Romka Magazine

As much as i like perfect photography that seems unreachable in my own practices, i also have a love for photography that is presented as amateur and imperfect. Amateur photos hold something special, something that reminds me of personal moments and to see other peoples personal snapshots is very intriguing. If you feel like you know what I'm on about then check out Romka Magazine. Its an online downloadable magazine that collates amateur photographs submitted buy anyone who wants to.

download free issues direct from:
http://romkamagazine.com/

images from Romka:



some photographs that feature in the magazine come with a short insights or explanations of the photos birth, and some are presented simply with the name of who submitted it. i think for me, these types of photo are so interesting because they offer such an insight to a real, unpretentious, imperfect world that we can all relate to. plus they look like photos that come from cheap instant cameras of which i and probably you used as a child to capture great moments of childhood memories.

Lemons Stole My Shoehorn

Lemons Stole My Shoehorn from James Ednay-Cox on Vimeo.

'Lemons Stole My Shoehorn' is a stop-motion clay animation that tells the story of Tom and his missing shoehorn. This is my first animation using the stop-motion technique. I produced the the models, armatures, set, and composed the soundtrack. The models have simple wire frame armatures and are finished with plasticine. Although this is very amateur i couldn't of enjoyed the process more, i enjoyed it so much so that i decided to make a second stop-motion claymation, it will be posted here shortly...

a few production pics...

Sound_1

I have decided to post the results of some of my experimentation with sound. Every now and then i have time to play with various sonic instruments and it is my goal to... well i don't really have a goal, but i deeply enjoy it. The good sounds that come out of my tinkering are cataloged and could later be used for music composition or sound design for moving image.
Hopefully with each sound that i post, i will be able to explain the process and technical equipment involved to produce what you hear. The material may vary somewhat as i am interested in recording many different instances of sound from natural soundscapes to the abuse of electronic instruments.
So here goes....

Sound_1




The crux of this sound is made by an old dulcimer like instrument called a guitar zither or sometimes harp zither. I found the zither at a local Saturday market, its a bit battered and out of tune but despite its dogged looks I'm sure it will fuel many future sounds. I electrified the dulcimer by taping a handmade contact microphone to the inside of the sound hole which along with a mic pre-amp gave a pretty good starting sound. I then transformed the dulcimers small acoustic sound hole into a cavernous cathedral like space, by drenching it in Reverb (not a very good one) and adding a bit of EQ and a Filter.
The knocks and bangs that resemble the sound of a piano lid being shut at the far end of a cathedral were made by hitting the metal tuning pegs with a metal bracelet.

Hug A Chicken

Hug A Chicken...was written on a sign next to a make-shift chicken pen at a small local festival a few weeks ago. As you can see it had a great affect on my partner, she was as happy as can be.

This picture has it all for me....

A beautiful girl that genuinely laughs at my jokes, one of the nicest vintage bikes i have ever seen and some lovely daffodils in a park that carries fond memories for me. i guess its a bit of a selfish post as you wont relate to any of these but i am still pleased with this photo and i'm slowly getting better with my Rollei.

The bike is a Swedish 1950's Cruiser made buy a company called 'Husqvarna'. It is the same 'Husqvarna' that make sewing machines, chains saws and motorbikes. on seeing it's uniqueness i couldn't resist buying this bike for my partner last christmas. its incredibly well built and a joy to ride (when she lets me).

Say 'Guten Tag' to my Rollei

This is my beautiful Rolleicord Vb which i cherish so much. its a relatively new attachment to my body and everything about it suits me down to the ground. it was passed on to me by a step-grandmother who was happy to get rid of one of many camera's from her collection. i'm so incredibly grateful for being lucky enough to use a camera such as this, its feels so good to use, its built by those good German engineers that seem so famous and it is another example of old analogue(film) technology being more rewarding than modern digital technology. It takes colour and black and white 120 film which produces square photos when processed and printed. i think this model was the one of the last run's of Rolleicord V range and its from around 1978, i think( please correct me if I'm wrong and any extra info would be welcomed).


i have found there to be many accessories available to buy and experiment with such as filters, and the Rolleinar lenses. i once saw both a telephoto and a wide-angle lens that had the 'bay 1' fitting to connect to this camera but i guess they are rare....i would love to get my hands on them if anyone knows the whereabouts of such things (i think the type i saw were made by 'Sun' or Sun fit'). most of the better looking photos on this blog will probably be taken on my Rollei as i generally take more pride and time in taking these photos so feel happier sharing them.... although saying that i will probably get lazy and turn to digital to tell a story quicker...but i should really tell a story with beauty rather than speed.