Tuesday, March 29, 2011

LomoMatrix Manila via notes-basterda.blogspot.com

Still contemplating if I have the actual skill to join LomoMatrix Manila.  Slightly intimidated by the idea of new people, partly (being the ambivert freak that I am), and also scared that I may not be able to follow through with it.

I will definitely give this one a week to sink into my head before signing up.  Meanwhile, I will watch these videos below, in utter enthrallment, just to psyche myself up.


The London LomoMatrix from Lomography on Vimeo.


LomoMatrix - 02. Jarripoter from Lomo Chile on Vimeo.


04 - LomoMatrix - Fabivolador from Lomo Chile on Vimeo.

Awesome, right?

k.
FINALLY!  The Impossible Project is testing out a new line of film, the PX-680, a colour shade film compatible with Polaroid 600 models!  Just look at these colours in these test shots:









Have a look at their flickr pool and be amazed like I am.  I, for one, cannot wait until the film's release!  Long live instant film!




-V.

Monday, March 28, 2011


F-Stop Blues - Jack Johnson.

Happy Monday!


(And I'm really sorry for being MIA for the last few weeks.)
-V.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I had no idea Neil Gaiman is a LomoAmigo.  Neil Gaiman, for the uninitiated, is the rock star of the literary world.  He truly is.  

I mean, he looks like one:

Neil Gaiman via Lomography.com
Back when he made his first trip to the Philippines, to promote his then new book, Anansi Boys, a few of my friends and I trooped to see him.  The lines were long, and it was still a few hours before the book reading.  So everyone was stunned to see him arrive.  People actually screamed and clapped.  So, yeah, rock star for book nerds.

He also takes awesome analogue photos.



I love this article where he talks about his experience as a lomoamigo.  I also love that they're giving away his Lomo LC-A+.  I sure as hell entered.  I mean, if you're going to have a second-hand camera, might as well come from a rock star, right? :)

k.


Monday, March 21, 2011



"It's alright!  The camera's talking!  Oh-woah!"

Yeah, I just had to put those exclamation points in there.  I imagine that's how the song was actually written.

Friday, March 18, 2011

These are two of the SEVEN photos (out of 24 shots) that came out successfully from my test filmroll using the Ansco Pix Panorama.  The rest are just too embarrassing to post.  I'm hoping for better luck with my second one.  But based on my experience, it's usually the third (test) roll that's the most successful.  

PS: my scanner's kind of dirty. Sorry about that. LOL.

k

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I am a big fan of Wong Kar Wai, and one of my favorite films of all time is Chungking Express.  That's why I'm absolutely ecstatic about this:  A Tribute to Chungking Express by Yi-jin Hsieh.  Embedding is disabled so just trust me - these series of photos is amazing. I think Wong Kar Wai will be very proud.  Here are some of my favorite stills from the film.  The second one is my absolute favorite.

via


via
via






Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ever since I got my Fujifilm Instax Mini last year, I've been thinking of ways to display the photos without actually having to post them on the wall.  I'm not very good with posting things on the wall, see.  Either they come out lopsided, or I would always look at them with a critical eye and want to rip them off the wall.  So, I came up with this:


I have been collecting jars for a few months, and this one was big enough to contain the photos I've managed to amass.  


Jars are also convenient because not only can you store the photos in them, you can use them as frames.  Brilliant, right?  
so if you're tired of seeing this photo -- 

-- you can always replace it with another.:D
To make it look prettier, I put some vintage fabric (given by my friend, Eloisa) over the jar top and tied that sweet ribbon around it.  Pretty, right?

Just a closer look, for good measure.:P
I'm still thinking of ways to display my other processed photos, again, without having to post them on the wall.  Any ideas? :)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Saturday, March 12, 2011

If these videos of a man finding a canister of exposed film in Brooklyn don't make you smile, then, I dunno. I guess we cannot be friends. That's just the way it is.







via Diana Mini Love

Friday, March 11, 2011

K and I don't talk about what we will be posting in this blog.  Imagine my surprise when I find that she is also crushing on half-frame cameras like I am!  Yay!  And like her, I have been looking around the world of lomography, in attempt to figure out which is the best buy (and by "best" i mean the one that will suit our own needs and wants).  For a film beginner like me, the more shots you get, the more chances you have to play/practice. 


The most popular half-frame cameras include the Diana Mini F+ and the Golden Half, as discussed by K.  But let me stir the pot and add another contender, the Holga 135 TIM:
the holga 135 TIM via photojojo store







All three cameras have their own pros and cons, so it is vital that you do your research (I find this one extremely helpful) and choose one that suits your needs.  According to my online search, it seems like the Golden Half has a fixed focus - definitely good for beginners like me!  Also, I find my Diana Dreamers really tricky to handle and it looks like Diana mini F+ is no different.

