ROLL 2021#11 The Nikon F3 was back

Marina Bay Sands (who said “again?”)

This is bit back to the future as I already posted about rolls 12,13, and 15, but rest assured roll 10 will come in due time. I was complaining last week about life in Singapore being less photogenic since the Covid started last year. Man I did not knew what was coming.

Stands of the floating stadium

For one week now we are in Heightened alert mode, basically we are back in a quite strict mode, mostly : non essential workers are asked to stay home, it is not possible to eat or drink outside (eateries can thankfully to take away), quarantine form most countries are extended to 3 weeks in selected hotels and coming into Singapore is quite difficult (even for residents).

The Padang

Having enjoyed a lot more freedom than most countries since last July, we feel taken a bit aback by this new deal. So my color roll shot a couple of weeks before this soft lockdown 2.0 seems quite joyful and interesting for the place in time where I write from.

Tan Si Chong Su Temple

We were discussing our last holidays abroad, which were in March 2020, when we could still fly (in half empty planes though) and I remembered that I brought the Nikon F3 to Thailand and shot only two or three rolls before putting it back in the box. So it was time to pick it up again and give it another go.

Lonely smoker

I will explain a bit later this month but I am downsizing a few things, so I am shooting what’s left in the fridge rather than go and by fresh film. So I picked up my last roll of Portra 400, which is a bit overkill for just walking around, but ok I an clearing my fridge. The roll was shot over two days around Singapore.

Drink stop

I put the 50mmF1.4 on the F3, because my other lenses are too big for just walking around. I must say I have always been a big proponent of the 50mm, claiming the 28 / 50/ 135 were the trinity of my generation, and only young punks would walk around with a 35 as their normal lens. But I think I have moved my point of view a little bit…

The yellow Burmese girl

I have used many 35mm on the Leica system (film or digital) and I finally came quite used to it (I own 3 😦 ). The versatility of the 35mm, with a field of view larger by more than 30% is quite impressive and I think I really appreciate it on the Leica’s to the point that I find the 50mm narrow. Off course you have to step closer to your subject, but that’s not so much or a problem with a small rangefinder.

Sunday silliness

Getting closer with a SLR, even a small old fellow as the F3 is a bit less easy. Also (I am happy to be corrected) it seems the offer in term of 35mm (Vintage of course) is a bit lesser that the offer in 50mm, where Nikon has a few outstanding lenses.

Sunday Party – Tik Tok style

So ok I feel now that the 50 is a bit narrow but at the same I don’t think I will invest in a new (even a new old) lens for the Nikon at this point) (And remember I am decluttering).

Fishy business

The roll was processed at Whampoa Colours, scanned by their good services, and shared on the web. Damn I still have not collected my negs. The combo F3 + 50mmF1.4 AIS + Porta did a fairly good job. I shot most of the time in Auto mode, meaning the speed is controlled automatically by the aperture I selected, quite easy with a 400 ISO film (shot at 320).

Thian Hock Keng Temple (Really tight shot)

It seems the focusing of the F3 with the 50 is quite ok, I would need to try with the original 35-70 F3.5 AI Pro see if I have any problems. But that’s a heavy lens, not for casual walks.

A well deserved treat.

A final though for the road, a lot of my pictures from 25-30 years suck, I feel very bad, because souvenirs from this time are scarce, but on the upside It looks like my photography has progressed.

Hope you enjoyed the reading, stay safe.

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A NIGHT TRIP TO SENOKO FISHERY PORT (Film version)

This is  a small follow-up to my former post : A NIGHT TRIP TO SENOKO FISHERY PORT .

These pictures were shot on Cinestill 800T with a Leica M6 with Summicron 35 Asph v2 or 50mm V5. Processed at the lab around the corner and scanned at home with the Epson v800.

I shot the roll at 640 ISO, still I found the pictures being under exposed, unlike the roll I shot in Tokyo last year.

She is the boss.

 

A night trip to Senoko fishery port

So after the Road Side vegetables market of Toa Payoh we are heading north to Senoko fishery port. There is wholesale fish market providing stock from local fish trawlers, in-shore vessels and fish farms as well as imported sources, and distributes to markets, supermarkets, food courts and restaurants across Singapore

The market is located at 31 Attap Valley Road, Singapore 759908; east to Woodlands checkpoint. It is lucky hat one of my friends was driving otherwise it would have been  difficult to get there and back.

