Lost Wandering Tokyo Drifter?

How is everyone doing? For the past few months or so, I've been stuck working from home, and apart from the occasional errands, I'm just mostly staying at home. I realized I've been away here for too long, so I thought, why not go back into writing? Yes, sorry I took so long. So here it is. Remembering the time last year when I had that week in Japan... In pictures.

Shibuya Crossing. My idea of organized chaos. It begins when the lights turn green.

Why We Still Love Film: Analog Photography in the Digital Age

Hello 2020! How has everyone been? Life has been busy for yours truly. I got home to the provinces for the new year, and it was somehow restful. Ever preset with me the whole time, was a Minolta Alpha Sweet (No kidding. That's really how it's named!) that never left my side when I step out the house. And being seen with that, I get asked - "Digital is easier, so why bother?", "Isn't it expensive?" "I can't see the difference - what's the big deal?"

All of which I can answer easily with my personal reasons, but I admit, it may not be appealing universally. Then I came across this piece. I hope it helps more people understand the why's that I have for this quirk.

 

 

Until then, don't let the fears of getting lost stop you from going out to wander!  

The Update I Almost Never Got Around To Doing

Three Generations, From Two Families, In One Picture. Find the third generation.

Call me Tito. I've had nieces and nephews from my cousins, but it hasn't really sunk in until it comes from your a sibling. I'm an uncle now in our immediate family now. So I can't say I'm a monkey's uncle anymore because that would insinuate my niece to be the monkey. She's all adorable but I can't share pictures of her yet...

My Quick Summer Jaunt

It has been a fairly busy year for me. This year, 2019 may promise to be among the busier ones...  We're expecting an upcoming happy occasion in the family, and this led me to an errand across the street...

This gate leads to my destination.

Okay, not really. It required me to travel to the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

2018... A Year In Analog

It didn't feel too long ago that 2018 was starting. Lots have happened, both changes that were unavoidable or otherwise. And the next thing I know, here we are, capping off the year. It was only a matter of perspective, that set it apart from being a good or a bad year.

Top: Minolta Alpha 303si, Canonet QL17, Nikon F-801; Bottom: Minolta SR1, Canonet QL19, Lomo 135BC. Yeah, when you're not counting, it becomes more than a handful before you know it. This addiction is beginning to get out of hand.

Just like that, 2018 has ended... Another year done. What I found different with this, is the fact that throughout the whole year, I've mostly been shooting with film. By mostly, I'd guess-timate it to be around 95% minimum... It doesn't seem like it's  lost its novelty to me either. So what is it like?

Lomography Vs. Photography

According to DRTV... What are your thoughts about photography and lomography?

End Of A Roll

The year 2017 has been quite a wild ride. Among my roller coaster years, this has been one of the most surreal for me, regardless of reasons for good and bad. I take the time to be grateful of the good things that have happened to me this year. Despite all the bad times, I still have lots to be grateful for.

This is Minnie. Some see a camera. I see provenance.

I take this time to mention the adventure, the blessings and the amazing people I had the privilege of meeting going through life this year, especially in relation to my shutterbug habits.

The Strangers I Meet - Everyday People

After that hike last August, life has gone back to some semblance of a routine. I can't say that it's totally the same, but, it's not necessarily a bad thing. There's the usual me habitually wandering into places, but now it's gotten a different.

Familiar Stranger. What it's like to meet for the first time someone you know for a long time. Shot with #agfavista in #belomovilia . . #thestrangersimeet #lostwanderingdrifter

A post shared by The Lost Wandering Drifter (@lostwanderingdrifter) on Aug 31, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

Apart from the usual food photography, the portraits of the Starbucks baristas I made friends with, our utterly adorable dog, and the random knickknacks in between, I may have acquired some fixation to take pictures of people I find interesting, if not fascinating...

On Film I Saw High ISO

These days, in the age of modern digital cameras, when you consider ISO800 as high ISO, people would laugh at you. The advancements in digital photography has been light years away from film. But despite all the advancements, noise is still an issue to most cameras, and you're gonna see it in your camera unless you're using really expensive fancy ones (Looking at you, flagship cameras!)

Crossing Burgos Circle.

But there's this sort of charm in high ISO films. Instead of a ghastly noise like what's on those cheap cameras where you see specks of different colors and a lot of smudging, what you get instead is fine grain. This is by no means a fine ouput, but it's appealing to some, and even I admit, it's preferable to digital noise - at least for me.

End Of June

June of this year has been quite a month for me. It has, for some time, been quite busy, and other times, I dare say turbulent. I'm thankful that I somewhat still get the chance to go take pictures at my leisure time. Here are some random knickknacks from the month.. A lot of these are from our recent company outing and some sights around the office- Namely my favorite Starbucks branch.

 

Came Across The Fuji Acros

Excuse the bad pun. Today I'm sharing something different, definitely a first. This is the first monochrome film I ever used - The Fujifilm Neopan Acros. For starters, it's interesting.

Walking The Dog. Monochrome images remain timeless for me.

But how was it? Well...

