Film Reloaded…

Before my next assignment out of Malaysia, I’m now in Singapore making a last minute top up of photographic accessories. I’ve almost ran out of Kodak TriX films after the trip to Vietnam where I used up 6 rolls in 7 days.
Loaded my film store with an additional 10 rolls of 135 Kodak TriX, 5 rolls of Ilford HP5+ and another 5 rolls of Ilford LP4+ film. HP5+ is supposed to be the same as TriX but cheaper. And goes well pushed to EI1600, we’ll find that out soon enough. Was thinking of loading a few rolls of Ilford PanF but the ISO 50 just bugs me out. I’m not likely to do any photoshoot of the bright sunlighted outdoors, and will most probably do indoor shots with fast lens, so EI50 is just too slow. LP4+ at ISO125 might be a better option.
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Short photography stories

There’s nothing better than a good book to read just before going to sleep, and the problem with most novels are that the chapters usually take me about half an hour to finish, and I dont like to leave it in the middle of the story.
There’s a book I bought recently over at Borders in Singapore and although it looks like a typical photography book, its less that and more of adventure book. Sure there are some details on the technical bits, but I read it more like a storybook. It also helps that every chapter is just about 2-3 pages (so there are a lot of chapters!). Its a book by the late Galen Rowell, and here’s the link if you want to check it out in Amazon.com… Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

I’m very close to the end already and I’m already on the lookout for something similar. That’s if my new issue of Wired and Outside magazines are not out yet, becuase they usually take 1-2 weeks to finish.

1 bottle of TMAX Developer = x rolls of film

Finished my first bottle of 757ml Kodak TMAX developer and lets see what we have developed with this…
Kodak 100 TMAX = 1 Roll
Kodak 400 TMAX = 1 Roll
Kodak 400TX = 10 Rolls

Not bad. Total of 12 rolls of 35mm film processed with a bottle of TMAX developer. I think I’ll try Rodinal next time since I Can dilute it more rather than the 1+4 with the TMAX developer.

Developing Kodak 400TX pushed to EI800

I started developing my B&W negatives from the Vietnam trip and I happen to have 2 rolls rated at EI800. In the Kodak documentation (Kodak F-4017) for the new Tri-X film, we’re supposed to develop at the same time for EI800 as for EI400, because of “the films’ exposure lattitude… Prints will show a slight loss in detail”.
So with this in mind, I started developing with Kodak’s TMAX Developer at 21C at 1+4 dilution for 5 3/4 mins as in the spec sheet for EI400.
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Back from Hanoi

Just arrived back in KL from Hanoi where I spent almost a week for holiday. Went to Halong Bay, and Sapa highlands, like most travellers to northern Vietnam. Had a few bowls of Pho along the way, some ok, some disgusting. On average Vietnam is cheap enough to make a Malaysian feel like the ringgit has some value after all. Although not as cheap as the cheapest place in China.
Brought along my GPS, 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses, a mobile phone (just in case, its almost always off), 2 backpacks, a wife, and a few hundred USD and that’s enough for an enjoyable holiday.

Didn’t spend too much money on souvenirs. Got myself a Viet Cong soft hat, more for the hiking in Sapa. Tempted to get American GI versions, but I’m sure they’ll try and charge me a small fortune for what looks like a fake.
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On Vacation…

Will be making my way over to Hanoi in Vietnam tomorrow for a week holiday. Right now I’m taking a break from packing. Going to be bringing a backpack full of photo gear, and a rollerbag with clothes for a week assuming no laundry services + a daypack for the 2 day trips to places outside Hanoi. Lets see what I manage to capture on film…

Training is good for your health…

Just came back from 2 weeks of training. The first one was in Shenzhen China, where we lived on a seaside resort to the east of the city, looking at Hong Kong while being handicapped with a single entry visa to China, and not able to go for a weekend of civilization without missing out on the training. Shenzhen wasn’t that bad, but expensive. We had seafood almost everyday, and although the training centre was next to the sea, it seems that all the food comes from a pond somewhere. All the seafood over there were midgets compared to stuff you get elsewhere. Somehow the locals think its a delicacy. Strange.
The second week was a nice training in Singapore. More management rather than technical so less chance to fall asleep. And less things to talk about too. Singapore is just too similar to KL for me to notice anything interesting during that week.

Its coming to Labour day already (tomorrow) and I will have a big problem getting back to work on tuesday. But luckily for me, I have a holiday planned for the second week of May! So its a holiday month for me…

Filter Shopping in Hong Kong

Went on a daytime assault in Hong Kong, looking for the best place to buy camera related items in less than 3 hours before I had to catch a flight back to KL.
Started looking around at the shops in Mongkok but didn’t find anything interesting about the prices of shops there. Most of them are either a con or they fixed their prices. Saw a lot of tourists there, and although they had a reasonable stock over there (mostly at Sheung Wing), they had a general range, point and shoots, some professional photo stuff. But hey, if you want to just look at the pro Nikon D2 bodies or Canon 1D, then that’s the place to go.
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Long day tomorrow…

The formula 1 is coming to Kuala Lumpur in a matter of weeks. Tomorrow there’s supposed to be some pitstop event at the Petronas Twin Towers where the Sauber team will show off on the street. Will be there with a friend and will carry a bag packed with my camera and zoom lenses. Time should be between 2-5pm.
Right after that, I’m planning to explore the area around Malaysia’s Sepang airport. I’ve heard of the place around Sepang town, and there’s supposed to be a nice beach there. That should be around 6-7pm already by the time I finish.

Right after that I will have to pick up my wife from the airport at 9pm. Looks like I might have to pack my lunch and dinner and will be a long long day tomorow! Too bad I will be using only film so there will be no quick pictures to post here.

My first roll of TriX developed

Developed my first roll of B&W film today. The process was ok except for some workflow problem, I didn’t mix the chemicals before I start with the developer, thinking I’ll have enough time, but at the end finding myself rushing to mix the right proportion of chemicals. THe negatives are drying and there seems to be some scratch marks around the first few frames becuase of the film picker. I tried to get the film out but the picker just doesn’t work. Finally had to pry the film canister open to get the film out.
The film I developed was a Kodak 400TX rated at EI400. Tomorrow I will develop another roll at EI1600 with all the tips I’ve learnt today.

The shop was out of wetting agent so I expect to see a lot of watermarks in the film when its dry. Ah well, can’t have it all.

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