doubs43
Well-known
I've been following this thread with interest. I met my wife on Mactan Island - she's Cebuano - and we've been married 38 years. She has just returned to the States from Cebu and was sad to see how crowded it's become....... not at all like it was 40 years ago. Even so, my memories of Cebu are nice ones.
Some of you may have heard of her brother and our neice: Max and Bhelle (Bernadette) Surban. Max is a long-time singer and entertainer, primarily Visayan while Bhelle had her own radio show in Manila for awhile. She now lives in NJ, recently married to a Filipino who works in NYC.
There's a large Filipino presence here in Middle Georgia and my wife organized the local "Damayan Association" in Warner Robins, GA, about 10 years ago. She's been President most of that time. Membership is large and the club is quite active. There'll be a huge Valentine's Ball in a couple of weeks.
My wife allows me to indulge my old Leica habit so I think I'll keep her!
Walker
Some of you may have heard of her brother and our neice: Max and Bhelle (Bernadette) Surban. Max is a long-time singer and entertainer, primarily Visayan while Bhelle had her own radio show in Manila for awhile. She now lives in NJ, recently married to a Filipino who works in NYC.
There's a large Filipino presence here in Middle Georgia and my wife organized the local "Damayan Association" in Warner Robins, GA, about 10 years ago. She's been President most of that time. Membership is large and the club is quite active. There'll be a huge Valentine's Ball in a couple of weeks.
My wife allows me to indulge my old Leica habit so I think I'll keep her!
Walker
Kat
Well-known
dgray said:
I never heard of any laws, but I'm not sure what local government officials (or whoever the bosses are of these guards) are telling them, even if you ask them why, they will usually just answer, "It's not allowed here."
Walker, I guess what they say about Filipinos being found anywhere in the world is true, one of our professors once went to Alaska on vacation, and even there he met a Filipino clerking in a store he went into to buy cigarettes from, LOL!
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je2a3
je
Kat said:I HAVE to try downtown, then
But even worse is the discrimination against native pinoys--foreign-looking individuals can shoot all they want even with their DSLRs, because they are presumed "tourists," but the natives can't.
Very true!
But it's still hard for me to give up my Phil. passport after all these years, good thing they allowed dual citizenship now....
Joseph
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
dgray said:
'Bay
I think that trend is catching everywhere. Normally, photography can be easily done almost anywhere, but certain places (eg, commercial districts, shopping malls, etc) do frown against photography. The rules are often bent or relaxed, depending on who's there to enforce them.
For instance, before Christmas, I noticed someone doing some 'lomo' type photography using a small digicam in Glorietta mall (its an Ayala property, was the Ayala mall Cebu already up when you were there?) go about doing his shooting- flash and all- unhampered. Security people were all over, but no one bothered to stop him. I suppose these people judge on your being a 'risk' based on the camera you have. Do the same with an SLR, and the guards would swoop down immediately.
This happened to us when we decided to have refreshments at a food strip and plain clothes security people followed us and asked why we had cameras ....
The worst which ever happened was with the US embassy in Manila. Same photogroup (motley mix of RF, Digi, toycamera shooters)- we were strolling across Roxas Blvd in Manila, and we had to walk past the US embassy. The guards there stopped us from walking in front of the embassy, and insisted that we use the gutter instead or else use the sidewalk on the other side. Duhhh. And we didn't even have turbans or beards and the female members were not in burqahs!
Otherwise, street shooting is still OK to do in Manila. An RF is definitely a plus... people are wary of "pro" photographers- a black AF SLR with a zoom is enough to make you look like one. With an RF (the crappier looking, the better), they'd assume that you're just crazy.
and leave you alone. Even expensive Hexarsare not perceived to be 'pro' gear... so its to our advantage
Jay
je2a3
je
Kat said:Hi, Del. We're not too far from Ayala, our house was in Lahug. It's still there, but only my grandma and her caregivers are living there now.
