Nathan: 13 - Gholdengo EX

 Yooo, what's up, companion crew? I bet none of you would've guessed this, but I’m talking about Pokémon today. I built a new deck and its fuckin rad. Today, I will be telling you all about Gholdengo EX. 

Gholdengo EX is a 260 HP Stage 1 metal-type Pokémon that’s got a sick ass ability and a sick ass attack. Gholdengo’s ability “Coin Bonus” states: Once during your turn, you may draw a card. If this Pokémon is in the Active Spot, draw 1 more card. This allows Gholdengo to be its source of draw power. If you have 3 or 4 Gholdengos up at the same time, then you're drawing 4 or 5 cards before you even play one. Its attack “Make it rain” states: Discard any number of Basic Energy cards from your hand. This attack does 50 damage for each card you discarded in this way. This means you can OHKO anything in the game if you get enough energy. This is a pretty sick combo and makes for a very scary deck. 

Pretty much, you wanna get almost all of your energy in your hand on your second or third turn to take a big OHKO and take the first 2 prize cards. Getting all your energy in your hand seems like it could be hard to do if you don’t know about one card. Energy Search Pro, this ACE SPEC (one per deck) states: Search your deck for any number of Basic Energy cards of different types, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck.  Before this card came out, Gholdengo EX was still a popular and successful deck, but you were relying on Earthen Vessels and raw draw for your energy. Since the release of ESP in Surging Sparks, this deck has never been more powerful. Gholdengo now plays one of each energy, and 3 steel for your attackers.

Once you have used your energy to attack, and it’s in the discard pile, Superior energy retrieval will be your best friend. This card makes you discard 2 cards from your hand to use it, but once you do, you may take 4 energy from your discard pile and put it back in your hand.

The newest expansion, Black Bolt, has added some very powerful cards to this deck, but to understand how much of an improvement they made, I’ll break down the strategy from the previous format. 

If you win the coin flip, you want to go second for sure, so you can play a supporter and attack. Finding an Arven in your opening hand can legit make or break your entire game. Arven allows you to search your deck for an item and a tool. Buddy Buddy Poffin and Technical Machine Evolution are the bestest of friends. Poffin will enable you to search out two basic Pokémon that have 70 HP or less, so you can grab 2 Ghimmighoul. The TM Evo tool will allow you to use your attack for the turn to evolve two of the Pokémon on your bench by searching the evolutions out of the deck (you need to attach an energy to use TM Evo). This makes it 100x easier to get into your Gholengo and be ready to attack on your second turn. Once turn 2 rolls around, you’ll have draw power ready on the bench if you don’t have what you need in your hand. 

This is entirely matchup dependent, but let’s just say we’re playing against Raging Bolt. If they Ko your active 1 prize Ghimmighoul, then they just threw, and you will probably win! Now that they’ve left a juicy 2 prize Pokémon in the active spot, all you have to do is find 5 energy to attack. Arven can help you find ESP and thin your remaining Evo out of the deck. Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking is also a very good card in this deck. It allows you to search your deck for any two cards and place them on top of your deck. It can be better or worse than Arven. It allows you to get two cards of any type, as long as you have draw power left. If you use Cipher for ESP and a poffin, you’ll be able to get the KO on their active 2 prize Pokémon, and you can play poffin to get some more basic Pokémon in play. From here, the game would be very straightforward, as you just need to find superior energy retrievals and Gholdengo to attack with. 

This previous format’s builds relied pretty heavily on TM Evolution to find your attackers and get your draw power in play. Now I’ll tell you about the cards from Black Bolt. 

