Things I See- Fresh Farm Produce! (Warsaw, IN Film Photography)

I don't think there is anything quite like fresh produce, and this charming little road side display was hard to resist!

Things I See- White River Light Station

While on vacation in Michigan, we took a trek up to visit a Lighthouse that is near where we stay, but that we just never had found the time to visit. It was lovely, inside and out, and I hope you enjoy this selection of film photographs I made while there. To purchase prints please visit our proofing site! Thanks!

Things I See- JR's Dairy Sweet Drive Inn

If you are driving down US 33 in rural Indiana, chances are it might be your lucky day if it is summer, and you are near Albion. I'm not supposed to have dairy, but you'd better believe that soft serve cone was all for me- and it was yummy!

Things I See- The Studio In Warsaw (Warsaw, IN Photographer)

The Studio is conveniently located next door to my place of part-time employment. They are a coffee shop, craft store and learning place, all rolled into one. Once I learned they carried gluten-free baked goods, me = customer for life! Their official grand opening will be Sept 8th, but they are open & ready to serve now, so be sure to check them out!!

And I will admit, before I left, I treated myself to this:

A spiced chai with a shot of espresso & pumpkin spice, and a red velvet diva (gluten free) cupcake! It was delicious!! ~Naomi

Me. The Beast. And Polaroids. Things I See. (Warsaw IN Film Photographer)

I have this film camera... it's called the Mamiya RB-67 Pro. I call it The Beast. Seriously. It weighs almost 6 lbs with the lens & back attached. I bought it because it was cheap, and I was dying to try medium format film, but I also bought it because it came with a Polaroid back- and if I was dying to try MF, then I was practically in the ground about shooting instant film! Instants have become rather trendy again, which to me, is a great thing, because it means you can still purchase instant film!

For me, instants means a slice of life- a little taste of what is a much bigger thing. You don't shoot a roll- you shoot a frame. And in that frame is a tiny essence. I've recently started shooting 3 or 4 instants during weddings- to give to the couple. They aren't meant to replace the professional photos we take throughout the day, but rather to give them something to take away- to treasure instantly.

Anyway, this is me- with The Beast:

Things I See- Why film? (Warsaw, IN Film Photographer)

To say I'm passionate about film is an understatement right now... I'm practically living and breathing it, and loving every minute of it!! About every other person I talk to asks me the "Why film?" question, and I'm pretty certain I give a different rambling answer each time- I love the look. It's required me to learn to be a better photographer. I just feel different when shooting film. I love the minimal process. I've always shot film, I'm just finally seeing why I loved it all these years.

I finally realized the real reason I am doing it, even though it is expensive, frustrating, exhilarating, etc, etc, ETC, is because I finally truly feel like an artist. I'm doing something that is almost elemental, and it has caused me to pause, and to truly consider everything. And I couldn't be more in love!!

 
This is my "newest" film camera. I actually bought it via FaceBook (not for the faint of heart) and it was a real steal!! From the moment I shot my first frame I KNEW this was MY camera!! It's manual, which means I have to do everything myself, and I love the connection I have to making it all work. I had gone through some frustrating moments earlier this year with various issues in different cameras- and so I shot 2 rolls of personal work, and 1 roll of professional work, and mailed them off to the FIND Lab with my heart in my throat!

I cried when I got these scans back... and not because they were that bad, but because they were that good! I could hardly believe this was my film work! (I didn't even know for sure if the camera worked! And I shot it without a light meter even!)

You can see the link above for the pro work, and here below is some of my personal rolls. I was made to shoot this camera...

Things I See- Our doggies (Warsaw, IN Pet Photographer)

Some of my personal posts are way more personal than others. This would be one of them. Our dogs are our "kids". We don't have kids yet, but we sure do use our dogs as practice! When we lost Duke over a month ago, we decided to dedicate more time to photographing our dogs. It felt like we just didn't have enough moments of them. So here's a compilation of several outing where we grabbed the film camera and took them for some fun. ~Naomi

 They love splashing around in the creek, so we had to include that in our day trips!

Things I See- Django Karth! (Warsaw IN Pet Photographer)

I'll admit- it's been a rough 7 months. Sam's Grandpa, an amazing and irreplaceable force in our lives, passed away. Then we lost our precious senior cat, Quarter, to cancer. Then just a month ago our beloved Duke, a pitbull you couldn't help adore, was also lost to cancer.

We had talked about getting another dog, and decided to wait. Quarter's vacant place was filled because a friend messaged me on Facebook, having a homeless senior cat who needed a place to go- and that was how we ended up with Jedi. But we thought we'd try to live with just the two dogs...

Until Saturday, when some friends called us because they couldn't keep a stray terrier they had found. When we arrived to pick him up, we discovered he was a puppy! (I'm not a big fan of house training, etc and had vowed no more puppies- there are plenty of adult dogs who need adopted!) Well, it did not take long for this little guy to worm his way into our hearts- like 10, 15 seconds, tops!

And so, we now have Lizy, Miles, and Django Karth, in our troop of fuzzy "kids".

The thing is... he needed us... But we needed him too.

Welcome, Django! Thanks for helping us laugh! ~Naomi

Things I See... Tom & Andrea (Warsaw IN film photographer)

Dreams are powerful things, especially if we choose to follow them! My brother, Thomas, is following his dream to the west coast. His girlfriend, Andrea, is following her dream to the west coast too. But not in the same state. :(

We're proud of them both, but we know the ache of being apart so I (Naomi) suggested a photo shoot for some memories and also good times. I grabbed some pro film, and once I was done I sent these babies off to the FIND lab (a perk of being in the workshop)! So in love with the results:

Things I See... Beach Babies! (Warsaw, IN Photographer)

A few weeks back I spent the day shooting film. The lovely Ashley Stills (of Tommy Vance Productions) met me at Winona Lake Park with her adorable daughter, Zoey. She had a friend meet her there, also bringing along an adorable daughter, also named Zoey! The two girls made a bee-line for the beach, and here are the results!

 Oh the cuteness...

Things I See... Yellow! (Warsaw, IN Photography)

Sam & I were on a drive home from a wedding, when I saw this field of dandelions & requested he pull over. I found the truck in a neighboring parking lot. I kinda fell in love with yellow. ~N