Kat,
I'm Tagalog but have Cebuano friends! I love your city smaller than Manila but less traffic and pollution and just as cosmopolitan. Saw the Ayala center in '04 and was amazed at the new structures being built there.
Joseph
Kat
Well-known
The beaches don't hurt, either, hahaha. I always thought I'd go back and settle in Cebu after my studies, but somehow I grew to love Manila and the people here inspite of all its problems. I guess the small size of Cebu makes friends and family too "nosy" for a private person like me, hehe. I have to say, after what happened with the Chiong sisters, I never felt safe in Cebu again. Just struck too close to home, both literally and figuratively.
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
taps415 said:
As Wam said, Ilford is still available. Fuji has some BW. Both would be available only from specialty shops.
I used to be able to get BW easily. Until last year, it was relatively easy to get Kodak Tri-X in bulk rolls. Now, they seemed to have disappeared from shelves. The only other readily available film is a generic BW (old style emulsion- great for anyone who likes the look of old BW) from China. It sells for less than a dollar
per 36 exp roll.
Film is indeed disappearing. I like using the 'imperfect' types- if I wanted sharp colours, digital can always do it-
. One type I would have wanted to shoot with these last few days is a Ferrania(?) made cheap colour film. It came in ISO 100, 400 and 800. The last two are super-grainy. When I went looking for them last December, they were gone. Their distributor's own outlets don't even stock them. The store shelves which they used to occupy now contain Lithium batteries and inkjet paper. Jay
je2a3
je
ZorkiKat said:'Bay
Otherwise, street shooting is still OK to do in Manila. An RF is definitely a plus... people are wary of "pro" photographers- a black AF SLR with a zoom is enough to make you look like one. With an RF (the crappier looking, the better), they'd assume that you're just crazy.
are not perceived to be 'pro' gear... so its to our advantage
Jay
Though I'm not much of a street shooter this is true all over having a vintage RF slung around one's neck. On my next visit home I'd like to take pics of Escolta/Binondo area as well as Intramuros. I guess I'd check out the photo shops you guys are talking about in the Hidalgo area too....then have dimsum in Chinatown.
Joseph
je2a3
je
ZorkiKat said:
Jay,
Do you know if this Chinese film can be developed in Diafine or D76 with decent results? What's the ISO rating? Also, are B&W chemicals still available and cheaper than here or should I just bring some?
Thanks!
Joseph
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
Kat said:
Exactly. Beaches are just a few minutes away. No such thing in Manila, unless you don't mind turning into a mutant in Manila Bay
I like Cebu very much. It's not as stressful as Manila. My Cebuano is bad and my accent is too 'soft' (can't help it, I must have picked up the softer Cotabato/Davao version) I conducted 2-day photoworkshop in Cebu in 2001 (or 2002?) for Columbia. That Columbia shop in Colon St. was (still is?) the biggest Konica shop in Asia. Now that Konica has signed off from the film making business, I wonder what they'd be selling there. During that workshop, I actually met a couple of RF shooters. One even had a nice shiny Leica IIIf in tow.
Jay
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
je2a3 said:
Joseph
Medyo mahaba ito. Interesting question
That depends on the Chinese film you're using. Luckypan will develop without problems in D76 (D76 has been the recommended developer in ALL the Chinese films I've ever used). As long as you don't overdevelop Luckypan, it will come out all right. It develops with a luminous quality- skintones look tanslucent and almost glowing. It seems to have extended red sensitivity. If it gets overdeveloped, it tends to get very contrasty and highlight details are lost. Any developer can be used- Rodinal does wonders with it, and so does HC-110. Microdol should do fine as well. I'm not exactly sure what Diafine would do with it-the emulsion appears to be thin and it might not retain enough of the first solution to make the two-bath process work right. I believe you need to have the emulsion sponge up enough developing agent to carry the developing process through bath B.
The other Chinese films I used (only one type, that mentioned in a previous post)
would develop in D76 and Rodinal well too. These are significanlty different emulsions, compared to Luckypan. The emulsions seem to be carryovers from 1950's film recipes. They need to develop for longer times (eg, 10 to 12 mins in D76 at 20C/68F) and the image seems to be mushy.
