Trials Time

I can’t believe Olympic Trials are less than two weeks away! Years of training and it's almost here!!!

Currently I’m tapering (for those of you who might not know - tapering is when you cut back on exercise to let your body recouperate before a big meet) so I still have practices but not twice daily like usual and being honest, the extra time has been really nice.

As a mom and wife it gives me more time to keep my home life organized, spend time with my family and have a little “me” time (so rare!).  I wake up, train, come home, have breakfast with my boys, do chores around the house like dishes and laundry (I feel like I’m constantly cleaning my swimsuits – seriously thank goodness for my Maytag washer and dryer – I think I've used them more in three months than most people would in three years!) and then the rest of the day is open for Blaise’s swim lessons and my business meetings.

If I make the team at trials I’ll be away at camp and then off to London so I'm really happy to hang out with my boys as much as I can right now. The time leading up to trials is always a bit like a roller coaster – I love it and just roll with it but some phases are easier than others. Being away from your child, your husband and your life for extended periods is never easy no matter what the circumstances are.

I’d love to hear how other moms do it!

Instant Gratification

Stop Sign between Tucson and Santa Fe/FUJiFILM Instax 210

I love instant film. There's something incredibly satisfying about snapping a picture and being able to hold a finished object a few seconds later. There's no downloading, no processing, no converting, no color correcting and no printing. The hermetically sealed film pops out of the camera, the image slowly appears and it's done: shake and bake. 

Blaise and I at the Beverly Hilton/FUJiFILM Instax 210

The two most well known maufacturers of non-professional instant film cameras and instant film are Polaroid and FUJiFILM. Polaroid once dominated the market and their name is still as synonymous with instant film as Kleenex is with tissue; so much so that I regularly call my FUJiFILM Instax 210 camera "my Polaroid". Unfortunately, the only current analog offering from Polaroid is their 300 which puts out very small images that are more like quaint little souveniers to give away or slap on your fridge than something you'd put in a photo album or frame. Don't get me wrong, the tiny little pics are cute and fun and there's definitely a thousand uses for them, they're just not my preferred size.

Supposedly, the 300 is a relabeled FUJiFILM Instax mini 7 that shoots relabeled Instax mini film and if you look at the two cameras and films side by side, it's hard to argue otherwise. If there's truth to that rumor it means Polaroid actually makes nothing when it comes to traditional instant film … a tragedy to say the least. Ideally, I'd love to see Polaroid get back in the game by making a larger format again, maybe something cool and retro like their famed SX-70 that allows for more creative control but alas, I'm not holding my breath.

Sacha and I at a bar in NYC/FUJiFILM Instax 7

FUJiFILM, with their Instax 210 did a great job of picking up where Polaroid left off. The camera itself is a bit bulky and very plastic but the picture it takes is a unique landscape format(6.2cmx9.9cm) and the overall image size(8.6x10.8) is very close to that of Polaroid 600. The Instax film is medium in contrast and saturation, as you might expect, but gains a little in both areas when the flash is turned on in low light situations. Also, the 210 has an attachable close-up lens that works great but I'd really like to see it integrated into the camera so I don't have another thing to keep track of.

Having dragged this camera with me on many a trip, I can say I really do hate the 210's clunkyness but love most everything else about it. It's a favorite to take just about anywhere I go.

FUJiFILM Instax 210/iPhone

Another option, and my husband's choice, is to buy instant film from the boutique manufacturer IMPOSSIBLE for an old Polaroid SX-70, 600 or Spectra. IMPOSSIBLE started making film because Polaroid stopped and their products, dare I say, are as creative as anything Polaroid ever put out. However, now that getting film is relatively easy again, finding a good condition used Polaroid takes a little work. Check eBay often or marry a photographer, chances are he(or she) will have a few lying around.

Whatever you buy, you'll definitely have as much fun with it as you would your digi cam or iPhone and you might even take a pic or two that's worth hanging on the wall. If you think I jest, buy a copy of The Polaroid Book by Taschen: It's filled with images that exemplify the creative possibilities of instant film.   

Instant film cameras and instant film can be had at Amazon, B&H Photo and Urban Outfitters.

*Special thanks to my husband/photographer Sacha Brown for help with this post.

Stranger Than Fiction

Our Blaise

One evening my husband Sacha, who was my boyfriend at the time, came home from work and told me about a little boy named Blaise he'd met that day. Both Sacha and I really liked the name and started talking about what we'd want to name our baby if we ever decided to have one together.

After several years passed we found ourselves married, pregnant and again discussing baby names. I remembered Blaise and reminded Sacha how much we loved the name and suggested it would be a good option for either a boy or a girl. He agreed but proposed we keep it in mind and continue our search just in case we came across something we liked better.

For weeks this was a point of contention for us as I had already pretty much made up my mind but since I didn't want to fight over something that was supposed to be fun, one evening I gave in and brought home a half dozen or so baby name books to Sacha. He was very happy and thanked me for understanding his point of view. Then jokingly he picked up one of the books and said to me, "I'm going to close my eyes, flip open this book, point to a name and whatever it is we'll name the baby that."

He did as he had explained and when he opened his eyes I saw the expression on his face change from playful to astonished.

"It's Blaise!", he said.

"What's Blaise?", I replied.

"I landed on Blaise!", he exclaimed.

As I leaned in to look, without moving his finger from where it had landed he thrust the book in my face and nearly shouted, "SERIOUSLY LOOK! I LANDED ON BLAISE!"

We both stared speechless at the book and then at eachother for about half a minute before we began discussing our amazement and the statistical probability of the scenario that had just unfolded before us.

After an hour or so the shock lessened and Sacha, realizing he had been fighting something he shouldn't, closed the book and put it away.

He hasn't touched any of the books I bought him since.