First, we have Air Balloon. This tool card decreases the retreat cost of the Pokémon it’s attached to by 2. Where you would have to attach 2 energy to retreat, this card makes it free. Attaching these to your Gholengo EX allows you to draw 1 extra card per turn, because you can push one, draw 2, retreat, and draw 2 more. This card is very good for mobility in case your opponent brings something useless to the active spot, like Fezandipiti EX, you’ll be able to attach an air balloon and retreat for free. The second addition from Black Bolt is even more impactful. Genesect EX has the ability “Metallic Signal.” It states: Once during your turn, you may search your deck for up to 2 Evolution Metal Pokémon, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck. This makes it so that we don’t have to even include TM Evo in your deck. The game plan changes a little bit with these additions. If you win the coin flip, you want to pick first, but going second feels pretty good too. Going first allows you to hopefully find some Ghimmighouls to bench, attach a metal energy if you can find it, and simply pass. On your second turn, Nest Ball for Genesect EX will find two Gholdengo EX for you, and your second turn will mostly play out the same way. Genesect also benefits from Air Balloon because it could get trapped without it. These additions allow you to not need nearly as much on your first turn and add some consistency in finding your evolution Pokémon. With this addition, you also play 4 nest ball and 4 Buddy poffin, so finding basics going first shouldn’t be an issue. Imma hop into a game of TCG Live and tell y’all how it goes.

I lost the coin flip, and my opponent decided to go first. I’m not mad about this because I started with a Ghimmighoul and no way to find basics. 

Turn 1: On my turn, I just played Arven for Buddy Poffin and an air balloon. I got some Ghimmighouls down and passed. 

My opponent is playing Miraidon and unfortunately hit me with the turn 2 Amp You Very Much on my Ghimmi for two prizes. This is honestly fine with me because I don’t know how they’re gonna take 2 more once I KO this hands. 

Turn 2: I evolved both of my Ghimmighouls without the help of Genesect EX. I played ESP and KOed their Iron Hands. 

On their next turn, they did nothing, pushed a  1 prize tynamo, and passed. 

Turn 3: I had Boss’s Orders in hand and just needed to find 1 of my Superior energy retrievals to Boss KO their Miraidon. Unfortunately, after drawing 5 cards, I whiffed and had to KO their active 1 prize Pokémon. I’m not mad about this because one of the Pokémon they will have to use if they want a KO is Magneton. This gives me a prize card in order to power up one of their Pokémon. This evens the prize trade for me. 

Surprise, surprise, they did exactly that to Power up their Zekrom EX. This is a very powerful mid and late game attacker that does a lot of damage. They got the KO on my active Gholengo, but I went from 3 to 2 prizes on their turn, so I just insta win. 

Turn 4: Once they got the KO, I didn’t want to BM, so I just played Arven to get Superior energy retrieval, discarded any two cards, and dealt 200 damage by discarding the 4 energy to take my last 2 prize cards.

I hope you all have enjoyed my little Gholdengo EX breakdown, and I sincerely hope at least one of you downloads the game and tries this deck out. It’s straightforward, a lot of fun, and you draw a bunch of cards every turn, so how could you not have a good time?

I will include my deck list below so you can try it out.

Pokémon: 5 4 Gholdengo ex PAR 139 4 Gimmighoul SSP 97 2 Genesect ex BLK 67 1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 1 Munkidori TWM 95 Trainer: 17 4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101 4 Nest Ball SVI 181 1 Energy Search Pro SSP 176 2 Night Stretcher SFA 61 4 Superior Energy Retrieval PAL 189 1 Earthen Vessel PRE 106 4 Boss's Orders PAL 172 1 Switch SVI 194 1 Counter Catcher PAR 160 4 Arven SVI 166 2 Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking TEF 145 1 Picnic Basket SVI 184 2 Levincia JTG 150 1 Iono PAL 185 2 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186 2 Air Balloon BLK 79 1 Professor Turo's Scenario PRE 121 Energy: 8 1 Basic {D} Energy Energy 15 1 Basic {F} Energy Energy 14 1 Basic {G} Energy Energy 1 2 Basic {L} Energy Energy 12 3 Basic {M} Energy Energy 16 1 Basic {P} Energy Energy 13 1 Basic {R} Energy Energy 10 1 Basic {W} Energy Energy 11 Total Cards: 60

Here's the battle log if anyone is interested

Setup

WalmartPack chose tails for the opening coin flip.

MOMOcy won the coin toss.

MOMOcy decided to go first.

WalmartPack drew 7 cards for the opening hand.

- 7 drawn cards.

