October 23, 2023
When I'm back in Singapore it can be easy to fall into old habits: sleeping in till late, staying out late, doing all of those things I used to do. On my recent trips, I'm trying to remind myself that I've been away for so long my parents aren't getting younger. My parents' daily routine starts with: picking a different hawker centre every morning to eat at. I try to join them, if I can wake up (they leave extremely early).
Bukit Merah View is one of my mum's favourites. It's relatively low key and quiet, but has some heavy hitters. More importantly, there's a wanton noodle stall there run by one of our distant relatives (my mother's cousin..?). It's very simple, but always tasty. It was even recommended in Michelin Bib.
The nice thing about a hawker centre is that it's usually attached to a wet and dry market. After a leisurely breakfast I was able to wander over to the other side to pick up some essentials: like the Feng He Yuan first extract dark soy sauce. None of the dark soy sauces I get in the US compare, and it is absolutely essential for some of the traditional Hokkien and Teochew dishes that I try to cook abroad.
While I don't relish waking up at 6 in the morning when I'm on vacation, food, and family is worth it: and in this part of the world, food and family is one and the same.
Purveyor of soy sauces, chilli pastes and dried goods in Bukit Merah View market.
Carrying a retro TLR camera around my neck was fun. Many older people in Singapore looked at it, wide-eyed, and told me that they used to love their Seagull or Yashica cameras too.
Breakfast with my parents.
My distant relatives' simple, but very good, wanton noodles. If you're expecting KL style lardy savory wanton noodles, you will be disappointed: this is a basic Cantonese Singaporean style plain wanton noodles with bouncy noodles and good, basic ingredients.
View of the wet market in Singapore with tall public housing behind it.
(All photos taken on Yashica Mat 124G, Portra 400, self-dev in Bellini C-41 kit, scanned on Fuji Frontier)
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.
April 10, 2023
I had a drag-filled weekend that was full of trans joy. For that, I am grateful.
On Saturday, I went to the Drag Up, Fight Back march for drag and trans rights. Unless you've been living under a rock, trans people are under attack all over the world including in many parts of the US. California is not immune. It would be silly complacency to assume that because we are in San Francisco, things are going to be fine. In fact, a Republican in Riverside, CA, has just sponsored AB 1314 which would require educators to inform parents if their kids are trans. I hope I don't have to tell you how harmful that will be to trans people, and how that's just the start of more anti-trans legislation wrapped up in the supposed just-asking-questions 'concern' of 'children'. If they truly cared about the children, they would support an environment where all children, including queer and trans children, don't have to live in fear, where they can be who they are without being used as a political prop.
So we march.
I met a few other film photography enthusiasts!
Lots of people were being interviewed by all sorts of journalists.
Stop the joy destroyers, indeed!
Cistem of a down.
So much joy. Especially compared to the lone, sad, and hateful anti-trans protestor across the street who nobody could hear or care about. He had a Repent or Perish sign! Very stylish. But not as stylish as these folks on the right side of the protest.
Drag IS Joy.
All photos taken on Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II, Kodak 5222 film, developed in Rodinal 1:50 and scanned on Plustek 8200i