Let's See How Things Develop - 29 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 474

Micah 6:8
Mark 8:22-25
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?


Today is National Camera Day as well as National Waffle Iron Day. That reminds me of a picture I took, developed, and printed, way back in the pre-digital days of photography.

Way back when, I used to develop my own film (black and white only, I never did progress to color, simply because all the instructions made it sound like I needed better control of temperatures than I thought I could manage) and print my own pictures - including pretty big prints, probably up to 16x20.

It was a lot of fun, and was a great creative outlet as well. The picture these celebrations brought to mind was of the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial that I took on a family vacation to Washington, DC. It was a standard portrait-orientation shot from a bit to Lincoln's left, but once I saw it, I wanted to try something "different" with it. So I got out a sheet of 8x10 paper and exposed the print normally. Then I put a sheet of normal window screen material over the paper and just turned on the light very briefly. When I developed the print, the open parts of the screen were black square, while where the wires were you could see the original print.

It was a very cool effect, and it actually worked the first time I tried it (imagine that!). However, I don't think I ever printed anything else that way, and it wasn't long after that that my photography hobby tapered off.
I actually still have a couple pieces of my old equipment down the basement (an enlarger, a print dryer, possibly some other items as well). I need to find someone who might want them. I'll also look around for that old print (very unlikely to have survived a few house moves) and if I find it, I'll scan and upload it.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.