   • Arven, Night Stretcher, Gimmighoul, Arven, Basic Metal Energy, Professor Turo's Scenario, Gholdengo ex

MOMOcy drew 7 cards for the opening hand.

- 7 drawn cards.

WalmartPack played Gimmighoul to the Active Spot.

MOMOcy played Latias ex to the Active Spot.

Turn # 1 - MOMOcy's Turn

MOMOcy drew a card.

MOMOcy played Iron Hands ex to the Bench.

MOMOcy played Zapdos ex to the Bench.

MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Iron Hands ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy ended their turn.

Turn # 2 - WalmartPack's Turn

WalmartPack drew Air Balloon.

WalmartPack played Arven.

- WalmartPack drew 2 cards.

   • Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Air Balloon

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack played Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

- WalmartPack drew 2 cards and played them to the Bench.

   • Gimmighoul, Gimmighoul

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack attached Basic Metal Energy to Gimmighoul in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack's Gimmighoul used Minor Errand-Running.

- WalmartPack drew 2 cards.

   • Basic Metal Energy, Basic Metal Energy

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

Turn # 3 - MOMOcy's Turn

MOMOcy drew a card.

MOMOcy played Nest Ball.

- MOMOcy drew Miraidon ex and played it to the Bench.

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy's Miraidon ex used Tandem Unit.

- MOMOcy drew 2 cards and played them to the Bench.

   • Tynamo, Magnemite

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy played Arven.

- MOMOcy drew 2 cards.

   • Electric Generator, Bravery Charm

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy played Electric Generator.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Iron Hands ex on the Bench.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Iron Hands ex on the Bench.

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Iron Hands ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy attached Bravery Charm to Iron Hands ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy retreated Latias ex to the Bench.

MOMOcy's Iron Hands ex is now in the Active Spot.

MOMOcy's Iron Hands ex used Amp You Very Much on WalmartPack’s Gimmighoul for 120 damage.

WalmartPack's Gimmighoul was Knocked Out!

Basic Metal Energy was discarded from WalmartPack's Gimmighoul.

MOMOcy took 2 Prize cards.

A card was added to MOMOcy's hand.

A card was added to MOMOcy's hand.

WalmartPack's Gimmighoul is now in the Active Spot.

Turn # 4 - WalmartPack's Turn

WalmartPack drew Gholdengo ex.

WalmartPack attached Air Balloon to Gimmighoul in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack evolved Gimmighoul to Gholdengo ex in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack evolved Gimmighoul to Gholdengo ex on the Bench.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Coin Bonus.

- WalmartPack drew Switch.

- WalmartPack drew Arven.

WalmartPack retreated Gholdengo ex to the Bench.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex is now in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Coin Bonus.

- WalmartPack drew Boss's Orders.

- WalmartPack drew Earthen Vessel.

WalmartPack attached Basic Metal Energy to Gholdengo ex in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack played Arven.

- WalmartPack drew Energy Search Pro.

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack played Energy Search Pro.

- WalmartPack drew 7 cards.

   • Basic Grass Energy, Basic Fire Energy, Basic Water Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Psychic Energy, Basic Fighting Energy, Basic Darkness Energy

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack played Night Stretcher.

- WalmartPack moved WalmartPack's Gimmighoul to their hand.

WalmartPack played Gimmighoul to the Bench.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Make It Rain on MOMOcy’s Iron Hands ex for 300 damage.

- Damage breakdown:

   • 6 selected Energy: 300 damage

- WalmartPack discarded 6 cards.

   • Basic Grass Energy, Basic Fire Energy, Basic Water Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Psychic Energy, Basic Fighting Energy

MOMOcy's Iron Hands ex was Knocked Out!

- 5 cards were discarded from MOMOcy's Iron Hands ex.

   • Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Bravery Charm

WalmartPack took 2 Prize cards.

Genesect ex was added to WalmartPack's hand.

Nest Ball was added to WalmartPack's hand.

MOMOcy's Latias ex is now in the Active Spot.

Turn # 5 - MOMOcy's Turn

MOMOcy drew a card.

MOMOcy's Miraidon ex used Tandem Unit.