Around midnight the market starts to be busy. Individuals come here for cheaper seafood particularly in this time coming up to Chinese new year.

But the market is also preparing orders for hawkers, wet markets and the restaurants of Singapore.

The place is busy, the ground slippery, that’s a nice small adventure.

You can find different products types, like crabs, prawns and fish from all types.

Each company have its own delimited concrete square , with scales and a boss, noting down orders

The work of others is always a nice show to behold.

People are quite friendly, I did not really go asked not to take a picture, but the place is very busy so mind not standing in the way.

Prawns or shrimps arriving and being thrown to the ground. They will be sorted manually later.

Outside more fish is coming.

Ice is a big business here.

All shots Leica M262, Summilux 50mmv2

Toa Payoh Markets

Saturday Low Che Ng, the man behind the facebook group “Lets shoot Film SG” organized an outing in Toa Payoh area in central Singapore ; mostly visiting two markets (apparently there are more around there)

I packed a bit too much gear, but mostly for this post, I shot two rolls of Cinestill 800 with the Hasselblad 500cm and 80mmF2.8. The films were processed in express by one of the labs we still have here : Konota. They were scanned at home on the Epson v800 and Silverfast, using the Portra 400 VC 6×6 profile.

I never really managed to get perfect exposure with the 800T, but generally I shoot them at 640 and process at box speed, giving it a bit of over exposure. The markets were very nicely lit and indoor and shots were generally done at 1/125 F4.

The Jackfruit man

The first market has a first floor hosting a few stalls and giving a nice view of the ground level.

The reluctant model (I will print and bring her the picture in order to appease her)

For outdoors shot I did not use any filters. Just a bit of post processing in Lightroom ; it looks like the color rendering is quite OK.

These two rolls are dating back from the kick-starter project of the Cinetstill 120 format, it appears they survived nicely in the fridge (there are 3 more there).

The second market (Toa Payoh Lor 7 Market I think)  is a bit smaller in term of food but the hawker center was quite busy and nobody seemed too bothered by six photographer hanging around.

The amount of detail in the shots is amazing despite of the grain, in the shot above at full size, you can see the cigarette butt glowing.

A lot of sitting and waiting it seems.

And playing with phones

At the back was a small shrine attended by the lady with the green hat.

And finally a stall selling the king of fruits : Durian.

As for every activity in Singapore we have a fodd break, tasting an amazing carrot cake at xin ji fried carrot cake (for non Singaporeans you have to google to check what this is, and come around to try it) .

I also did two half rolls of B&W in 35mm so maybe you will hear more about the Toa Payoh markets soon.

Hoi An – The fishermen

Basket boats

During the Vietnam trip we stayed 3 days on the coast between Hoi An and Danang. We drove all the way from Hué, through the “cloud pass”, through Danand, and passed the Marble mountains to the hotel; all in all a 3 hours drive. On this part of the coast fishermen are using round basket boat; I saw a few or our drive but they were a bit far off or we did not have the possibility to stop to investigate and take some pictures. So I was a bit frustrated when getting to our resort; I’m not too much of the sea-side photographer and anyway the weather was not so good.

Walking along the beach, what was my surprise after getting out of the resort to see a group of these basket boast ashore; I had to ran back to the hotel get a camera and snap a few shots. The next morning I was back and so the next evening; in both occasions when I spotted the guys rowing back to the beach. They have me pay for my taking picture by asking me to help carry their boat out the water, which I found a very fair trade.

Shots on this page are made either with the 50mmF1.8D or with the Angenieux 70-210F3.5AI

The return of the fishermen – Fort Galle – Sri Lanka

While in Sri Lanka I missed the fishermen on stilts, which can be found in many places along the coast  and actually not too far from Galle (pronounce Goal). I have been warned by different people that the are mostly doing for the tourists now, as my guide put it, they do it for real and may not be here when you go there, or it’s just for the show. Anyway I would not have mind taking a few shots for a few rupiahs, but I just missed the show.

However when arriving in Galle I noticed that there are quite a few fishing boats along the shore and I went for a stroll on the morning of our departure for Colombo. This is just outside of the walls of the Fort when to the east. Just 10 minutes walk from the Amangalla hotel (see my TripAdvisor review )

Fishermen return from the sea with fish when they are lucky, here are some of the catch.

I was a bit stressed to have wandered away before the imminent departure so I did not pay too much attention at my shooting : fatal mistake.  Only the first picture is ok grade I think, but I like sharing.