Photography is one of my favorite ways to see the world.

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    • Kampong Glam, Singapore

      Published on June 11, 2023

      When I was growing up in Singapore I loved going to Kampong Glam, the Arab quarter.

      The British colonials divided the country's ethnic population into different sections, keeping the best and most central downtown location for themselves and for their buildings. Everybody else had to cram into their own ethnic 'ghettos' with varying degrees of sanitation, cleanliness and facilities.

      The Arab population in Singapore largely came from the Yemeni city of Hadramaut as traders. Soon, they married the local population, and formed their own plural Southeast Asian Arab identities, but you can still see their hallmarks in the food, architecture, languages.

      As a teenager and young adult I loved spending time in this neighborhood. It was a lot less sterile than the nice, clean parts of town that we loved to show off to the world. It had a soul. It still does, but these days its success (Haji Lane was recently named one of the most interesting districts in the world to visit) means it's changed a fair bit. I still enjoy meeting friends at the unnamed sarabat tea stall, I still have a bunch of fave spots that remain, thankfully, relatively unchanged.

      a color photograph showing a large mosque with an ornate dome. in the background, some tall concrete buildings.

      Faith and fortune: a view of Sultan Mosque in Singapore's old Arab quarter. In the background, the eccentric Park View Square building that is also home to Atlas bar, one of the best gin bars in the world (and also where Thandie Newton and Vincent Cassel had a scene in Westworld Season 3). SE Asia has a significant Arab population, descendants of traders from Hadramaut in Yemen, esp. in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia.

      a color photo showing a narrow alleyway between two historic short buildings leading towards a tall and modern hotel in the background

      I'm interested in the contrast of eras, architecture, vibes. Also in how quickly all of this came up: just a decade ago I would be in this alley and I could have sworn that tall building, a hotel, did not exist at all, even as an idea.

      a black and white photo showing a contrast of architecture between old and new

      More contrasts. In the foreground, some old shophouse buildings in the Arab quarter. In the background some modern buildings including I.M. Pei's Gateway building in the back left.

      (All photos taken on Ricoh GR III with RNI presets applied.)

    • Motion Picture Film, Mistakes, Fun

      Published on June 10, 2023

      Like so many film photographers outraged by the cost of color film these days, I've thrown myself headlong into the world of shooting stills on motion picture film. Kodak Vision 3 films can be purchased in bulk, spooled into lengths that bulk rollers can use, and then self-rolled into canisters at your own leisure. Instead of the $12-18 per roll abomination of standard color films, you can get motion picture film for $10 a roll if you buy them pre-rolled online, and $5-8 per roll if you do it yourself.

      The huge caveat if that you can't just send this film to any film lab. They have a layer of black carbon on the film, known as 'remjet', that requires special handling. While I previously bought and sent my motion picture film to a specialist, I decided that I wanted to learn how to do it myself.

      There's very scant information about how to shoot and develop motion picture film. The best information I've found has been this Reddit thread, other comparison threads, and some historical information on Photrio. Like I do in most things, I dove head first into it and made a ton of mistakes. But now I know.

      I know, for example, not to use a stiff sponge to remove the remjet at the end. I know now that baking soda alone is not sufficient; borax is better. My darkroom (i.e. my bathroom) is now full of photo chemicals. I have all kinds of bottles and funnels. I'm truly getting into my mess around and find out era, and it's super fun. I discovered I have as much of a passion for the ins and outs of photo developing, scanning and printing as I do for taking photos and telling stories. It's been the important balm for my soul: the art and science of doing something that engages my heart, eyes, hands and soul.

      This was from the first roll of Kodak Vision 3 250D that I developed. I used baking soda only in this roll to remove the remjet. Then, I used a stiff sponge to remove the remaining remjet at the end and.. that ended up scratching the negatives. But I'm learning to appreciate that mistakes happen and it's fine and maybe even cool, since it imparts a strong sense of physicality to the digital realm: if you were to look for this negative a hundred years from now, it will still have these scratches. It will be unmistakably something that happened from my own hand, rather than rendered by stable diffusion.

      So I will keep shooting motion picture film and keep developing them.

      a scan of a color photograph that shows a poster that says I Love You California with a bear on it, in a bookstore in San Francisco

      I love you too, California, San Francisco, and Green Apple books.

      a scan of a color photograph that shows a night time scene of a couple looking through the windows of a donut shop

      Bob's donuts. A landmark of San Francisco.

      a scan of a color photograph that shows colorful donuts through a glass window

      Donuts donuts donuts.

      a scan of a color photograph that shows a spoof of a mona lisa image at an art gallery. the mona lisa here is wearing modern clothing. the film negative has scratches across the entire frame

      Mona Lisa, modernism, and scratches across the negative.

      (All photos taken on Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II with Kodak Vision 3 250D film, self-dev in ECN-2 chemistry and scanned on Plustek 8200i)

    • Five Frames with Nikonos V

      Published on May 20, 2023

      To me, the best thing about living in the Bay Area is the easy access to all kinds of nature, by bike and by other means of transportation. You can put your bicycle on nearly every form of public transit (except Muni street car): all buses, almost all trains, and also by ferry. This makes bike-powered weekend trips a lot easier. Our hills are treacherous, and our beer is decent: sometimes you want to skip a hill or roll down one. Put your bike on a ferry, bus, train.