- MOMOcy drew Tynamo and played it to the Bench.

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy evolved Tynamo to Eelektrik on the Bench.

MOMOcy played Ultra Ball.

- MOMOcy discarded 2 cards.

   • Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy

- MOMOcy drew Magneton.

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy retreated Latias ex to the Bench.

MOMOcy's Tynamo is now in the Active Spot.

MOMOcy's Eelektrik used Dynamotor.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Miraidon ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy ended their turn.

Turn # 6 - WalmartPack's Turn

WalmartPack drew Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Coin Bonus.

- WalmartPack drew Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

- WalmartPack drew Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking.

WalmartPack played Genesect ex to the Bench.

WalmartPack played Buddy-Buddy Poffin.

- WalmartPack drew Gimmighoul and played it to the Bench.

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack's Genesect ex used Metallic Signal.

- WalmartPack drew 2 cards.

   • Gholdengo ex, Gholdengo ex

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack evolved Gimmighoul to Gholdengo ex on the Bench.

WalmartPack attached Air Balloon to Gholdengo ex in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack retreated Gholdengo ex to the Bench.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex is now in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Coin Bonus.

- WalmartPack drew Genesect ex.

- WalmartPack drew Fezandipiti ex.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Coin Bonus.

- WalmartPack drew Boss's Orders.

WalmartPack attached Basic Metal Energy to Gholdengo ex in the Active Spot.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Make It Rain on MOMOcy’s Tynamo for 50 damage.

- Damage breakdown:

   • 1 selected Energy: 50 damage

- WalmartPack discarded Basic Darkness Energy.

MOMOcy's Tynamo was Knocked Out!

WalmartPack took a Prize card.

Scyther was added to WalmartPack's hand.

MOMOcy's Latias ex is now in the Active Spot.

Turn # 7 - MOMOcy's Turn

MOMOcy drew a card.

MOMOcy's Miraidon ex used Tandem Unit.

- MOMOcy drew Zekrom ex and played it to the Bench.

- MOMOcy shuffled their deck.

MOMOcy evolved Magnemite to Magneton on the Bench.

MOMOcy's Magneton used Overvolt Discharge.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Zekrom ex on the Bench.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Zekrom ex on the Bench.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Zekrom ex on the Bench.

- MOMOcy shuffled their cards.

MOMOcy's Magneton was Knocked Out!

Magnemite was discarded from MOMOcy's Magneton.

WalmartPack took a Prize card.

Nest Ball was added to WalmartPack's hand.

MOMOcy's Eelektrik used Dynamotor.

- MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Zapdos ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy attached Basic Lightning Energy to Zapdos ex on the Bench.

MOMOcy retreated Latias ex to the Bench.

MOMOcy's Zekrom ex is now in the Active Spot.

MOMOcy's Zekrom ex used Voltage Burst on WalmartPack’s Gholdengo ex for 330 damage.

- Damage breakdown:

   • Base damage: 130 damage

   • 4 Prize cards: 200 damage

   • Total damage: 330 damage

- Damage breakdown:

   • Base damage: 30 damage

   • 4 Prize cards: 200 damage

   • Total damage: 30 damage

- MOMOcy's Zekrom ex took 30 damage.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex was Knocked Out!

- 3 cards were discarded from WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex.

   • Basic Metal Energy, Gimmighoul, Air Balloon

MOMOcy took 2 Prize cards.

A card was added to MOMOcy's hand.

A card was added to MOMOcy's hand.

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex is now in the Active Spot.

Turn # 8 - WalmartPack's Turn

WalmartPack drew Boss's Orders.

WalmartPack played Arven.

- WalmartPack drew Superior Energy Retrieval.

- WalmartPack shuffled their deck.

WalmartPack played Superior Energy Retrieval.

- WalmartPack discarded 2 cards.

   • Boss's Orders, Boss's Orders

- WalmartPack moved WalmartPack's 4 cards to their hand.

   • Basic Grass Energy, Basic Fire Energy, Basic Water Energy, Basic Lightning Energy

WalmartPack's Gholdengo ex used Make It Rain on MOMOcy’s Zekrom ex for 200 damage.

