Amanda Shopa, PhD

Category: Artmaking

  • Week 75 of 209 Weeks

    Week 75 of 209 Weeks

    Week 75 of 209 Weeks: “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” —Dorothy Day Photo Notes: This photo was taken on the University of Minnesota campus in Spring 2019. Apparently it’s the only known “show tree” in Minnesota.

  • Week 74 of 209 Weeks

    Week 74 of 209 Weeks

    Week 74 of 209 Weeks: “The only recognizable feature of hope is action.” —Grace Paley Photo Notes: The photo was taken at the Minnesota State Fair’s fairgrounds in 2020.

  • Second Attempt at Using a Pinhole Camera

    Second Attempt at Using a Pinhole Camera

    I made the pinhole camera from a kit last summer, and when I shot my first roll of film with it, I found some tricky points. The camera needed to be made a little more lighttight, I wanted to find a way to keep the dowels that advance and rewind in place so I wasn’t…

  • My First Roll of Film with a Pinhole Camera

    My First Roll of Film with a Pinhole Camera

    Last year, I participated in an at-home residency facilitated by Christy Strickler through the Surface Design Association. We worked together in the spring to create residency plans (detailed in the post “From Book Thief to Pinhole Camera Maker”) and I expected my at home residency, an exploration of pinhole cameras, to be completed by the…

  • Fogged Paper, Testing Procedures, and Ilford’s (Excellent) Customer Service

    Fogged Paper, Testing Procedures, and Ilford’s (Excellent) Customer Service

    This post was drafted in September 2025. For whatever reason, I never posted it. Still, I’m so impressed with Ilford’s customer service that I wanted to share. Plus, I’m posting this in hopes of helping someone else who might be dealing with fogged paper but is unsure of where that could be coming from. I’ve…

  • Week 73 of 209 Weeks

    Week 73 of 209 Weeks

    Week 73 of 209 Weeks: “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” —Meister Eckhart. Photo Notes: This photo was taken at the University of Minnesota’s iron pour in spring 2019.

  • Weeks 69–72 of 209 Weeks

    Weeks 69–72 of 209 Weeks

    Week 69 of 209 Weeks:Whatever it takesMAKE Whatever it takes—Anna Brones (Yes, the original quote is “Whatever it takes,” but I wrote it incorrectly on this postcard.) Photo Notes: This is the ceiling of a temple (maybe?) in Seoul, South Korea. This was taken in 2018. Correction—I believe this was taken at a palace, Changdeokgung.…

  • Week 72 of 209 Weeks

    Week 72 of 209 Weeks

    Week 72 of 209 Weeks: “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” —Socrates Photo Notes: This photo was taken at the University of Minnesota’s iron pour in spring 2019.

  • Chasing Light Leaks (and Still Thinking About It)

    Chasing Light Leaks (and Still Thinking About It)

    My brother built my darkroom in 2018–2019. When he was done with the bones of it, it was my job to make the room light tight. I figured I’d need a cheap caulk gun and a few tubes of caulk and I’d be done in an evening. But it was incredibly difficult to make the…

  • Week 71 of 209 Weeks

    Week 71 of 209 Weeks

    Week 71 of 209 Weeks: “Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play with the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.” —Austin Kleon Photo Notes: This photo was taken…