fotophilosophy

[fotophilosophy]

Instax Wide on Tachihara at Night

I recently rebuilt my Instax Wide back for my 4×5 Tachihara camera. The new back is properly fabricated using a new 3D printer, resulting in a much better user experience. I will write about it another time. Since the new back is such a breeze to use, I have been very motivated to use it on my Tachihara. I especially like the idea of long-exposure images at night. Today, I went to an overhead…

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#analog #Analogue #camera #film #film photography #fujifilm #instant #instax #instax wide #large format photography #Photography

[fotophilosophy]

Canon R-series - R6 first thoughts

My first serious camera was a Canon EOS Rebel 1000D. I learned the basics of photography with the kit lens, and eventually had a small collection of middle-ish lenses. When I decided to upgrade my camera, I got the Canon EOS 5D MKII, which, for many years, was my only full-frame digital camera. It has always proved to be an able performer. However, when I started getting into micro four thirds…

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#canon #canon eos #canon r series #canon r6

[fotophilosophy]

Cyanotypes – an Alternative Process Part 2

In the previous post, I described how I got started with Cyanotypes. Unfortunately, the process works best with large negatives, and I don’t have too many of those. One way to get around that is with a hybrid workflow. A digital image can be converted into a negative in software (e.g Photoshop), and printed on transparencies. For best results, this digital negative ought to be printed using…

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#alternative photographic process #alternative processes #Analogue #black and white #film #film photography #monochrome #Photography

[fotophilosophy]

Cyanotypes - an Alternative Process Part 1

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#alternative photographic process #alternative process #alternative processes #Analogue #cyanotype #film #film photography #monochrome #Photography

[fotophilosophy]

Book Flip-through - Once There Were Polaroids

I have been on a bit of a splurge when it came to photobooks recently. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am rekindling my passion for the hobby, and I find that there’s no better way to do so than to look at photographs. When I ordered this book, I thought that it was by a photographer who specialized in Polaroids. This was printed by Steidl. If you haven’t heard of the printer, you should look…

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#Analogue #book #film photography #flip-through #once there were polaroids #photobook #Photography #Polaroid #steidl

[fotophilosophy]

Hong Kong, Part 2 - Temple Street

On my third night in Hong Kong, I went to Temple Street. Upon hearing about the neon signs along the street, I was worried that I had made a terrible mistake bringing along my Monochrom. In fact, I needn’t have worried, for while the signs are there, they aren’t nearly as vibrant as depicted in travel blog photos, which no doubt boosted the saturation and vibrance for impact. Temple Street…

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#black and white #camera #Hong Kong #Leica #Leica M Monochrom #leica m246 #monochrom #monochrome #street photography #temple street #temple street market

[fotophilosophy]

Hong Kong, Part 1.5

On that second night, my phone ran extremely low on battery without me noticing (3%), and I had to leave quickly – both my Octopus card (for public transport) and any ride hailing app was on my phone. I was also super low on cash (because I figured I wouldn’t need it). Unfortunately that meant that I had to head back to the hotel around 8.30 pm. As I was walking back, panicking a little for I…

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#Avenue of the stars #black and white #Hong Kong #Leica #monochrome #Photography #street photography #victoria harbiur #victoria harbour

[fotophilosophy]

Hong Kong, Part 1

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#black and white #camera #china #holiday #Hong Kong #Leica #Leica M Monochrom #leica m246 #monochrome #street photography #travel

[fotophilosophy]

Art in the Industrial Park

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#black and white #Leica #leica m #Leica M cameras #Leica M Monochrom #monochrome #Museum #Photography #singapore #singapore art museum #street photography #tanjong pagar

[fotophilosophy]

Friday Evening, Edge of Town

Every Friday, I send my kids to the nearby community center for Taekwondo class. After dropping them off, I will go to my favorite Japanese restaurant to have a bowl of mazesoba, and retreat to a nearby cafe for coffee. This is my special time. One I look forward to each week. It’s a routine I’ve been keeping for almost a year. Friday evenings tend to be busy in this part of Singapore, which…

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#black and white #camera #Leica #monochrome #Photography #singapore #street photography #tanjong pagar

[fotophilosophy]

Book Review - The Soul of the Camera, by David duChemin

I have several books on photography that I am going through, and one of them is The Soul of the Camera, by David duChemin. The author came to prominence about ten years ago (at least, he appeared on my radar then) as a blogger who focused less on techniques (which was all the rage then) and more on the philosophical side of the art. I rather liked reading his blog, but after a short while, I…

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#black and white #book review #books #David duchemin #monochrome #Photography #street photography

[fotophilosophy]

Monochrome Madness

I’ve had a long relationship with Leica Cameras, starting with my M2, bought with numerous pinholes in the shutter curtain (I was such a sucker). A few years ago, when the Monochrom digital cameras were launched, I was one of those who thought it was a dumb idea. Why not just convert the files later on? But after messing with some DIY monochrome conversions on my own, and also used monochrome…

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#black and white #camera #Leica #leica m240 #leica m246 #m246 #monochrome #Photography #street photography

[fotophilosophy]

Pandemic Days

The pandemic days were miserable days. Work was largely halted, and even when one went in to work, it was rare to meet another co-worker, thanks to the split-team arrangement (where each team is split into two or three shifts). We went almost a year without seeing each other in person, and when we did run into colleagues, we would be masked up and unrecognizable. Food places were take-out only…

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#Analogue #black and white #camera #coronavirus #covid 19 #film #film photography #Leica #monochrome #pandemic #Photography

[fotophilosophy]

Little book of Leica

Years ago, I bought this little book by the late Erwin Puts. For those who don’t know who Puts is, he was the Leica aficionado who, through his own meticulous research and efforts, put together conpendia of Leica information ranging from historical to the technical. He was a true believer in the excellence of Leica optics, and anyone who disagreed with risked a spat with him! Even as I reignite…

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[fotophilosophy]

Rekindling Part 2

During our family vacation in Australia this year, I decided to pay a visit to a shop that has become something of a rarity in Singapore (and probably the world over) – a camera/photography shop that sells new gear! I tried to go there twice during the trip. The first try was on Western Australia Day, so the place was closed. On the very last day of the trip, right before heading to the airport,…

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#analog #Analogue #camera #film #film photography #ilford #Photography #singapore

[fotophilosophy]

Rekindling

It’s been years since I last posted anything here. In the intervening years, we’ve experienced a pandemic, and I’ve experienced some difficult days personally. But I’m feeling some urge to start shooting again. In particular, having just developed two rolls of film today, and seeing how much of a time capsule those rolls are, I reminded of how important pictures are. And not just any pictures.…

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#analog #Analogue #black and white #film #film photography #ilford #Leica #monochrome #Photography #rangefinder #street photography

[fotophilosophy]

Making Castle Grayskull – Part 4: Detailing and Modifications

One of the details I wanted to put on Grayskull was the iconic emblem on the door. I made it using a laser printed version, stuck the paper on some EVA foam, and cut the features out in three or four layers. They are then glued together to create the 3D effect. The skull and feathers were sculpted using a soldering iron, before it was all painted to give a metallic look. The finished emblem was…

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#custom toys #diorama #diy #he-man #heman #masters of the universe #motu #motu origins