- Damage breakdown:

   • 4 selected Energy: 200 damage

- WalmartPack discarded 4 cards.

   • Basic Grass Energy, Basic Fire Energy, Basic Water Energy, Basic Lightning Energy

MOMOcy's Zekrom ex was Knocked Out!

- 3 cards were discarded from MOMOcy's Zekrom ex.

   • Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Lightning Energy

WalmartPack took 2 Prize cards.

Superior Energy Retrieval was added to WalmartPack's hand.

Basic Lightning Energy was added to WalmartPack's hand.

All Prize cards taken. WalmartPack wins.

Andra Procedure

 Hey Blog,

I hope everyone’s weekend went well and that Kedrick had an awesome birthday and party! As a continuation of last week’s blog I’m currently going through the painful process of colonoscopy prep. These past 7 days I’ve been following a low-residue diet which cuts all vegetables, fruits, and nuts (pretty much anything fatty or with high fiber), which wasn’t TOO difficult. Today, the day before my colonoscopy, I now follow a clear liquid diet up until 2 hours before it’s time (where I can’t have any food or water). So far I’ve had chicken broth, water, and Gatorade lemon-lime. At 6pm (it’s now 7pm as I write this) I was required to take the first portion of the laxative (6oz of laxative diluted with 10oz of water + 16oz of water + 16oz of water), so you can likely imagine where I’m sitting currently. I will have to repeat this process 6 hours before my appointment, waking me up bright and early at 3:00am. All I can I say right now an hour in is… wow. I was very close to throwing up this prep due to the disgusting taste and chugging nature, but I pushed through. The stomach pain is heavy, the pressure is on. I have books downloaded on my phone for what feels is going to be a long night on the throne. 

Update 1: It’s now 3 am, and I’m ready for the second round of chugging. I’ve decided to give myself a full hour to take this horrible liquid so I don’t throw it up, so I’m sitting criss-cross on the toilet slowly drinking down this prep.

Update 2: at 4am I threw up the liquid prep. After this occurrence I stopped blogging so here I am 2 days later after my colonoscopy giving the completed version of what happened. After my body completed emptied I had some obvious anxiety that without fully completing my prep I would have to do this process all over again and reschedule the colonoscopy. Luckily, I didn’t have to do that. I went back to bed and woke up with a fever of 101, which was likely due to the fact I hadn’t had any food in the last 24 hours, my colon is bare bones, and I threw up whatever last nutrients I even had. I couldn’t have any food or water when I woke up being so close to the procedure so I put some ice and cold compress on my head in hopes to get the fever down before the colonoscopy because they won’t perform it if you’re over 101. I did it. They put me right to sleep, I had the best nap of my life, and it turns out I have either Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis with biopsies and follow-up’s to confirm. After my colonoscopy I had a meal (YES!) and took a 4-hour nap. I woke up with a fever of 104 (bummer), and after debating on going to the ER, I decided I’ll just take my steroids (they gave me more in the meantime for the pain and inflammation) and Tylenol, and see if the fever broke. It did, and I had well-deserved pizza for dinner. Still recovering the next day, I decided to work from home and luckily had no fever today. The discussion of my treatment plan is in 2 weeks, and then I get to figure out what medication I’ll be on for the rest of my life… yay.

Kedrick: 11 - An Exploration of 35mm Film Stocks

Good afternoon to my companions! Today, on the eve of my 30th birthday, I thought for a moment about writing something introspective about my 20s. Maybe a moment for each year or something. But that's a lot of effort, and that idea just popped into my head now. The timing of this blog's due date is pure coincidence (maybe). Just know that I've thoroughly enjoyed this past decade that spans three years of college, living in a new city (and state) for the last seven years, making new friends, getting engaged, and getting married to my beautiful wife! Truthfully, the current season of my life began long before my 30th birthday and really started back when I met Lizzie in February 2022. My early 30s won't look very different from my late 20s, which is a terrific thing!! 

