Film Photography Project and Picturing Wanteete

Image Source: http://www.picturingwanteete.com/project-history/

 

If you know me, you know that I'm a big fan of The Film Photography Project (FPP). (Click Here) to check them out.

 

Well, FPP supported a project called Picturing Wanteete, where Louise Rita Contino moved to a village in Uganda (Wanteete), and shared photography with seventeen of its residents. The cameras she used, all Pentax K1000s, were donated by FPP.

 

(Click Here) to go to the project web page. I would love to see an exhibit of the pictures. Apparently, there was one in NYC earlier this year; I'm not sure if it's still up. But really, I just love the concept.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Polar Bear Plunge - For a Great Cause

 

Last weekend, I happened into an unexpected event in Reston, Virginia, a polar bear plunge. It was a charity event, for the benefit of Camp Sunshine, a place where families with children battling cancer can go to relax and enjoy time together. (Click Here) to read more about the event.

 

As luck would have it, I had my Leica M9 and my Rolleiflex 2.8F with me. This post will show my color pictures, all taken with the M9 and Zeiss Sonnar C 50mm f1.5 lens, and a few with my new Leica Elmar C 90mm f4.

 

While it was unseasonably warm last Saturday, the water was still plenty cold. Here are the safety divers, clearing the diving hole of ice.

 

 

As you can imagine, an event like this attracts an interesting crowd of contestants.

 

 

When the event started, things got lively. I had a great location to shoot from as well.

 

 

People generally looked happy going in, shocked coming out, and downright uncomfortable after that.

 

 

And now, here are two of my favorites. First, my favorite shot of the jumpers.

 

 

And here's one of the crowd reflected in the icy water.

 

 

It was a very nice unexpected surprise, and I'm glad I was there to photograph it. I think I am indeed falling back in love with my Leica M9.

 

I'll post some images that I made with the Rolleiflex 2.8F tomorrow.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com