So if you're looking for something in-between that will give you some sort of control, then Holga TIM might do the trick.  It has a "bulb" mode, allows multiple exposure, and 2 lenses that can simutaneously expose! Plus, that cute face... how can one resist? :) 


-V.
The Diana Mini

vs
the Golden Half (collage via Analog Dummies)

I've been looking up reviews of both cameras online because I've gotten a little interested in half-frame cameras lately.  The thing with half-frame cameras is that not only do you get twice the number of exposures per film, you can also make diptychs with them and tell a story.  They're not like action samplers which have their own charm but require movement to be interesting.

As per usual, I've been obsessively browsing flickr for photos taken with both cameras, and here are my favorites:

Golden Half Gaudi
A golden half shot via Heather Tempest Elliot's photostream

A Diana Mini shot via Garrett Riffal's photostream

I'm not trying to pit the two cameras against each other, but it's more of trying to weigh pros and cons of each camera for a relative beginner like me.

Kitsch factor considering, Diana Mini wins big-time, but the Golden Half is so darn cute as well, so you can't really take looks into consideration.  With that superficial consideration aside, I started looking around flickr for photos and felt like I loved the images taken by the Golden Half.  They're on the clearer side, with a little bit of grain, which I find makes the photos moodier.  But I was still not that convinced, so I decided to look around online for reviews, and I found 2 posts (on the Diana Mini and then the Golden Half) on Four Corners Dark.  I shouldn't have looked any further, really.  This was the blog that convinced me to buy the Disderi Robot Camera after all.  It validated me.  Though the Diana Mini has the awesome Alice in Wonderland themed camera, I don't really want to base my decisions on that alone.

According to the review, the Diana Mini's dual feature - the coveted square format and the half-frame format - is a double-edged sword.  While it is indeed a great feature, manipulating it can be a pain in the ass.  The Golden Half wins in the half-frame battle because it has a fixed focus, it's not confusing to use, and it's a little sturdier than the usual plastic cameras.

Plus, let's face it, the Diana Mini F+ costs a lot more than the Golden Half with flash.

This is not to say, though, that just after getting an Ansco Pix Panorama, that I'll buy another camera.  I probably won't buy another camera in a few months, unless, of course, they're selling for P300 (less than 7 USD) or less. :P  I just like to know what my next camera purchase will be.
Here is a flickr set that provides me inspiration and the desire to be a better person... in conjunction with my love for polaroids and my want to start scrap-booking :)

The 365 Grateful Project by photographer Hailey Bartholomew.


come take a look at the rest of the project, and her other photos.  Aren't they lovely?  I definitely want to do something similar to this, hopefully sooner than later.

Now tell me, are you inspired yet?


-V.
Spring is coming soon, and I am thrilled! My sun-hungry plastic cameras can now come out of hiding and join me on my adventure.  In honor of this, I plan on getting myself a trophy:




As much as I loved Pola and Junior, I miss seeing any sort of colour on my polaroid photos.  At the moment, The Impossible Project (TIP) has not come up with colour films for 600 models; and unless their prices drop, I am not really keen on purchasing a box of colour films on eBay (well... maybe once in a while - I need to indulge sometimes, right? Right.) 


So I decided to purchase an SX-70 compatible with TIP's colour shade film!  Hopefully, my photos will be as dreamy as these from TIP's gallery:








-V.

Thursday, March 10, 2011


Bangkok Day 2 from kannika p. on Vimeo.


Hua Hin from kannika p. on Vimeo.

I just finally finished editing the footages I got from my trip to Bangkok and Hua Hin with my friend, Inad.  Nowadays, my digital harinezumi 2++ is an indispensable part of my trips.  That's how awesome it is.  I'm a little adamant to post the Bangkok Day 2 video because Inad was the one in charge of the zumi in most of these clips, so it means I'm in it A LOT.  Sorry about that. Haha.

BTW, a little background on the outfit in the Bangkok Day 2 video. Haha. That's not normally how I dress - with a long sarong.  Nope, not me. I don't even own a sarong.  The thing is, they won't let you into the Grand Palace (a complex of different wats or temples in Bangkok) unless your legs aren't showing.  It's a form of respect, so over my tights and dress, I wore that long sarong.  I'm not complaining - but it was really really hot, as you can see.:P

I loved editing these videos.  It made me relive the trip all over again, and remember the jokes captured on camera (though I put them on mute for most of the parts because I hate the sound of my voice).  One of these days, I'm going to do a "day in the life" video - I think that would be quite interesting.  The zumi makes things ten times more interesting anyways, so I have no problem with that.
-k.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011


"Pola" via anie.

This was Pola. (yes, I know, creative right?)

I can't quite remember what attracted me to Pola and film photography/lomography in general, especially in today's love for the digital.  But as soon as I laid my hands on her... there were sparks and there was no turning back.

I got Pola from Anie, an etsy seller from Lawrenceville, GA on September 2009, a year after film production was discontinued.  She was a OneStep 600 instant camera, with an automatic focus and a built-in flash.  Aside from the pricey films I used to get from eBay, I had no complaints with Pola.  Easy to use, that she was - just point, shoot, and voila... a fantastic photo right before my eyes!

