Finishing Off My Last Few Rolls of Expired Film

there was a time when i could plough through a roll of film in a single day taking pictures of everything and anything in a so called self-discovery of sorts. inspired by the likes of Patrick Tsai's Talking Barnacles, back then the endeavour was clearly not impossible when a roll of fresh film cost less than RM10. it is indeed disappointing that a roll of Fujifilm Superia 200 now costs nearly three times what it used to be. granted, the circumstances surrounding the film photography industry and the shitty economy ensures that every shot now counts - a mental conditioning that makes it rather difficult for yours truly to completely expose a paltry 24 exposure roll over the span of a weekend. nonetheless, i am making some modicum of effort to finish exposing these expired rolls of film i vowed to expose many years ago. this is certainly some form of insanity - saying the same thing over and over again expecting different results. perhaps it is now time to act on this insanity.

Canon AE-1

Fujifilm Superia 200 (Expired)

Look UP

Superheadz UWS

Kodak Zoom 800 (Expired)

My Last Instagram Photo

for the past few months i struggled with what i wanted to say on Instagram. did i want to continue making my stream exclusively for cellphone photographs, or did i want to start posting more of my film and DSLR photos? putting up old photos from the Contax T2 and giving them hundreds of tags ultimately felt pointless and hollow, just like all the likes from followback hungry Instaphotogs. perhaps i am in a photography funk, blaming all my inactivity on a platform that is supposed to inspire. but still, my problems with Instagram still lie in its "too perfect" calculated sheen too prevalent in social media - only a hundred times amplified here on Instagram. something about the meticulousness of the content feels cold and mechanical. the photos are nice and all, but i still cannot come to terms as to how most of these Instaphotogs get such perfect lighting all the time!

600 photographs into my photostream, and i feel like i've lost the steam to try and impress myself with all the likes and notifications. the whole point of it is lost, and becomes nothing but hollow gratification. perhaps it's time to focus my creative output elsewhere and leave this medium behind. maybe now is the time to take more photographs and slow down with all the sharing. after all, i imagine a photo one puts up on Instagram gets an average of 2.5 seconds of viewing before the user scrolls down to the next photograph of somebody's flat laid lunch. goodbye, Instagram. i will try not to miss all the photostreams of the cute girls i follow.

One Year

one year apart from each other's graduation ceremonies. amazing how time passes so quickly.

Helios 40-2 1.5/85

i took the plunge, and am now a proud owner of a Helios 40-2 1.5/85 lens. this particular unit already had a Canon EF mount attached to it, which saves me the trouble of picking up another M42 to EF mount converter. this is surprisingly a mammoth of a lens, weighing nearly one kilo. this gives the lens a solid feel to its build, though i imagine it'll be a challenge to shoot on the go. as one would imagine, it is a manual focus lens that requires a little bit of patience and luck to nail the perfect shot. i admit i haven't had the proper chance to field test the lens, but so far i'm rather pleased by the results. shooting wide open gives a softness to the photographs, and closing down several stops, the photographs come out surprisingly sharp like the Helios 44-2. not pin sharp, but sharper than what i expect from a lens of this reputation.

though this isn't my first time playing around with an 85mm lens, it is nice to actually own one. it gives me more to play with, granted i don't break my back or neck lugging this beast around. here's hoping a field test happens soon enough.

Fujifilm Simple Ace Disposable Camera

the best thing about disposable cameras is how one only needs to consider one thing before taking a photograph - is well lit enough that i don't need to use the flash? the practicality of such cameras is made all the more rewarding by the fact that the pictures come out better than i had expected. perhaps this is due to my usage of expired films for past five or so rolls that i had forgotten how freshly made films turn out. where there is colour, the colours are saturated beautifully. pictures come out sharp despite the plastic lens, unlike the lomography line of cameras. and for an ISO400 film, the grain is hardly noticeable. had i known that these make for great photographs, i'd have picked up some more in my last trip to Tokyo. at less than 1000yen a pop, it's a great novelty camera. it's too bad they go for triple the price on ebay. i won't be holding my breath for those.

