Trusting and enjoying the process (of analog)
Spring as the true new year, shooting film on a Holga camera, and Alice Coltrane
Spring as a ritual
HAPPY SPRING!! For us in the Northern Hemisphere, we are very lucky to welcome this season which is a burst of renewal. From trees blooming, to birds singing and spring produce hinting at the lushness of summer around the bend, it truly is one of my favorite times of year. A time where we can spiritually and psychologically wipe the slate and look forward to what is to come. Oh, and the longer days– what a gift. Lately I’ve been so grateful for these natural phenomena that surround us, only waiting to be discovered by curious eyes.
Did you know that in most pagan and indigenous cultures of the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox was considered the New Year? Forget the Roman Calendar and having a restart happen in the dead of winter (especially in parts of the world where it freezes). For instance, my mother always celebrates March with the “Mărțișor” celebration– when red and white thread bracelets are exchanged as good luck for in preparation for spring’s arrival (I’m wearing one right now)!
Also, from March 1-9 in Romania exists a holiday known as the Days of the Grandmother (Baba Dochia), based on a Romanian myth about a woman and her sheep being deceived by warm days before spring actually arrives (in short: she freezes to death because she starts shedding off her wool coats due to the seemingly warm weather). There is a belief that if you pick one day to represent your wishes, its weather and conditions will give insight in how your new year will go (I picked the 7th– which ended up being a sunny day with gentle winds, take that as you will). Also, you get to celebrate with some kind of sweet treat, which is always the best way to commemorate a festival, right? There is a biological reason that so many festivals and holidays happen in the spring. People are ready to reunite, eat some delicious food and be actively HAPPY for a change!
I find these rituals really enlightening, but mostly very fun to participate in, especially as it connects to a culture that is in tune with natural cycles. And unbeknownst to most, our bodies even change on a cellular level during these seasonal changes. The tides follow the moon, the blooms follow the sun, and we humans oscillate between the two. Isn’t it a miracle that somehow, it happens everyday? So, to you all, go outside, touch some grass (lol)– go on a walk, smell some jasmine or sit in the sunshine for an hour if you can. Spring is waiting for you to participate :)
Shooting film with a Holga camera
Recently, I got some photographs developed that I had taken over the past 6 months on Kodak 120 color film. I was worried that they would not turn out, as the controls on a Holga camera are minimal and your results can vary. I’ve had this camera since I was 17 or so, as it was a required item to have for my black & white photography class. This camera has been such a fun tool for experimentation and most recently in past couple of years, I’ve been interested in playing with “painting neon,” which, due to its vibrancy, is captured so well on film. My process is based on multiple long exposures, layered together to create something that almost doesn’t even resemble a photograph.
I want to capture energy with the images, which is a common goal for photographers. But at night, using these neon signs, I almost feel like it captures a feeling of space travel– something I often dreamed about as a sci-fi obsessed kid. Even in our age of A.I. generative images, the combination of textural photography with the original film process truly creates a warmth that is hard to find elsewhere.
To be honest, taking these pictures on film is one of the most creatively free things I can do (or any of us can do). It frees us from the burden of analyzing the result, and so we give it our best go. Sometimes we go months without seeing our results, and when we finally take the time to walk down to the camera shop and drop off the roll (shoutout to Glass Key Photo in SF), the fruits of our experimentation surprise us. Out of the 12 shots, at least 4 of them are really good. The others were victims of a flash being too bright or a space being too dark. But I am so grateful that I got a few mesmerizing ones out of the process.
I’ll be sharing more of these images on my personal website gallery as well as my Instagram in the coming weeks, so feel free to check back later!
Alice Coltrane and ascension through the harp
I’ll leave you all today with a video of a performance by Alice Coltrane, a multi-talented musician, scholar and activist who worked in multiple genres over the course of her 30+ year career. She was the wife of John Coltrane, a jazz legend, and they met when she was playing piano at a jazz gig. They often collaborated during their marriage before John’s untimely death in 1967. Reeling from grief, Alice found solace in both Hinduism, Vedic spirituality and learning new instruments such as the koto, bagpipes, and the harp. She often credits this expansion of learning as healing for herself, which is a very inspiring path to take after. Listening to her work on harp and any other instrument, you feel like you are being carried up and ascending alongside her.
Below is a stunning performance from 1987 where Alice plays a 9-minute solo at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw, Poland. I often return to this video not only for the beautiful sounds she creates, but for Alice’s visible joy as she plays the harp.
Again, thank you for spending some time reading and have a lovely weekend!