SUBURBAN 'STANG

"Suburban 'Stang"
Polaroid Photo credit © Lydia Marcus 2009 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed May 17, 2009 in Lake Balboa, CA

LUCY THE CHOCOLATE LAB

Lucy is a Chocolate Lab I met a few weeks ago. Lucy's "Mom" Chrystyna and her boyfriend Jorge were walking past my yard and I invited Lucy in to play with Cali. Chyrstyna got Lucy from an ad on Craigslist. The owners had neglected her and were going to dump her at the pound and they were threatening to put her down if no one came to get her! She's only a year old and she's super sweet and loving and thank God she's out of a place that doesn't care about her into a a loving home that does.

Cali and Lucy have had a few doggie play dates, gone on one off leash hike together (their first!), and today Jorge brought Lucy over so we could bathe Cali & her in my backyard. He helped to hold Cali while I washed her and I held Lucy still while he washed her.

Lucy is a gem and has so much potential. She was overweight when she was adopted and in just a few weeks of regular exercise she's already trimmed down. She doesn't know a lot of commands (I think sit and lie down are it), but today in just a few seconds I was able to teach her "Leave It'. Cali and I are happy to call her a friend.

Here's a cropped version of the first shot.



Lucy has beautiful yellow eyes and a radiant smile. This is how she looks most of the time, ears back and relaxed.





I took a few Polaroids of Lucy and Cali too. It took Jorge and I quite a lot of futzing and commands and treats to finally get them close enough for a side by side portrait, but we finally did it!







Digital and Polaroid Photo credits © Lydia Marcus 2009 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed November 18, 2009 in Encino, CA

LANDSCAPED

Polaroid Photo credit © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed April 4, 2009 in Encino, CA

GOLDEN BIRD

Pontiac Trans Am Firebird
Polaroid Photo credit © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed June 28, 2009 in Van Nuys, CA
At the All GM Car Show

POLAROID COMEBACK

Just received this email from Polapremium. I just hope the new films aren't going to cost and arm and a leg.

THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT
INSPIRES POLAROID® TO
RELAUNCH INSTANT CAMERAS

"..After all the difficulties and changes of ownership during the last years, the new management of Polaroid now understands the source of the brand's attraction - which is surprisingly not based in digital cameras but in Dr. Edwin Land's groundbreaking 1948 invention of Instant Photography, which he ingeniously devised and passionately developed with a lot of care and devotion."

"...We grabbed the chance to take over the last factory producing Instant films from the old Polaroid management and to start The Impossible Project in 2008. Re-inventing a new analog integral film, we are now preparing, supporting and managing the comeback of Instant Photography."

Accomplishing this mission and proudly owning the former Polaroid plant in Enschede (NL), as well as already holding the first working hand-coated samples in our trembling hands, we are pleased to herewith announce a history-making cooperation between The Impossible Project and Polaroid:

Polaroid will re-launch the legendary Polaroid One Step Camera and is therefore commissioning The Impossible Project to develop and produce a limited edition of Polaroid® branded Instant Films in the middle of 2010.

Large-scale production and worldwide sale of The Impossible Project's new integral film materials under its own brand will already start in the beginning of 2010 - with a brand new and astonishing black and white Instant Film and the first colour films to follow in the course of the year."

Read the full announcement.

POLAROID FUN FACTOR!

Hey, meet the swinger
Polaroid Swinger
meet the swinger
Polaroid Swinger

It's more than a camera
it's almost alive
it's only nineteen dollars
and ninety-five

Swing it up {yeah yeah}
it says yes {yeah yeah}
take the shot {yeah yeah}
count it down {yeah yeah}
zip it off



Stumbled across this vintage Polaroid commercial from the 60's. Ali MacGraw is the model, Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger" is the camera. Despite the commercial being over 40 years old, I think the sentiment it captures remains the same - Polaroid photography is always fun!!! The only thing that unsettles me a bit is the use of instant peel apart pack film at the beach. I have enough problems keeping my Polaroid prints clean shooting in a controlled indoor environment because the fresh, wet prints attract dust and other particles like CRAZY, so the idea of shooting in a sandy, windy environment just blows my mind.

You can no longer get film for the Swinger, but I sure would love to have one for display. It's black and white design looks sort of cutely Art Deco to me. A later camera, the Model 3000 "Big Swinger" does work with current 3.25" x 4.25" pack film like Fuji FP-100C but it's body is an ugly dull grey and lacks the charm of the Swinger.

- Lydia Marcus

From Wikipedia:
"The Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger" was a popular Land Camera produced by the Polaroid Corporation between 1965 and 1970. At $19.95 USD it was the first truly inexpensive instant camera, a fact that helped fuel its enormous popularity and made it one of the top-selling cameras of all time. The Swinger was especially successful in the youth market due to its low price, stylish appearance, and catchy "Meet the Swinger" jingle in a television advertisement featuring a young Ali MacGraw."