Fujifilm Simple Ace Disposable Camera

LomoChrome Purple XR

some months ago in a foreign city, i stumbled upon a film cooler selling a plethora of freshly produced film. as i had been out of the analog photography game for the longest of time, most of the selections didn't interest me too much until i saw boxes of Lomography's LomoChrome Purple XR in 35mm. at 1500yen a pop, i hesitated a little bit before making my purchase. however, having recalled how the LomoChrome Purple XR pretty much emulates the feel of the Kodak Aerochrome, i bid adieu to 1500yen and brought a roll of the LomoChrome Purple XR home with me.

the biggest challenge for yours truly was to find subjects worthy of such a pricey roll of film. to get the best out of the film's potential was to photograph greenery, of which might be plenty about here in Kuala Lumpur south, however i had already photographed said places to death in my various photo walks in the past. same subjects be damned, but the purple experimentation meant a different take on the same subject, which i conceded at the end of the day. and drove around i did - with lengthy gaps in between when the mood strikes yours truly right. in total, it took eight months to fully expose the film, which surprisingly wasn't the longest gap between procuring said film and developing it (the award goes to the as-of-yet unexposed expired ISO800 rolls i procured way back in 2010-2011).

lengthy digressions aside, the LomoChrome Purple XR works phenomenally well when exposed properly. having played with various ISO settings ranging from ISO50-400, the results varied from properly exposed to mostly being underexposed. i suspect the underexposure in some of the shots were due to incorrect metering. the underexposure darkens the details to the point of seeming muddy. the occasional overexposure gives the images a turquoise tint akin to a cross-processed slide film which doesn't sit well with me. for the most part, i'm happy with the shots featuring greenery, and especially those featuring different shades and hues of purple and the occasional turquoise to contrast the purple. the grain is acceptable, but becomes prevalent in underexposed shots. correct exposure is key in order to obtain the desired shot - of which i lack for the more constrasty surroundings (strong lights versus shadows).

ultimately the LomoChrome Purple XR was an intriguing experimentation that i would love to explore even more. in fact, one might be hard pressed not to feel the urge to load another one of these babies into your camera after your first roll. though the price might be a turn off for some, it is an unavoidable fact that film is becoming more and more niche, what with the increasing prices of film and the discontinuation of too many film photography staples. despite all the hurdles one faces to enjoy film photography, i believe this roll is the first step in rekindling my love for analog photography. perhaps it is time to finish the remaining 35mm rolls in my dry box, or better yet, procure even more interesting films i've yet to experiment on! such exciting prospects!

Canon AE-1
Lomography LomoChrome XR 50-400

Helios 44-2 2/58 pt. III

here, i whipped it out again, the Helios 44-2 2/58. after some months of absence, and a feeling of ennui that strangely reeks of déjà vu, i once again found myself exploring the capabilities of the 44-2. granted, i had been playing with the lens on and off this year, it didn't feel like that much of an absence until CM pointed out that he hadn't seen this lens since last year. two things came to mind as he made that remark - it is nearly a year since i've first gotten reacquainted with the 44-2; the other thing being the realisation that i've made a number of my own photowalks the past year alone. they're not as fulfilling, but it gets the itch scratched.

nonetheless, this is probably the first time i've seriously field-tested the 44-2. as i've mentioned many times before, the swirly bokeh is to die for, the soft focus is a "feature" i love simply because it helps achieve the ethereal aesthetic i've always hoped to achieve in some of my photographs. but the one quirk that bothered me in the past is the lens' inability to focus to infinity. obviously, this made me unable to take scenery photographs with the Helios 44-2.

until i discovered that it is indeed possible to focus to infinity!

this is achieved by making sure the lens' aperture is set to f/5.6 or above when attempting to focus to infinity. i'm not sure why apertures f/2 to f/4.5 will not produce sharp infinite focus photos, perhaps it's just the quality of the lens. Russian cameras and lenses are not particularly known for quality, but hell, their characteristics and quirks certainly make for some interesting photographs. another thing that completely blew me away was how bloody sharp the images turned out when shot in f/16. i find that not only does the Helios 44-2 make for great portraiture photographs (provided you and your subject are patient), but it makes for a great general purpose photowalk lens. coupled with a full frame camera with higher ISO settings and low noise capabilities, i believe i've found a lens that will remain on my DSLR for a long time to come.

