Need More Films

I need more films! But the thing is I’m broke right now. Haha! That is the downside of doing analog photography compared to going digital, you still need moolah for buying and developing films. I’d love to go digital and will do one of these days but I’m not giving up analog, more specifically, lomography. My cousin tells me I can do all those lomo effects in digital too, with the help of PhotoShop, of course. I’m very much aware of that and I do that sometimes but you know, where’s the fun in that? Lomography is all about the fun and the surprise! I have this impression that you need to impress people when you’re using a DSLR. I mean, come on, you’re using a professional camera for goodness’ sake, your shots should be pretty impressive or else all the money you used to buy the camera would be pretty useless.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not mocking DSLR users, this is just for my case… I think I should be a good photographer for me to deserve a DSLR. It’ll be like owning a grand piano but not knowing how to play piano, making the grand piano useless. In lomography’s case, you’re allowed to make “happy mistakes” or accidental beautiful shots. You don’t need to perfectly compose your photos, you don’t need to adjust anything on your camera, you don’t even have to look through the viewfinder. Now isn’t that fun?

So, anyway, back to the title of my post…  need more films. Well, first I want to give pinhole photography another shot. And also wanna try this double sprocket thing or what others call 70mm. you use two 35mm films in a medium format camera like my Holga. A single shot will result to an image in two overlapping 35mm films with sprockets in the middle. Can you picture what I’m trying to describe? Okay, I had to snag this photo by adamscott just so  you’ll see what I mean.

You can read more about it in the tipster written by adamscott.

Edited: June 29th, 2009

Pinhole Take 1

A few months ago, I attempted to make my own pinhole camera from scratch. It’s supposed to be made out of matchbox and I couldn’t find one that time so I improvised my own. I tested it already and had the film developed and scanned and here’s what came out of the roll:

Looks kinda creepy but it looks cool too! Haha! I’m not sure what I did wrong but I have some clues. First possible reason could be the exposure. Maybe I left the hole open too long thus, the overexposure. Another possible reason could be the thickness of my matchbox. Mine was a little thinner so it may have resulted again to overexposure. The third possible reason could be beacuse I used an overly expired film. I know, what was I thinking? I was too excited and that was the only film I had in hand that time. So, I thought that would have to do. And the last reason could be the combination of all these reasons. Haha! Oh well. But I’m not giving up. It’ll be like trying the best diet pills until you find the best of the best. I’ll be more cautious in my next attempt. Maybe I’ll have to start building the easier pinhole camera first, the one with the template.And I’ll hope against hope that this time it’ll work. If not then like what they say… try and try until you succeed!

Edited: June 28th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Dito Lang (Only here)

Magandang Huwebes mga ka-LP!

Alam mo ba na dito lang sa Pinas merong Lambanog? Ang Lambanog ay isang uri ng Arrack. Ano nga ba ang Arrack? Japanese ng alak? Haha! Corny! Ang arrack ay alak na gawa sa burong prutas, tubo, o dagta ng niyog. Isa sa mga paborito ko ang lambanog kase madali akong malaseng. Haha! Ayoko lang dito ay isa itong traydor… akala mo ay okay ka pa pero pag naglakad ka ay gegewang-gewang na.

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Did you know that you can find Lambanog only here in the Philippines. Lambanog is what they call the coconut vodka. It is a type of Arrack or an alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit, sugarcane, or sap of coconut palms. This is one of my favorite drinks because of it’s high alcohol content. Haha! What I don’t like about it is it’s a traitor. You think you’re still sober until you stand up and try to walk.

Edited: June 25th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Lahat Ay Payak (Everything Is Simple)

Magandang Huwebes mga ka-LP! Ang lahok ko ngayong linggong ito ay isang larawan ng aking mga kaibigan sa aming tambayan nung ako ay nasa kolehiyo pa.

Diba’t napaka-saya ng buhay estudyante dahil lahat ay simple o payak? Ayan at patambay-tambay lang sa pagitan ng mga klase at nagku-kwentuhan o kaya ay natutulog ng saglit dahil puyat galing sa gimikan nung nakaraang gabi. Nakaka-miss ang buhay estudyante!

