Posts tagged "photos"
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Doors of Surabaya
One of my oldest friends in the world lives in Surabaya. I love visiting her. Not only is the food one of my favorite cuisines (East Java food is my favorite Indonesian regional food, and it can be hard to get abroad), the city is also a place I enjoy photographing. Eat, shoot, eat, shoot. That's basically all I do…
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Bencoolen Street
I lived in the Prinsep Street / Bencoolen neighbourhood in the early / mid 2000s. I've always enjoyed the vibrant street life. It is close to everything I love: Little India, Arab Street, Sim Lim Square, Sim Lim Tower, Burlington Square, and more. From early morning till late night, there's always something fun to do…
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Alameda Americana
It is only in my thirties that I have started to think this: growing up in a city-state where the 'capital of Singapore is Singapore' (from an Alfian Sa'at poem) is a unique experience not understood by many globally. That when nationalistic people in city-states say 'if you don't like it, leave', it's really about…
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Little India, Singapore
The last time I was home in Singapore, I did one of my favorite alone activities: I walked a lot, and ended up in Little India. I did a 7km walk starting at sunset, and wound up there just in time for all kinds of fun. Since Mustafa Centre is 24 hours, and my favorite naan shop (Usman, along Desker Road) is open till 3…
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Birds at Sea
Once or twice a year, I try to go on a boat ride with some birders. I started birding as a joke ("I'm getting old I need an old person hobby!") but found that I love it. I especially love pelagic birds (and also shore birds, but to a lesser extent). Something about the raw power of the ocean and the ocean…
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Five Frames in Camp Mather with my Yashica 124G and Portra 160
One of the more unique things about Bay Area life is that many Bay Area cities have their own 'cabin in the woods' programs in the summer. San Francisco has Camp Mather, Oakland has Feather River Camp, Berkeley has two camps at Tuolumne River and at Echo Lake, San Jose has one near Groveland. Camping in the Sierras is…
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B Sides (Myanmar)
Some time around 2012/2013, I spent most of my time in Myanmar. The country was opening up: Aung San Suu Kyi was out, reform was in the air, Burmese students and exiles were coming home. There was a true spirit of hope and optimism. I was no longer a photographer or writer at that time, but I had developed a set of…
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B Sides (India)
When I think back to the life I led in my 20s, I will be forever grateful and amazed that I got to do the things that I did. How did I figure out how to travel around the world, eating, working, writing, taking photos? I don't think that life exists anymore. Not in the same way anyway. But I really milked it for what I…
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Nearly Two Decades Ago
One of the things I love about film photography is how it gives me a good sense of my exact feelings at precise moments in time. Depending on the film stock and camera I used, looking at old film photos takes me back in ways that I don't experience with other types of photos I have taken in the past. I know, for…
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Bulk Loading Film
Like so many people who still shoot film, I am now mostly rolling my own. Bulk loading, once you have the equipment, is really easy. I mostly buy bulk rolls of film stock that I can't get off the shelf, so that's a lot of Kodak 5222, Ektachrome, and also motion picture film. You can get bulk rolls of many black and…
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Kampong Glam, Singapore
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…
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Motion Picture Film, Mistakes, Fun
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.…
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Five Frames with Nikonos V
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…
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Ugly / Beautiful
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…
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Medium Format, Developed Medium Well
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…
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Saying Goodbye to Fuji Superia 400
Fuji Superia 400 has been my stock color film for a long time. I have 10 rolls left, and when that's gone it doesn't look like I'll be able to find it easily anymore. It was my favorite 'buy it at a drugstore' film, but now that I can't buy it easily, I don't think I will put in the effort to source it. For color, I…
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Tenderloin Tessie
Almost 50 years ago, a drag queen named Tessie started feeding the homeless in the Tenderloin and so many decades later the tradition continues. I was grateful to be able to volunteer this past Easter at one of the Tenderloin Tessie events. Every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the organization puts out a massive…
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Drag Up, Fight Back
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…
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Protests and Parades
One of the interesting things about living near City Hall is I never know what I'm going to walk into. Some days it's a protest about the declining state of trans rights in this country. Or one by the Burmese or Iranian communities to try to raise awareness of the issues at home. Other days it's an Irish festival that…
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Embracing mistakes
I have a problem: I tend to be a perfectionist. Sometimes, when something doesn't turn out well I get so annoyed that I don't touch it again forever. Or for a long time. (Recently, I learned that people with autism and ADHD like me have severe 'rejection sensitivity'). Being mindful of this, I'm trying to actively…
88 posts tagged "photos"