enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

playing with film.

Two weeks ago, inspired by Tara Whitney, I took my film camera out on a walk. Ellerie in the stroller, music in my earbuds, camera in my hand. We took our normal walk up the hill to the market and back down. It takes about 40 minutes round trip and kills like six birds with one stone (what an awful expression). 1) we pass the time. 2) we both get fresh air. 3) I get some exercise. 4) we pick up a few odds and ends for dinner. 5) I get to browse the goodwill bookstore next to the market. 6) I clear my head.

This day, I got to do all that plus think creatively about 24 photos. I always forget how much I love film. There is nothing instantly gratifying about it, but I find I am so much more deliberate. I frame. I take a deep breath. I shoot. I can not re-shoot. I can not adjust. I just move on. And then a week later when the prints are developed I get to remember a little bit about what was going on. It's always interesting to me to see the photos that I was excited about at the time and to see the photos that I hardly thought about (most often I find I like the latter more).

And because film is the original magic maker, there are no filters needed. It just is what it is. Rich and contrasty and sometimes a bit fuzzy. Always awesome though. I would love to get my film camera out more often this year. This roll was about documenting the plant life we see on our daily walk. Other ideas for future times: a day in the life, what's happening in our backyard garden (we're planting seedlings in the next few weeks!), corners of our home, an hour with Ellerie.

I'm inspired.

I get my film developed and prints made in Little Italy at Nelson Photo. They do an outstanding job and I love to support a small local business.

photo walk : autumn.

I am currently up in Sacramento with my parents and was so excited to see the change in seasons has started in Northern California. It's so different than what "outside" looks like in our beach town 400 miles south.

It's pretty pretty this November. And this was one of my favorite photo walks.

all photos this time around were taken with my iPhone. Feel free to play along with this topic or any other. See all photo walk posts here.

photo walk : my old commute.

When we lived in Maryland, I commuted from our apartment in Bethesda to Georgetown to work at Paper Source. In the early days, this meant I drove to the nearest metro stop (Grosvenor-Strathmore), then rode for seven stops on the red line to Farragut North where I hopped on the Circulator (a bus that ran about every ten minutes). It took about an hour each way on a good day. Eventually, I wised up and realized if I cut out the bus and walked from Dupont Circle to Georgetown, I would not only get a bit of exercise, but I spend less time dreading the wait for the bus.

Last Thursday, while we were in DC, we took the same walk from Dupont to Georgetown. It's crazy how quickly everything - even the fast paced, cutting back and forth to avoid stoplights mentality - came rushing back. At the time, the driving, parking, metro riding and bussing, I could do absolutely do without. But I totally remember that walk as a highlight of working in the city.

All photos this time around were taken with my iPhone in the middle of a very humid, very gray day. See all photo walk posts here.

photo walk : light.

This was an incredibly fun photo walk - probably my favorite so far. I love the play of light and shadow and I love that "magic hour" right before sunset.

As always, please feel free to do your own photo walk. Use "light" as a prompt or anything else you can dream up. Keep the focus on just one thing though for a challenge.

All photos this time around were taken with Canon XSi around 7pm. ISO was set at 100 and I used manual focus (and then didn't do any focusing) for a few of them. See all photo walk posts here.

photo walk : color.

The color scheme of my neighborhood is pretty set. Green + brown + blue + yellow. Except on Sunday mornings, when the farmer's market sets up across the street. Then the color! The natural color. Cannot get enough.

As always, please feel free to do your own photo walk. Use "color" as a prompt or anything else you can dream up. Keep the focus on just one thing though for a challenge.

All photos this time around were taken with my new iPhone 4s. I'm obsessed and cannot believe I waited an extra eight months after my plan was up to upgrade. See all photo walk posts here.

My friend & blog sponsor, Amy Tan, is releasing a new scrapbooking line with American Crafts this summer. Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go features a wide array of warm autumn colors — including navy blue, pink and wood grain — and is filled with unique travel, home and school icons: from cameras, cars and houses, to globes, speech bubbles and an adorable hand-drawn elephant. For more product photos & info about this fun line, visit the American Crafts blog.