First Two Rolls Of Holga Film Developed & Scanned!

Yes, it's finally here! It's been so long since I felt this kind of excitement. The age of digital SLRs has seen to it that I have not felt such anticipation, waiting for my film to be developed and printed. Well, this time around, I am feeling it again!

I sent in three rolls of film to develop, the first, B/W to one shop at a popular camera purchasing part of Singapore, which took them approximately four days and were really expensive, and another two colour rolls to a shop nearer to where I worked, and that took them 24 hours, inclusive of scanning. The total cost for the colour film development + scanning costs less than double that of the development of the B/W film but then again, it could well be that with colour, there's just the simple process of machine development.

In any case, I think I'll use the shop that did my two colour rolls since they do offer B/W at the same price too.

Here're some of the pictures. I could get used to this. Some are post-processed in Photoshop. Nothing fancy, just some cross processing such as converting it from C41 processed (used in colour negative films) to something akin to E6 processing (used in positive or slide films).

My next plan, to shoot using slide films and get them developed in C41.




No post-processing done for the above two shots, straight from the CD of scans




Added post-processing effect in Photoshop, using the TLR X-processing Action Script


Added a little fancy border using Illustrator to create the brushed edges then pasting the image in.

Random thought of the day - Peter Adams once said, "Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field."

The Current State Of Designers In Singapore

Today I went for a meeting with a client. I had sent some work to them for approval.

Everything seemed fine, or so I thought. Well the meeting started off well enough but soon, it became a case of just do a layout my way, without any changes, because my way is better.

I dunno, it really puzzles me. Do some clients look for designers to make their work better, or are they looking for designers to just do their bidding blindly? A designer is often engaged to improve the look, ergonomics or function of something. Instead, over here, it seems, designers are engaged to merely turn into reality, someone's vision (which in the first place, is something we do). Designers here have little to no say in how things should be done. Our "expertise", as some clients see it, is to just follow.

I dunno, maybe I am saddened by the way the words are put across, the "just follow" remark seems to hint at a society that merely seeks to do as told, with little acceptance of alternative or even improved viewpoints. I am not saying my ideas are a definite improvement, but I think subtlety is more successful than in-your-face highlights at times.

Then again, to be fair, most clients just want something that's useable, not one that takes into consideration ergonomics or subtlety or even wit.

Perhaps I am currently too idealistic, perhaps I should consider each job on its merits, that most are bread & butter projects, while there are a select few that allow us to go to town with our ideas. It is, as they would say, time to mature as a designer and take the good with the bad.

Random thought of the day - Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.

Food Glorious Food!

I went to Abu Bakar Satay at Eunos Hawker Centre, next to Eunos MRT!

The sauce is superb and so is the meat. Grilled to perfection. At the standard price of 50 cents per stick and a minimum of 10 sticks per order, one can never have enough of the best chicken satay ever tasted!







Random thought of the day - There are more than 20 variants of satay in Indonesia

Holga! At last!

I have often toyed with the idea of getting into Lomography but never quite got round to it for several reasons. Then, prices of an entry level camera were quite high, and not many places were stocking Lomography cameras.

Lately, two of my students got me interested again when they showed me some pics they took using their Holga cameras. I was hooked and decided there and then I would get one.

They recommended me a Holga 120 series, which in layman terms, takes medium format film. Some research revealed that being a popular brand for Lomography, Holgas had a wide range of accessories available, including 35mm adaptors and filters for their 120 series cameras and there are even several mods available for the base level Holga 120!

I was in two minds whether to get the cheaper plastic lens version or the glass lens version but in the end, one of them suggested the glass lens version, since it was afterall, going at a cheaper price of $75 at InQ Box Suntec. Thanks for the headsup guys! So off to InQ Box at Suntec I went, to put my money down for the Holga 120GCFN which stands for G(glass lens), CF(Color Flash - built in flash with four different color filters for the flash, red, green and yellow as well as the standard white), N(night mode or Bulb mode where the shutter remains open as long as the shutter release is pressed down)

I got a roll of B/W film from a colleague at a throwaway price and the moment I got my Holga, I loaded the film. It's been a long time since I've used film and this is the first time I am using a medium format.

Further reading revealed some minor home modifications one can do to seal up the Holga from light leaks. I am however, going to take my first roll au naturel before sealing it up with gaffer tape or black velcro.

Here it is, straight from the box in its all plastic glory.



I can't wait to develop my first roll of B/W but I am also prepared for the quirkiness of a Holga in that every shot is an experiment!

Random thought of the day - Ansel Adams once said, a good photograph is knowing where to stand.

A rebirth

So I decided to start blogging and put my thoughts on virtual paper. This is a personal blog, where I share my thoughts. It's a place for me to speak up.

How did Atomik Kandy come about? The name is based on a project I did at college, when I was a year three BA student at the then London College of Printing & Distributive Trades (now known as London College of Communication). I opted for a minor elective subject for my cultural studies on the internet when it was in its infancy and the tutor, Teal Triggs, came up with the name Atomic Candy. Somehow the name stuck so here I am, more than 10 years after graduation, reliving that name.

As an only child with not many friends on the whole, I've always found it hard to bare my soul. I guess some may say I'm a little old at 37 to be blogging now but yea well, it's probably one of the many ways I can put some thoughts in writing.