Inktober 2019: #3 Bait

Today’s prompt for Inktober 2019 is “bait” – bait?!  Jail bait.  Cut bait.  Click bait. Take the bait.  Switch and bait.  Crow bait.  All kinds of bait.

I went for the obvious:  a fish lure and a mouse trap.

I also decided that I would use my homemade iron gall ink that I made earlier this year.  Iron gall ink is present in manuscripts, old letters, and the sketchbooks of yore.  It’s something I haven’t done yet, and thought it could be a fun (and very messy) project for the month of Inktober.

So, a fish lure.  I didn’t decide on the iron gall ink until last minute, so the initial drawing was done with a fountain pen and the washes done with the iron gall, sometimes directly applied, other times diluted.  I am using a throwaway brush because iron gall corrodes things, such as pen nibs, so it will most likely do a number on the brush.

A mouse trap with a really generous bit of cheese – and probably an unrealistic amount at that!

So, baited we are.

Old Friend

Yesterday I went out around noon.  Bad time, traditionally, to make a picture, but that was the time frame I had.  I had two film cameras with me – an OM-1n with an Orange 21 filter and B&W film, and a new-to-me Certo Six out on its maiden voyage and filled with Ektar 100.

As it was hot, I sat down in the shade along a trail.  And here, a tree I have so many times along my walk, had a brand new perspective.  I think I took it with both cameras, but it was just so beautiful, I took out my cell phone . . . too impatient to wait for film to come back.

How old is this lovely oak?  I know there were some here when the Spanish showed up 300 years ago, and they were old then.  Sometimes, I wish I could see the world through the eye of a tree.

Inktober Has Begun – And I Am Late Already! (#1 Ring, #2 Mindless)

Inktober happens every year.  A prompt, ink, and there you go.  This year I am off to a late start, but did some quick sketches to catch up with myself.

I did this one as I drank coffee out on the patio, pondering what #1 Ring could be about.  I thoughts of rings of friends and family, of those you love.  I started out drawing hearts but just didn’t get anywhere with it.  And, right in front of me, the rings of my tomato cages, piled up in a pot that has been harvested of its whatever.  So, rings in the cages, and from there, the ring of life.

Yeah, this is a bit sick!  But I have been watching “Grimm” on Amazon, and it is perfect for #2 Mindless.  A mindless show, a mindless thing to do (binge-watching something so silly), and, I admit, a pleasant way to spend a bit of time when I don’t particularly feel motivated to be more than mindless.

See ya tomorrow!  And hopefully, some progress with my “Abandoned” watercolor class, too.

Spiney Leaves, Berries, and a Light Leak

I decided to send the Welta Weltur our for a bit of a CLA.  The rangefinder / viewer is a bit foggy and makes it difficult to focus easily.  That is taken care of by using a smaller f-stop, thus increasing the DOF.  I am not sure how this light leak occurred – perhaps when it was being developed.

Taken with Ilford XP Super 400, Welta Weltur from 1937, Xenar lens.  Guestimated exposures.  Scanned with Epson V600.