A lazy entry from my lomo blog last week

I knew it was a risk buying a second hand LC-A off ebay but after my first roll came out blank and replacing the batteries didn't seem to help and the LEDs didn't light up I thought I was doomed.

I got my LC-A precisely 5 weeks ago now and so far it has been a month or so of panic and disappointment. I put a roll in as soon as it arrived and somewhat naively knew nothing of the red lights signifying that the battery was dead. The battery was dead but it was not until I got that first roll from the lab that I realised this. I promptly stuffed in some new batteries and then when I shot my first few photos the light was on and we were doing well. I put the camera away waiting for some better weather as I had loaded Lomography redscale XR film. When a sunny day arrived, I took the camera out and to my surprise I saw that the red light wasn’t coming on again. I found it hard to believe that the batteries were already dead and reluctantly put the camera away again. Which is where it has stayed until today. I got some photos back that I had taken on a borrowed LC-A+ and I fell in love. And they are not even a particularly good set. I got my camera back out and found some help on flickr (thanks to the excellent Gimel Vav I think!) I took the bak off to find that with a pair of mini tweezers I could simply tighten up the connection. Now I have a working LC-A and a weekend away planned!

I will do a proper blog about my awesome weekend and lovely new shoes tomorrow evening.

Sad and angry Lomo-mood

Today is a good day in some ways as the photos me and Dave had such a fun time taking a couple of weeks ago came back from the lovely Linda at Lomography in London (that is a bit of a mouthful!). I was not as disappointed with the results as I thought I would be (as it had become a bit of a rush in the end) and in fact for some I was largely very happy. However, we sent off 9 films each and although Dave has all of his back, in print form at least, I only got 7. I am missing the 2 rolls I shot on the fisheye no. 2 camera, which is terribly sad as that is the first camera I used and I am sure I put a lot of effort in and did some good shots. I then loaded up my CDs, partly because I wanted to get them online asap and partly to see if my missing Fisheye no. 2 shots were hiding away in there, only to discover that on the CD I am also missing a Diana F+ roll, a half finished Coloursplash roll, admittedly only half came out as the flash wouldn't work and it was night, and my precious LC-A+ second roll which I have the prints for and absolutely love. Of course, as I have the negs I could go through them and scan them myself but it seems a bit daft in Linda has already had them done. I am hoping if I email her tomorrow then she will say "oh yes sorry I still have a CD here, and 2 rolls of Fisheye film for you Claire" but I know she is a busy lady and I imagine trying to find some CDs in the lomo office is needle in a haystack territory. 


I am also a bit angry at Dave, my beloved, partly his own fault and partly not. He got all his photos and CDs back from Lomo Linda, which takes the mick a bit as I arranged it all, packaged it all etc etc. I swear sometimes that man could fall in a barrel of shit and come out smelling of roses. That is not his fault I guess and due to his recent shit news then he could do with some good luck so I don't really begrudge him I am just a bit jealous. I am angry at him however because when we were doing the photos, obviously if we wanted to be in one of our photos we got it all ready and then asked our lovely partner to take it for us. The ones I have taken of him, for his rolls of film and his part of this project and perfectly posed, perfectly lined up and look really good. The ones he has taken of me are rubbish. On half of them I am not ready and on the others he has just chopped part of me off. It is not that he can't do it, it is that he doesn't want to help other people - so selfish. I only got into photography so that we could do it together but it hardly seems fair that he would be like that with me. 


