Last Sunset Of 2008

As 2008 draws to a close, let us reflect upon the last sunset of the year... it wasn't glorious, but it was not disappointing either. All in all, an OK sunset but it could have been better of course. Still, we cannot complain, when there are people who do not even get to enjoy a decent sunset.







There were of course, some wonderful moment, short and fleeting as they may be.



But as we rush about with our festivities, to many others that share this day, year and earth, it's business as usual.





For many, stomachs still need filling, the cycle goes on as per normal.



Yep. To some, it's another day of survival. No time for festivities, or to let down one's guard.

Happy 2009 everyone. May the year ahead be one filled with compassion, love, prosperity and health for all man and animals alike.

Really Sad Day

It's sad when people have no pride in their own work and think it's ok to buy other people's work, passing it off as their own.

I am referring to creatives, or creatives in training, who think it's alright to download images online, be it paid or stolen, and passing it off as their own.

Where is your sense of achievement, your pride and your honour?

Or have we become a society so in need of instant gratification, with minimal effort that people actually see this as not wrong? Have we become so lenient in this respect that we think this is a trivial matter? It's NOT ok to buy stock images from stock libraries and call it your own. It is NOT ok to take images from someone else's account and say it's your work.

Either way, it's a sad day when one trains in the creative field yet does not have any pride in creating their own results, instead relying on "vending machine instant results".

Honestly, get some backbone, some of you. You know who you are. Have some pride. Unlikely you're reading this but if you buggers are, it's time to have some pride and honour.

Shanghai4 TLR shots

Here are some shots taken with the recently acquired Shanghai4 Twin Lens Reflex camera.

Initially, I was worried that the few specks of dirt on the picture taking lens and even the mirror would affect the picture quality, but apparently not. Either way, I've since sent the camera in for servicing (overly tight shutter due to dried lubricant, uneven lens plate surface and usual stuff that occurs with vintage cameras) and re-leathering. Basically this would mean pasting back the same leather so it holds on for a few more years of handling, or at least 1 year I hope.

Other accessories added include 2 X 34mm UV filters and 1 X 34 to 35.5mm step up ring, plus a 35.5mm Hoya metal lens hood.

This camera does not have a built in exposure meter, so having no handheld meter on hand, I used the caveman method of argaration. Used my trusty Nikon F601 to meter, took note of the aperture and shutter speed settings, then adjusted on the Shanghai4 accordingly or as close as I could. This resulted in less than ideal exposure but did give me a rather wider latitude for error and made the bulk of my focus areas' exposure decent enough. I cannot wait for my Sekonic L308 handheld meter to arrive in January 2009. :saliva8zc:

Here're the pictures, taken with Kodak Tri-X 400 B/W film. This camera will predominantly be shooting B/W.













One thing to note, if you're not looking to do multiple exposures, you must remember to advance the film after each shot because if you don't, the shutter release STILL fires. So all you purely digital pundits who wanna go into something like this, better get used to the PROPER photography techniques or you'd end up like this....



Yep, even as a seasoned FM2 user, where I need to manually advance the film after each shot, this mistake was made at least twice on this roll of film. Considering there were only 12 exposures, that's a 17% error possibility per roll. Sheeesh. I do kindda like the effect of this particular screw up though. :lol:

No post processing was done other than to resize it to 800 pixels wide and add a watermark.

Cheapskates & Dishonorable Prospects + Low Ballers = Ugly Singaporean

Ok, so I decided to list my entire Canon EOS system for sale, which comprised the following:

EOS 350D DSLR
18-55mm kit lens, superb and hardly used. So seldom is it used I do not even have sample pictures of pictures taken with the lens.
BG-E3 battery grip
Original Canon battery
Third party Canon battery from East Gear
Remote switch RS-60E3
UV filter for 18-55 lens
Flash hot shoe cover
LCD protected from day one
Low shutter count of less than 2600 shots fired
All for a low low price of $650!!!!