that is, until i choke up the cash to purchase the Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5. that lens is an absolute killer.

the tourist

i cannot recall the last time i walked the streets of Buki Bintang, but the one occasion i remember with vivid clarity was that time CM and i were nearly locked-in in Pudu prison. all that's left now is the iconic gates of the former prison and barriers advertising the promise of a new an exciting commercial hub in place of the ghostly halls and cells of Pudu prison. the piece of land remains undeveloped, rife with speculation that nobody with a healthy dose of superstition would ever want to develop any properties there.

the missing prison is merely one facet of the changing face of Bukit Bintang. walking along Jalan Sultan Ismail towards the direction of Pavilion, i am amazed by the lights and life that populate the streets. Arabic vendors line the streets, tempting me to dub that particular stretch the "Silk Road" of Bukit Bintang. as one approaches the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Bukit Bintang, a large LED cube greets the pedestrian with images of an aged Eric Cantona / Saddam Hussein promoting some telco company. again, i am tempted to call this intersection the "Times Square" of Bukit Bintang.

all these attempts to compare parts of Bukit Bintang with other locations is ultimately meaningless. just a passing first impression of somebody who hardly comes to this part of town and is awestruck by how much it has changed over the past five years. my experience sums up the phrase "to meet again for the first time". i know the place, but it has mutated to a form nearly unrecognisable that it becomes somewhat comedic for me. i was a tourist, returning years later after the fact.

in all fairness, i had had thoughts of photo walking the streets of Kuala Lumpur in the past, but they never come to fruition no thanks to procrastination and a general lack of a sense of safety in the city. luck would have it that i found company and a reason to visit the area, but unfortunately a camera was not in hand. all i took was this one photograph of my company, another "tourist" who had never walked the streets of Bukit Bintang. to experience a city, is to walk the streets and savour the atmosphere. Kuala Lumpur is no different - it is alive, albeit in a form barely recognisable but still charming in its own way. i still hope to walk the streets of KL with camera in hand, although i'll probably need a bodyguard or two if i don't want to get mugged.

Lost Photos

the Diana Baby 110 - always the forgotten child in my repertoire of Lomography camera. granted, it is a Diana camera, and my feelings re: this particular camera tend to sway towards the negative spectrum on most days when i add it to my arsenal. still, it occupies a space in my bookshelf, with at least one roll of 110 film left to expose. my first exploratory roll was met with mixed results, and my second roll mostly reflects how i initially felt about the camera. it took me a little bit more than a year to completely expose this roll, not merely because of how life gets in the way of taking photographs, but also because i cannot for the life of me find a suitable occasion to take this camera out of its dust-ridden shelf. my experimentation with a jerry-rigged flash didn't come to fruition post-roll one, so that automatically relegates the camera as an "outdoor-only" camera. even in mildly shaded areas, the pictures come out too washed out for my tastes. not only that, my initial thoughts re: the quality of the photographs are reaffirmed with the developing of the second roll - it's just not worth the extra effort anymore. perhaps that is why it took me so long to expose the roll. i'm already half-expecting the results to be shitty even before i make the exposure.

that might certainly be the elitist DSLR snob in me ranting on about a toy camera. for what it's worth, the Diana Baby 110 is an oddity in my repertoire (aside from the Lomography Konstruktor that failed miserably to properly expose its exploratory roll, a fault in the design and construction, perhaps). it probably makes for a pretty sweet keychain. as for that final roll of 110 film - there might be a time when a suitable project or occasion would call for its services, but for the time being, it sits in my drybox waiting the reckoning. or not.

The Greatest View: Tokyo City View, Roppongi Hills

last time, i went up the Tokyo Skytree and copped a view of the city along the Sumida river. the view was great and all, especially at night, but nothing quite compares to the view at Tokyo City View. like the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and the Tokyo Skytree, the reflective glasses are a bummer if one wants to photograph the night view of the city, though with a little bit of ingenuity and some patience, i managed to capture my favourite photograph of the entire trip. Tokyo really comes to life in the night time, all the activity happening on the ground level bottled in one fantastic view of the city,