My blog
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Boracay Daze
Monday, Oct 19, 2009 4:26PM / Standard Entry
Even though our friends had to cancel at the last minute due to illness, even though two typhoons were baring down on the Philippines, even though our flights might get canceled, we felt bound and determined to attend the First Annual Alive Not Dead Boracay Beach Party. Okay, so I must have been dreaming about the AND bit, but we still went to Boracy anyway.
Although I get to travel often, this trip to Boracay was the first non-family obligated holiday Savvy and I had taken since Reina was born. In spite of the terrible weather experienced by many in the Philippines, somehow our flights managed to avoid the brunt of it and we were only delayed two hours on our connecting flight to Boracay (the previous day, all flights to the island had been cancelled).
When you travel in the off season to a tropical paradise, there are things you should expect, wind and rain are both a part of that expectation, but we did not anticipate the intensity of the storms. Fortunately, most of the wind and precipitation occurred at night. Still, the impact was awesome. At times, walking back to our resort on the Diniwid Beach, the wind was so fierce we had to lean firmly into it. Several times Reina was blown away. I mean, her hat was blown away. It was quite windy. You get the idea.
Most days we just played on the various beaches that Boracay has to offer. Though Reina was not particular about which patch of sand she plays in, Savvy and I preferred Puka Beach and Diniwin to the famed White Beach. The stretch of sand is impressive along White Beach’s shoreline, but it is so developed, it feels more like being on a boardwalk than on an island paradise. Case in point, the presence of a three-story Starbucks. Add the large number of people on the beach, even in the low season, and the less popular beaches seem all the more charming for their quite seclusion.
We had a great time, but felt we got more bang for the buck when we visited the shores of Thailand. For that matter, we felt holiday travel was cheaper in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Bali too. Oh, and Bali has such great snorkeling sites. Still, I can’t complain about the flight time and almost everyone speaks English. And the people we met were great. So, if you want to go and you would like a photographer to guide you, I won’t refuse any reasonable offers. I’m looking at you DY.
To visit my Boracay photo album, click here.
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An intimate night with AnD
Tuesday, Sep 8, 2009 2:30PM / Standard Entry
Yes, leave it to the photographer at the recent Beijing Alive Not Dead dinner party to be the last to post up images of the nights foolery. No matter. On Friday, Etchy hosted an intimate dinner party (read small) for 8 of us. I'm sure there would have been more, but the whole thing was rather last minute. Still, the absence of others was our gain as the restaurant featured Guizhou cuisine. For you die hard foodies, there was no ciwawa.
I always forget to shoot food, so this is for D.Y. and his bottemless pit of a stomach.
First time I met Firebird. He's a funny guy and his personality is such that it fills a room.
Thanks to Karen for knowing where to go for the Guizhou eats!
This boys tried so hard to impress Zhang Lan Xin, but all she chould do was laugh.
Battle of the bicepts. I suppose it depends on what your tastes are. I callenged them all to an endurance contest, but everyone balked when I suggested we swim 50 laps to see who the strongest is. Even after I promissed not to let any of them drown. Push up? Uh...pass.
Inside the mind of a creative marketing genius. Not sure why Etchy was photographing his arm, but who am I to question the master? Actually, I aplied the sticker to Wu Di's chest for the comic effect of watching Zhang Lan Xin rip it off. He's lucky he has no chest hair - and that we were too busy laughing to remember to take a picture of his reaction.
I've seen her cover on FM Magazine at the newsstands. Congratulations! Check out Etchy's post to see the cover featuring Zhang Lan Xin and shots from inside the magazine.
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Old School Camera
Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 6:30PM / Standard Entry
Don't tell Savvy, but I have a secret. For years, I have kept a box of old camera equipment in tow with us. Whenever we reduced clutter, especially before an international move, I managed to squirrel the box away undetected. Today, I decided to take a peak inside as I have almost no recollection as to its contents. This was in the first of several boxes within.
If memory serves, this Ansco Viking 6.3 belonged to my great uncle, a budding amateur photographer in his day. However, the unopened roles of Kodak b/w Verichrome Pan give a good indication of when he stopped shooting circa 1964 (expiration date). I'm not sure if the film was for this camera or a later model. He also did quite a bit of 8mm video.
The filter kit has me a bit perplexed as it does not appear to fit the camera. My suspicion is that it was made for a later model of the camera after Ansco merged with Agfa in 1928. It is possible that the camera predates the merger (I've yet to discover any dates on it). Although I found manuals for later models online, I have not found any yet for this particular model. Either way, it is safe to assume the camera is older than the internet, my first car, or me. There is another filter kit as well that does not seem to fit. However, they both look very cool.
Made in Binghamton, NY. Ansco actually predated Kodak. The Viking only has five shutter speeds 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, bulb and "T" whatever that means. It is still light tight, so assuming I can find the right film, we are ready to role. I have a Chinese brand of 120 film, but it is not quite the right size spool. Drats!
I thought the price info stamped on top of the filter box interesting. Try getting a three filter kit for that price now. If I get the thing working, I'll keep you posted. There are four more mystery boxes to unpack, but I'll save them for another day. I've a feeling at least one camera in there is a whole lot older.
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Fantastic Time Lapse
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2009 12:17AM / Standard Entry
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Short Action Film Shoot
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 10:15PM / Standard Entry
Not long ago, a group of film makers got together to have a bit of fun one weekend here in Beijing. Although I could not join them on location for the full extent of their misadventures, I was able to drop in for a few hours and document the work. For the more serious side of things, you can check out Wu Di's blog as he has posted some of the pics. However, I thought the view from behind the scenes was more entertaining, if not telling, of a few hours in the life of a no-budget film project.
In an abandoned Beijing parking lot, an epic struggle for life and death was unfolding.
A seemingly vanquished Shahaub was using his suit to clean the garage floor. But who was responsible for this madness?
One was the director, Zhang Lei, who took a simple, yet professional, pleasure in maximizing their pain.
Li Yuan, the choreographer, was pushing the actors hard too. He kept saying, "Shoot it again. Real blood will look better!"
Li Yuan showed he wasn't all talk.
Meanwhile, Wu Di was starting to take a few beatings of his own. What's a big Brit to do? A header, of course.
But don't count Shahaub out of the game yet. This coiled spring is as lethal as James Bond himself.
Shahaub, Just Shahaub. Licensed to kill you - with laughter.
Watch out for this one ladies. Time magazine named him the Persian Jim Carrey.
With each take, Shahaub really felt Wu Di's pain in this shot. I could sense the empathy on his face each time the big Brit landed on top of Wu Di.
Taking a page from Lucus, Zhang Lei filmed multiple endings to confuse the crew. In this surprise twist, enemies become lovers right on the battlefield.
Love fest over. Cue violent death scene.
Turns out fake blood doesn't taste so nice.
After learning the caterers did not show up, Wu Di vowed, "I will have my vengeance in this life or the next!"
With no change of clothes, he had an entertaining subway ride home after the shoot.
Ah, the old crotch cam. By the way, this is about what a colonoscopy is like.
Stats
- I shoot, therefore I am.
- Occupation: Photographer
- Gender: Male
- Total visits: 101,201