At the same time, I also listed my Metz flash for sale, the 54 MZ4i with SCA 3102 M3 foot adaptor, which allows for ETTL function on EOS 30D, 400D, 300D & of course the 350D. This was seldom used and I was throwing in free AA rechargeable batteries and the charger(the batts and charger are not new of course but still gives as good as day 1).

As with me, every thing that came in a box would be provided in a box, including all original plastic wrappings etc. In fact, someone commented that my equipment gave the impression that it was not even used at times other than some user scratches where there were moving parts or where materials rubbed against each other, eg flash hotshoe.

Here's where it got interesting.

Prospect 1 sends me an SMS:
P1: Hey, willing to sell your kit lens separately?
Me: Not unless I can find a buyer for the body, in any case, what price are you looking at for the kit lens?
P1: $40 (WTF have you been smoking? Where can I buy some?)
Me: Not at that price, sorry.

Prospect 2 enquired about the Metz flash through SMS:
P2: Hey, sent you a message about the Metz flash, does it work with 30D and 400D? What adaptor foot is being used? M2 or M3?
Me: M3, yes, it works with both 30D & 400D :-)
P2: Great! Can lower?
Me: Sorry it's abit hard to lower, but what's your budget?
P2: $400 (ok, quite decent but still too low)
Me: Sorry dude, $400's too low, best I can do for you is $420.
P2: Ok, with batteries?
Me: Yep, everything there as stated.
P2: Zoom head works? Cos some sellers I checked out, zoom head doesn't work.
Me: No worries, mine works perfectly. You can test.
P2: Ok deal!
Me: Ok when do you wanna collect? Tomorrow around Bugis at about 6?
P2: I stay Yew Tee and study at SIM, can meet West area? (YOU ASK FOR LOWER PRICE AND NOW YOU WANT DELIVERY!?!)
Me: Er dude, already shave off $30, and I live in the East. West abit too far, sorry.
P2: Ok lor, Bugis.
Me: Righto, see you tomorrow then.
Interlude: In between he sends me several SMS's asking me details such as where I bought it from etc and asks for pictures of the flash to be emailed to him that night to which I agreed. After emailing him and then sending him an SMS to tell him that pictures were sent, he replies with this kicker...
P2: My sincerest apologies. I have decided to go with Metz 58 AF or 580 EX II instead.
WTF!!!! You claim your budget is no more than $420, and now you expect you can get a much more expensive flash at that price? Geeez!

Prospect 3, sent through Private Message:
P3: Willing to sell your 350D battery grip at $50?
Me: No. (F**k off if you think it's only gonna be marginally higher than your princely sum of $50)

Prospect 4, calls me regarding the Metz flash:
P4: YA! You wan sell your Metz frash ijjit? (quoted as how he spoke)
Me: Er... yea, you are?
P4: I am Mr XXXX (name deleted for privacy reasons)
Me: Oh hi, yea selling it.
P4: Cannot go lower ah?
Me: Nope, this is a nett price, already losing money for a superb flash which I won't be needing.
P4: How much you bought it for that time ah?
Me: Close to $600
P4: Oh no lah, too high, my budget is below $400
Me: Ok, sorry. Bye (and again, piss off, low balling vulture!)