But I digress. The purpose of this blog is to both inform you all and document the results of my rigorous tests over the last five months. I want to tell you about some different 35mm film stocks. One of my favorite things about shooting film is how you can get a distinct & unique feel within your photos by shooting different types of film in different conditions. It takes away a lot of the post-processing Lightroom work because you really want to just let the features of each film stock shine without touching anything up too much!

What will follow is a description of each film stock I've tested, some picture samples (I've tried to include mostly photos taken with my Nikon, but some were taken with other cameras), and my overall thoughts on the film and its value for the price (even though the prices vary by a few dollars, it adds up). The only important technical jargon that you need to know is what ISO is. ISO is the sensitivity of the film to light, and it's represented by a numerical value. The lower the number, the less sensitive it is to light, which means you need to either expose the film to more harsh light (a bright sunny day) or expose it longer (let that shutter stay open for a while). Different film stocks have different ISOs, and that value informs when you should use each. ISO also impacts how much grain the film stock has. Films with a 100 ISO will have a much finer grain (less obvious grain) than 400 speed films.

The People's Champs

We're starting with the heavy hitters, folks. These film stocks have become tried and true. They also represent the best bang for your buck. Anyone looking to explore the world of film photography for the first time would do well to use these.

Kodak Ultramax 400

For a cheap color film stock, you do not need to look further than the undisputed People's Champ of 35mm color still photography, Ultramax. I love love love this film, and you can almost always pick up a 3-pack from B&H for $27. It performs incredibly well on point-and-shoot cameras, is insanely versatile (can handle a lot of different lighting conditions), and has that classic film grain that people shoot film for. It has high vibrance, contrast, and saturation, which can be a con for some people, but it's a pro in my book. I love shooting reds with this film.

ATL skyline with my Nikon

Shout out contrast

Punchy point-and-shoot

Great shadows

Ilford HP5

One of the two kings of black and white film. Although B&W film tends to be more expensive to develop, it is also much cheaper ($9/roll). The way I describe this film vs other black and white films is that HP5 offers more of a "grayscale" feel than pure black and white. This feature makes it the most consistent, in my opinion, but keep in mind I've only tested the two most common types of B&W film.

One of the my favorite pics

 

Another favorite with my Nikon and some HP5

Life-affirming

Kodak Tri-X 400

The other half of the black and white empire. Tri-X is punchy as hell. High contrast and a very clean, pure black and white film stock. My favorite fun fact about Tri-X is that this photo by Jim Marshall was taken with it. It's also around $9/roll and looks so good for that price, it's insane. Black and white photography is one of the main selling points of shooting with 35mm film, and I need to use it more!! This film has a coarser grain than HP5, which can be a good or bad thing based on personal preference. I've only shot this film once so far, which is a definite blind spot.

My first favorite photo. From my point-and-shoot in SF!

...also SF

Kodak Pro Image 100

The Photo Spot guy put me on to this film stock when I tried to buy a different 100 speed film, Kodak Ektachrome, which is one of two Kodak films I haven't shot yet! Ektachrome is famous for its extremely rich saturation. Pro Image represents a middle ground between that high saturation and the more "lifelike" colors that Kodak Portra's line offers (their "professional" film). At a price point of $10.50 per roll, it also offers excellent value. I have only shot this type once in Cozumel, but I will be going back to it.

An all-time classic

Handsome guy

Fun with double exposures

Kodak Gold 200

This one is my least favorite of this category, but the value is undeniable. You can pick up a 3-pack for around $25, which is the best value in the dang business. Candidly, I have probably sold this one short, but that's more because of my love for the rich saturation and versatility that Ultramax offers at a very similar price point. This film stock is at its best when you're taking golden hour photos since it already has a tinge of gold, hence the name. Or when you just want an affordable film with a finer grain that can handle some harsh lighting conditions.

Favorite from the only time I shot Gold with my Nikon

Thanks for the lighting shout, Q

Love those greens

The Professional & Specialty Corner

Unlike the People's Champs, these are either 1. more expensive per roll or 2. more limited in usage scenarios. They all have an important place in the film world and can give you some of the best pictures you'll ever take, but aren't necessarily budget-friendly picks!

