Sunday Final

Success!
Sort of.
Today I went out in the rain and shot that Eastman 5363 really slow film.
The one that didn't come out cause my F3 bit the dust.
The film is rated at ASA 25 but for me it shoots about a stop slow:

I adjusted the exposure in post by one stop.
I could be wrong and maybe I just need to extend the developing time by a couple of minutes.
Along with my trusty 50mm lens I also took along my wide and long zooms, lenses I hardly use cause they're on the slow side and I mostly shoot at night.
The under exposure could be me too as I tend to shoot a bit under by habit.
Just a tad under exposed, not a full stop like how these images came out:

I'll probably order another couple of rolls, you know, just to fool around with.
The film is more like a novelty to me, it's actually cinema stock.
It doesn't have the latitude like regular still camera film as I feel it's really sensitive to exposure value.
Regular film like good ole Tri-X is good for a stop either way.
Good for folks like me who don't know what the hell they're doing.
If you know what I mean.
Anyways, I got some ideas about developing this stuff so it's back to the developing tank for me.
I hope it rains hard and I'll get to bust out my waterproof camera.
Maybe.

Sunday Early Edition

I'm still sad.
I almost got my F3 back working by flattening the shutter some:

It fires but after checking all that wrinkling perforated the curtain:

I suppose it doesn't really matter since the mirror is shut but I think the more I use it larger that tear will get since the shutter curtain seems to be about as thin as aluminium foil.
Sadness.
Well yesterday I so overwhelmed with grief that I decided to quit photography.
Death in the family and all that.
Then I took a nap.
After I woke up I decided to get back on my proverbial horse and hit the streets.
Besides, I had a roll of film in my other camera I needed to finish it up.
Tripod on back, I decided to try some light trails:

I needed the cars to go by at twenty miles and hour plus in order for the radar thingy to read correctly or at least show twenty.
Actually I was hoping for someone to speed by but no one did:

I think light trails only work with a nice setting.
I mean I could take light trails all over the place, but it only looks nice in certain places:

I took that shot sitting on the sidewalk.
I also did a freeway shot earlier this week:

Gotta go back and reshoot that one and use a filter on the those street lights.
Anyways,  was a walking around thinking about my bad luck.
Mostly I was thinking about that F3.
I really liked that camera and I suppose I sort of got attached to it, kind of like a favorite tool.
Anyways, I went down by the Ala Wai canal to see the lights.
I still haven't got a nice shot there though I keep trying.
Last night it was too windy but I stood there for a bit and watched:



I could have stayed longer, but it was getting late so I headed back the Command Center.
Anyways, today I have all the cameras loaded up and I got some places to go to and see and I'm going to try that super slow film one more time.
Hopefully I'll get some real results.
I also got to do some searching on the eVilness.
You know, for another F3.

Bad, Bad, Bad

It comes in threes they say.
All that bad.
Yes it does.
Now I'm sad.
Very, very sad.

I was happy cause that came in the mail.
My happy lasted only about ten minutes for I found out the focus ring was frozen.
Sad.
Take a good look for the next time you see that camera it will be in pieces.
Parts camera it is now.
Then I was happy again cause I got some new film!
Slow ISO 25 film and I was all excited to test it out.
Except almost the whole roll was under exposed.
Seems that particular film don't like yellow filters:

I got only like five usable images out of the twenty four frames:

Even those are over/under exposed.
Sad.
Well I got two more rolls and I went out today to try again.
This time without a filter and I used my trusty Nikon F3.
Except when I got to school to do some work, I dropped it on the ground.
My camera I mean.
Sort of sad.
Really sad when I developed the roll:

WTF?
Looks like half frame shots!
Except my camera don't do half frames.
At least it didn't used to.
Now it does:

Apparently the impact of the fall wrinkled the shutter curtain on my F3.
Now I'm Super Sad!
Instead of adding to my camera collection, I'm going backwards!
Super Duper Sad.
Bad, bad, bad.
Sad, sad, sad.

