Adventures in Film - Nishika N8000

 Hi guys! It's been over a month since my last post, so I figured I'd show you what I've been up to. Basically, I've been learning a lot about film photography, and to put it simply, I'm absolutely obsessed! My camera collection is growing and growing and I'm going to try to post regularly about my cameras, what they do, tutorials and all sorts of stuff. (Speaking of tutorials, earlier I mentioned doing one about cyanotypes. That's still in the works, but as you need the sun and it just hasn't been out so often, I'm trying to wait until the weather's more reliable.)

First, let me tell you about the Nishika N8000.

"The design of the Nishika N8000 was a bit overstated. The flash contact sits atop a small platform which resembles the Pentaprism found on an SLR. The camera is much larger than it needs to be, a lead weight was included to make it heavier, there is a plastic panel on top designed to look like an LCD readout and the two AA batteries serve no function except to power the "light meter" which merely indicates whether or not flash should be used. The "use flash" indicator is not coupled to the aperture lever and is thus valid only when f8 (cloudy/indoors) is selected and when ASA 100 film is used.^[6] Also, the hot shoe has three contacts (in addition to ground), but two simply sit on top of the plastic with no internal connection. The companion flash has only a single contact in addition to ground.^[6]
Misleading^[6] and even illegal tactics were used to market the camera, including an infamous fraudulent prize promotion scheme, which is usually blamed for the company's demise.^[8]
Though N8000s are constantly available on eBay, they rarely get any bids."

source

Basically, the Nishika N8000 was an over priced piece of crap. And by overpriced, I mean they sold this thing for, like, $300. But now you can get them for more like $5. Mine was new in the box off Amazon.

All this being said, I absolutely LOVE my Nishika! It has 4 lenses, so it takes 4 pictures of the same thing (although, each is slightly altered from the other) and this allows you to create 3D images. Originally, you could send your negatives to get lenticular prints made. Unfortunately now this service is very hard to find, and when you do find it, it's very expensive to have done. But there are ways around this.

You can now scan your negatives into your computer and open them in your favorite photo-editing program and either take two of the frames to create a 3D image that works with 3D glasses, or you can take all 4 images and make a gif, which is what I did. Here are a few of my favorites!

My little sister, Ashton.

I have a few more, but I don't want to overload you, so maybe I'll save them for another post! If you want to snag one yourself, checkout Amazon or Ebay. They aren't expensive and there so much fun!

- Jana

Annnd I'm Back + Liebster Award

That's just the face I make when I greet people.

So at the beginning of the month my laptop (that wasn't even quite two years old) CRASHED and I was pretty much computerless. With all that extra free time I had I was pretty much forced into focusing on class and it paid off because I passed, and in theory, I will get to graduate in the spring. Now I've got this shiny new laptop and I'm back! (Crossing my fingers I can get the stuff off my old hard drive though :/).

I was catching up on my blog reading and saw Angela had nominated me for a Liebster Award! What a sweetheart. What is a Liebster Award you ask?

Bloggers nominate other bloggers with 200 or less followers. Liebster means "favorite" in German so everyone can promote their favorite blogs... or maybe find new ones! If you are nominated, you just have to follow the rules (below) and nominate 11 more blogs to keep the fun going!

Rules for nominees:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.

3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.

5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.

6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

So here we go!

11 Facts About Me

1. I am left handed. And I am the kind of left handed person who will tell anyone who listens that this is a right handed person's world, and lefties should be taken more into consideration.

2. My first concert was a Sugar Ray/Matchbox 20 show.  

3. As I am typing this, I just polished off an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Banana Peanut Butter Greek Frozen Yogurt. It was delicious. I am ashamed.

4. I HATE long sleeve shirts. With the exception of hoodies/sweatshirts, I don't even own a long sleeved shirt. 

5. I wish I could grow a full, thick beard at will.

6. I would trade my right hand to be able to draw as well I want.

7.  I am extremely, painfully shy.

8. I'm only five feet tall.

9. I love Stephen King. I really do.

10.  I also love Tool. And anything Maynard James Keenan does.

11. I've never been in the ocean past my ankles. I'm a sissy breeches.

Angela's Questions:

1. What is the best vacation you've ever been on?

 I'd have to say when my boyfriend and I went to see Tool in Oklahoma a couple of years ago, or when we saw Tool (front row!) in Georgia in February. Oklahoma was extra fun because it was our first road trip together, and before the concert we went to the science museum.

2. Do you sleep with socks on?

No way. I hate socks and wear them only when it's absolutely necessary. Hot feet = no sleep.

3. What is your standard coffee shop order?

If there's something pumpkin flavored, that's what I'm ordering.

4. Do you like to volunteer? If so, where?!

It's something I don't get to do often, but definitely want to make more time for. I'd love to start a program that teaches children different crafts/art forms. 