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My entry for this week is a photo of my friends and our corner in our scholl during our “college days.” Those were the days when everything seems so simple… just hanging out with friends in-between classes or taking a short nap because of lack of sleep due to the night out the other day. I miss student life!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Edited: May 22nd, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Nang Matapos

Magandang Huwebes mga ka-LP! Naalala niyo ba ang lahok ko nuong isang linggo? Eto na sila nang matapos ang isang araw na pagkakababad sa tubig…

Di ba nakakatuwa, lalo na yung mga bilog-bilog? Yung pugita gigantic na siya ngayon dahil isang linggo na siyang naka-babad sa tubig. Haha!

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Happy Thursday everyone! Do you remember my entry last week? Well, here’s how they look now after being soaked in water for at least 24 hours. Don’t they look cute, especially the small balls? The octopus is now gigantic because it’s been soaked in water for a week now.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!

Edited: May 14th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Simula Pa Lamang

Ano kaya koneksiyon ng pugitang to sa tema ngayong linggo no? Simula pa lamang ito ng paglalaro ng aking mga pamangkin. Haha! Ang pugitang ito at ang mga maliliit na bilog-bilog ay ibinababad sa tubig hanggang ito ay lumaki. Ano kaya ang itsura nila pag lumaki no? Malalaman natin sa susunod na linggo.

Magandang Huwebes mga ka-LP!

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This octopus and the small balls around it are the start of my niece and nephew’s play time. You soak this in water and they’ll get big after some time. How will it look when it’s bigger? We’ll find out in next week’s Litratong Pinoy theme.

Happy Thursday everyone!

Edited: May 7th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Tulay

There’s a bridge to tomorrow, there’s a bridge from the past
There’s a bridge made of sorrow that I pray will not last
There’s a bridge made of colors in the sky high above
And I think that there must be bridges made out of love

Magandang araw mga ka-LP! Ang lahok ko ngayong linggong ito ay walang iba kungdi ang Jones Bridge na makikita sa Maynila. Kuha ito noong unang EB ng LP noong araw ng Kalayaan noong isang taon.

Ang Puente de España, na nagdudugtong sa Binondo at Ermita, ay unang itinayo noong 1701 kapalit ng Puente Grande na nasira nung lumindol noong 1863. Noong 1916 ay Itinayo ulit ng mga Amerikano ang tulay at isinunod ang pangalan nito kay Atkinson Jones na isang miyembro ng US Congress at chairman ng Insular Affairs Committee na nag-sponsor ng Philippine Autonomy Act ng 1916, o ang mas kilala natin bilang Jones Law. Narito ang larawan ng Jones Bridge noon.

(Photo from wikimapia.org)

Ang ganda diba? Sayang lang at hindi na-preserve ng gobyerno natin ang dati nitong itsura.

Happy LP!

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Happy Thursday everyone! My entry for this week is a photo Jones Bridge which is located in Manila. I took this shot during Litratong Pinoy’s 1st EB last year.

Puente de España, which connects Binondo and Ermita, was built in 1701 replacing Puente Grande, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1863. The Americans rebuilt it in 1916 and renamed it after Atkinson Jones, a member of the U.S. Congress and chairman of the Insular Affairs Committee who sponsored the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916 (Jones Law).

Edited: April 30th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Hardin

Magandang araw mga ka-LP! Pasensiya na at medyo nahuli ang lahok ko ngayong linggo. Nawala sa loob ko na Huwebes na pala. Ang aking lahok ay ang hardin ng gasang na makikita sa ilalim ng dagat. Siyempre hindi ito kuha talaga sa ilalim ng dagat. Hehe! Ito ay kuha sa Manila Ocean Park nung huli naming punta doon ng aking kapatid kasama ang kanyang pamilya.