Kodak Portra 400

This is the People's Champ but for pros. It has all the great features of Ultramax but with less saturation and a much finer grain. Both of those things can be a good thing, especially when photographing people. This type of film is the best there is at photographing realistic skin tones, hence its name being based on the word portrait. At a cost of around $15/roll (most of the time you have to buy 5 rolls for $75), it's more expensive than a People's Champ, but generally speaking, it's easily worth it. Best for special occasions like a fun trip or visiting a new city. The only roll I shot with this film stock using my Nikon was when I found out I had a light leak, so I haven't the chance to take a special picture with this yet. I used it to test my new point-and-shoot I found in a Minnesota vintage shop, though!!

Downtown Alexandria

The cabin from the lake

Companions!

Kodak Portra 160

I shot this for the first time in Minnesota and was obsessed with the results. One of the best rolls I've ever shot! The grain is so dang fine, but still very present. The colors are lifelike yet dreamy. It's at a similar price point as Portra 400 (this one is a little cheaper at $14/roll), but again, it's worth it for special occasions, like a fun sunny trip to the lake!

Instant all-timer status

Sunsets on the lake

Portrait of a Companion

CineStill 400D

This film is Kodak motion picture film but respooled into film for still photography. They also take off the "RemJet" layer so it can be processed the same way typical 35mm film is processed. This comes into play more when we look at 800T. 400D is a daylight-balanced film that can be purchased at the same price as Portra 400, which is sadly its main drawback. As much as I liked this film the first time I tried it, I don't think it can match the versatility of Portra. Still, it's super cool to shoot on motion picture stock, and the film makes it much more stylized than Portra. As if your photos are from a movie!

The Skyway at sunet

My favorite shot of the Chacchoben Mayan ruins.

Two thumbs up!

CineStill 800T

This one is special. The crowd favorite for night photography! Due to the removal of the RemJet layer, this film creates a "halation" effect when you shoot lights, which can be both good and bad. It's very good when distant light turns into a "bulb" of sorts, but not good when your subject is words that become a blobby mess. You also can't shoot this film stock during the day without the colors coming out extremely cool (very blue and green). That didn't stop me from trying that to see what it looked like, though! And you can get around that by buying a lens filter. Although its uses are more limited, when you shoot this in the right conditions, you'll get some of the best photos you'll ever take. I'll be shooting this one in the future.

Fireworks on film!

An excellent example of the halation effect is the lights above the pumps

Perfect example of the cool daytime colors contrasted against the warm-colored house!

 

If you've read this far, I appreciate your time, and I hope you learned something new. Let me know your thoughts on anything I've said or what your favorite samples were! I look forward to speaking with you all again soon.

Katie 9 - Wedding Planning (So Far)

 Hey blog! 

This time around I’m going to be catching you up on my wedding planning thus far, a topic that has been hot here lately. I’ve had a lot of fun with my planning so far and I’m excited to share how it has been going!

WEEK 0 - Initial Stages

My first weeks of wedding planning with my soon to be husband were more so filled with discussions around what our wedding was going to be. We had discussed riding off to Vegas to hit up Taco Bell Cantina or just having something very small with our immediate family. Ultimately though, after making PowerPoint presentations and pro/con lists with my therapist, I made the call that I would like to have a larger, though still intimate, affair with our friends and some extended family. My sweet fiancé said I can have what I want, which was really nice of him. 

It was at this point I dove into venue and budget research to begin the first real stages of planning, along with Pinterest-Ing my vision and design. 

WEEK 1 - A Venue, A Date, A Budget, A Guest List, A DJ, Oh My!

This first week was a whirlwind, buckle up.

I have always loved the idea of a garden wedding, and somehow I found the perfect venue only ~10 minutes from our house. Rockledge Gardens is a local plant nursery that has expanded into events over the past couple years and has a wedding venue as a part of it. The venue had everything that was really on the non-negotiable list for me: an open vendor policy, a decent price, and a rain back up plan that I actually wouldn’t mind. 

When we toured, there was one Saturday left in the Spring, so it felt like it was meant to be. Booked! 

There had just been a wedding so there were these cute flowers up here, not included

With that booking, the official count down clock began, as did the real planning. 

