Happy Valentine's Day

Rayko's 3rd Annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show

I am honored to be a part of the RayKo 3rd International Juried Plastic Camera Show in San Francisco, California. The opening reception is February 26 and the show will be up until April 17.

Click here for more information about the RayKo Photo Center and the exhibition.

2009 - Year in Review Slideshow

You can also click here to view the 2009 Year in Review Slideshow.

I Spy with my Plastic Eye Exhibit at A&I Hollywood

Last night I attended the gallery reception for an exhibit I am a part of -- I Spy With My Plastic Eye.

The exhibit pays homage to the plastic camera and my print "Childhood Memories", shot with my Holgaroid, is one of many amazing images in the exhibit. I feel so honored that I was asked to participate in this show.

The exhibit is at A&I Hollywood and benefits WeSpark, which provides free cancer support services.

A fine art book sponsored by HP is available for sale, featuring all images from the show with shot details and artists commentaries. The book is $40 and you can purchase it by clicking here.





Here is Aline Smithson's foreword to the book:


I Spy With My Plastic Eye is an exhibition visualized by photographer Astor Morgan. The exhibit, brought to life by A&I, is a testament to the unique qualities of toy cameras. Each artist approached their imagery with a singular voice, using a variety of film types, techniques and cameras. The photographs in this book speak of gesture, of time passing, of simplicity and complexity, allowing for a wide range of expression. And all of this magic has been captured through an inexpensive plastic lens, part of an inexpensive plastic camera that inspires discovery and serendipity. And that is the best part.

-Aline Smithson

Dream in Plastic - Analog Exhibit

I was honored to be a part of Dream in Plastic's first gallery exhibit, Analog. The images had to have been shot with a toy camera.

Dream in Plastic is located in Beacon, New York and sells toy cameras (and lots of other gems).

The exhibit ended in September but I forgot to blog about it. Oops.

Things I Love

From the section of my website (www.aprilrocha.com) entitled
"Things I Love"

Bette Davis or Montgomery Clift movies

Anything written or sung by Joni Mitchell

Antique shopping

Photographing deserted towns

Visiting used bookstores

The smell of the beach

Collecting vintage cameras

A beautiful meadow

Dahlia flowers

Vintage postcards of Los Angeles, Santa Monica or
Catalina Island

Miss Scarlett

Diana Images

I have mixed emotions about the purchase I just made.

As many of you know I love toy cameras and I love film. Well I purchased something where I can shoot with a toy camera lens with my digital camera. It's called the
Diana F+ Lens Adaptor and it's sold by Lomography.

I went out the other day and tried it out with my Diana Close-up Lens.

Holgaroid Images from the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs

Two Holgaroid images from my trip to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs in June of this year.

Click here to read my previous entry on my trip to this fantastic hotel.

Ace Hotel & Swim Club - Palm Springs

My good friend and fellow photographer, Laurie Bailey, came back from this hotel a couple of weeks ago and told me immediately that I had to go there myself. I went to their website and I was hooked!

The Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs was a former Howard Johnson that had fallen into disrepair. It reopened as the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in February of this year.

I don't consider myself the queen of hip but I immediately felt at home in this hotel -- from the record player in your room, the vintage-looking bikes you can ride and the old GMC van near the swimming pool (I looked for a choke inside the van but alas there wasn't one, my Dad's 1969 Ford van had one).






When you hang out in the pool or eat in their great restaurant you hear Bill Withers, Johhny Cash and Nick Drake over their sound system. There is also a real and I mean real photo booth in their lobby (which I went a little crazy with since it takes credit cards). I mean you just can't beat it.





I asked hotel management if I could photograph their hotel and they immediately said yes. So I brought every camera I own and every type of film I had in my fridge and shot away. I even shot a roll of (don't freak out people)......Kodachrome film and used a pack of my very precious Polaroid Viva Type 80 film with my Holgaroid.



I will definitely be going back there some time this summer to shoot more.

Featured in Victoria Magazine - May/June Issue

One of my favorite magazines for many years was Victoria Magazine. It ceased publication a few years ago and last year it was revived and I was always happy to see it again in my mailbox every couple of months.

A long, long time ago I sent them one of my business cards hoping to one day be featured in their "Calling Cards" feature. Well it finally happened and I got a box of the issue on my doorstep today even though the issue doesn't come out until April 21.

What a great way to start my Easter weekend!!

Through the lens of her camera, April Rocha captures the sincere romance of a wedding day with images that last a lifetime. By focusing on the meaningful details of a couple's special ceremony, she creates the ultimate artistic expression with pictures that evoke true emotion.

One of My Favorite Blogs {frolic!}

One of my absolutely favorite style blogs is {frolic!} created and written by photo stylist/floral designer extraordinaire Chelsea Fuss. Chelsea wrote today about my Holgaroid work, wedding photography and Etsy store. I feel so honored to be a part of her blog and look forward to reading it every day.

Click here to view the blog entry.

Station 26 - Santa Monica Beach - Holgaroid Image

As many of you know I'm working on a Santa Monica project. I went to my favorite lifeguard station yesterday, Station 26, but realized once I got there that I forgot a necessary piece of equipment to shoot it TTV. So instead I whipped out my Holgaroid camera and shot this image.

Being on that beach yesterday morning at 8:30 am reminded me so much of hanging out at the beach with my Dad while he surfed the waves. It brought me right back to being 8 years old.

I came home yesterday and anxiously went to my computer to see if this film was still available on Polapremium. Much to my disappointment it is not and I have only one more pack of this film.

This image will eventually be available on my Etsy site.

Polaroid Image in Lightleaks Magazine

I was so excited to see in my mailbox today my copy of Lightleaks magazine. They decided to dedicate the whole issue to Polaroid film and one of my images was showcased. If you would like to purchase the issue, click here.

Diana F+ with Close-Up Lens

These images were shot with the newly produced Diana F+ camera with Close-Up Lens.

I hope to include these images in my upcoming garden project (one of these days I'm going to have to come up with a better project title.)

The Missing Element

Here is the missing element from my photography project. Keep checking the blog to get more details.

The Alternative Photography Contest at the Julia Dean Gallery