07 November 2008. NEW ADDITION TO THE LOWBALLERS HALL OF FAME:
Prospect 5 sends me an SMS regarding my Flash:
P5: Are you willing to let go of flash at $400?
Me: Lowest price is $420 sir. $400 without batteries and charger ok for you?
P5: What is the reason for sale? Can get at $420 but can give me one month personal guarantee against defects? (WTF! 1 MONTH! You spending $420, not $4.2 million or even 10% of that!!!! WAKE UP LAH! Even buying a 2nd hand body does not give you 1 month personal warranty!)
Me: Even cam don't have 1 month personal warranty dude. The most I will give is 1 day personal warranty as this is used with a digital system. Please be reasonable. Reason for selling is cos I am switching to a Nikon system (I am trying real hard to be fair to myself and the buyer. It's a digital DSLR, you shoot, you transfer to your comp, you see results, you like/dislike, simple yes?)
P5: Sorry to offend (yea like it's gonna help, you already offended with a lowball price but the ultimate is your request for 1 month personal warranty!) but I always ask when I buy in case seller not selling as advertised. Looking for a good flash to keep and you have nothing to be afraid of if flash not spoilt (no, you're right, but I have something to worry about should YOU spoil it whilst it's with you for that 1 month. You think I am a sucker ah? Suck shit lah!)
Me: And should you damage it within that 1 month? It's not about being afraid. These things get used regularly and you can't guarantee while it's with you for 1 month nothing's gonna happen. You can do a complete check before buying and my warranty stands. Sorry it's not to your liking. Perhaps someone else will give 1 month.
P5: Ok I understand your concern but I'll be responsible and take responsibility should it spoil due to my error (YEA RIGHT! JUST LIKE I WILL BE A SUCKER AND BELIEVE YOU WILL ADMIT IT'S YOUR FAULT? F**K YOU!). Will look around again and contact you if I can live with your terms. (Good luck mate, let's hope there's a desperate enough seller out there who's willing to give 1 month. I'm not the one, too bad asswipe) Thanks very much for your time.
Me: It's ok, everyone's looking for a good deal. The fact that I have sold several times with no negative comments is enough for me. Good luck (Yes, you're gonna need LOADS of it with that kind of request you just asked of me, fartknocker.)

Geeez, one born every second..... lowballers, seriously, this is a USED equipment sale for a pittance. Stop being so tight fisted! Photography IS an expensive hobby. If you want warranties, go brand new. Now piss off and get a life!

Seriously, some Singaporeans are a low balling lot that ask 1001 questions, agree on a sale and then back off. Have some honor and pride will ya?

I dunno about some of you but personally, if I agree on a sale, I follow through with it. It's called honor, pride and self respect but I guess some people are too low and too cheap to even take any notice of that.

Having said that, there are great prospects around, who just want a fair deal. For those, I'll go the extra mile and offer them a little something extra, throw in a freebie or 2 if you will.

Random thought of the day - Some Singaporeans are too cheapskate, low balling or dishonorable and I take no pity with them.

Cross Processed!

It's been awhile since I've done any film shots with slide film and this time, I tried using cross-processing. Pictures were taken on Fuji Velvia 100 slide film but processed as normal negative film to give it weird funky colours. I love the results and I think I'm gonna do lots more cross processing from now on.












My personal favourite. Love the funky colours on this one.

On the same day, I also took pics using my trust Nikon FM2, again on slide film. All pics shown here were taken using the tack sharp Nikkor Micro 55mm f/2.8 lens, a superb lens for closeup work. However, the results were totally different, being more grainy with the colours being rather bland. Perhaps it's the film type, Konica, if I am not wrong.













My personal take, I love my Nikon FM2 and definitely will want to use it a lot more these days. Nothing beats the tactile feel of film so I have sent in my old Nikon lenses for servicing. I am now also considering switching to Nikon for my DSLR so if anyone is looking for a well-maintained, less than 2600 shutter count Canon EOS 350D with battery grip. Canon remote switch and kit lens, do let me know.

Shanghai 120 GP3 Films & More Holga Mods

I got my first roll of Shanghai 120 GP3 films developed and scanned. These films are rated at ISO 100 so you need bright sunlight to shoot.

This is also the first time I am testing out the Fisheye Lens attachment as well as the Holga 120N.

The results were disappointing, to say the least. Greatly underexposed! The cloudy weather definitely played a part and I am not sure if the film quality had anything to do with it. Many of the shots were taken indoors as well, which probably made the shots even worse. I have since sent in a second roll which I am collecting on Monday. We'll see how that goes.

Here're some of the images.