2366

That oldfangled fine grain yellow like a banana film.
You remember, the one I promised to try out and report back to you about:

If you are so inclined you, the reader, can read more about it here.
Lemme tell you, this is not your ordinary film.
Not your grandfather's film either.
For one thing, it's a bit difficult to wrap yer head around an ASA/ISO of 6 which is the slow like molasses version of film.
I picked it up because of the slow shutter speeds of them oldfangled cameras; you cannot even shoot ISO 400 film without overexposing.
On the other hand, working with such a low ISO means doing some math way outside of the norm.
I'll stop talking:

The film can resolve.
I read somewhere that maybe the grain is so fine maybe the lenses cannot keep up with the resolving power of the film!
Okay, that doesn't sound correct but you get the idea.
Most of the pictures I took were underexposed; I forgot I had yellow filter on the camera and it was getting dark making it harder to guestimate the camera settings.
Still I was impressed, even if the negatives look a bit goofy:

They're clear!
Very strange to see for the first time.
Anyways, I'm pondering picking up a bulk roll of this stuff, only because I'm interested in the challenges in shooting it.
Then again even rolling my own it comes out to about four bucks a roll and I'm not sure I'm good enough for the film.
Seeing as how it's so awesome and all that.
So then I read about this other film that's like ASA/ISO 25.
I got some of that stuff coming in.
Stay tuned.

Monday Early Edition

Sort of early.
Early for me on a holiday anyways.
So last night I ventured into the concrete jungle of Waikiki to do battle with natives and tourists and whoever else got in front of my lens.
On my way I saw this:

Some storage folks with a sense of humor.
Or something.
Anyways, I was shooting mostly film as I was working on my night eyeballs getting used to without a meter.
My meter.
My poor new to me meter which I dropped on the ground and broke.
More on this later.
So into the giant tourist trap!
Looks like someone decided to stay:

Last night I walked into Waikiki along the other side of the road, usually the side I return home on.
You know, to get a different perspective.
Buskers:

The dude with the electric cello was pretty good as was the dude on the ukulele.
As you can see though, they weren't getting too much attention.
At least this guy had and audience, sort of:

Mr. Duckhead had a squeaky thing on his foot that he used to make well, squeaky sounds as he jammed on his guitar.
Little girl there was busting a move to his beat.
I dunno, I think I'd rather be a banana head.
These folks went all out:

They were at the same place I saw a band setting up last time I was here, but apparently these are different guys.
I gotta say, getting a four man band on a sidewalk ain't easy and I give them credit for doing it.
They were pretty good too.
I also took a picture of an airbrush artist working the sidewalk and was asked by his assistant not to take any pictures.
She and I had some words about expectation of privacy and such and the artist dude came over to explain that flash photography wasn't good for his eyeballs which I perfectly understood.
The thing that bothered me was that they were on a freakin public sidewalk bordering on breaking a city ordinance and I didn't take to well about someone asking me not to take pictures.
His assistant asked me nicely, but seriously?
I moved on:

Custom slippers!
Only folks on mainland call them flip flops and I don't even know what that means.
The flip flop part I mean.
Anyways, you can go in and choose all sorts of beads and little flowers and uh, stuff to decorate your slippers with.
Great idea and the counter was full.
Newfangled skateboard:

Equipped for night galavanting with head and tail lights.
Carbon fibre.
High tech.
I'll take only two wheels please.
Okay, I developed my film but I gotta go over and scan it so I got more later.
I also shot that yellow super slow film and I should go out and shoot the other roll but it's a holiday and I'm feeling like I should get to my laziness drills.
We'll see how I feel later.
Or not.

Sunday Final

Late again!
Boy, all these laziness drills really set me back time wise.
Okay we got a lot to go over so let's get started!
Yesterday, I was off to Chinatown again:

Steaming dim sum!
Too bad I could only look through the window.
Much to see and do.
Chinatown is so full of colors!

