thewanderkat

24 January 2012

Old Photographs

These are pictures from my grandmother (mother's side).

My lolo and the people he worked with.

My lola and my mom's brothers.

Family picture, my lola and lolo at the center (mama standing on the right)

grandparents' wedding photo

obligatory cake-cutting picture

my mama and her younger sister

18 January 2012

First of all, this isn't my idea. I have read about DIY redscale a few months ago and i finally got the chance to try it recently.

The results were not excellent as i would have wished but i did get the reddish tones i wanted. I don't have photos of how to do the process of transferring the roll so i drew it instead. I hope it's not confusing.

What you'll need:

an empty spool of film
a roll of unexposed film
pair of scissors
clear tape
a completely dark room (or a changing bag)

The goal here is to expose the back side of the film strip to get the reddish tones from the final pictures. So for that to happen, you need to attach the reverse side of the unexposed film to an empty spool and transfer the roll into it.

Important: You have to transfer the film to the other spool in a changing bag or in a room that's completely dark so that your film remains unexposed.

All photos were shot with a Pentax P30 with a roll of Kodak Ultima 100 (one month to expiry date). The film scanner i used was quite bad in quality (CDR-King Film Scanner), plus the lab where i got my film roll developed didn't wipe the strips properly.

I cut the entire roll to 5 shorter strips so i could store them in an envelope and later did i realize the mistake of doing that because now, they are all stuck to each other. I long for the day when i can finally own a good quality film scanner.

All photos were shot around Dumaguete market and boulevard area.

13 January 2012

St. Isidore de Labrador Church, Siquijor

This is the interior of the St. Isidore de Labrador Church in Siquijor. It is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, constructed in 1884. It’s probably one of the few churches that uses hardwood as flooring.

It feels extraordinary to be inside a structure that has stood there for more than a hundred years. Seeing how old the ceilings and the walls looked, gave me a feeling of respect and admiration for it, not only because it’s a church but because it seems to almost have a soul for having witnessed so many memories and lives come and go in and outside its doors.

You may have heard a lot of creepy stories about Siquijor but being inside this really old church didn’t feel scary at all.

sunrise and sunsets

Aren't sunrises and sunsets one of the most beautiful of God's creations? It is so amazing that all these colors could appear in the sky. I always wonder where they come from or what causes them since we only see that the sun is yellow or orange and the sky is blue.

I also have wondered of the difference between sunrises and sunsets. Two of these images in the bottom collage are sunsets, and four are sunrises. Can you tell which? I think if i hadn't been the one who photographed these, i wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

I always wish they last longer. Like maybe and hour a day. But that's just now how the world works. It's sad that so many take it for granted. If I could have it my way, i would build a house which has full view of both east and west, so i could have perfect view of each time the sun rises and sets, every single day. That would be such a wonderful gift.

I know i could never take enough pictures of sunrises and sunsets. If your room has a window facing east or west, i envy you. My window faces south and there are so many houses and power lines blocking the view so that kinda sucks.

11 January 2012

on covering weddings

Last January 5th, I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding as second photographer. Weddings are quite "big" for me since I don't have a team (it's just me and my camera). It was unfortunate that i wasn't able to take pictures of the groom's preparation but i knew he's well covered by the main photographers.

As second photographer, i learned that it is best to respect the main team hired by the bride and groom. I decided to shoot at the background, the sidelines and tried my best not to interfere or bother them when they're taking pictures. It was a long day, almost 10-12 hours of taking pictures of anything and everything i see that should be remembered.

At the end of the day, after i'd browsed my photos, seeing the newlyweds happy with the pictures, it all makes the effort worthwhile. I did learn that although covering weddings is exhausting, i always couldn't help but feel emotional whenever the parents cry, especially when any of their fathers cry — i get teary-eyed even though i'm not related to them.

If you'd like to see some of the photos I took, you can view them here.

01 January 2012

Project 365 Complete!

Whew! I can't believe i finished it. I was able to post a photo a day! Thanks to everybody who followed and commented on my photos even though it became so boring so many times.

New year's eve was good, my family doesn't really celebrate it with a lot of noise but with a quiet one instead, enjoying good food and watching movie marathons, taking pictures.

A few times i got confused with the numbering of my 365 project but it's great to know that i completed it, without giving up. I'm sort of proud of me. :)

But as much as i found the project fun and challenging at times, i will not be doing another one for 2012 yet. I wish to be more free about when i take photos this time as having a daily project like this tends to compel you to take a picture even at times when you are just not up to it or not inspired or simply nothing is worth photographing.

This is my year-ender photo, sparklers. It's not great but it is definitely the one that completes my project.