At the end of the year I feel expired

I am just trying to make a catchy title for this roll of Fuji Neopan 400 that expired in May 2014 and that I processed in Caffenol Delta. I very rarely shoot film that is so expired, that roll was entrusted to me by young fellow film photographer Brian Teo a few weeks back.

I shot the roll with the Leica IIIc and mostly the Elmar 50mm F3.5, but a couple of shots were also done with the Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mmF4. I processed the film with my Caffenol Delta recipe adjusted for 500 ml.

The recipe consist of 500 ML of water to use :

• 16 g of Arm and Hammer washing soda
• 10 g of pure Vitamin C
• 20 g of Nescafe Classic

At my average 28 Degree Celsius I process for 4’40”, 20 seconds inversion and then 3 inversions every minute.

I fixed with my first mix of Ilford Rapid Fixer for 11 minutes, this is my 18th film fixed with this batch, I’ll mix some new one next week. I don’t use a stop bath and use Ilford method for rinsing the developer and the fixer.

The result is quite grainy, which I blame on the age of the film. The film was also very clean, not much dust cloning was required. I think this is going to be my last roll processed in Caffenol this year, but I still hope to shoot a bit more before Friday.

The shot really shows my usual subjects when walking around Singapore : mostly passing strangers. I have added a couple more themes this time:

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Weddings

I stumble across a couple of weddings, actually only two shots turned out ok, but I met two other couples these last weeks.

I also made a short trip to Coney Island on the north shore. This popular leisure spot is also a good photo opportunity.

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Coney Island

More random stranger below

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Finally a bit of news

Santa was here

Lliang Court mall is dressed to go down

Robinsons shops are closing.

I hope everybody will have a great end of the year. See you in 2021, until then keep om shooting

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Moai Galore – Easter island – May 2015

Rano Raraku – Moai quarry

We had the chance to pay a second visit to the quarry where the Moais were carved on a sunny afternoon. The statues were there waiting for us.

The guy above was called “The tattooed Moai” by our guide. He wears a carving of what looks like the westerner boats that came to the island in the 17th century. Was it carved by locals or by un-respectful traveler, that’s another mystery.

Apart from its iconic statues Rano Raraku also offers a fantastic scenery with a view on the ocean and further left the platform with the 11 Moais.

Also the site is beautiful view from a distance.

Camera:Nikon D700
Lens:Nikkor 50mmf1.8 / Nikkor 17-35F2.8 / Nikkor 80-200F2.8D

Most of thee shots make use of circular polarizer, I hope the effect is not too heavy.

The Agfa Isolette goes to the end of the world

A once in a lifetime trip, done for the second time : April – May we went on a family trip from Singapore, to Auckland, to Tahiti, to Easter Island and back. In total more than 30 thousand kilometers or travel. And on top of packing both swimsuit and polar jumpers (Auckland and Easter Island are on the cold side compare to our usual 30 degrees), the eternal question. What camera do I take.

Of course the Nikon D700 is part of the trip, with the perfect travel combo: 50mmF1.8, 17-35F2.88 amd 80-200F2.8, a few filters, several cards in my new Pelican Case CF card holder, a spare battery, charger, flashgun, and Tripod (barely used). For film I immediately settled for the waterproof Heineken Camera loaded with Tri-x for fun and beach and then I pondered what serious film camera I should bring.

Although I have a kind of return of love for the Leica, I think it is too fragile for this trip. The Hassie is too big for the hiking part in Easter island, the Nikons are a bit too unpredictable (although it would have been fun to bring the F3 back there after 20 years). Finally I decided for the Agfa Isolette, it is small enough not to be a pain to carry so I can eventually forgive bad results if any.

The Agfa still has a problem with the rangefinder, so I have to guestimate the distance and report it on the lens but all in all with Tri-X and bright sun most of the pictures are taken around F11 so focus is not an issue.

I only shot two rolls, all in Easter Island also called Rapa Nui in local dialect.

One day on the Anakena beach I met a nice Chilean lady with a Rolleiflex taking shots of the beach and the statues who are sitting on its background. I was as so happy to meet a charming fellow film photographer that I offered us a roll of Rollei RPX 400 to try.

We stayed at the wonderful Explora Hotel, unforgettable experience there; we made a couple of hikes with the new manager Francisco as above on top of the highest peak of the island.

Did I mention that this is our second time there? We went in 1995, 20 years ago for our honeymoon; I was carrying the Nikon F3 then, so this is why I considered bringing it back. I had a couple of old shots on my phone and inquired about people on them. Unfortunately on the three identifiable person, 2 have passed away; but the young boy visible on one, is now thirty and a father of two have I been told. I did not manage to meet him though.

Singapore Photo Walk – Jan 2015 – Pulau Ubin (1 on 2)

All the rituals are starting again with the new year and the “Singapore Photo Walks” organized by Bernard Goh are part of them.

My son loves them because of the lunch that follows in local eateries; they are quite informal and Bernard makes his best to bring us to interesting places of Singapore; we go some new places and we also revisit some. This is not very technical outing, but discussing gear and techniques is always part of the outing. I realized I am no more the only film shooter ; some ladies came last summer with some Canon or Olympus SLR and last month Mano turned up with a Leica M4-P.

So January was time to go back to Pulau Ubin; Ubin is  small island at the north east of Singapore, 10 minutes from the cost, in the middle of the straight between Singapore and Malaysia. This is my 3rd or 4th time there but the first with the group. Taking the boat is already an adventure, they are some oldish style motor boats that take a dozen people for the ride from Changi Village.

The walk was actually a ride, as Ubin is known as a cycling place among Singaporeans, there is not traffic apart from a couple of local cars and taxis; the island is flat. This is the first time I cycle there, I normally prefer to walk.

Cycling implied that the gear is kept to a minimum. My son took his Nikon p7100, I took the folding Agfa loaded with TMAX100 and the Leica M4 with some Rollei Slide film.

The discovery of the day was the Wei Tuo Fa Gong Temple ;it really made us feel like being on holidays in one of the surrounding countries.

 

The kitchen inside a village (Kampong) house on the island of Pulau Ubin. The man leaving there is selling drinks to tourists cycling by; I think he cooks just for himself.

Singapore is so small we also managed to bump into some friends I have not seen for a while; we dropped out of the group for lunch back at Changi Village and had some Ipoh hor fun (noodles with chicken) at the hawker center.

The  rangefinder of the Agfa is not fixed nor is the winding knob, but the guessometer works just fine thank you.

Second part to follow with the slides soon as they take a good two weeks to process and this week most business were closed for Chinese new year.