My next step was to write up a budget. My approach to our wedding budget wasn’t to set the bar really low, but to find an average-high cost of what things would be, as more of the ceiling of what we could be prepared to spend. My goal from there hasn’t been to work towards the budget, but to actively come in under budget. Within the budget, we also thought about the things we wanted to splurge on and that were most important to us. For me, this was photography most of all, which I budgeted quite a high amount for. We also together decided on things that didn’t matter to us, like a videographer. 

We’ve done a great job so far staying way under our ceiling budget, and we’re on track for things to stay that way, with the way I’ve most certainly over budgeted on the remaining expenses. It has been hard knowing what things will cost in central Florida honestly until we actually get quotes. 

This was an inquiry filled week as well as I decided the first place to start would be locking down major vendors. In the first week, we booked our DJ. I got 3 different quotes from DJs, and this one was the lowest, most inclusive, and the guy I liked the best. Big win! 

WEEK 2 - Photography, Save the Dates, Wedding Dress Shopping

Getting a great photographer I really liked was a high priority and highly budgeted for. I initially reached out to a different photographer whose work I really liked, but she was already booked out next Spring. Everything happens for a reason, because I’m really happy with the photographers we ended up booking. This week, we had a zoom meeting with this second photographer I had found and went forward with them. It is a local husband and wife with the chillest vibe and really, really nice pictures. 

We also finalized the guest list and made big moves on getting our save the dates out there. I designed our save the dates myself on Canva, and had them printed at Staples. Lucas lovingly put them together, including hand-writing the addresses. With cute envelopes from Amazon and stamps, the cost of all of our save the dates came to about $110, which was a DIY I was feeling great about. Getting that list finalized and those sent out was a big milestone. 

I went wedding dress shopping this week for my first (and only) time. My mother and sister were in attendance with me. Though I had other appointments lined up, I ended up finding a dress I really liked on a sample sale at the first dress store. Major budget and convenience win! 

I also bought a veil 

WEEK 3 - Coordination

Our venue requires a day of coordinator, and honestly, I wouldn’t go without one. Because they require one, they had a deal with one locally to do weddings for them at a discounted rate. This is the coordinator we ended up going with. She’s doing weddings there all the time, so I trust her to do a fine job… and Another major budget win. 

WEEK 4 - Bartender and First Tastings

We locked down our bartenders this week. We’ll be doing open beer, wine, and two signature drinks TBD to help keep alcohol costs reasonable. If you have any opinions on what the provided alcohol will be, feel free to pass along, though no promises they will be considered. Doing this package rather than a full open bar was great for the budget, and we didn’t feel like a full bar was necessary with the number of options still available. 

This week we also did our first food tasting with Two Chicks and A Pot and our cake tasting. Read more in Lucas’ blog from a while back. 

WEEK 5 - More Tasting and Cake

This week I dragged Lucas out to Mt. Dora for our second food tasting - read more in Lucas’ blog from a while back.

We finalized our cake choices this week as well and booked that. We’ll be having a small, cutting cake and three different cupcake choices. You’ll have to wait and see what the choices will be. As an additional treat and activity option, our venue has a fire pit they will turn on and we can do s’mores at, so that will most certainly be in play. 

WEEK 6 - Food Booked and Planning Ahead

In week 6, we made our catering decision, check out Lucas’ blog for further details. 

With that, most of our major vendors were booked so I was generally feeling great, but still a bit overwhelmed. I went ahead and created a schedule for myself to plan specific tasks across the next few months. The May list was done, and it was onto June and July! Writing all the wedding related tasks out and spreading them across the next year or so was definitely good for any stress I was feeling. Though it is a lot, only focusing on a few things at a time is a great way to keep it manageable. And of course, I have plenty of help if I ever want it.

So, here we are now. It has been about a month since I properly focused up on planning the wedding, taking a small break for some vacations. We have a list for June and July that I’ve started working on again, mainly focusing on design and thinking about what I may want to scour sales and Facebook marketplace for. 

So, that’s it! The wedding planning so far! Tune in next time (maybe) for what we’ve done next.