Pola was the darling of my eyes.  I took her to a some of the most important and memorable days of my life.  With 4 packs of film accompanying us, I took her to the Philippines in December 2009 for my upcoming wedding.  I wanted her with me, to capture moments from my perspective at the wedding.  But sadly on Dec. 18th of 2009, a day before the wedding, I carelessly placed her on a rock basking underneath the sun... only she didn't like that.  She reached her limit and said goodbye.

Some of her memories in her short functioning life with me include:
meeting Filipino music icon (one of my music icons), Ely Buendia

going to the Philippines with me and
meeting, at the time, my husband-to-be



meeting Keifer, husband's rottie, for the first time



engagement photo session, 2 days before our wedding


another engagement shoot, a day before our wedding



...and another one from the same day.

Pola might have had a short life (2 months!) with me, but she'll forever be in my heart. 


PS.  And of course, I wouldn't be able to live without a polaroid camera, and my best friend knew that.  So she and her boyfriend gave me another OneStep 600 I call "Junior".  I'll talk about him soon :)
Hi, I would love to introduce you to my tiny friend, Hamster.



LOL, that's not its name, but a friend of mine told me one time, "Bring that camera of yours.  That tiny one."  I was trying to trick her into trying to pronounce the name, but instead she said, "The one which means, I dunno, 'hamster' or something in Japanese."

My camera was probably offended and instead of laughing at my friend, would've said, "Harinezumi means 'porcupine' in Japanese.  Hello, look at the tiny illustration above my lens.  Does that look like a hamster to you?"  Yeah, my camera's got an attitude, simply because everyone who sees it and learns what it can do suddenly wants one just like it.

panda with flower accessory not included :P

This is Digital Harinezumi 2++.  It's like the iPhone or the iPad of the toy camera world - because a few months after I got the 2++, Superheadz, makers of wonderfully cartoonish toy cameras, came out with this:

via Oh Shoot Us

and then a few months after that, these:

via Photonet.org.uk

and then a few more months after, the 2+++.  Imagine my dismay.  The 2+++, if we were to base on the number, only has an additional plus, but it has millions of color modes (okay, maybe just 10), while the 2++ has two.  But then I started thinking, the 2++, as it is, can do a lot already.  How dare I try to belittle this little camera?

This camera can take 8mm-inspired videos such as this one:



Manila Weekend 09/11-09/12 2010 from kannika p. on Vimeo.

It can take photos like these:



Like the best toy cameras, it loves a sunny blue sky and distorts images in a funny way (see third photo).  I'm not really sure when the distortion typically happens, because I have had one too many photos (that I will not share, but you can take my word for it) of myself with Conehead-like foreheads.  Not pretty.

Because it has very few control buttons (aside from the shutter release button and the power button, it has two - menu and okay), you need to master the buttons to know exactly what they do.  They're not that straightforward, so it's not always "borrower-friendly" (meaning, people who borrow it will have a pretty hard time mastering the buttons at first go).  I have had quite a few mishaps with this camera as well, because of these buttons.  Sometimes, the buttons don't respond as quickly, so it's better not to press on the buttons too hard or you will end up with an empty memory card.  This happened to me twice already - never happening again.  Tip: don't delete while out.  The camera has a tendency to be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, and so if it freezes when you're trying to delete a photo, just don't.

There's no lock button here, so if you want to save up on CR2 batteries which empty quite easily (even just leaving them inside an unused camera for a few days can empty them out), leave the battery out if you're storing it inside a crowded bag (like mine).  The power button is soft, and you don't want to have your zumi eating up all the precious battery life while inside the bag.

Aside from these, there's really nothing to complain about the zumi.  It's a quintessential part of my tiny trips and travels, and a great tool to play with when you're bored.  Example?


dream come true from kannika p. on Vimeo.

I think you're going to like the Digital Harinezumi.  But please, Superheadz, I'm begging you, after the 2+++ stop putting another +.
I love Carol Lin's flickr photostream, and I'm crushing on her photos lately, most especially the ones taken with the Golden Half camera.  I keep browsing her sets these past few days and I have the urge to click that star on top of the photos everytime.  Here are some I've favorited:

[tokyo]花見(はなみ,Hanami)


[Tokyo]冷空氣與熱陽光


tokyo strangers


[Golden Half1]taipei‧spring love


[GoldenHalf]suspecter

I think most of these photos were taken in Tokyo, but I do think she's from Taiwan.  I just love almost everything she's shot.  They're all so natural and have a certain energy.  She's also a blogger, which makes me hope I can read Chinese.  Isn't that awesome?  Without the photos, I wouldn't have appreciated her much given the language barrier, but the photos do speak for themselves.  I love that about photography. :)

Edit:  from Carol Lin via flickr mail:
 "I live in Taiwan, just traveling often. Those photos in your entry are not all taken in Tokyo, some are in Taipei."

k