365: Day 183 - 189

Background Music: Rocket Boys - Follow Me

Day 183: I'm not there [20/01/11]

i really, really, really miss my photowalks with the guys. i've got such a bad itch that needs to be scratched so i took that stroll around the neighborhood again just so i could take some pictures. i ended up getting sick. again. i am woe.

Day 184: Ayako [21/01/11]

completing Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life opened by eyes to the grittier mangas circa the 60's and 70's. this movement, called the gekiga manga intrigued me and to find out that Osamu Tezuka partook in this movement just to show the kids he could draw non-mainstream stuff perked my interest, hence the purchase of this graphic novel. i've never had a penchant for Tezuka's works, but seeing how a generation of mangakas were so enthralled by even his mainstream works tells me there's a lot i haven't read about Tezuka.

i think this kind of discoveries inspire me and there's nothing better than reading a graphic novel as thick as 800 pages.

Day 185: In fiction [22/01/11]

Day 186: Kero [23/01/11]

Day 187: Kenan the boss [24/01/11]

Day 188: Music [25/01/11]

i tried listening to music while going to sleep. i know for sure that i can't sleep if theres sound or light, but listening to music prior to going to bed is somewhat soothing especially when i've got Gas or the Lickets on. it kind of puts my mind in a trance and 20 minute drone ambient tracks whizz by without me noticing and when i turn off the iPod and go to sleep, i am at ease and i have not one, but two layers of dreams. yikes.

Day 189: Al dente [26/01/11]

this one's called "Stella was a diver and she was always down"

Background Music: T. Rex - Rip Off

365: Day 176 - 182

Background Music: Cymbals Eat Guitars - And the Hazy Sea

Day 176: Closer [13/01/11]

Day 177: The bookshelf [14/01/11]

the thing i'm most excited about moving is getting a brand new bookshelf to house my books. at least now i get to put all my books in one place. plus i get to design how my new room would look like. a New York loft apartment with wooden floors would be awesome.

Day 178: The Guardian [15/01/11]

this intrigues me immensely. a bird's nest amongst my dad's orchid plants, and with an egg in it! joy!

Day 179: Stories [16/01/11]

Day 180: Old boys [17/01/11]

i don't think any of us are happy with how we are drowning in our own respective routines. i get a little bit depressed when old buddies are only able to meet over a meal and talk for only two short hours - trying to cram our present lives into bite sized conversations and realizing that we are all fundamentally talking about the same thing. our routine.

Day 181: Look what came in the mail yesterday [18/01/11]

Day 182: Faster [19/01/11]

today marks the first half of this 365 project. as of today, it has already been six months since i first started this project. i'm not surprised by how i've already reached the half-way mark, but by how much time has already flew past by like a speeding car on the freeway. there are definitely days when i can't seem to churn anything creative or worthwhile for this project, but the fact that i stuck to the project for this long shows that i definitely have something i never thought i had.

i am committed.

nº 3

Background Music: Kanye West - Power

from my first roll of film using the Diana. the fact that i used a slow film, coupled with a camera that doesn't have a flash unit and a slot for tripod usage made this camera a royal pain to use. but as it turns out, the shots that worked came out quite alright. i'm pretty stoked by the initial results, though. with a faster film and a little bit of patience, i wouldn't mind holding onto this borrowed camera a little bit longer. shot using Fujicolor PRO 160S.

1. Red eye

2. Boxing day at Las Carretas

3. The neighborhood

4. Yet another shot from the garden

5. xx

6. What's the story, morning glory? 2

7. Parkinson's 2

8. Skybridge/Creeper

9. Books

365: Day 169 - 175

Background Music: The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Science Fiction - Double Feature

i attempted to make this week's theme a "Photos from the Diana" set. unfortunately, i wasn't very careful with my shots and i am left with three days' worth of unusable Diana shots. it is a tough camera to use - what with there being absolutely no slot for tripod usage and no flash either. this camera isn't for the lazy, but i'm more than happy with the resulting shots. with proper films, i think i see myself using this a little longer.