First time I am using the Fisheye Lens, or any fisheye lens for that matter. Takes a lot of getting used to and experimenting I guess.




Once these 5 rolls of 120 film are used up, I'll stick to Kodak Tri-X 400 films for B/W and Kodak Ektachrome E100 for slide films. I must say it's been a long while since I have shot anything on slides, so chances are that the first roll or two would be exercises in understanding the Holga in relation to slide film.

My take on the Shanghai GP3 film was that packaging was poor, being placed inside an extremely flimsy cardboard box and the films themselves wrapped in firecracker looking red paper. On top of that, the film does not seem to spool well, being rather loose when wound. I've had to use rubber bands to tighten up the spools and that's not something I enjoy doing.

Then again this could be caused by the lack of film tensioning sponges in my 120N, as I removed them the moment I got the camera, not wanting to risk having chunks of sponge chewed up by a roll of film midway through a shooting session.

Other modifications I've so far done are:
- Flocking the interior with flat black (not shown)
- Sealing off two holes found at the top of the Holga, which causes light leaks when using the 6 X 6 mask. I've decided that I will stick to the 6 X 6 format for this camera.
- The dreaded Aperture mod.

The Aperture Mod was done as I felt since this was a relatively cheap camera, I would try to do a mod to it to improve the quality of my pictures. I first started by going to a number of sites to find information on the mod, and finally settled on using Squarefrog's Aperture Mod.

I started by removing the shutter assembly and lens from the Holga, and then the washer that determined the Holga's sunny setting aperture.

The darn washer that was the original aperture was so bloody flimsy it got deformed by my ballpoint pen, so I fashioned a new aperture out of a sheet of styrene, which I normally use for my scale modelling.

After supergluing the styrene tab onto the aperture arm, I clamped the 2 surfaces with plastic pegs to let the glue set (super glue dries quite fast) then I am ready to make the aperture.

I've only got a 3mm drill bit, so I used it to create a 3mm in diameter, then used a diamond file to sand it to approximately 5mm, which gives me an aperture of f/12

The original washer gives about f/10 so right now i have two useable apertures, f/10 & f/12, not much I know, but still beats the single aperture I had to deal with previously.

Finally, I airbrushed the new part flat black after filing down the edges and scraping off any excess with a scalpel blade and testing the swing arm movement to ensure the arm swung smoothly when everything else was put together.

Here's the result:


I've started shooting a roll of Fuji slide film using the now flocked interior and modified aperture. I intend to process it normally if possible, just to see the results of my effort.

Coupled with sealing up the two holes above the Holga when using the 6 X 6 mask, gaffering the front area, using the velcro tabs to secure the back plate to the Holga's body, I am hoping that at least I can control the light leaks to some degree and not have them too random.

Other mods that I am planning on would be the film spool tension mod since I have already discarded the two sponges and the Close Focus Mod.

Random thought of the day - It's an exercise in futility trying to score a 6 X 6 pressure plate from an old disused medium format camera.

Holga 120N's New Clothes

As in the previous post, I've done a little bit more for my 120N. I've given it new clothes, rather than the tattered look of gaffer tape, it's now got army camouflage clothes!

Went to Beach Road to clothe my Holga. Beach Road has loads of army-related stuff and camouflage name tags are one of them. I thought, since there're shops doing camouflage name tags, surely they would be able to sew two small pieces of 2" X 3" & 2" X 3.5" pieces of cloth for me. WRONG!

Man, most of the shops there, they've got major attitude! One shop at the block of flats next to Beach Road Hawker Centre, quoted me $10 to sew two pieces of 2" X 3" cloth onto velcro, using OLD camouflage cloth she got from some used & discarded pair of pants. Another shopowner, at unit 02-133, claims she does not have unwanted pieces of camouflage cloth, only one big piece, and wanted to sell it for $12!!!! WTF! BRING OUT THE CARVING KNIVES AND MATCHES!