      Recently, I did one such trip with a friend where we boarded a ferry to Larkspur and then a train to Petaluma. While I find it easier to just cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge and get in the miles, on days where I want longer rides, I'm thankful to these multi-modal options on easier days when I just want to take it slow but still be further from home, on a bike.

      I also recently came into the possession of a Nikonos V. The seller was very apologetic that its meter wasn't working, and that its O-rings needed work before it can be a truly amphibious camera again: but I was not, for I managed to own a Nikonos V for $50 instead of $500. Although it looks like a toy camera, it is one of the most ergonomic and user friendly cameras I have ever used. It puts a modern GoPro to shame. You can even scuba dive with it (after getting the O-rings serviced).

      As someone who enjoys manual metering, I am not afraid of film cameras without batteries and meters. The camera is perfect on land as well as in water. I quite like the heft of it: I think it will be my standard biking and camping camera. I have no worries at all about rolling into a pile of dirt, or falling into water. The 35mm f2.5 lens it came with is also very capable.

      A scan of a color photograph of two women looking at San Francisco ferry building as a ferry pulls away from the harbor

      View of San Francisco from the ferry.

      A scan of a color photograph of a man on a ferry, wearing a yellow jacket looking at Alcatraz in the distance

      A person looking at Alcatraz from the ferry.

      A scan of a color photograph of a group of people boating near the Bay Bridge

      People on a boat near the Bay Bridge.

      A scan of a color photograph of a ferry causing large waves in the water. View from the deck

      On the Larkspur ferry, the bike holding area is on the deck, which makes it fun and easy to look at the view while also being able to keep an eye on your bike.

      A scan of a color photograph of a group of Falungong activists protesting China at the Ferry Building in San Francisco

      There was a large Falungong rally at the Ferry Building in San Francisco on that day. The Nikonos IV is a capable land documentary camera as well as underwater camera, too.

      All photos taken with Nikonos V, 35mm f2.5 lens, Fuji Superia 400, self-developed in Cinestill C41 kit, and scanned on Plustek 8200i.

    • Ugly / Beautiful

      Published on May 1, 2023

      Last Friday, I had the unfortunate honor of experiencing (yet another) race-related incident in San Francisco. A mentally unwell person pointed a kitchen blow torch at me, with the flame out, and threatened to 'burn me' because I was an 'ugly Chinese ho'. I laughed it off, but I guess she was serious, and then she started pointing that thing at my dog and also calling her an ugly Chinese ho (???). Thankfully, I was able to leave as my bus arrived quickly.

      I took the day off to decompress. This situation came hot on the heels of some conversations that my wife and I have been having: what is home? Where is it? What does it mean for us to build a home together? I decided to take a long walk through San Francisco. I needed to remember why I came here, and why this city is still, despite its many, many warts, a home I see us living in for the long haul.

      I got coffee, met friends and family for dim sum, pet many dogs. I looked at the bay; I breathed in and out. While the city's beauty cannot make up for some of the ugliness that one experiences as a result of bigotry, I am reminded of how, on balance, I have had a largely good time here; I have experienced a lot of love and support, especially at moments like these; and I have the space to participate in activism to push back precisely on this sort of thing.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a coffee menu at a San Francisco cafe

      Delicious coffee at Home.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing two cartoon characters at a playground hugging and holding a Hula Hoop

      Playgrounds for the children in my neighborhood.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a vintage sign in English and Chinese characters mentioning audio video repair services

      Vintage signs in Chinatown.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a large dog trying to sit on his owner at a street side cafe

      Saw many gorgeous dogs on a gorgeous day.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a neon sign that says You're Already One Of Us

      And many relevant signs.

      At the end of the day, I come back to my maybe slightly nihilistic view that there are no good countries. My wife experiences everyday racism in Singapore, that felt like it was worsening towards the end of her decade there; that, plus the fact that my home country doesn't recognize our marriage, are among the many reasons we don't live there anymore. A country where we are both outsiders, where we have the ability to participate fully in the building of a society that we want to be a part of, feels, at this point, like where we want to be in spite of the other BS that it comes with.

      All photos taken on Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II, Kentmere 400, self dev in Rodinal 1:50 and scanned on Plustek 8200i

    • Medium Format, Developed Medium Well

      Published on April 25, 2023

      I'm not actually a very handy person. It's amazing that I am able to load film at all in a change bag, into a reel, into a tank, and then get pictures out of it. Anyway, this was the first ever medium format color film that I developed myself at home: clearly, I put too little chemistry. I still like the pictures, and I like that I'm now able to post stuff like this instead of being a perfectionist.

      Part of the reason I shoot film and develop it myself is really to learn, and you don't learn without making mistakes.

      Anyway, some photos from Drag Up, Fight Back rally: all photos shot on Fuji GW690II, some kind of Portra (400?), developed in Cinestill C41 kit, and scanned on an Imacon Flextight 848 scanner.

      a scan of a color photo showing showing a person wearing an amazing costume with a very dramatic hair set a scan of a color photo showing people marching together at a trans rally a scan of a color photo of a person holding a sign that says Drag it out in the open a scan of a color photo of a person holding a sign about an anti trans law that a Republican in California is trying to pass a scan of a color photo of a sign that says Ban Hate Not Drag Queens
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