it. I would love to dress it up in braids. Braids are very simple, yet so romantic. You can also get very creative with them - just look at all the styles below! In addition, they can easily transform from romantic braids during the day to loose waves at night.

I love this one. Very couture.

(1. via Suzywire, 2. via rndmrndm, 3. via misswallflower, 4. WeHeartIt, 5. WeHeartIt)