Day 169: Monolith [06/01/11]

Day 170: Parkinson's [07/01/11]

Day 171: Angeline and Hanis [08/01/11]

Day 172: Yuki N. [09/01/11]

Day 173: The obligatory monthly gratuitous picture of yourself: January [10/01/11]

Day 174: Antennas to heaven [11/01/11]

Day 175: What's the story, morning glory? [12/01/11]

Best Shots From 2010

Background Music: Explosions In the Sky - First Breath After Coma

in the year 2010, i hit several new photography hallmarks.

first of all, i started shooting in RAW, and it gave me huge amounts of options to photo editing as well as photo salvaging. 2010 also saw me finally starting a 365 days project after many many many months of contemplation - and although it may seem a tad peculiar to start the project in the middle of the year, i find that this project has been beneficial to my photography skills, at least in trying to find a slightly more interesting point of view to tell the story of my photos. i've also accepted several requests to shoot graduation portraitures and a birthday party - these experiences are rather interesting because i don't usually tell people how to look here or there and pose, which was an eye opening experience for me. and the fact that people have asked for my help is absolutely flattering and gratifying because i'm glad that i have somewhat developed my photography skills to a certain accepted level since i started out two years ago.

it was also the year i briefly mentored two of my best friends, Chou Min and Chew, into becoming DSLR users themselves - each of them developing their own set of skills and subjects to photograph. feeding off the two and other slew of photographer friends, i.e. Iman, Zet, Alicia, and Chloe, and especially off of Flickr and its thousands of film photogs, i started seeing the world differently and how everything has potential for a good photo. 2010 also saw me delving into film photography, particularly lomography, and though i'm merely at the tip of the iceberg in this niche of film photography, i believe that 2011 will be the year i expand my knowledge further into this niche.

right now, i'm still finding ways to improve myself, especially with my 365 days project. 2011 will be the year i spread my wings further - delving deeper into the pretentious waters of film photography, and hopefully finally submitting a photo or two to some photography magazine? so here i present to you 12 of my favourite shots from 2010 in no particular order and a bonus usage of photoshop favourite!

1. Mothafuckaaaaa

2. Untitled

3. They don't sleep on the beach anymore

4. Walk hard

5. Khai Fen

6. Tak cukup-cukup main dengan choking hazard

7. Enjoy camera life

8. Who are they?

9. What's going on herrrrrrrrre 2

10. The sound of silence as the neon lights hit your skin

11. Angeline

12. Intimacy

and my favourite use of a photoshop filter!

Elevator (CCTV ver.)

365: Day 162 - 168

Background Music: Isis - Not In Rivers, But In Drops

Day 162: The obligatory monthly gratuitous picture of yourself: December [30/12/10]

Day 163: New Year's Eve at Desa Park City [31/12/10]

so what if we didn't go to the city and sat around in the swankiest bar/club/cafe looking like we're the hottest shits in town downing all the hard liquor and making resolutions we'll never keep past the first month? so what if i spent my New Year's Eve at a "party" organized by a goddamn suburb where everything is literally "family-friendly" with all the kiddy parks, bazaars, dance dance revolution games, and the dance floor closing at 2AM? so what if i don't want to get hammered while counting down the seconds to yet another year filled with uncertainties? so what if all i want to do is forget everything that has transpired over the past 12 months in the 10 minutes when everyone was looking up into the sky observing the fireworks of myriad colours and shapes?

if anything 2010 has thought me, it is to move on and appreciate what you have and don't fucking give a shit about what you don't. because if it was something you wanted so badly, you would've already gotten it.

Day 164: Bartholomew [01/01/11]

Day 165: Down with the sickness [02/01/11]

Day 166: Bed-ridden [03/01/11]

Day 167: The worst picture i've taken so far [04/01/11]

Day 168: Candy [05/01/11]