I dont think people use lens flare enough. Theres no telling if somethign will come out or if the light will overpower the photo but when it works its a great marriage of reality and surreality. Something that can be seen with the eye and portrayed 2 dimensionally is always something great to see. If your eyes would stop watering long enough to stare into this light, this is what it might look like

Chena loves and snow and sand apparently and this was the most fun shes had in years!

A snowy day in the desert of New Mexico. It was soo cold! but I managed to shoot off a few while my dog ran a muck.

Super expired film from 3_little_birds in Canada. Mixed mostly with shots from Portland, Oregon.

This was a fun one and a long running. I sent these rolls months and months ago. It took over a month to get them to Kuwait, then about 4 months later, they were completed by Yasheik -now I am waiting on his rolls to be sent to my mail service in Florida, in which case I don’t know when I’ll be able to get them because I’ve been traveling across the US slowly for months, and intent to take many more months. It’s been fun though, and now we’re friends on facebook too, maybe we’ll do another swap in the future. The time doesn’t really bother me that much, eventually it all works out.

I did a film swap with Three Little Birds from Canada. Took forever to get these rolls done and developed! No idea why – I just didn’t use those cameras as much these last few months. Hate to admit.. kindof,… but I got a Pentax K200D. Mostly for blogging and studio stuff but its turned out to be a main camera on the road – where I don’t have many chances to develop photos. Im developing some today though I think and will try to use my holga and lomo more I swear!!

Adorn, an awesome clothing store I visit regularly is turning its North Portland location into a sweet little art gallery. An almost purely Portland trend – over half the boutiques and every cafe in town feature local artists on their otherwise bare and frigid walls.

This month the artist adorning the walls of Adorn is me!

I have been wanting to do a show in Portland for quite some time but you wouldn’t believe how expensive it can be to buy frames and make decent prints to hang up. Many places also expect you to have mats for each print which can cost another ton (whether you cut them yourself or not). Plus given the style of many of my photos, I’d rather not have matting at all. In a town as artistically competitive as Portland, your chances of selling anything is actually fairly bad – so you have to WANT to pay for the show anyway, knowing you will most likely not get your money back. What is also competitive is finding good locations for your work to hang. Many places have a list of artists before you and a picky manager screening your work and its compatibility with their store or cafes clientele.

Luckily I met the owners of Adorn over a year ago now and it just happens to be their one year anniversary this month! To celebrate their anniversary they’re having a huge sale and featuring my art on their walls! I found a reasonable way this show (my 3rd) to sell my photos for only $30 each. They hang with nerdy heavy duty paper clips and a clear acrylic frameless cover. Each photo has an awesome 80’s tape for their signs and label maker tape for their titles. Can you beat the nerdyness? no. Affordability is on everyone minds.. and well, I comply with the geekiest twist I could think of!

They came out really clean looking for your office, mod little apartment, over your toilet, or in my case, on the wall of my motorhome. Three photos actually come as a triptych and sells for $80 but can be split if you can stand to leave the others behind.

The series is called “Stay Golden or Die Tarnished”, Katya A. Smith – taken in the desolate and abandoned Salton Sea area of southern California. I visited the area twice earlier this year and fell in love. After the first time, taking all black and white photos, I knew the exact series I wanted to accomplish on my second trip. I used a lens baby lens, a special lens that allows you to use creative focusing and create dreamy effects to any shot. I think the series came out pretty well. At the moment only about half of the series is up at Adorn and the rest will be available online at my Etsy shop by the middle of the month.

Adorn is located at
223 NE Russell St.
Portland, Or 97212

Please come and check out the show and shop around a bit! Everyone finds something here, whether my photos of a bag full of smoking deals on great clothes.

More about Adorn:

Adorn is a hip little clothing store chock full of men’s and women’s clothing from designers large and small, local and distant, chic and modern. They are also one of our favorite places to shop in Portland. One of the only stores in Portland that carries bigger names like Kidrobot, Obey, Harajuku Lovers (besides Nordstroms), Tarina Tanantino, Tokidoki and smaller names – but equally impressive designers like Fluxus, Finn and Lucky Loo Loo to name a few. They of course have an online store, evolving its way into one of the best online shops due to consistently great prices on top styles and of course a slick street friendly design .

What can I say, no harm in plugging myself and a shop I love all in the same blog. Its for your benefit as well you see. It always surprises me how many deals Adorn has go unnoticed. Take a look if you get a chance, you don’t even have to go to Portland to do so.
www.shopadornonline.com

Holga photo from the Philippines

slab blaster

More photos from the swap!