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I apologize for my late Litratong Pinoy entry for this week, I lost track of the date and didn’t notice that it is already Thursday. Anyway, my entry for this week is a garden that can be found under the sea… a garden of corals. Of course, this was was not taken underwater (how I wish!) but rather, I took this the last time I went to Manila Ocean Park with my sister and her family. Happy LP everyone!

Edited: April 16th, 2009

Litratong Pinoy: Paboritong Litrato

Magandang Biyernes mga ka-LP! Kamusta kayo? Ang inet diba? Bago ang lahat ay gusto kong bumati ng Happy Birthday sa Litratong Pinoy! Yehey! Isang taon na ang LP at sana ay matagal pa tayong magkasama-sama!

Narito ang lahok ko para sa linggong ito…

Ito ang pinaka-bagong paborito ko na litrato na aking kinunan. Siyempre pa at Lomo na naman yan… hanggang plastic na kamera lang kase ang kaya kong bilhin. Haha! Kuha ito sa Punto Miguel sa Anilao, Batangas noong isang, isang linggo. Sobrang tirik ng araw niyan. Talagang iba na ang panahon ngayon. Naalala ko noong 2000-2001, kung saan halos linggo-linggo ay nasa Anilao kami, kahit maghapon kami lumangoy at magpaaraw ay hindi naman ako masyadong umiitim. Pero ngayon, halos dalawang oras lang ako naka-bilad sa araw at nasunog agad ang aking balat, as in sunog.

Ang tawag dun sa mga butas sa gilid ay “sprockets.” Ang film kse talaga para sa Holga ko na camera ay ang 120 format. Mas malaki ito kesa sa karaniwang 35mm film kaya’t pag ginamitan ng 35 ang Holga ay nasasakop ng isang frame pati yung mga butas sa gilid nung film. Naintindihan niyo ba? Pasensiya na at magulo talaga ko magpaliwanag. Haha! Kita din pati yung mga numero at detalye nung film na ginamit ko.

Wala din akong proseso na ginawa para maging ganyan ang kulay at itsura ng larawan. Diba’t napaka-old school ng dating? Haha! Kaya ulet naging ganyan yan ay gumamit ako ng slide film at pina cross-process ko eto. Magkaiba kse ang kemikal na ginagamit pag develop ng ordinaryong colored film at slide fim. Pag cross-process ay gagamitin nila ang kemikal na dapat ay para sa colored film para i-develop ang slide film. At yan ang kinalabasan, ang kakaiba niyang kulay at depende din yan sa brand ng film na ginamit.

Sana ay nagustuhan niyo ang lahok ko ngayong linggong ito. Salamat sa pagbisita!

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Before anything else… Happy 1st Birthday Litratong Pinoy!!! Yay!

This is my entry for this week… my newest favorite photo that I took. Again, this is lomo because plastic cameras are all that I can afford. Haha! This photo was taken ac ouple of weekends ago at Punto Miguel in Anilao, Batangas. The sun was so hot that day and the weather has really changed. I remember when we used to go Anilao almost every weekend way back in 2000-2001, even if we stay out in the sun for almost the whole day, I didn’t get sunburned very much. But this time, I only stayed out for about a couple of hours and I was already burnt, and I mean burnt and not just tanned.

The holes on the sides of the photo are called sprockets. The Holga camera uses a 120 film format. It is bigger than the common film we use, the 35mm, that’s why when you use a 35 film on a Holga, the frame is bigger than the film itself so the photo occupies even the sprockets of the film. You can even see the details of the film I used.

I also didn’t edit the photo. Again, I used a slide film and had it cross-processed. It was developed using chemicals intended for ordinary colored film.

Edited: April 3rd, 2009

Pluto’s First Day Out

We went to Punto Miguel in Anilao, Batangas last weekend and it was the first time I brought Pluto with me. I brought my ever reliable pink Holga with me too but I only took a few photos because the sun was too hot. But I was able to take some photos of Pluto around the resort and here are a few…

I notice that the shots from the Velvia film is greenish when processed. Next time I’ll try other brands of film and not to cross-process it.

You can see the rest of the Punto Miguel set here.

Edited: March 27th, 2009