FUN! FAIR! FOTOS!

For the first time, I submitted my photography to the L.A. County Fair Photography Competition
(aka Millard Sheets Center for the Arts at Fairplex Photography Competition)

I sent in the maximum photos allowed and to my amazement all three images placed and two even got special "Best" mention.

The theme and categories change every year and this year's theme is “Recycled: Fashion, Food, and Lifestyle in Advertising Photography."

In the past, photographers had to print and frame their own work for exhibition, but this year the Fair had all winning photographs professionally printed and mounted, and when the Fair ends in October, the prints will be mailed to the winners.

Here are my shots:

“Rochelle” Fashion Category (Polaroid 195 / Expired Polaroid ID-UV Film)


“Time Traveler” Lifestyle Category "Best Alternative Method in Category" (Polaroid 110B / Expired Film)


“50's Livin'” Lifestyle Category "Best Depiction of Lifestyle in Category" (Nikon S2 Coolpix)


Photo Credits: Lydia Marcus

2009 L.A. County Fair
1101 W. McKinley Ave.,
Pomona, CA 91768

The exhibit is in the Tapestry Building under the Grandstand from September 5 - October 4, 2009.

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

FAMILY TRUCK

John and Paul Thaden - father and son. The truck (a 1995 Ford F150 XLT) was originally owned by John's Dad, Clarence, who passed it down to his grandson Paul.

Photos by Lydia Marcus
Photographed July 26, 2008 in Encino, CA

ROCHELLE

Tonight I was at a wedding. In between the ceremony and dinner, people were hanging out and I spotted this lovely young woman in this exact pose resting at the edge of a beautiful fountain. Of course I had to ask if I could take her picture. I knew it would be a good shot but the Polaroid 195 at f3.8 delivered beyond my wildest expectations.

Rochelle Roepke Polaroid portait by Lydia Marcus.
Photographed August 1, 2008 at Orcutt Ranch (Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #31) in Canoga Park, CA

THE ENGINEER

I was in the backyard taking a Polaroid of the pool tile when the portrait lens viewfinder attachment for my 195 fell off and sunk to the bottom of the deep end of the pool. My Dad fished it out with the skimmer and after I dried it off, I tried to take a photo of him but couldn't focus at all with the rangefinder. The little glass window on the attachment was totally fogged over with condensation. The 195 can be hard enough to focus in bright light, but here I was in the dim light of twilight with a film of fog over the rangefinder. I took a closer look at the attachment and figured out that there were teeny, tiny screws that held it together and that it could be opened up and really cleaned. My Dad, the lifetime engineer and Mr. Fix It took it upon himself to do the repair and cleaning for me. Now that he's had both his cataracts removed in the last year, I think he can actually see better than me! Once he got the attachment open he told me, "You clean glass with alcohol. I learned that when I worked at a lab at Northrop." I don't really know anything about my Dad's time at Northrop, so I asked him what kind of lab he worked in and he told me that he inspected parts for guided missiles. From as long as I can remember - from early childhood until college graduation - the only company my Dad worked for was Hughes Helicopters (as in Howard Hughes). He was a Quality Control engineer and under his watch there were never any helicopter accidents due to parts failure. Unlike most companies that want to get rid of their older workers, Hughes (then taken over by Boeing) begged my Dad to stay on with the job when he retired at the age of 70. Having worked full-time since he was 18 and with me finally out of college, my Dad had enough of working and retired despite the bonuses dangled before him. Anyway, back to the present - after a few swabs with alcohol and dealing with the tiniest screws known to man - my Dad got the viewfinder attachment clean and clear again, in fact I think it was actually cleaner than when I started. So dropping it in the pool turned out to be a happy accident indeed!

My Dad begins the repair as Lucy The Boxador looks on.



Polaroid 195 shot

The Engineer photos by Lydia Marcus
Photographed July 5, 2008 in Encino, CA

POLA DOGS

Tonight I just started another Flickr group:
Pola Dogs



I'm a lifelong dog lover. I've always had a dog since I first came into this world. Dogs make life happy. Please submit Instant photos of all your canine pals. Show new shots or reach back in time to Polas and Dogs of your past.

Post photos of Dogs taken with any kind of Polaroid Camera or Polaroid equivalent like a Fuji Instax, Holgaroid, Daylab, or Polaroid Back from a film camera. All types of instant Polaroid Film are welcome - Integral, Peel Apart, Color and B/W, plus emulsion lifts and image transfers.

Please do not add digital or film photos that have been altered to have a Polaroid look or border. Digital photos with Polaroid photos in the shot are okay.

No limit to daily uploads, but please tag your photos "Pola Dogs"

My doggie, Lucy The Boxador, is the official Pola Dogs mascot.

1967 BUICK GS CONVERTIBLE

1967 Buick GS 400 Convertible. Photographed in Sherman Oaks or Van Nuys (not sure where the border is exactly) on May 16, 2008 using a Polaroid 110B Pathfinder (converted to pack film) with Polaroid ID-UV Film.

POLAROID CARS

In the last couple weeks I've finally invested some time to get to really understand Flickr and see how it can work for me. Getting a Pro account on Flickr (where I can upload an unlimited amount of photos) and finding all the cool Polaroid groups has really motivated me to start scanning my Polaroids like a mad woman. But even though there are a tremendous amount of groups devoted to Polaroid, I noticed there wasn't a single car group - so two days ago I started my own! As of this afternoon, my group Polaroid Cars has 77 members and close to 200 photos in the group pool. This is very exciting for me. What's really cool is that some of the members are actually people whose work I admire tremendously like Grant Hamilton. So please check out Flickr and come visit my group.



Here are two of my all time favorite Polaroid car shots - both are images of my Dad's 1966 Buick LeSabre convertible:
Polaroid SX-70 Alpha with Time Zero Film

Polaroid 110B Pathfinder (modified Pack Film back) with Polaroid ID-UV film.

NO MORE WIENERS

Wiener Factory, photographed April 2, 2008 in Sherman Oaks, CA. Shot with a Polaroid 195 camera using Polaroid ID-UV Film.

The Wiener Factory opened at 14917 Ventura Blvd. in 1971 and closed at the end of 2007. The site is supposed to be taken over by a Pinkberry (because everyone knows that the world needs another Pinkberry).