Macau Once More

I don't know if I can call it coincidence/fate/god/luck/karma/life/chance or whatever synonym there is to explain my past week.

On Tuesday I went to a day trip to Macau with my dad. We bought the ticket at a shop and headed to Macau. The weather was pouring rain, foggy and we could bare see what was happening. We explored casinos and walk around the city central for 7~8 hours. I took my Nikormat film camera and shot 1.5 rolls of film... around 50 shots of Macau and 20 shots of Hong Kong I shot earlier.

On Wednesday I headed to my camera shop early in the morning and took my film to develop. In the afternoon when I went to collect it the shop owner said my 2 rolls were blanks... ... nothing was in the rolls... and I was left with two blank exposed film and had to pay $50 for nothing... The shop owner told me to return with my camera for check up... I couldn't believe that since I know I took a few good shots and a few shots of my dad when he was going to leave Hong Kong soon and I didn't know the next time I will see him... I couldn't capture my moments with my dad because of my rookie mistakes...

On Thursday night I got a phone call from my boss telling me that we are going to Macau for a shoot on Saturday.

On Friday the camera shop owner lectured me about film and taught me techniques to avoid the same mistakes...

On Sunday I stayed in Macau after the shoot and try to relive and retake some of the shots I took on Tuesday. The day was cloudy... so I didn't get the nice effect on Tuesday where I had the wet ground full of rich reflections.

On Tuesday I developed my film... this time... they all came out nicely!!!

The best ones would be at: http://visualdocumentary.tumblr.com/

Feels like Hong Kong

Dead End School

Don't Cross the Yellow Line

Everything is happened at such a right timing that I'm surprised myself... When I receive a film camera, the 2 months contract job, The film production company opportunity, returning Macau. I mean the time slots fits in so perfectly that it freaks me out a little... Although I wasn't able to retrieve photos of my dad I think it made me even more careful next time I take photos with my fim camera.

Mistakes are the process of success right?!

First Film Camera

Weird how things can just fit in so perfectly.

At the end of last year I was thinking of getting a film camera for photography and my digital camera for video but because most of the quality film cameras and film was pricey I hesitated and continued with my digital camera. Last year I've built a fundamental knowledge with my Panasonic GH2.

When I returned to Hong Kong my Uncle told me that when they packed they discovered an old Nikon film camera and asked if I wanted it. He said he bought the camera ages ago and never used it. I said yes right away :)

Still looks dusty as these were taken before service.

I took it to get it serviced and picked it up today :D Apparently it was in very good condition despite the camera's old age.

Cannot be more excited to go out in Hong Kong and take some fabulous film photos!!!

Polaroid: The Story

Everybody seems to get hold of a vintage Polaroid getting it to work again.

The aesthetics of a Polaroid camera seems to have its own unique charm. Being an instant tangible photo, film like qualities and relatively small compare to the DSLRs it is type of must-have camera.

Lots of people are trying to bring back the polarograph with The Impossible Project trying to reproduce the Polaroid films that once stopped manufacturing, Fujifilm making modern Polaroid type cameras. This type of camera has suddenly turned into a cult amongst camera enthusiasts, hipsters, vintage collectors and many more.

I'm not an expert in Polaroid cameras so this video will give you a better understanding. The significant impact Polaroid cameras has on not just the camera world but technology as well as culture.

Tiny Timelapse Machine

Kickstarter is an awesome website in which if you haven't known of their existence by now... you should really check them out.

Many entrepreneurs have started their products in this website and inventing creations that are innovating and exciting for both the consumers and the creator themselves.

It is like a testing ground for people that are thinking to mass produce their products, wondering if it'll sell.

Here's is an example of the product that they have uploaded.

I would really love to have this but unfortunately it's not compatible with my GH2 camera..:(

GoPro HD HERO2

Me and my friends have been making several videos this year and we've been making or going to record a few variety of videos. Such as short films, performances, interviews, weddings etc. We have two cameras: a Canon 7D and a Panasonic GH2. Both highly regarded in the video SLR field but sometimes they have limitations, such as protecting them from being potentially damaged, expenses to spend on their accessories or just simply not being about to capture 120fps (frames per sec) to get some nice slow motion.

GoPro is like the camera that can cover those flaws, mount it high above ground, go underwater, put it near an explosion scene and put it at 120fps to get some awesome production value shots.

There are cons to the GoPro of course, it's the fact that you cannot change the aperture, focal length, white balance etc. It's not the most technical camera but it's damn handy and you can afford it being smashed into pieces risking for your million dollar shot.

This video shows you more ways you can use and abuse your GoPro(s).

The Camera Collection

I love graphic motion, cameras and music.

This small video has it all.

I want all those cameras!!!

New Balance

This is just the behind the scenes video of the campaign they are doing with their shoe NB574.

I have been telling my friends for a while that I want a pair of NB and this video explains why. The range of colour ways, the flexibility to pair it with sporty or casual or with chinos. It's a really dynamic shoe that you can wear in almost any occasion except ones that needs to be perfectly suited up.

I'm also excited to see this video because of the camera equipment they use. Very similar to what me and my friends have and we will soon too make incredible videos.

I absolutely cannot wait.

ISO 12800

For the camera(wo)men out there... the title itself should pop out keywords for you.

Noise

As I find myself looking at forums to hack my camera, I found this very exciting video called Darkness Seeker.

on the video description it says that using programs to hack the GH2 system I am able to make really nice night time B&W footages. By pushing the ISO limit to 12800. Which many camera users would not even choose simply because it would be too grainy.

This video shows off the capabilities of my camera in low light situations. :)

I'll definitely hack my GH-2 in the near future.