Super Fun Zoo Time

It’s been a few years since we’ve been to the zoo, what with being really pregnant for a while, and then having a baby. We haven’t really been able to do much while she was so little. Today we went to the zoo with some friends and had a great time. Eden met Parker and Autumn for the first time ever. It’s great having friends with children to share these moments with. I’m not really sure how interested Eden was in the animals, but she absolutely loved all the babies around. Here are some iPhone photos from today. I shot about two packs of PX70 Color Shade from Impossible, but don’t have time to scan them at the moment, so I’ll get to that later. Peace!

adobe photoshop touch

I decided to purchase the new Adobe app for iPhone (photoshop touch). I had a lot of fun with it at first, then slowly became detached, like everything else I buy. I don’t really edit any of my photos in the program, but I do use the layering tool like a mad woman. Here are a few digital photos that I created in the program. If you don’t like nebulas then you can go and fuck yourself.

Ferris Wheel, Abandoned Six Flags, NOLA

Land Between the Lakes, Redd Hollow

A photo of Kelsey the first day we met.

Bison Range @ LBL x running bison nebula

Paul on the beach from our 2011 vacation to Gulf Shores

This photo was taken underwater with a fisheye.

I still use the app sometimes, but not as much as I did when I first got it. It’s fun. I recommend it.

March!

Lots of exciting things have happened so far in March. Eden is almost 8 months, and she’s very interested in other children. We’ve been having some awesome weather and took our little bug to Cumberland Park last weekend. She loved it! She got to scream at other kids and crawl around on some warm astroturf. We brought snacks, and Paul climbed around on the rock wall. If you live in Nashville, I highly recommend this park. It’s right behind the stadium near that really awkward giant red sculpture on the Cumberland River.

shot with afterlight app for the iPhone

Paul surprised me with a new Canon EOS T4i last week! It’s so much fun. I’m about to start learning how to edit videos. So far I’m really impressed with the video we’ve shot with it. Here are some of the first photos we’ve taken:

Sunset behind Starbucks in Clarksville. We were on our way to a housewarming party.

My dear husband and daughter. This photo makes me so happy.

Paul & Eden

Paul, blocking ember

Brandt, shoveling infinity

We are planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Forest next month and I am MEGA EXCITED. I’m really hoping to catch some good shots of the milky way and try my hand at time lapse in the desert.

science of rowing

Come around, dark passenger. Settle in to breeze and lean, but don’t close your eyes. We’ve a mountain to climb. A sea-bird sigh. I tap my feet and ‘Why?’ Reflection over edge, pupils like lead. Piranha much, feed tendon and leave bone. On the inside of you, somewhere, is home. I will be flux, to attach, if you will torch. With a little luck, a pheonix hatch&scorch blue sky red. I burst into a million tiny stars at talk of touch. raise my sail and blew into a dead sea. you are me, you are. drew you like a weapon, an oar though. Lessons in rowing through the human body, stop when you get to the heart. Massage gently so the beats don’t break you.

Patience is a virtue.

PZ680 film from The Impossible Project shot with Polaroid Spectra System

Artistic TZ – my last pack EVER

It’s been at least a year since I shot my very last pack of Artistic TZ. It’s one of my favorite polaroid films, and Anne Bowerman from The Impossible Project was nice enough to ship me a stray pack that she’d found lying around. I think it might be the teals and greens that I love so much. I visited Clover Bottom mansion again and found an old train bridge, and some other abandoned things. It had been months since I’d seen Chad, and he drove to Nashville to hang out for the day. I’m still waiting on Eden to get a little bigger. I’ve had my eye on a few things throughout the winter, and plan on returning to these places once it gets warm again. I can’t stand the cold. I don’t even want to check my mail when it’s cold out. Here you go, folks – my last Artistic TZ instant images:

These were all shot with an SX-70 Sonar

Orchids on Softtone

Earlier this year, I took a trip to St. Louis to see Radiohead. While I was there, I found out that the annual orchid show was going on at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I HAD to go, as I’d brought some fresh Spectra Image Softtone Film and I’m so in love with orchids. They had over 500 different species of orchid. I was in heaven! (All photos shot with Polaroid Spectra System with film from http://www.theimpossibleproject.com)

(I know these aren’t orchids, but they had a wonderful selection of cacti and succulents there. I died!)

