Reader's Chair

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Agfa Silvertone 100 in Rodinal (1+25) 8 min

Animals at Yonge & Dundas

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Agfa Silvertone 100 in Rodinal (1+25) 8 min

You're not in Thailand yet...

Wouldn't this guy like to be sipping on a margarita on a beach in Thailand, instead of a McDonald's diluted Coke in a bus booth on Queen Street?

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Agfa Silvertone 100 in Rodinal (1+25) 8 min

Reader's Corner

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Agfa Silvertone 100 in Rodinal (1+25) 8 min

Chess @ Queen & Yonge

White in white plays white takes black in black playing black.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Agfa Silvertone 100 in Rodinal (1+25) 8 min

Chess: City Hall

Chess is a lonely sport. It's even lonelier when you have no one to play with.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Black's 400 film

Osgood Hall, Ontario Legislature

The ever changing face of society. Even if we were to go back only 20 to 30 years, to the pre-Madonna error, I am sure that this scene would not have existed. Making out was something that was reserved for behind closed doors. People who kissed in public would have been openly criticised and shamed. In some cultures, this is still the case. I had a conversation with an Asian friend of mine only a month or two ago, when she commented that it was impolite for a couple-friends of ours kissed over dinner.

In 2010, the societal norms have largely changed. People don't just make out in public, but they do it at the doorsteps of the very people who would have criticised them back in the day.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & Nokton 40mm, Black's 400

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Black's 400 C41

A couple of photography students at Ryerson University whom I bumped into on the subway. They were on their way home from the photography fair held by the Photographic Historical Society of Canada, where they bought some funky old stuff. They managed to get their hands on some Polaroid gear, which they hope to match up to some new Fujifilm instant film since Polaroid is no longer making instant film. They also got their hands on some Kodak Kodachrome that expired back in 1956.

For those of you who are not familiar with Kodachrome, it is a slide film that you can just look at before having to invert them as is the case with negative film. It also requires a special process to develop, something that is not available in your local 1 hour lab in the drug store. Kodak announced in 2009 and they've stopped production of the film because of low demands. Most of the development labs have also shut down their Kodachrome processing facilities and the one and only lab that's still open in the whole world is located in Japan, due to shut down permanently at the end of 2010. Just another piece of photographic history that will soon be relegated to history.

Why is Kodachroms so special? It creates some of the most vibrant colours on film, something that involkes a sense of hostalgia amongst photographers and viewers alike. To get a sense of what I mean, visit: http://www.kodachromeproject.com, where Daniel Bayer is on a mission celebrate the goodness that is Kodachrome before the end of the year.

31 December 2010 will be a sad day indeed.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A & 40mm, Black's 400 C41

Canadians read. A lot. Some of them look good doing it too.

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Soccer on the beach

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Filming on King & York

Olympus 35RC & Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min30sec

Olympus 35RC & Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min30sec

Harley Davidson, Queen Street W

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Sit doggy sit: Queen Street W

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Hell's Belles: Say hi and wave

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

The hats: Queen Street W

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec

On the Street: Yonge & Dundas Square

This is my first roll of Kodak TriX. I like it. The tones are superb...

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Street photography with a lens like that is no longer street photography.

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Olympus 35RC & Kodak Tri-X in HC110 (1+31) 6min 30sec

Fashion Districy: Queen St W

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

For lease: Queen Street W

Different generatios check out the same things.

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec. Olympus 35RC

Condom Shack on Queen Street W

One of the biggest criticisms that I have against Canadian stores is the lack of bite in their names. The same comment applies to most advertising. But once awhile, you get this one that screams out loud.

But alas, it still ain't very original...

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

Weekend without cheese = Kiss without squeeze

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min & 30sec, Olympus 35RC

TIFF: 2010/09/13, Bloor Street

My new toy has arrived. The Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm 1.4. It's a beauty. I took it out for a spin on Bloor Street and ran into the circus that is the Toronto International Film Festival.

Outside Indigo Bookstore on Bloor.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Outside the Intercontinental on Bloor. A circus of people crowding around the hotel entrance hoping to get a glance of some douche(ss).

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Outside the Intercontinental on Bloor. Some normal people who are not amused with the circus.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Outside the Intercontinental on Bloor. The ride of the douche(ss).

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

The type of people who would scream and yell and cry when they see the douche(ss) exiting the hotel. And then there are the all-important bodyguards and security of the douche(ss) in the background.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Opposite the Intercontinental on Bloor. The circus watching the circus. I guess I was the circus watching the circus that's watching the circus...

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

I didn't hang around to see who the douche(ss) was and walked. Then I saw this other dude who was being interviewed on his walk. Anyone else know who he is? Not that I care though.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Then I saw another circus at the Windsor Hotel in a side street. I overheard some guy on his phone, saying that Rosamond Pike was staying in the hotel. Rosamond is one of the few actresses whom I semi-respect, but not enough for me to hang around long enough to get a photo of her.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

A closer view of the circus.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

The more laid back wolves of the pack: they wait from across a distance, ready to pounce and scavenge when their preys emerge from their hiding place.

Voigtlander Bessa R3A with Nokton 40mm f1.4. Expired Agfa Silvertone ISO100 in HC110 (7min)

Resident Evil Afterlife: Queen Street W

Can't wait to see it. In 3D!

Kentmere 400 in HC110 - 5 min & 30 sec. Olympus 35RC Rangefinder

2 Degrees of Separation

"People want to move too fast. Get stuff done and get on to the next thing. Do you remember the last time you had an hour long conversation with someone? Did they glance at their phone every so often, reminding you of the split nature of their attention?" - Kirk Tuck, reminiscing on human contact before the information age.

