No, I haven’t posted in awhile. I’d love it if I had some sort of excuse, but I don’t. I’ve been taking pictures, working on music, and even writing a little poetry now and again, though in recent weeks I’ve been getting progressively less productive due to indecision, self-doubt, and typical Prachi paranoia. Thankfully, I decided to give that bit up insofar as I’m capable, and things are slowly starting to pick up again.

Photography

I’ve spent most of the summer shooting with my film cameras. In June, I had my Nikon F2 Photomic cleaned and repaired by the wonderful Sover Wong in the UK. It was back at my door soon after I sent it off and in phenomenal condition. In addition to being completely free of thirty-five years of dirt, it also has a working internal meter again! I haven’t used it a ton, but for the few rolls I’ve shot, it works like a dream.

Thanks to my recent film exploits and the dearth of recent digital shots in my Flickr photostream, I’m starting to get a reputation as a film photographer. Honestly, that wasn’t a reputation I was too keen about initially, but whatever. Being a good film photographer is far from the worst thing I can be accused of, and I’ve really been happy with my work lately. What more could I ask for?

Music

It’s hard to say if my new musical project is progressing or not. I’ve started to accumulate a fair amount of material, but it’s not really where I want it to be. Back in spring, when I was conceiving of the whole project, I wanted to do something dark with lyrical themes involving escapism and feeling trapped and music that was complicated, interesting, melancholy, and at times intentionally dissonant. At this point, I’m not so sure that’s an idea I believe in, so rather than commit to that plan, I’ve decided to continue experimenting for awhile until I come upon something that really works.

This past weekend, I picked up a new Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster. I’ll write a post in the next couple of days with little sound clips and some thoughts about the guitar, but for now let me say that I’m quite pleased with it. I think it’s a nice blend between the versatility and cleanliness of a Stratocaster and the warmth and creaminess of a Les Paul.

That’s all for now. I’ll probably be posting a few more times this week to make up for neglecting the blog for the last few months. I’ve got a few things I want to talk about anyway, so be on the lookout.