The 2012 Arlington Sing-Off is underway. It started on Friday, May 11, 2012, at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington, Virginia.

A singing competition similar to American Idol, it includes two nights of auditions, a semi-final, and a final. Approximately 40 singers registered to audition in front of the three judges. The auditions are a capella, with music being permitted in the semi-final and final. The final will be on June 5th.

I volunteered to be the still photographer for the contest and I'm having a great time so far. We've got a talented team of professionals organizing and running the competition, and the contestants have been outstanding.

Tonight is the second night of auditions and I'm really looking forward to it.

Earlier I wrote about my previous and not-so-successful attempts at pinhole photography:

Mark Your Calendars: Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2012 Is Coming Up Fast!

And now, all that's changed. I finally got images on my film using a pinhole camera!

This was the first year I've participated in Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, which happened on April 29, 2012.  Just to be on the safe side, since I've had limited luck with cameras I've made myself, I used a MintyCam, an empty Altoids tin reborn as a fantastic little 35mm pinhole camera. I bought my MintyCam from Chris Keeney, a very cool guy who makes very cool photographs, and not just with pinhole cameras either.

The image above was the one I submitted to the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day website. If you have time, I highly recommend taking a peek at all the great pinhole photos submitted from all over the world.

You probably already know that I LOVE finding film in an old camera. I've bought quite a few at thrift stores just so I can develop the film and see what's there. 

Two of my encaustic pieces were created using found film: Mists of Time I and Mists of Time II.

I can't resist old photographs either. The encaustic piece above, All Dressed Up, started out as an old photo I purchased as part of a small lot. Unfortunately there weren't any notes scribbled on the back of the photo. I'd love to know more about these people.

Here's what the photo looked like after I scanned it:

Through the magic of Photoshop, I removed the background and added a little bit of color. I printed the image on parchment paper with a laser printer, and transferred it to the prepared wax surface. Then I added a few additional touches of watercolor and oil pastel before sealing the whole thing with encaustic medium.

It's fun to incorporate these images in my encaustic work and create new stories with them. Have you used old and found photographs in your work?