Finally found one where the lady was nice enough to help me sew on camo material onto 2" thick velcro strips and even added a little extra by helping me sew on one more piece of 1.5" X 1.5" velcro.


Frontal shot with the 2 pieces of 2" X 3.5" & 2" X 3" velcro, to help pad up the sides, prevent the camera back from accidently popping open and gives me something fatter to grip the camera body with. The right side uses the 2" X 3" strip, to give greater clearance for the shutter release lever on the right side.


The rear, with the extra 1.5" X 1.5" piece, which effectively blocks the frame counter window since that one's a major culprit of light leaks.


With the square tab removed when I need to advance the film and see if I have advanced enough. Also serves as intentional light leakage if I choose to have it removed on a hot sunny day.

Total damage from this nice lady's shop? $5!!!!! HALF THE PRICE of the other rip off, disgustingly rude and overpriced shops. Yea so she does not sew letters onto the cloth, big deal.

I should not expect shopkeepers to have any manners in these places, though I would like to add, those that DO, they certainly will get repeat business or recommendations to others about them from me.

Random thought of the day - Singapore's shopkeepers are in need of some serious customer service training.

New Holga 120N

I sold my previous glass lens Holga, the 120GCFN. It gave me loads of interesting shots but I wanted something more, so I got me the basic N model, which uses a plastic lens, no flash but has a hot shoe.



Some of my friends asked me why I gave up the GCFN which comes with glass lens, built-in flash and colour filters for red, blue & yellow flash. It is so I can use an external flash, which I've owned since my Nikon FM2 days and need not buy a new flash. The Nissin 5200 GTE flash has to be attached via an adaptor, which I also use for my DSLR since that does not come with a PC sync attachment.


YAY!!!! Guide Number 52 power!!!!! Comes damn close to my DSLR's Metz!!!

As for what those strips of velcro at the side of the camera body are for, they're so I can seal up any extreme light leaks and also acts as a protective padding against accidental bumps and knocks or the film back from popping open and destroying the whole roll of 120 film. The padding also gives me a nice grip on the camera body, which is rather plasticky and thin. I also gaffered the front area to cut back on any light leaks though I suspect that's probably not necessary.





Besides the 120N, I also got 5 rolls of Shanghai BW GP3 film and a fisheye attachment for the Holga 120 series of cameras.

I just shot off my first roll of black and white film. I will get the results back on Wednesday. I am so looking forward to seeing the results of the Fisheye Lens attachment.

Lomo Shots Part 3

This time around, I used mostly the 6cm X 4.5cm mask instead of the usual 6cm X 6cm mask so the images are rectangular in shape. Great for portraiture but not for what I normally take, still life, urban landscapes and the like. Only the first pic is from the 6 X 6 mask.



This is my first time using the 6 X 4.5 mask and I don't really like it on the whole. I'll stick to 6 X 6 even though it gives me less shots (12 as compared to 16). I also find the vignetting a little weak, bordering on non-existent, on the 6 X 4.5. If I had wanted no vignetting, I would've stuck to my DSLR and post processed the hell outta my images in Photoshop. Having said that, the light leaks on a 6 X 4.5 are certainly more prominent.











On a sidenote, I have since sold off this Holga 120GCFN to a good friend and will be getting a Holga 120N with plastic lens. I am also considering a Seagull TLR if the price is right.

Random thought of the day - Richard Avedon once said, " I think all art is about control - the encounter between control and the uncontrollable."

Stock Market Prices - For Paper!

Ok, this is a rant, lemme start off by saying that. If you're not comfortable reading it or do not have the patience to read long passages of text then I suggest you stop and move on to the next post or go to another blog.

As you can see from my profile, I am a graphic designer who works on a few freelance accounts. One of my clients had a request for a project which although not unique per se, was not going to be as easily done as let's say, a poster. She needed 200 specific sized cards to be printed, cut to size & laminated with a hard plastic laminate. Seeing as how these days, many of the identification cards, driving licenses etc are no longer pieces of laminated card or paper but printed plastic, there aren't many places doing such things, or so I thought. I turned to my regular offset printer and was told they don't do that, but they did point out that most photocopying shops still offer that service.

