Tonight I had fun. I seldom have that much fun, and i guess it was fun because it was irresponsible and low on commitment. Tonight we celebrated our graduation, after 4 years of hard work (debatable) in school. We had a semi fine dining at Fullerton Hotel that cost us 80 bucks. I can’t say much about the food because i hardly touched it. I did manage to drink the soup, of which i found out later was only half a dish because lionel gave the dumpling that came with it to someone when i wasn’t at the table. And when i say i can’t say much about the food, it’s not because i had no opinion, but i can’t say much about the food - It was disgusting.

Anyway it was nice to see people you haven’t met for months, looking their best no less. Find out what everyone has been doing, be that affable social chap that everyone likes to make small talk with. And because everyone had everyone else to meet, small talk was low on commitment and you could bail and say “I’ve to catch up with that dude over there, talk to you later.” without hurting anyone’s feelings. Those are the best kinds. And everyone feels like a star.

Fortunately the cynicism isn’t why i’m telling this story. The story is, for such an important event, what gear should someone use to get great pictures? Some brought huge ass giant DSLRs, most had the latest point and shoots, and some used their iPhones.

I used the best camera of all: A disposable one.

I wanted to experience the event and enjoy myself. I didn’t want to carry something heavy around and worry all the time about lighting. Hence my DSLR is out. Great quality and output yes, but i wouldn’t have enjoyed myself as much.

Point and shoots were a great choice. Small and compact and great for simple flash photography, however prone to being lost at such a chaotic event, or being spilled upon by the drunken passerby. I would have brought mine, but somehow i still didn’t want something as heavy as that. Heavy means it swings around in your blazer pocket as you walk around, bumping into corners and chairs.

Disposable camera: extremely light. You forget it’s even there. I had to check once in awhile. Small and compact because it’s just so simple to use. point, shoot, wind. It was also low maintenance. I didn’t have to bother about dropping it, bumping into things etc. It would just appear in my hand, get the shot and disappear back into the pocket. The best part is (and i honestly feel this is the best reason for using it), I had only 27 exposures. This meant that each of the 27 shots would be meant for someone special to me. I had to choose my subjects carefully, because i had to make each shot count. And because of that, i took photos with not everyone, but people who in some way made an impact in my life.

I guess i was the only one in the entire ballroom to use a disposable, considering the enormous amount of reactions i got when people saw this nifty little gem. They were surprised and intrigued as to why i would use such a low/zero tech box that made brights lights and recorded reflections onto light sensitive materials. Some thought i was mad, slowly degenerating (DSLR -> Film camera-> disposable) to the point i might have to sketch when i felt like recording something i see. But what good fun it was, to see their faces! It also made for good conversation, and made them feel extremely special (for being one of the 27).

I knew that if i had used a digital, i would be snapping away non stop. The event, the venue, the lights, the stage, the performance. In the end i’d be documenting it rather than being a part of it. Then at home it will join other terabytes of data never to see the light of day again, because the photos are not worth printing or even viewing. I know for a fact that each of the 27 exposures will be printed and arranged nicely in an album.

Disposables FTW.

Share This / 2 Comments / Jul 11.09 / Daily / by Shaun

here is now

I’m back from Alaska! That marks the last of my post graduation travel plans and I officially join the workforce this coming Monday.

The Alaskan scenery was beautiful but I’m still in love with the Norwegian landscapes. I was on a Alaskan cruise that departed from Vancouver and made several stops in Alaska. The cruise itself was alright, but more suited for the retiree more than a twenty something. They should have party ships that allow only twenty-somethings!

Share This / 3 Comments / Jul 02.09 / photography / by Shaun

Month of Photography Asia

Anyone who’s interested in photography has got to check this out. Stop fooling around with your gear, waiting for the most perfect piece of photography equipment to show up on dpreview.com. Start seeing what people are doing.

Congrats to Deanna for her Solo show at the opening of MOPA. Great series “Life before Death”

Stever McCurry will be in town this week as well, too bad i won’t be in town to catch his exhibition.

Strangely enough, i seem to have seen the portrait of the tattooed man (click) at the MOPA taken by Francoise Huguier with her collection “Don’t Move”. Can someone check it out? If it’s the same guy, THAT WILL BE AWFULLY WEIRD.

See you when i’m back.

Share This / No Comments / Jun 17.09 / Daily / by Shaun

Krabs

Share This / No Comments / Jun 11.09 / film, photography / by Shaun

i like this

there’s so much undone.

Share This / No Comments / Jun 07.09 / Konica Hexar RF, film, photography / by Shaun

what’sgoingon???

i don’t know either.

Got back from Aussie, got back from Krabi and soon off to Alaska.

Low creative point, fork in the road and the usual.

Read The Alchemist to shed some light on God and stuff, but disappointed.

my rf is wonky, viewfinder misaligned. Still haven’t gotten around to getting it fixed. No other camera to use except my rollei. Should start looking for a fm3a, but i’m broke.

ditch the D200, but then i can’t do “proper” stuff.

fml.

you deserve it.

Share This / No Comments / Jun 05.09 / Daily, photography / by Shaun

back from aussieland

photo taken by poh.

hi i’m back from aussie land. photos are still undeveloped and unscanned. will share some soon perhaps.

The cities were boring, and landscape was unchanging. It also wasn’t much of a grad trip because we did our own things and were separated most of the time.

I guess Australia is really about the outback, and if you don’t experience that, you won’t experience anything new. The cities were honestly standard fare cities. even the victorian architecture couldn’t save the show. Not forgetting how racism is widespread there. I feel pity for the ignorant.

Share This / 1 Comment / May 16.09 / Daily / by Shaun

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

re-visit-re-visit-re-visit- . . .

Alaska, Land of dreams

the best camera is the one on hand