Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Bedrock City...uhhh... rocks.

Sorry, haven't been around for awhile. Been busy dealing with my board exam (which I passed) to get my RN license. So I haven't done much interesting recently. Plus, it's like 111F outside and getting humid from the monsoon. Blech. But, about three weeks ago I did head up north and finally checked out a cool place called Bedrock City, which is in Valle, AZ. Valle isn't even incorporated, so it's basically just a nowhere place in the middle of nowhere on the way to the Grand Canyon. But, they do have Bedrock City (and some kind of air museum).
If you hadn't guessed, Bedrock City is from the Flintstones, so it's a Flintstones-themed park. Though it's not really a 'theme park'...more of a giant playground that looks like Bedrock. There aren't any rides, Just lots of houses to wander around in, a slide, a tram for kids to ride, stuff like that. Sounds boring? The place is just about the sweetest dig I've ever been to. Here's a little history.
So I went early in the morning. Plus a big front had come through, so even though it was June, there was snow on the surrounding mountains. The park itself is on a barren plateau, and the winds were whipping at 30mph and it was probably 40F max. Needless to say, I was the only person there. Which absolutely rocked (Bedrocked, you might say...or not). So for $5, I was able to wander around all by myself for a couple hours and take photos. The place has a very vintage vibe...I can't wait to go back.
I mostly used my Polaroids, though I also shot a roll with the Great Wall. I decided the place was worthy of shooting one of my remaining packs or Type 85. Type 85 is like Type 665, in that it produces a print and a negative. Impossible to find anymore, but I bought some while it was still available. It expired in December 2006.
So it's kind of fun having a print and a negative. Sometimes the print works better, while with other shots it's the negative that works better. Each have their own charm. The prints tend to be high contrast, while the negatives, of course, are loaded with detail. The print also requires coating, which was how Type 107 (667) used to be until they came up with a coaterless version. Coating is basically just a stick of goo that you spread over the print. Any areas that don't get coated usually fade or turn brown... which can sometimes add a cool effect. Anyway, here are some shots of Bedrock City using my Square Shooter and Type 85. Print and negative versions for comparison. Like I said, some shots work better one way or the other, but for you to see what they look like, I'll post both regardless of which I prefer.













And one more Type 85 shot from the top of Mount Elden in Flagstaff.



Two more packs of 85 left! How will I use them? Dunno, but it will have to be someplace at least as nifty.
I also shot a couple other packs of expired film...Type 689 and ID-UV. Also shot a pack of 667, and managed to overexpose most of the shots because I forgot to change the settings back after using the 689. Anyway, here are some random shots of Bedrock City. You can see how middle of nowhere it really is. Nothing in the background at all!








And a couple Great Wall shots, just because...




Bam Bam will haunt your dreams.
Alright, I'm done for today... Blooger is acting all screwy (as always) and I keep getting error messages for every other thing I do.
I'm finally getting a Polga, which is a Polaroid back for a Holga. It's advertised as the new version that uses Fuji FP-100C (wouldn't that be a Folga, or Fulga? ...though that sounds like lady parts). Of course, you could use Fuji film before, but with the death of Polaroid, it's a marketing direction to keep selling the things, obviously. Full report when received and tested, of course. There was something else I was planning on talking about, as well, but I can't think of it now.
Thanks for reading! Or at least looking...

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:24 PM

    how funny...

    too bad it's way out in AZ or i'd be there in a minute!

    i love the shots.

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  2. Anonymous11:41 AM

    "lady parts" Heh. :-)

    I once made the aquaintance of the manager of a five-star hotel in Amsterdam. "Pebbles de ****", she introduced herself. My straight-faced self-containment lurched into overdrive.

    Whatever were her parents thinking?

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  3. first off, where do you get your expired film? second, freaking love your photographs. third, my best friend and I have been called Pebbles and BamBam for years, so the shots made me happy.

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  4. Anonymous2:40 PM

    I totally love the negative versions – there's more character to them than the characteristic blocky blacks of the print. Mind you, they're pretty darned great too :p

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  5. Man I had forget about Bedrock! And yes Bam Bam will haunt my dreams, but Betty more so.

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