singapore botanic gardens

I've been to Singapore a couple of times before, but last May was my first time going to this 156-year old garden honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was still summer. The garden is vast, so walking is a must for one to explore the entire 74 acres.

The heat was almost unbearable, but I enjoyed taking photos of the light coming through the rustling leaves and to the concrete pathway. Even after 3 years of shooting film, I still have to think about my exposure settings and estimate the light of my surroundings before I shoot (the light meters of my cameras are all busted).

Unfortunately, I overestimated the light coming through the trees and thought it was enough to shoot at 1/125-1/250, hence the grain. Fortunately, I will be coming back to Singapore early next year so I may have the chance to shoot with a decent exposure.

Yup, there's been a little change in my blog. Everything else is the same, though. Maybe I'll explain the transition later. For now, welcome to the new blog name :)

daily grind

above

tiny human

Speaking of tiny things: TinyLetter.

kimi lately

intramuros in monochrome

I did not pay much attention to this roll after I shot it, until now. Ilford, I'm impressed. GR1S is really a gem if you take time to make friends with the auto-focus. B&W and GR1S is such a power couple!

A few random updates:

• I spent a wonderful, long vacation in Melbourne with my family, and lugged four cameras with me on major tourist spots. I do not recommend it (lugging four cameras).
• I have no idea when I'll be able to get money the energy to bring the rolls to the lab
• I've stopped using my default social media accounts, because.
• It's final, I'm not going to renew my domain anymore.
• I'll be moving writing personal stuff elsewhere
• Last, and the most important, update in my life these days is: The Legend of the Blue Sea trailer has been released! 

sleepwalking with the lonely

Hello! How are you? I'm still alive :) Just haven't been able to sit down to update this blog.

I've been thinking about it.. I'll probably won't be renewing my domain anymore. I'm having major doubts lately with the existence of this blog and my commitment to it. I don't want to do any rash decision of taking this down on a whim, so I'll start with not renewing my domain first.

If I get my wheels turning again, I might renew. If not, I'll stick to the blogspot URL. Worst case scenario is not having a blog altogether. Unlikely, but possible.

I'm trying my best to hang on to the last thread of this blog, I hope you all understand.

~

In the meantime, here's a short travelogue of my trip when I went to Taipei last August :) Enjoy!

fort santiago

my little film meetup

Palacio del Gobernador Building

It was around this time last year when Bea and I met for a photowalk. A long overdue meetup. It's funny because our weekend schedules conflict every time one of us would strike up an invite.

Six months and seven back-and-forth invites later, we finally both got a free day, and met at the go-to photowalk location in Manila –— Intramuros.

Bea shooting the Manila Cathedral

Meeting Bea

We met just after lunch near the Manila Cathedral. It was an easy first meetup. Probably one of my easiest, because there wasn't a moment of awkwardness when I met her.

She is who she is online. Cheery, and energetic. Later I found out that this is not just a mere impression.

It was a hot afternoon.

She is, indeed, full of energy—carrying that backpack with God knows how many camera/lenses inside haha! Not to mention an SLR and a TLR camera hanging around her neck.

She was constantly shooting, if not eyeing for a good angle of a photo. My energy was no match.

Hello, Bea!

As dusk fell, we sat at the back of Fort Santiago with the Pasig River as our background. We talked about film, other film enthusiasts, and how she learned to develop film. Then I borrowed her Rolleiflex and tinkered it for a bit.

Who knew that one year later, I would care for and own a TLR myself :)

Bea with my Ricoh GR1S, and her Canon FTb and Rolleiflex(!)

That's Bureau of Treasury Building in the background

On being part of a community

I was glad Bea asked me first for a meetup. I don't think I could muster the courage to ask anyone online to meet in person. Hello, introversion! Plus, I'm not as chirpy (if ever I am) here/online as I am in person.

But no matter how much I keep things to myself, it is still good to be part of a community and meet people with the same passion. It is nice to know that even if film isn't widely used these days, there's still a good chunk of people who are also passionate, supportive and helpful in keeping film alive.

Whatever your hobby/passion may be, I recommend finding a community with the same interest and enthusiasm as yours. You'll be surprised by how much you'll learn.

intramuros