So, living in the east, I thought I'd check out those at Katong Shopping Centre. Most only did A4 or A3 sized lamination but there was this one shop that surprisingly, said they could do it, and better yet, at the price my client was willing to pay for! Wow! Perfect, I thought. They quoted me S$1.60 per printout if I did 25 A4s (which came up nicely to 200 pieces, the quantity my client wanted), double sided full colour, on 250gsm art card, to be laminated using 6.5cm X 9.5cm laminate pouches.

After confirmation of prices, written on a scrap of paper supplied by them, I went ahead to get final confirmation from my client, which did take approximately a week. When I went back today, the lady I spoke to was not around but her colleague took a look at my file, did a test print on 250 gsm art card and then told me, she's surprised that her colleague quoted me $1.60 for 250 gsm artcard. I replied that that was the price quoted to me, and she said usually that's for 100gsm art PAPER. I told her, I know my clients well enough to know their needs as far as materials go, and this client certainly wanted something thicker than 100gsm PAPER.

After some discussion on the phone with her colleague (the colleague is probably the owner or a senior staff there, doesn't matter), they mentioned that they do have 250gsm art card, 128gsm art paper and finally 100gsm art paper. I asked what the $1.60 quoted price per double sided A4 was for and she mentioned it was for 100gsm art paper. Further probing revealed that to print on 128gsm art paper, it would cost me $2.50!!!!! WTF! Suddenly the quote has grown by 90 cents PER A4 paper, and it STILL didn't reach the "agreed" material specification from last week.

I told them that there is no way my client, nor even I, would pay such a ridiculous amount for this material and took my CD back, telling them that I do not indulge in stock market printing prices and took my business elsewhere. The colleague there was obviously feeling really bad about this as it's definitely not her fault her boss is clueless/unethical/ignorant of her own prices (you choose) and gave me the test print as a sample.

The shop, located at Katong Shopping Centre level 3 is truly "unique". This is the first time I've had a shop bump prices up on a whim, and at ridiculous levels. You have truly lived up to your shop name! Not only that, you do not even have the courtesy to talk directly to your customer, expecting your colleague, who has no clue what the agreement was, to handle the issue. Granted, your colleague shared that you were busy with some personal issues, which I can fully understand but what is amazing is how you are prepared to lose a customer for life than to just stick to the verbal agreement, something many small shops, and even some large ones do!

I went to Sunshine Plaza after that and guess what? This particular shop, Color Vizio, located at the side facing the bus stop for Bus 56, could do the whole thing the blacklisted shop above did, using 250 gsm art card at the initially agreed price! The best part, they did an ON THE SPOT sample for me using an existing printed art card. That definitely made up for the minor inconvenience earlier on and you, Color Vizio, will certainly get repeat business from me. I cannot say the same for the other shop at Katong Shopping Centre level 3 though. In fact, I was so pleased with Color Vizio's service, I gave them the entire project to output for me, A1 posters, banners and the small cards!

I will most certainly NOT be recommending my friends to the shop at Katong Shopping Centre level 3, which is so "unique" in their price plans!

Random thought for the day - I've never come across printing shops that go back on their agreed prices.

More Holga Shots

This time, I finally got my B+W films scanned. These were actually my first roll of Holga shots since getting the camera but the developing process at the shop at Peninsular took longer than the guys who did the colour shots. Plus, scanning was done at the latter shop so that delayed the uploading by another day or two. All shots done on Ilford Delta 3200 Pro

Here are some of the pictures. I am really loving the painterly and old school quality of these shots, so much so that I'll probably choose some to print onto canvas and mount them up like paintings.











Random thought of the day - Managing creatives is like herding cats