FL Antifest III

  On April 14th I made lots of cookies for Antifest and ginger tea for Kat, who lives at Nullis Pretii where Antifest took place. On the way, I got caught in I-4 traffic (which was not surprising) and I was worried for a little while that I would be late for the first set, but I got there just before it began. I had just gotten a new fisheye lens attachment and hadn't played with it very much before bringing it with me to Lakeland. I realized quickly that I had put myself at a disadvantage, because I was not able to use any filters on that attachment. 
  Normally I shoot with a slow shutter and use an off-camera flash and filters to cut down on the light coming into the shot. I just like the way it looks. It makes a white room look less stark. Anyway it was difficult for me to get the right exposure in the rooms while it was still daylight, while still getting shots that weren't boring. I also realized almost immediately that I had forgotten to charge both the battery to my camera and the batteries for my flash, so it took a really long time for my flash to kick back on between shots. It was frustrating and I worried that I wouldn't get anything usable at all. I also worried that one or both of those items may just suddenly die.
  I was not the only person experiencing technical difficulties that night, though. Vasectomy Party and Receptacle also had some bumps in the road but they got over them too. It reminded me that art is not always predictable.

Vasectomy Party

Receptacle

Around halfway through the fest I began to have terrible anxiety and I struggled through a few sets before finally going outside. I spoke to my friends Emmy and Mullarkey about it and that helped me feel better. I felt the best after going back inside and petting this very small dog that someone had brought with him. I petted the dog for a really long time and the dog kept looking over at me as if to tell me that everything was going to be okay.

Formaldehydra

L'eclipse Nue

​That night I met some really nice people, got some CDs, a tape, and a sticker from various people, and traded zines also. Meeting nice, creative weirdos is really my favorite part of going to noise shows. It really should be a community open to all, as long as we are all respectful of one another. I realized too late that I was talking to friends in the very beginning of two different peoples' sets and I felt so bad about it when it dawned on me. I wasn't trying to be rude, I just wasn't paying attention. Hopefully there were no hard feelings there. 

Murtis

Spookstina

​It took me almost a week to look through all my photos from the night because I had a sort of vacation that started the next day and I was busy having adventures. When I did finally get through all of them I was pleasantly surprised. They weren't perfect and many of them were not exactly what I was hoping for, but they reminded me of a mostly terrific night (I say mostly because of the anxiety) and it makes me feel pretty good to see them. I hope you all like them, too.

Street Rat

Swollen Organs

ANTIFEST COOKIES

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
​1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The X-Heads

Trotsky's Watercooler

Here is a link to all of my photos from that night:
​https://flic.kr/s/aHsmgqD25D