5. What's the best class you've ever taken?

I couldn't possibly pick just one! I loved my astronomy class and my psychology class. Of course I loved most of my art classes. But if I had to pick one that wasn't art related, it would definitely be the Philosophy class I took this semester. The professor is one of my favorite people I've ever met, and I genuinely believe that class was good for my soul. Taking that class happened at just the right time in my life, I think.

6. What's at the top of your Christmas list this year?

A new lens for my camera!

7. Favorite muppet?

I like Beaker.

8. Current best show on television?

I don't think Breaking Bad is currently showing new episodes, but that is the best show. The VERY best.

9. Favorite magazine?

I like National Geographic. That's the only one I read regularly, I don't usually read magazines.

10. Do you have an unusual talent?

I can make my face twitch. I'm told it's pretty funny.

11. Why did you begin blogging?

I started ButtonMunch because I am terrible at keeping a journal and the idea was I would keep up with this better. It's definitely a goal to keep up with it more in the new year! I also realized how much I had in common with the bloggers whose blogs I read, and I just think the blogging community is pretty neat.

NOMINEES 

I'm gonna break the rules here, because I'm a bad ass and that's just what we do. I nominate EVERYONE. Because you are all awesome.


Questions:

1. If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

2. What is your favorite recipe?

3. Would you rather be eaten by a shark or trampled by an elephant? You must pick one.

4. What is your favorite holiday movie? (Any Holiday.)

5. If you had to give up one of your five senses, which would it be?

6. In the place of the sense you just gave up, you get to pick any super power. What is it?

7. and 8. What is your favorite scent and why?

9.  What celebrity do you have an irrational fear of? You know you have one. (I have many: Forest Whitaker, Nicholas Cage, and Whoopi Goldberg, I'm looking at you.)

10. You just won $5,000,000. What are you doing with it?

11. What is the funniest joke you know?

If you make a Liebster Award post on your blog, leave a link in a comment; I wanna read them!

Well, I'm off to make a few more last minute Christmas gifts and watch 24 hours of one of my most favorite movies EVER (A Christmas Story). Happy Christmahanakwanzika to those who celebrate and have an awesome regular December 25th to those who don't!

Love, Jana

 

REVIEW: Cosmo VoxBox 2012

So, yesterday I received a Cosmo VoxBox from Influenster. "Yay, free shit!" I exclaimed as I tore open the box like a wild animal a civilized human being. As you can see above, I got all kinds of neat things to review. So here it goes:

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

Forever Red Eau de Parfume by Bath and Body Works / $10 for .25 fl oz or $44.50 for full size:
Personally, I like light, floral scents, so this was not for me. Very musky,  sort of vanilla-y. If you dig that sort of thing, try it out. I could definitely smell it on my skin long after I put it on, so I guess if you like the way it smells, the stay factor is a plus.
WOULD I BUY IT?: If I knew people who liked scents like this, then yes, I'd probably buy it for them as a gift.

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape / $2.79
The best sea salt chocolate I've eaten is made by World Market and it is amazing. This is nowhere near that. I didn't really taste the salt, it was completely over powered by the almonds. No thanks.
WOULD I BUY IT?: Nope.

WHAT I DID LIKE:

 
Gillette Venus Embrace and Venus and Olay Razor / $3.50 - 4.50 per month for blade refills
I was pleasantly surprised by the Venus Embrace blades. I have super sensitive skin and when I picked this razor up I was instantly reminded of disposable razors that cut my legs up and give me terrible razor burn. Luckily, me legs turned out smooth and cutless. These bladed claim to "hug curves to get virtually every hair." I believe that. it easily went over and around my knees and I wasn't left with any stubbly patches. I haven't gotten to try out the Olay blades yet, but I expect gppd things because I typically love Olay products.
WOULD I BUY IT?: Yep.

FriXion by Pilot Pen / $4.50 for a 3 pack, $11.00 for an 8 pack
I am a pen snob. Really. In fact I have a little pen pouch that I carry my pens in and only the very best of the best make it in there. I'd say these two pens make it into The Pouch. They do what they claim to do, which is "writes unbelievably smoothly and erases completely with its rubber tip."

Super duper scientific pen test.

My only complaint is I got a little bit of smearage (ew. smear.) with the black pen. It erases PERFECTLY unlike those crappy little eraseable pens we had to use in 4th grade.
WOULD I BUY IT?: Probably definitely. 

So there's my review of things. If you want to possibly get free things, visit their website or leave a comment below with your email address. I have 5 invites,  so if you leave me your email address I'll send one your way.

Off to Astronomy now, hope everyone's having an awesome day!
love, Jana

The Cosmo VoxBox was given to me by Influenster to review. Everything above is my own honest opinion about each of the products.