This is me, 5 months pregnant

Adieu!

Ringgold Creek

I was going through photos today when I came across one of me swinging out over a creek on a rope. It made me ache for summer again, and also youth. I will be 27 years old next month, and yes, I consider being 21/22 ‘youth’. I remember these days well, even through waking up and drinking beers in the shower every one of them. Was I an alcoholic? Maybe. But every awkward step I took in the wrong direction when I was younger led me here – to this life. It’s funny how a photo (especially a polaroid) can bring you back, way way back – and you still remember how everything around you smelled, and the sounds of the waterfall pounding on more water below it. I remember how the mist felt on my body as I suntanned on the hot rocks. The first time I ever came here, I was 17 and I caught a giant butterfly in mid-air and tied a string to it. I tied the other end to Zach Lerman’s hair and watched it fly in circles. This was 2007. I was 22 and it was the summer that I spent a lot of time shooting polaroids with Chad. I was apprenticing under Andy at the tattoo shop and had just gotten dumped by my ex husband (for like the 3rd time). I drank heavily and would drive over to his apartment and throw rocks at his window. I was crazy. I spent a lot of time at this creek and I just wanted to share the polaroids I had of it. I will probably never go back again.

adieu!

PX70 Color Protection – a breakthrough in instant film

I cannot begin to explain how I felt watching this new film develop. Beautiful clouds of blues and greens fade into sharp, crisp colors – and I didn’t even have to turn the picture over while it did. THIS is what every instant film lover has been waiting for, and Impossible did it. Thanks guys!

Here are some shots developing that I took at my husband’s place of work. He works at a puppet shop called Animax and there are lots of colorful things to shoot.. These, I haven’t scanned yet.

 

This is what I’m working with. It’s an SX70 Sonar and I love it so, so much.

 

While developing and after development.

Here are some actual scanned photos. They are mostly my daughter’s things from her nursery, as that contains some of the most colorful things in our house at the moment.

This is Eden’s giraffe. I illuminated it with a flashlight.

Here is a painting hanging in her room that her father painted. It looks amazing against the teal paint of the walls. This was shot in natural light.

This furry little guy came out of a Kinder egg that I brought back in my suitcase from Germany. It means a lot to me. It was also shot in natural light coming in through the blinds.

Eden’s NYOKIRIN bumble bee. She received it as a gift from Setsumi, who works with Paul. Shot in natural light, using the yellow canvas as background.

This is one of Paul’s paintings, titled “Little Wave”. Shot with the wheel all the way to dark. I was playing with the L/D wheel that day while indoors.

Here’s the Parthenon at Centennial Park in Nashville, TN.

We have so much monkey grass around our front porch. In late summer they all bloom purple flowers and little purple berries. They’re so pretty.

This is a gnome. I’m assuming that it was Paul’s when he was a little boy..

I’ve got so many more pictures to share and so little time. It’s really hard to blog with a new baby around, especially when she wants all of my attention. Luckily, she napped long enough for me to get this done. Yesterday we had her photos taken in a pumpkin. I shot some polaroids of her, and I’ll try super hard to scan them in before Halloween. (yeah right)
Oh, and, did I mention how insanely excited I am for Christmas? I can’t wait to put up our tree.

I’m so thankful that I got to test this film out for Impossible. It truly is magical to be able to watch my pictures develop again.
You can purchase this magnificent film by clicking HERE.

C-ya.

We’re married!

On May 19th, Paul & I finally said our ‘I do’s’ in Franklin, TN on his parent’s farm. I mean, we didn’t get married out in the pasture or anything, but our wonderful friends drove a while to get there. His mother and her friend had been planning it since we announced our engagement on Valentine’s day. Paul asked me to marry him in Europe! The wedding was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever witnessed. When I saw my bouquet, I cried like a little bitch and his mother hugged me and told me that she loved me, which made me cry even more. His brother, John even performed the ceremony rites, which was awesome! When it came time for me to say my part, I started crying again. Getting married was kind of a big deal for the both of us. We were both recently divorced when we met. He randomly messaged me on the internet and asked if I would like to come over and eat dinner. He cooked an amazing dinner for me and we sat on opposite ends of the couch staring awkwardly at each other while listening to Chris Garneau. I was instantly attracted to him from the day that we met, and he has turned out to be the funniest guy I’ve ever been with. Paul is amazing! He works so hard to give me everything that I want, he takes me anywhere I want to go, and he tells me that he loves me every day. Not to mention he’s friggin’ handsome as hell.