I have tried to develop some of these old-style films with a split-developer (not exactly diafine, but same effect). The low silver coating and thinner gelatin did not make the developing efficient.
BW chemistry still seems to be available. D76 can still be found in the better-stocked shops, and same can be said for the fixer. When I was still doing a lot of BW, I used to brew my own soups. A chemical stock house used to carry metol and hydroquinone, as well as reagents for making sepia, iron-blue, and green toners. Not anymore, but you could still get from them the ingredients for making fixers.
Jay
je2a3
je
ZorkiKat said:Joseph
Medyo mahaba ito. Interesting question
A bit long reply.... translated for other RFF'ers...
Snip!
Jay
Hi Jay,
I did a cut 'n paste on your Chinese film tips and will print it out for future reference.
Thanks a lot!!!
Regards,
Joseph
R
ray_g
Guest
Jay, very interesting. Bill (bmattock) is looking into Chinese Lucky films. Do you have any sample images processed with the developers you mentioned (D76, HC110, diafine, rodinal)?
eric
[was]: emaquiling
wamjam said:any other Pinoy members out there?
Kamusta
Isa pa
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
ray_g said:
Ray
The ones I uploaded to the RFF contest and member (Zorkikat) galleries are mostly shot on Chinese BW film. The two in the RFF contest are two examples of how Lucky pan behaves- "Pain(t)" is from one normally developed (in D76 1+3, rather on the thin side, but nice to print and scan). The second, "Siesta" is somewhat overdeveloped (in HC110), see the rather dense highlights in the background.
Sayang we no longer have Luckypan here. It's the best one I've seen from China, and it is a very competent replacement for Kodak et al should they chose to go extinct.
Jay
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
eric said:
Hi Eric
Kamusta? Am also at the darkroom yahoo list.
Jay
R
ray_g
Guest
ZorkiKat said:
Thanks. Very nice. IMHO, I think the highlights work really well in Siesta. Sort of gives it a fitting, "dreamy" look. I spent some time trying to figure out what I was seeing -- was that a karitela (driver) in Intramuros?
R
ray_g
Guest
doubs43 said:I've been following this thread with interest. I met my wife on Mactan Island - she's Cebuano - and we've been married 38 years. She has just returned to the States from Cebu and was sad to see how crowded it's become....... not at all like it was 40 years ago. Even so, my memories of Cebu are nice ones.
Some of you may have heard of her brother and our neice: Max and Bhelle (Bernadette) Surban. Max is a long-time singer and entertainer, primarily Visayan while Bhelle had her own radio show in Manila for awhile. She now lives in NJ, recently married to a Filipino who works in NYC.
There's a large Filipino presence here in Middle Georgia and my wife organized the local "Damayan Association" in Warner Robins, GA, about 10 years ago. She's been President most of that time. Membership is large and the club is quite active. There'll be a huge Valentine's Ball in a couple of weeks.
My wife allows me to indulge my old Leica habit so I think I'll keep her!
Walker
What were you doing in Cebu in the 60's, Walker?
retrocam
Too many 50mms
Kat said:
Hi Kat,
I feel that way too here. I just do street photography when I have somebody to go with me or if there's a group walkabout. I don't think you're being paranoid. It's better to be safe than sorry. I also visited La Mesa Dam...they don't let you shoot pics of the dam. But there's the econo park where you can shoot to your hearts content.
-annie
R
ray_g
Guest
retrocam said:Hi Kat,
I feel that way too here. I just do street photography when I have somebody to go with me or if there's a group walkabout. I don't think you're being paranoid. It's better to be safe than sorry. I also visited La Mesa Dam...they don't let you shoot pics of the dam. But there's the econo park where you can shoot to your hearts content.
-annie
Annie, talking about La Mesa Dam - it's strange they won't let you shoot pics, when back around 1990, I went "shooting" there with my brothers. With rifles. I remember that because I got Dengue fever from that shoot.