Greetings, Friends!

My actual name is Werner.

Thanks for looking at my photos.

I recently changed my screen name from waking_dream to akaiam, so I hope this hasn't caused too much confusion. I like the new screen name because it's more like a real name, while waking_dream was more like a description of something else. (The Waking Dream – now out of print – is my favorite photography book and the inspiration for the style that I shoot in.)

If you like a shot (or if you find one lacking) please comment; I learn from and enjoy feedback.

Almost all of my shots were done on film, although I have a few that are digital, including a ttv.

I love film and taking pictures. I started medium format with toy cameras and now I am branching out with a Kiev 60.

I like everything about shooting film: finding a subject, shooting it, wondering if the shot came out, developing the b&w rolls at home, seeing the result, tinkering with details like contrast and brightness, putting it out on the Web, and seeing how the shot is received.

When I make someone a contact it tends to be because their photos reflect my interests: film cameras, (especially toy cameras like the Holga and Diana), black and white film, home-developing, medium format, cross-processing and alternative film processing, and experimental analog photography.

I jumped fully into toycamera photography in May of 2005, about the time I joined Flickr.

I shoot what draws my attention.

When I lived in upstate New York it was the old bits that were still around, and the rural scenes.

I moved to Tampa, Florida, in June 2006.

I don't find as many scenes that appeal to me the way upstate New York scenes did. But I' m looking for Old Florida and shooting what strikes me in general.

Please see my TOY B&W and TOY COLOR collections.

Hopefully you'll see a good deal of carry-over in my style and approach from New York to Florida.

Cameras I've posted with:

Diana 151

Diana+

Holga 120N

Holga 120FN

Minolta X-700

Kodak Duaflex II

Kiev 60

Lomo Smena 8M

Olympus XA

Olympus Stylus Epic

Lex 35 (trashcam)

Ansco Pix Panorama

Polaroid Land Camera

Canon PowerShot S230 (digital)

Fujifilm Finepix A500 (digital, for ttv)

If you like my stuff, please by all means check out my favorites; the shots there tend to reflect my interest in old-school (classic) analog and analog experimentation.

Thanks again for looking at my photographs.

Namaste,

-Werner