Batting 120

"Washington Nationals batter Bryce Harper waits to hit against the Baltimore Orioles as he stands on deck in the first inning during an MLB interleague baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, June 24, 2012."

Ever since moving back east, I continually find weird things packed in odd places.

Recently, I found some old, expired, 120 film. Feeling like I've been in a baseball slump, where my images are beginning to look the same no matter what, I decided to take the Holga off the shelf and play with it at the Nationals against Orioles series.

I assume if you're reading, you know what a Holga is. If not, it's a plastic toy camera. Its quirks and charm come from images being blurry, fuzzy and weird looking. There is no adjusting the camera - simply point, shoot, advance the film, repeat.

Ironically, iPhone apps such as Instagram and Hipstamatic can give your digital cell phone pictures the same look and feel. And I certainly like playing around with those apps to produce cutting room floor type of images while on assignment. I even posted some earlier this year here.

But I have to admit, although Instagram is fun, getting back a pair of 120 rolls from my Holga totally made my night.

These sequential pair of images of Bryce Harper aren't anything speical, but it's the process of shooting blindly, patiently waiting and later see what comes of the film makes it all worth it in the end. Without a doubt, I'll be shooting some more film this year.