Polaroid Swinger photo credit Wikipedia

HAPPY 4TH!

Polaroid Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed May 2008 at Los Angeles National Cemetary
Westwood, CA

SO LONG "GOOSE"

Lucy lost her six month battle with Lymphoma today. I adopted her on December 8, 2007 and let her go on June 30, 2009. Words just cannot express how I'm feeling. It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let this photo taken less than an hour after her passing do all my talking for now.

Lucy The Boxador R.I.P
Photo © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed June 30, 2009 in Encino, CA

DOXIE LOVE

Meet my doggie "nieces" Mathilda and Talullah, blue Dachsund sisters that are two months old. Their human mommies are very close friends of mine. They just brought them home yesterday. They're the first blue doxies I've ever seen!

Talullah (on the left in the Polaroid below) is the one that seems the most photo savvy - she stared straight at the camera in practically every shot. Mathilda (on the right) seems to be more shy (or maybe less interested) in the camera. Talullah is larger but a lot more easy going and gentle. Mathilda has an obvious Napolean complex and is a raging little scrapper!


Sheryl & Denny (aka Shirley and Lennard) with their new doggie babies.








Photos by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed in Lake Balboa, CA on June 7, 2009

PURPLE CALALILY TRIO

This is a perfect example of what makes Time Zero film so special and irreplaceable. It's why I have 13 boxes of it stockpiled in my fridge and literally wait for special things to photograph with it. There is nothing quite like TZ blue - it is just dreamy. Something about TZ makes images look like paintings. I love calalilies and these were a present. Since they only live a few days or so after they're cut, I thought this was the best way to immortalize them. The blue backdrop is courtesy of my swimming pool.

Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Polaroid SX-70 Alpha / Polaroid Time Zero Film
Photographed in Encino, CA

A FACE IS LIKE A WORK OF ART, IT DESERVES A GREAT FRAME

My Dad and Lucy The Boxador.

This is VERY special Polaroid film called Image Wild Sides. I got it from polapremium.com where it's $16 dollars a pack (plus shipping). I never knew they made Wild Sides for Spectra cameras. I used to love shooting the 600 version in my One Step. I held onto my last pack for years and just tried shooting it and it was a total dud - what a disappointment. Well at least I have 3 boxes of the Image Wild Sides to shoot. They're dated 10/2008 but the color is perfect. I gotta get my hands on more of this stuff!

Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 10, 2009 in Encino, CA
Polaroid ProCam with Image Wild Sides film (sold by polapremium)

GOT WINDOWS

Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 9, 2009 in Culver City, CA

FLY PEGASUS FLY

Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed February 8, 2009 in Barstow, CA
at Tom's Welding near Route 66

KITCHEN KITSCH

These are tchotchkes perched on my kitchen window sill. The two female figures belonged to my Mom and were probably a garage sale find. The slender flower vase is either Murano or a look-a-like. It was one of my Mom's favorite pieces and it's always been one of my favorites as well. The lavender jar I recently bought it at an antique shop in Oatman, Arizona while I was on my Route 66 trip. The antique shop had a note next to it that said it was a "ghost town bottle" dug up from an early mining camp in either California, Nevada or Arizona. MOUTARDE DIAPHANE LOUIT FRERES & CO is embossed on the glass. I researched it and apparently this stylized "barrel" shaped bottle dates from the mid-19th century until the early 20th. The last item is a small, cobalt blue glass pitcher with chevron details on each side. It dates back to the 1930's. I always had a thing for cobalt glass so I probably picked it up at an antique shop or garage sale but I have no memory of ever buying it. When I was cleaning out some kitchen cabinets I found it tucked in the back and decided it would go well with the rest of the kitchen kitsch. It sure picks up the afternoon sunlight nicely.

Polaroid Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed March 5, 2009 in Encino, CA

HOLE N" THE ROCK

Hole N" The Rock is one of the wackiest and most unique tourist stops I have ever visited. I HAVE to stop here every time I visit Moab. I look forward to checking out the gift shop for one of a kind items and stopping by the petting zoo to see an unusual assortment of animals that includes those wacky and very odd ostriches. Hole N" The Rock is a kitsch tourist attraction at it's very best. - Lydia :-)

From the website www.theholeintherock.com :

"Travelers along U.S. Highway 191 in Southeastern Utah are amazed to discover this unique 5,000 square foot home and gift shop. Inside are fourteen fabulous rooms arranged around huge pillars. A fireplace with a 65 foot chimney drilled through solid sandstone, a deep french fryer, and a bathtub built to the rock are among the attractions.

Outside the living quarters is a rock and cactus garden and nearby are picnic tables and benches carved from stone.

