Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
Polaroid SX-70 Sonar
Beginning in April and Ending in October, Rauhallinen Farm, and the entire Northwoods for that matter, is ablaze in a full palatte of colours with our array of indigenous wildflowers. The farm also has 17 large perennial beds, a variety of trees and shrubs, in addition to many potted annuals. Always something blooming and ready to volunteer to be taken into my studio for a still life. This is the time of the year that I most often use the iconic Polaroid SX-70 (Sonar) for both still life work and outdoor landscapes. The winter temps here in the far Western Upper Peninsula are often well below zero and as a result, quite hostile towards instant film developing correctly. I will also use the Hasselblad 501CM with Carl Zeiss 120nn Makro Planar and Kodak Portra 160 in 120 format to capture the finest details of still life subjects, often in conjunction with various extension tubes to allow for additional close focusing.
Musk Mallow (Malva moschata L.)
Polaroid SX-70 Sonar
At the present time, there is an abundance of Ox-Eye Daisy, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Wild Blue Iris, Lupine, Oyster Plants, Everlasting Pea, Musk Mallow, Blue Vervain, and soon St. John’s Wort. It has been a buggy Spring with lots of mosquitoes and black flies with ravenous appetites (even when wearing repellant). Also a bad year for wood and deer ticks, requiring your pants to be tucked in your socks, boots, long sleeves, etc. when in the tall grass and brush, which is often the terrain I photograph in. When getting in from the woods this time of the year in the U.P. , one must do a complete body inspection for ticks, due to the dangers of Lyme Disease.
Later in August, I have a photo and camping excursion planned for the Badlands of South Dakota, in addition to the Black Hills, and eventually Devil’s Tower in adjacent Wyoming. Due to the long hikes and frequent location changes, I sadly will not be shooting large format, which would be burdensome. Instead, the Hasselblad and Mamiya 6, Polaroid SX-70, and perhaps the ONDU 6x9 Pinhole will come along.
“about
our argument tonight
whatever it was
about
and
no matter
how unhappy
it made us
feel
remember that
there is a
cat
somewhere
adjusting to the
space of itself
with a delightful
wonderment of
easiness.
in other words
magic persists
without us
no matter what
we do
against it.”
― Charles Bukowski, On Cats