Cyber Monday Sale

Surprise Button Mix by ButtonMunch

 Hey guys! Just wanted to pop in to let you know I'm having a Cyber Monday sale in both of my shops - Janabolic and ButtonMunch! Just use the code CYBERMONDAY at checkout to receive 20% at Janabolic and 10% off at ButtonMunch.

Red and Green Shaggy Bracelet by Janabolic

Friday Roundup

So now that the countdown to Christmas is starting, (just kidding, I started counting down three months ago) I thought I'd do a Friday Roundup on some of the things that I've been desperately longing for have been sitting in my favorites on Etsy...

I'm really picky about jewelry, but this pocket watch pendant by SunisUp is absolutely perfect!

I love Stephen King and I love this shirt over at riverwestconcern's shop.

Speaking of shirts, this shirt over at ScodioliCreative is too awesome for words and I need it in my closet.

I love the detail in mullishmuse's finger puppets! This Dave Grohl one is hilarious.

This tote by MysticMooseCrafts is so sweet! As much as I love gnomes, I don't have near enough gnome related items. 

 And finally, I 100% need these glow in the dark solar system undies from makeitgoodpdx. I would wear them during my Astronomy tests for good luck. Because who wouldn't feel lucky if their ass was covered in stars and glowed in the dark?

Now I'm off to go help clean the house for Thanksgiving day 2 of 3. (With all the places I have to go I get three Thanksgivings!) So what's on your list this year?

Love, Jana

Life Lately (What I've Made Recently Addition)

Long time, no blog right? I haven't been in the mood much for it, as life has gotten a tad bit complicated lately (no fun), but that's okay. I've been making tons of stuff to keep my mind off things, so that's what I'm going to show you today!

So first up is this book that I whipped up. (And by whipped up I mean spent 4 hours on. I started it at 9 pm, and finished it at 1am!) I've made plenty of books before, but this was my first time attempting a Coptic stitch book! Not to shabby for my first shot at it, if I do say so myself. This one is going to be my new sketchbook, but I'm planning on making a bunch more and adding them to the shop.

Next is the scarf that is no where near complete. I love and hate knitting, so often times nothing gets finished. It's hard to see in the picture, but I love the texture this pattern makes. It's a "mock cable" stitch: you (kind of) get the look of a cable pattern, but without it getting too complicated!

I've been making TONS of buttons for ButtonMunch! Like, seriously, I need to get 40+ buttons listed, and soon. I picked a couple of my favorites because my hands can't hold 40+ buttons.

Finally, I have saved the best for last: cyanotypes! We learned this process in my photography class for a project we're working on, but I did these because I'm completely obsessed with making them and can't stop for fun. It pretty much combines my two favorite art forms: photography and printmaking! I'll definitely be adding some cyanotype prints in ButtonMunch soon. I would tell you more about them, but I'm planning on posting a tutorial on them in the next few days so be on the lookout!

Speaking of the project were working on, I need to go make more of these now. So what have you been making lately? Any tutorials I should check out? Let me know in a comment below!

Hope everyone's having an awesome weekend,
Love, Jana

Oblogatory Halloween Post

  See what I did there? Obligatory, but with blog? Oh, I am so hilarious. So in the spirit of Halloween (and putting off doing my homework) I thought I'd do this fun Halloween survey I've taken from Kayla.

Five costumes I’ve worn: 

1. Baby Bop. I searched for a whole three minutes to find a picture but unfortunately for you I could not locate one.

2. A Witch. This is actually the one time during my childhood Halloweens that I was not a princess or something nice.

3. Dorm room murder victim of an urban legend. That one was kind of out there.

4. Scary Mask lady. This was last year, very last minute but effective. My friends went as calculators and ipods, and I just grabbed this mask...people kept asking me if I was someone from The Strangers which was fine with me because that movie scared the crap out of me.

5. A hooker. Yeah, I tried to justify this by saying I had the stuff in my closet all ready, and then I realized I was just saying I dress like a hooker :/.

Four costumes I’d like to wear:
1. Bearded Lady. This is ALWAYS on my to-dress-as list, but I never ever do it.

2.  Walter White or Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad.
3.  Adam Jones of Tool, the Best Band EVER. I think it would be an appropriate Halloween costume, because I always joke that he kind of looks like he dead. Him or Maynard James Keenan because Maynard has a snazzy wardrobe.
4. Ok, I actually heard this idea from my ceramics instructor but thought it would be hilarious: I want myself and a group of people to dress as the Scooby Doo gang and unmask people at a party. That would be the best.

Three things I’m afraid of:
1.  Medical Settings
2.  People that laugh too loudly
3. Pilates rooms (I work in a Gym and all the equipment in those rooms makes me nervous.)

Two favourite types of candy:
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
- Twix

My number one favourite thing about Halloween:
- It's the first day of the holiday trifecta - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. All the excitement over what people want to be that night, and cheap/free candy.  Scary movies. I love everything about Halloween, I can't pick just one!