the Golden Half Telepathy shots by Mac Centeno

Here's my new toy acquisition, a Golden Half!  I've been dreaming of getting one for months now, so when I saw this one, a second-hand but almost new Telepathy Golden Half with a Holga mini flash, I just had to succumb.  First of  all, it was already heavily discounted for something that's been used only once, and second, I just really need a new toy camera to cheer me up. :)

I still need to finish the first test roll. And I also still need to figure out how to use the external flash. ALSO, if the big trip pushes through (no words on this yet; I don't want to jinx it) I will be putting this camera and the Fat Lens to good use. I'm really excited to beat my record for the number of cameras I bring with me on a trip (on my trip to Bangkok, I brought a. Instax b. Zumi c. Disderi Robot Cam and d. a Nikon D40, and yes, I used all of them :P).  This time, I have 3 additional cameras, so the dilemma is whether to bring all 7, or just choose. I'm not a rational travel packer (or whatever), so I might actually end up bringing all of them just to be sure no one (yes, I'm using anthropomorphism on them ; I mean, I NAME them) feels left out. Heh.

k.

It's been forever since I got a hold of my little LC-A (he stayed with Husband in the Philippines), and I've missed him so!  Thank god for sunny weather, we were able to try out the film we got from the Lomo Shop in Toronto. 

About 20 out of the 36 shots came out but I love the saturated colours that we got from this roll! Kinda evens it out for me :)  

'Til the next adventure,
V.

The weather has finally let up and we got some sunshine last weekend.  The mister and I took advantage of it and headed to Toronto! We brought our Instax Piano with us to enjoy the city streets.

above: the view from CN Tower

Of course, we found time to drop by the Lomography Store at Queens St.:

Pahiyas 2011, Lucban, Quezon

I finally got around to using my Superheadz Fat Lens during the Pahiyas Festival.  I used an expired 400ISO DNP film, and I realized I shouldn't have because I wasn't able to achieve that ultra-saturated blue sky that I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I still love the camera because, guess what?  All 36 shots came out!  First time that's ever happened to me with a toy camera. So I guess that makes me an official Superheadz fan.

Pretty lucky I got to sample the camera before the rainy season started because it's been pouring nonstop for days here.

EDIT: By the way, here's a photo of my sister taking a picture of me with my Nikon D40 - -

 Then below, a photo of me taking the photo above with my Superheadz Fat Lens. :)

All the photos below are exclusively taken with the Fat Lens. I should really think of a name. :P

my sister, Mikee

I asked my sister to take a photo of me :)

Pahiyas crowd

More photos of my family, the crowd, and Pahiyas

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.

"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 +.