Ironic. This reminiscence for human contact of the pre-information era, on the worldwide web. The 2 degrees of separation: me to computer to everyone else.

I remember the last time I had an hour long conversation with someone. It happened just today in fact. It has been happening quite a lot lately. Almost without fail, an hour or so each day on the subway and in the subway station: we'd talk for half an hour on the subway, and then linger for another hour or so at the final stop, sharing our days' stories.

And then the days' pace would eventually catch up with us and the dimming lights would remind us to part.We'd say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

Lately, that one hour of each working day would represent the best hour of that day - the only hour when I feel totally at ease, unpressured and timeless, as we watch the other commuters brush past us, their pace pulpable and sickening. For that one hour of each day, we can literally slow down and watch the world rush by.

Wouldn't it be great if there were more moments like these?

Perhaps it is time for me to take a break from this daily rush I call life and reflect on what really is important to me. A retreat of sorts. No phone, no computer, no internet. Just me, my camera and a few canisters of film. And just watch the world go by.

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min30sec

On the train: Yup, I've had one of those days...

Recently, I've been having this type of days quite often, but then again,  they build character. And chicks digg scars (including mental ones), at least that's what I keep on telling myself.

Here is my inspirational song of the day...

Hey now, hey now

Don't dream it's over

Hey now, hey now

When the world comes in

They come, they come

To build a wall between us

We know they won't win

-- Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House

Cheers.

Kentmere 400 B&W film, shot on Canon Canonet QL17 GIII, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, 5.5min.

On the street: University & King W

I just checked my subscription statistics. I have apparently got 4 subscribers. I know that I am one of the four. This means that I have three more subscribers than I anticipated. Thanks guys! :)

This is one of those shots that makes me want to stop all street shooting straight away and retire happy, knowing that I ended it on a high.

The juxtaposition: both walkers in the same pose, both with one foot up.
The candidness: all unposed!
The composition: rule of thirds on both walkers.
The diagonal lines: right across the frame, separating the darkness and brightness.
The exposure control: perfectly exposed for the walkers, even in a very contrasty scene of bright whites and dark blacks.
The bonus: the top suit and walking stick!

The irony: it was taken when I least expected a shot.
The pity: shot on colour film and cross processed in rodinal. I have a feeling that there would have been more details if I used pure black and white film.
The moral of the story: keep camera ready at all times. Aperture and shutter speeds all predialled, lens pre-focused (this is certainly a shot that I could not have taken with an SLR without drawing a stick-load of attention to myself that would have sent the walker running for covers).

EasyPix 200 Colour film, shot on Olympus 35RC, cross-processed in Rodinal 1+100, 60 min, stand development.

PS: I am running out of fodder for this blog. The thesis is back with comments from my beloved supervisor and I am busy putting in about 40 hours each weekend trying to finish it off. This means not much opportunity to go out and shoot. It looks like another summer has bitten the dust. Will dig around to see if I have more original photos lying around for a post.

On the street: University & King W. St. Andrews Station

EasyPix 200 Colour film, shot on Olympus 35RC, cross-processed in Rodinal 1+100, 60 min, stand development.

Reflections from the Office: Black and White People and Their Cross Roads

  One more day down
Everybody has those days
Where one soft sweet song's
Just enough to clear my head


Fall on real life
Is anybody left there sane?
If we slide on over and accept fate
Then it's bound to be a powerful thing


If it's just that you're weak
Can we talk about it
It's gettin' so damn creepy
Just nursing this ghost of chance
The fiction, the romance
And the technicolor dreams
Of black and white people


One boy head strong
Thinks that living here's just plain
He's pushed down so hard
You can hear him start to sink


And it's one last round of petty conversation
You hold on boy 'cuz
You won't go down like this?
Just roll over
Lay down till it's more than you can take


If it's just that you're weak
Can we talk about it
It's gettin' so damn creepy
Just nursing this ghost of chance
The fiction, the romance
And the technicolor dreams
Of black and white people


So one more day down
And everybody's changin'
One soft sweet sound
Is just enough to clear my head


If it's just that you're weak
Can we talk about it
It's gettin' so damn creepy
Just nursing this ghost of chance
The fiction, the romance
And the technicolor dreams
Of black and white people


Yeah if you're weak
Can we talk about it
It's gettin' so damn creepy
Just nursing this ghost of chance
The fiction, the romance
And the technicolor dreams
Of black and white people

-- Black and White People, Matchbox Twenty (...video here...)

Very appropriate song for the messed up days in the office and personal moral dilemmas. Kind of makes me wonder if all those people on the street below go through the same emotional indecisions as regularly as I do. 

Should things be left to fate and "ghost of a chance"? Do these black and white people have "technicolor dreams"? Do the "headstrong boys" think that "living here's just plain"? Do they get "He's pushed down so hard that you can hear him start to sink"? Is anybody here sane?

The reflections on the window: are these thoughts purely a reflection of my own being, or do they also reflect the image of those outside?

Am I alone in this black and white world of technicolor dreams?

Isn't it kind of appropriate that I shot this on colour film and developed it as black and white? What does that say about my technicolour dreams?

EasyPix 200 Colour film, shot on Olympus 35RC, cross-processed in Rodinal 1+100, 60 min, stand development.

Take me to the ball game... And nothing much really happened at the ball game... Like any other ball game -- boring.

Kentmere 400 B&W film, shot on Canon Canonet QL17 GIII, developed in Rodinal 1+25, 7.5min.