Grrrrrrrrrr rant over.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

I had a very lovely day with Pippa yesterday, just girly chatting and a bit of a splurge in Primani. I feel as though I haven't bought any clothes in ages. I got some jogging bottoms and trainers (for the jogging - which ended up not happening as our feet hurt from all the shopping we did, naughty!), a nautical stripey t-shirt, long glittery cardigan, some cheap stud earrings and a cameo locket and then I got a belt from DP and a top and necklace from Topshop. I saw sooooo many things that I want though and have no money for any of them what with having to book flights for Poland in June. Then Dave and me went to see Paul in the evening which was really very lovely as he (Dave, not Paul) has started his new tablets and just become super relaxed. We had a real giggle and I was not disappointed with the movie. The best part however was that the music for the very first scene is my favourite song in the whole world and also the title of this blog - Another girl, another planet by The Only Ones.
I did however forget to do my "day in the life photos" so although it is a bit dull, I may do this at work tomorrow, at least then it is a better picture of my average day.

Oh goodness, just look at the time

Well I was keen today not to come back on here and start blogging about utter boring rubbish, but I was intending to do an entry for Saturday and now the clock has defeated me and it is already technically Sunday. This shows you how busy I have been writing my first ever sociology essay - ooooooo. Not that it is finished as yet. I was a bit disappointed tonight as I had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis as promised by http://www.dcs.lancs.ac.uk/iono/aurorawatch/ several days ago but unfortunately I have learnt that:-


large black snow clouds + low level of geomagnetic activity ≠ northern lights.


I went to uni today which was fairly uneventful, apart from I was wearing little canvas pumps, not realising that we had had actual snow overnight. I love the university building though, I will definitely take some photos next time I am there and show you. It is in a really new part of Leeds Met - the outside of which has fascinated me since it was built mid 2010. The inside is just as high quality and impressive.


I have some rather exciting plans for tomorrow which I am really looking forward to now. My housemate Pippa and me are having a girly day, starting with breakfast and shopping (she needs a bit of a pick me up as she is having man trouble) then a fish foot pedicure, jogging in my favourite park and a bit of a makeover. I don't feel great about the fish or the jogging but I always said I would try anything once. I will let you know how it all goes, maybe do a day in photos type entry using my hipstamatic app for my iphone. I love the way the photos come out on it even though for me personally it feels like I am cheating the world of analogue photography which is close to my heart.


Speaking of man trouble (err was I?), I am having a bit of my own at the moment. Not trouble with my man as such but the man in my life is having troubles. It is making me a bit upset and I know I am overreacting and being a typical hormonal woman about it and making it all about myself but I can't help that unfortunately. He has now been back to the doctors about his tummy/bowel problems and they have prescribed him a very low dose of anti-depressants. I know that they have done this because they think his problems are all down to stress but I can't help feeling like a) there is more to it than that, b) I don't want him to start on a drug which is so hard to ever come off once you are feeling better and c) I absolutely HATE the idea of him being "depressed" because it makes me feel like I am not good enough and let him down in some way. Rational Claire knows that this is ridiculous on a lot of levels because his stress/depression are all related to his work life anyway, the doctors have only given him a tiny dose to see if it helps his tummy not because they think he is clinically depressed or anything and also I shouldn't be making his problems about me. But the other Claire, feels crap for not being able to help him without the need for a drug intervention like a good fiancee could and I also feel terrible about buying our own home as it means he has to stay in a job he hates to make the mortgage payments. Hopefully in a few weeks he will have his tummy all sorted and then he can come off the drugs and be happy Dave again, although I can't help feeling as if, drugs or no drugs this is all an impossible dream until he finds a new job.

Procrastinating . . . . as usual!

I am making myself annoyed this evening by massively procrastinating. Not only with this here new blog (which I decided to begin today), but uni work I wanted to do tonight, going to the supermarket which is necessary if I intend to have a meal, watching a movie about Bob Dylan that I have to return to Blockbuster tomorrow, I am even putting off my after work nap which I had been thinking about all day today. I don't always have a nap when I get in, and I am not ill or anything like that, it is just that my evening yesterday turned into a fiasco where I ended up doing my voluntary job til 23:45 despite finishing at ten. I have felt crappy all day today, almost like I had a hangover and my 5:30 start didn't help matters. Then again neither did the egg McMuffin...

Maybe the red wine will, watch this space!