In a 12-year period Albert excavated 50,000 cubic feet of sandstone from the rock. During this time he completed his famous painting "Sermon on the Mount" and his sculpture of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the face of the rock above his home.

When Albert died in 1957, the home was not complete. Gladys, in keeping with his wishes and lifelong dreams, continued to develop the home and gift shop into the world-renowned attraction it is today.

When Gladys passed away in 1974 she was laid to rest next to Albert in a small cove within the rock near the home. The simple stone markers were sculpted by Gladys.

Hole N" The Rock Home, Gift Shop and Tradin' Post 12 miles south of Moab, Utah U.S. Highway 191"

Polaroid Photos by Lydia Marcus. Photographed at Hole N" The Rock in Moab, Utah, July 3, 2001

INAUGURATION ELATION!

Obama Inauguration Polaroid by Lydia Marcus

Photographed January 20, 2009 in Encino, CA (just seconds after Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America)

KONGS AND OTHER TRAGEDIES

In my last post I spoke of heading to Santa Monica to go to Photo L.A. but alas I never made it out the door. As I was getting ready to leave the house, I accidentally stepped down onto one of Lucy The Boxador's favorite toys - her beloved hard rubber Kong - and I promptly rolled my ankle, painfully spraining it in the process. So I've been away from blogging and cavorting for the week, instead I've been taking care of my ankle the tried and true way of R.I.C.E. - rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Although the initial ankle roll had me screaming and writhing on the floor for a few minutes, the sprain has actually been the least painful one of my life. Despite the swelling and turquoise and purple bruising, I'm actually not in any pain. I just can't walk or stand a lot. So I missed Photo L.A. and there's a very good chance I'll miss the Doo Dah parade on Sunday in Pasadena. Although I chalk this up to a freak accident (I didn't see that the Kong was left at the base of the step down into my room), maybe this was just an evil plan by Lucy to keep me home with her. Here are Polaroids of Lucy taking a snooze and using one of her Kongs (not the culprit) as a cozy chin rest.



Who knew that something that looks so innocuous and that Lucy enjoys playing and sleeping with so much could cause so much pain!?! Actually I WISH I had stepped on the red Kong Classic, but instead I stepped on the black Kong EXTREME - billed as the "World's Strongest Rubber Dog Toy...designed to satisfy large, tenacious power chewers."

These shots show that the Kongs are kept close to Lucy at all times. The black Kong is the one that I stepped on, the other Kong is called a Jump'n Jack and it's part of their Dental Line where the rubber ridges help clean the dog's teeth as they chew on the toy trying to get their treat out.







Lucy's not into retrieving balls at all, so when I found that she loved the Kong line of dog toys, I was thrilled to find something that she not only enjoys playing with but that can keep her occupied for ages. Most of the Kong line is designed to stuff food and treats inside. Instead of just giving your dog a treat they will gobble in a split second, they have to work on chewing or rolling or bouncing the toys to get to the food. A third of a slice of American cheese melted into one of the Kongs can take Lucy a half hour to get out! Instead of you simply dolling out treats, Kongs provide your dog with a mental and physical challenge (and treat reward) that keeps them happy and healthy. And a dog that's chewing on their favorite Kong isn't chewing on the furniture or other household items.

Lucy's favorite game is using her paws to bounce the Kong Classic or Kong Extreme around my office until the dog cookies shoved inside start to break up and fall out bit by bit. When she empties it out, she'll drop it by my feet and give me a look that says, "Hey, come on, this needs a filler up!" Anyway, I'm not against Kongs, I'm just against stepping on them. In the future, I'll leave that "fun" to Lucy.

For more info on Kongs go to www.kongcompany.com.

Lucy The Boxador snoozes with her Kong Polaroid by Lydia Marcus

HOLIDAY PARTY DIPTYCHS

Holiday Party Diptychs by Lydia Marcus
Photographed December 5, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA at the Southern California Photographers Coalition Holiday 2008 party

Polaroid 203 MiniPortrait camera / expired Polaroid ID-UV Film

PEGASUS FLYS FOREVER

Pegasus Polaroid Diptych by Lydia Marcus
Photographed October 11, 2008 in Encino, CA

NATURE INSPIRES US ALL

These Polaroids were taken just minutes apart and represent natural and manmade things but I am struck by how much they are similar and interconnected.

The flower shaped hubcap was seen in the parking lot at Apollo XI Field, home of the Valley Flyers where people fly radio controlled model airplanes and helicopters. It belonged to a late 1970's / early 1980's model Chevy Malibu station wagon. The wildflowers were spotted growing out of an empty field adjacent to the driveway.

No matter how much we evolve, nature (wild and free) is always there for our inspiration.

Polaroid Photos by Lydia Marcus
Wildflower/Hubcap Diptych photographed September 13, 2008 in Encino, CA