Rolling With A (Belo)Russian

I went crazy yet again. I chanced upon this interesting plastic gem. While the Minolta I borrowed is superior in every way, I still got enchanted with this Belorussian beauty. Maybe because I really just have a thing for rangefinders. It has a kind of subtlety that calls less attention than the average SLR.

Maybe it's #sentimentalism of older days, but I'm quite attracted to #rangefinders. From Leicas to Olympus to Fujis, there's a charm about them I don't see even in the best of D/SLRs. I've long lusted to get my hands on a #rangefinder camera, but the prices I saw were absurd. Then my path crossed this #russian - it's #cheap but #cheerful... And was at a price that screamed at my common sense that was trying to silence the urge to get me a rangefinder: "cyka blyat idi nahuiii!!!" - alrighty then, comrade... A lotta folks are screaming for Fuji X-Pros, X100s, and X-Ts ... And I got this. It's not a proper rangefinder by any means but at this price, I won't complain. This is one itch scratched. Lovely. Shoutout and appreciation to #sovietcamerastore for this fix for my #vice and to @filmfolk_ for supplying my #film. I'm gonna bother them again soon to send some goodies. But not until after I share some thoughts about the experience in using this sweet thing. Teach your kids to love #film photography- they'll have no money to buy drugs. . . . . . . . . . . #rnifilms #filmfolk #lostwanderingdrifter #sovietcamera #filmisnotdead #filmphotography #buyfilmnotmegapixels #filmcamera #istillshootfilm #filmstill #filmphoto #film35mm #35mm #135film #belomo #vilia #belomovilia

A post shared by Rowe Lee (@lostwanderingdrifter) on May 19, 2017 at 1:01am PDT

This is the Belomo Vilia. I've recently acquired this beauty and finished shooting a roll with it. So what do I think about this beauty? Well...

Blowouts, Blurs, Grain, And Flaws That Remain

You'd think that with continuous use, you'd obtain mastery of something. While that is true in many cases, it isn't so for my film photography endeavor. That van that gives away free coffee is in town so I dropped by and had a few good pictures along the way.

Free Coffee! This is among my better shots in the roll. Cool van in a cool place on a lovely Sunday!

Analog Imperfections

Last time I mentioned I started fiddling with film. Well, I still am. I don't think I'm gonna stop anytime soon. Photography is somewhat special again, especially with a film camera. It was interesting for me to explore so I tried bringing it around me when I go places when I had the chance. "It's the same, but different..." comes to mind. No electronics, no artificial sharpening, no color correction, no auto whitebalance, heck, no batteries even. Just a camera and a roll of film.

It actually feels liberating to shoot without worrying about batteries or how it turned out. It's not necessarily better, since it has a number of imperfections- no crisp lightning-fast accurate focusing here, but it's exactly what I imagined and romanticized it to be. This set is shot with a Fujifilm C200. So far I love this for being cheap and cheerful!

Really Nostalgic Images?

I'm not sure if others share the same sentiment, but I feel that Instagram filters are getting old. At least  for me... Processing the picture you make your adjustments, and optionally, apply a filter. And that's where lies my disinterest - mainly due to the unfamiliarity.

You it's perfection when it's MADE FOR YOU. But it's just hot chocolate... Then again it's kind of the same thing. This cup found in #pancakehouse

A photo posted by Rowe Lee (@lostwanderingdrifter) on Nov 21, 2016 at 5:53pm PST

Downtime At Bacolod

During my stay there, I maximized the time staying at home. Yes, I'm not there often and I enjoy the lazy days there. That's not to say that I just stayed at home though. Apart from that I've gone to a few interesting places with dad and my brother. Here are some of it...

December Italian Afternoon

My first post for the year, is about last year. Wait, what? Well it's something that fans of Italian delicacy would appreciate I think. It was a lovely December afternoon. Okay not really. It was raining and I was becoming sick. We were looking for a certain archery place but failed in that endeavor, along with the rain spoiling the day. It's not too bad, though. It still didn't stop us from having a good time over some Italian goodies.

Show And Tell: What's In The Bag?

Show and tell time. I suppose I can consider this my personal gear review as well. Today I'm gonna share what's in the little bag that I lug around when I go out to take pictures.

What's in the bag?

The bag isn't that big, but I can actually carry more stuff in it when I go to take pictures. It's an advantage of using the Micro Four Thirds format over APS-C, which most people have.

Revisiting A Path Not Taken

It's not often that we get to have another chance at something, let alone experience the same thing at a different perspective. I got to chance to relive a not so old era of digital photography.  

For a day, I get to play with this beauty.

Last week, December 16th, felt like having a dose of nostalgia from an alternate universe. I got to experience digital photography with 2009 technology... Except that it's not with a model that I'm familiar with and know to use even when half awake. The curve ball here is, it's a Canon.

A History Of The Photo Camera

Here's something that I found on the net. A cool animated look at the history of the photo camera. I have a thing for cameras. Not that I'm that good at taking pictures, but I take pictures for my personal reasons. It's something I am fascinated with as it can pretty much a means to preserve a moment in a fleeting time to last longer than its subject, long enough to be seen by the future generations.

Find any familiar camera model here?