Nights of Stereo

I was up until 4 last night, scanning in a roll of stereo film. It's funny, I get so much pleasure out of those pictures. My camera is very hard to use; getting the exposure right is not easy, and if that wasn't enough, focus is a matter of 'I think that's about 14 feet'. Well, this last roll was mostly well exposed, starting with some decent pictures from Prague. Next, though, was a string of photos from the Czech republic, New Hampshire, and Six Flags, all out of focus. Finally, a series of photos from a sema in Galata Mevlevihane. Those last ones I was most excited about. I knew they were underexposed (it was low light, and I wanted to not have the dervishes washed out by their spinning), but how bad they were, I didn't know. That drove me to keep on scanning, relentlessly. I was pleasantly surprised to find that one or two of those Mevlevi pics were decent. It will take me another long evening of processing to get them into final shape.

Anyways, it's interesting to me, that even when the pictures are out of focus, that little bit of stereo effect that you get brings so much life to the image, I don't worry so much about the problems of exposure or focus. Reflections on marble or in windows, shadows underfoot, all become essential parts of the photo.

In unrelated news, I discovered how to find out that when it comes to international health, it's easy to find out who in your medschool class talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. Hold a global health interest group meeting a week before an exam, and see who shows up! Apparently, there are very few true revolutionaries in my class. A luta continua!

Two more movies down so far this week: 'The Motorcycle Diaries' and 'Sideways'. I enjoyed both; the first was inspirational (making me want to hit South America on my bike), the second amusing and freakishly depressing (making me want to take up drinking large quantities of only the finest wine).