Still Shooting Film

Arista Premium 400, rebranded Kodak Tri-X

I just ordered 60 rolls of Arista Premium 400 in 135 format, 10 rolls of Neopan Acros 100 in 120 format and 5 rolls of Portra 400 in 120 format from freestylephoto.biz. Who still shoot film in 2011? We are a day from 2012, digital photography has overtaken film photography in so many aspects: resolution, sharpness, noise/grain control, etc. Myself, I wonder about the romanticism surrounding why people shoot film.

The film look? It slows you down? It forces you not to chimp? Again, there's the digital camp who will argue that digital post production can achieve that film look. Let's be honest, 99% probably can't tell the difference between photographs taken on M6 or M9. Chimping? Gaffer tape your LCD screen. I have run out of reasons to shoot film, yet, after a 3 years hiatus; I'm back on film.

Yes, I'm a little bit of a sadist. I love doing stuff that isn't straight-forward or perfect. I love the smell of Tri-X souped in the fixer. I love the feel of touching the negatives. I just want to shoot on something that doesn't feel like work to me---I depend on digital cameras for my wedding work---that's a big factor in pushing me towards film.

At the end of the day, I just want to. That's it. I don't care about the resolution or the inconvenience.

Happy New Year.

Alice Cooper in Singapore 2011

Diane Arbus Documentary

There is something compelling about Diane Arbus photography. To ignore political correctness; I would say that we are attracted to freaks, images of violence, poverty, sub-culture, etc. Or it could be that something is seriously wrong with me.

Black and White #001: Sex in the City

"Sex in the city", Canon Canonet QL17 GIII, Tri-X pushed to 3200. Singapore, Chinatown, 2008.

I took this picture while waiting for the bus to arrive. Singapore's Chinatown is a tourist spot, yet at the same time, there are older folks living alone in closet-sized one room HDB apartments. As they are often lonely, you will witness grandfather looking men with women young enough to be their grand daughters clinging to their wrinkled arms.