Shot with a Diana-F camera, spring and summer 2005 (Page 2)

It's been more than 20 years since I shot black and white film. Judging by my results, I could use some more practice. I think I was basically shooting color shots on black and white rather than paying attention to the interplay between light and shadow that black and white captures so well. Well, that was part of why I shot on black and white, to re-learn what it was like. If I shoot more black and white, I'll keep this in mind.

Toys on the floor in the sun

This is probably the best of the black and white shots. It's the one shot on the two rolls that does the shadow thing nicely. This is some toy cars (Mini Coopers) that Laura got from her brother for Christmas and a CD player boombox with a bunch of the CDs Laura uses for dance practice. I like the way the light from the window contrasts so heavily with the unlit parts of the floor.

Ice

This looks like the result of a horrible ice storm, but really, it's just one area that always gets overflow from the gutters whenever we get snow.

More ice

The shutter speed of the Diana is somewhat unpredictable. You can set the aperture after a fashion, but the shutter speed is what it is, and on an old camera like this, sometimes it gets stuck and doesn't close as quickly as you would think.

Snow on the back deck

I don't know what happened to this photo. One of those interesting toy camera artefacts.

Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C., from the middle of the street

In May, I spent a few days in Washington, D.C., attending a meeting about digital shortwave radio. I brought the Diana with me. This shot from the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue is not bad; I like the composition of it, and the huge expanse of pavement in the lower half of the photo.

The Mall looking from the Capitol toward the Washington Monument

They had some tents on the Mall set up for some kind of Armed Forces display. This is a view looking down the mall from the Capitol toward the Washington Monument.

U.S. Capitol

This is the U.S. Capitol. This shot would have worked better if I had been on the opposite side of the street and you couldn't see the modern day cars. One interesting thing about this shot is that it has a ghost of another shot on the roll, a picture of the sign in front of the headquarters of the Voice of America. I like that this ghostly, disappearing text appears on this shot of the Capitol, particularly since it doesn't seem like my voice is well-represented there these days. (I like my Representative the rocket scientist just fine, and my Senators too, but it's the rest of them I'm not so sure about....)

Voice of America sign

And here's the actual shot of the sign at the Voice of America that mysteriously appeared on my shot of the Capitol.