Ribbon for lei.
Most of the lei stands that I know of are in Chinatown.
There are also some at the airport but most of the local folks, when they are in need of fresh lei, head off to Chinatown.
So happened they were also having a New Years festival:

I gave the dragon a buck, you know, for good luck!
It was really fuzzy.
For a dragon I mean:

There was also a lotta food.
Thankfully, I was pretty hungry:

Though not hungry enough to eat this roast pig being wheeled across the street:

I took more pictures both film and digital, mostly artsy fartsy stuff as I was with two students and I was trying to get them to see things.
Like through a lens I mean, better.
If you know what I mean.
Up and down the streets we wandered, going here and there, to and fro well, you get the idea:

More on Chinatown later as I just got back from Waikiki and I'm eating some leftover fried rice and beef oyster sauce from yesterday seeing as how I was in Chinatown and I had a craving for well, Chinese food.
Except I'm trying to eat fried rice with chopsticks and trying to eat Chinese fried rice with chop sticks when you're hungry is a gallant but futile effort.
Just ain't happening.
So anyways, I 'll catch up with you, the reader tomorrow as it's a holiday and I got nothing better to do.
Wait.
That's sort of like a laziness drill.
Okay I sort of got something to do.
Monday Early Edition coming up.
You know, to make up for the lost Sunday Early Edition.

When Will It End?

Hopefully soon.
Though I don't think one ever gets cured of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS).
I think I'm running out of GAS.
Thankfully.
For one thing, I'm not a collector.
I'm a user.
I like stuff I can use and not just display on a shelf.
I don't have many shelves to display stuff on.
Maybe if I did I would but I don't so I can't.
Put stuff on shelves I mean.
So I've been thinking about the end of the road for the Camera Quest and I think it's coming up soon.
Yeah right.
Anyways, that oldfangled Contessa keeps surprising me:

I shot that stuff with a yellow filter and as you can see I got a rather large flare.
I gotta remember to take it off when I shoot directly into the sun or thereabouts.
These old cameras continue to fascinate me as the quality of the images are excellent.
Even the Konica I fixed up did okay:

The ungood qualities in them images are all user error, not the camera.
I suppose I did a pretty good job of fixing that thing up even if the meter doesn't work.
So now I want one with a working meter which brings us back to Camera Quest again.
The good news is that I've narrowed down my eVilness watch list to like twenty items.
It was over forty just last week but I'm beginning to come to my sense.
That's right, sense, cause it's obvious I got only one.
Okay maybe I got more than one because I'm finally getting to the point where I'm satisfied with the cameras I already got and I'm already thinking of unloading some of them at the next camera swap meet.
Of course getting rid of some means I got more room on my shelf and well, you know how that goes.
It ain't over till it's over.

Sunday Final

Walking, walking, walking.
That's all I did this afternoon/evening.
My intention was to get out in the early afternoon and catch some daylight, but my laziness drills prevented that.
So by the time I left the Flat Tire Command Center (FTCC) there was only about an hour worth of daylight left.
Which means I had to make some time as I wanted to be on Waikiki Beach before sunset.
I was late:

It was also cloudy.
Which could have been a good thing, but the sun never came out from behind the clouds and the sunset was a dud.
I did get to practice my silhouettes:

I wish I had gotten a bit closer to that girl with the pink tube but I didn't want to walk on the sand.
I was wearing shoes don't you know.
Anyways, the sunset was a disappointment, at least for me, but there were folks lined up all over the beach sort of taking in the uh, dimness:

If the sun had managed to come out I could have gotten some interesting images.
Like of these touri at a beachside pool/bar:

So I was walking along the beach trying not to get sand in my shoes feeling sad when I realized things could be worse.
I mean I could be walking in snow.
Or in the desert.
Or in the rain.
Well, you get the idea.
So I made the best of it and watched some hula for a bit:

On the return route I decided not to take Kalakaua Avenue back, which is like the main drag, but I went up a bit and walked back on Kuhio Avenue.
I passed by a pizza place on a trailer, which I had never seen before:

I would have stopped for a slice it they had one, but it looks like they were only selling whole pies.
Maybe I'll go back like when I'm really hungry.
Then again I don't have to be really hungry when it comes to pizza!
Then believe it or not I saw some lightning again on the horizon over the water.
Boy, that's like two walks in a row!
This time I didn't bother to try and get any shots, I just put it in high gear and kept on moving.
I didn't get to try out that yellow film cause I left too late so I'll leave that for another day.
I did get some other shots but I gotta scan them and see how they came out.
Choosing films in a difficult thing even though I don't see too much difference in the ones that have similar speeds.
The cameras I use now are sort of dictating what I choose mainly because they are so old and well, dated.
Scans tomorrow and we'll see how I did.