Anyway, the ceremony happened at 2pm. My grandfather walked me down the aisle. Unfortunately my parents could not attend, but my mother is coming in August to be with us when Eden is born. Here are a few photos that our friend Joe Melanson shot of the wedding. We had a photographer, but haven’t gotten the photos back yet. I made the fascinator and veil that I’m wearing in the photos, too.

These next photos were shot with special edition NIGO film from The Impossible Project, which they sent to us as a wedding gift. Thanks so much, Impossible. You have my heart! Unfortunately, most of the photos were shot by family members who were confused when I started to yell that they needed to shield the images from the sun after they came out of the camera, so a lot of them are washed out, but I still love them anyway.

I felt beautiful, but the dress was hot. It was a Galina sweetheart taffeta dress from David’s Bridal.. it was one of the only ones I could find that had an empire waist that wouldn’t crush Eden. She’s so big inside of me now. I think I really wanted it because it had pockets and I could carry my phone in one pocket and put the polaroids in the other. Here’s a photo of the wedding band that Paul placed halfway on my finger. I have to wear them on a necklace because pregnancy has caused my fingers to swell pretty badly. I can’t wait to actually get to wear them both, because they are BEAUTIFUL!

These last photos were shot with my Spectra System on Image Softtone film, which is and will always be my favorite. I’m sad that Impossible is almost out of it.

The woman in pink on the left is Paul’s mother, Mary. She is absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t thank her enough for putting this all together. I’m so glad to be a part of their family now, and I always have so much fun when I’m out with her. I can pretty much tell her anything, and it’s okay.

Wesley & Angela, who were wed while we were in Europe. I’m so glad that they could make it even though we didn’t get to go to their wedding.

Brandt & Aurora, two of the coolest people I’ve ever met. I’m so lucky to have them as friends. They need to move to Nashville, already!

Charlsie & Patrick, who are also expecting their first baby around the same time that Paul & I are. I’m so excited to have her live so close to us and I’m even more excited that our babies will get to grow up together. They are recently engaged and I’m so happy for them!

This cake is making me hungry, so I’m going to go eat something. I’ll post more photos later on when we get them.

-Ashley Fly (!!! what an awesome last name !!!)

PUSH! it real good – I say goodbye to PX70 PUSH! film for good

I tried it once. I didn’t like it.
I tried it again. I couldn’t get it right.
I tried it one last time. I’m over it.

PX70 PUSH! was the first color film put out for SX70 cameras from The Impossible Project. I was ecstatic, but couldn’t really get too excited about it. I mean, it was the first flush – and practice makes perfect. Since then, they have come out with some pretty spectacular color films, which I tested and I’ll blog about soon. PUSH! film was so difficult for me. I just couldn’t get it right for some reason. One or two out of every eight pictures might turn out. It’s super light/temperature sensitive, so you had to be so much more careful with it than the newer film. Regardless of it being a pain in my ass, I got a few pretty incredible shots with it. I remember posting some a long time ago. I just had the privilege of shooting a few more packs, just for old time’s sake, and I said goodbye to PUSH film forever. Here are the six shots out of 24 that turned out. Not bad, huh?

This was shot in Bremerhaven at the Hotel Atlantic. They pretty much stocked our fridge full of wine and mineral vasser. I had none. Well. I had a little.

A portrait of myself and one of our dogs, Clementine. She’ll be a year old next month!

Paul holding a crow’s skull. He found this at Land Between the Lakes for me last fall. What a guy!

euros, which I spent on pizza, pretzels, Coca-Cola, and Haribo gummies

I’ve shot these guys numerous times. They’re reliable and always make for a good photo. The first time I shot them was with my very first SX70, this time, it’s with my new Sonar.

A portrait of my fiance, Paul. Two of our other friends are laying at his feet in the woods. This is my favorite out of all of them.

Well. That’s about it for now. Life is good, and Eden meets the world in a little less than 5 months!