Poetic Isolation

Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

I have a new passion - film photography. Something that makes me feel eager like a child with a brand new toy. It all started earlier this year when I spontaneously bought a Kodak M35 Reusable Film Camera, a point-and-shoot 35mm film camera. I can't point out all the technicalities about it, but it's basically similar to a disposable camera. The difference? It allows its users to reuse it and experiment with analog films. It's a user-friendly camera for someone like me who's a neophyte in film photography.

Why Kodak Ultramax 400 (35mm)?

‎My Kodak M35 came with a free film of my choice. The camera shop asked me to choose from Kodak ColorPlus, Kodak Gold, Kodak Ultramax, and FujiFilm 200; I picked the Ultramax 400.

‎Ultramax 400 is a simple point-and-shoot film, which is great for beginners like me. Due to its 400 ISO, it's suitable for different lighting conditions. My choice isn't based on technical aspects, but on aesthetics. While each film has its own vibe, there's something about Ultramax 400 that I love. I love the grainy effect it offers, and its exposure in images, which is a delicate balance of light and dark. Compared to the other films, Ultramax 400 also gives off a more saturated outcome, which I like. Although it's flexible under bright and low-light setups, from experience, I think it performs better when there's enough light, such as on warm sunny days. This actually complements its warm color reproduction.

‎I've tried the film in outdoor settings, in varying lighting conditions. I find that it works really well in bright and well-lit areas, making it a great choice for landscape photography. I've seen photographers use it for capturing portraits, but I have yet to look into that. Obviously, I need more experience and playtime with my camera.

‎If you're a beginner in film photography like me, Ultramax 400 is a great choice. It's affordable, widely available, and easy to navigate. I can't say anything about its processing since I don't have a darkroom setup at home.

January 2025; Samboan, Cebu, Philippines

Falling in Love with Photography

‎As a child, I remember loathing being photographed. I would cry whenever a photographer was about to take my photos. I don't know why, and I always find it a funny memory. Growing up, particularly in my teens, I've been drawn to taking pictures. There's just something about photography that makes it timeless yet modern and relatable at the same time. I fell in love with capturing moments, portraits, and sceneries.

In college, my friends and I would plan our weekends for fun photoshoots. Despite not having fancy or proper cameras and other equipment, we had the best times bonding over the art of photography.

‎If you've been on this blog for years, you'd see some photos I took using my Samsung digital camera featuring my friends as my models. Speaking of digicam, mine still works. After 10 years! lol

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Capturing Moments Beyond Ultramax 400

‎I recently purchased an AgfaPhoto Color 400 film and will be using it on my trip to Siargao soon. Moving forward, I'd like to explore and experiment with more films. For now, here are some fragments of my life captured in Ultramax 400.

‎The photos were taken this year in Samboan, Cebu, and El Nido, Palawan. All were processed by F8 Photo studio. F8 Photo offers cameras, film, underwater gear, and other photography equipment. They also process films and print photos. If you're in Cebu and need anything from F8, they're located at 2nd Floor, The Forum Building, Archbishop Reyes Ave, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu.

‎‎As we end this year soon, I hope 2025 has been treating you well. Cheers to life! And here's to capturing moments beyond pictures. 🥂🎉٩( ᐛ )۶

‎love lots,

‎Tin

The first day of March signals an ending and a new beginning. A few more winks from now and we will soon enjoy another summer season. Though I don't consider a beach bum, my soul believes that there are a few things in life that only the sea can satisfy.

I've been aching for a bright and quiet day for some time already, and I've been lucky that such aching has been put to an end last week. Last week, Valerie asked me to spend the Sunday with her at the beach. Though the weekend has been one of the busiest days for me, going to a beach is too good of an idea to reject. Plus, Valerie is one of the coolest people I know in college so I know that a Sunday spent with her wouldn't hurt.

At approximately 9am in the morning, we head to Badian which is located in the Southern part of Cebu. We planned to get ourselves to Lambug Beach and to a spring. Since Badian is far from the city proper, we decided to stay at the beach and ditch the idea of visiting the spring. Nonetheless, we had a great day, and what's a great day without some photos? lol With that in mind, we decided to take a lot of artsy fartsy beach photos. We did a vintage-inspired photoshoot a few years ago for a school project and the camera loves her wild until today. Here are some shots of Valerie that I took during our trip, and I hope you'll like them. Took some inspirations for the adjustments in the photos and added some of my favorite quotes as descriptions.

“Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you chose your life, you didn’t settle for it.”

- Mandy Hale, The Single Woman

“We all have things we like about ourselves and things we hate, things we’re so glad happened to us and things we wish never have. But the thing is, we were shaped by both the good and the bad so maybe what you like most about yourself wouldn’t exist without some of the bad things that shaped you.”

“If you have been brutally broken, but still have the courage to be gentle to others then you deserve a love deeper than the ocean itself.”

- Nikita Gill

“Being optimistic really has nothing to do with happiness, it’s just taking whatever life chucks at you and not letting it break you down.”

“You’ve felt it, haven’t you? Those feelings that seem to get so big in your chest, like something is so beautiful it aches?”

- Heather Anastasiu

“One life on this earth is all that we get, whether it is enough or not enough, and the obvious conclusion would seem to be that at the very least we are fools if we do not live it as fully and bravely and beautifully as we can.”

~ Frederick Buechner

On the photographs: Valerie Jo Escrupolo

Photos by: Yours truly

Recently hailed as the best festival in the Philippines, the Sinulog festival of Cebu has so much to offer. Every third Sunday of January, locals and tourists alike flock in the queen city of the south to witness a one of a kind festival.

Colorful, jovial and solemn. Three words that could sum up what the festival is like. Any form of photage wouldn't do justice to capture the finest things that happen every Sinulog. From its grand street parade which could devour an entire day, to the Sinulog dance contest held in the Cebu City Sports Complex, Cebu turns into a seedbed of wonder once the festival starts to begin.

What is Sinulog?

Before scrolling down to see some of the photos that I've captured during the festival. allow me to briefly state a bit of its colorful history, as well as its significance to the whole Cebuano society. chos!

Sinulog is a festival in honor of Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. Its origin can be traced back on the early 15th century when a Portuguese conqueror named Ferdinand Magellan gave Hara Amihan, a native Cebuano leader, an image of the Child Jesus as a gift.

According to some sources, Sinulog comes from our local word sulog which means "like water current movement", describing the forward-backward steps of the traditional Sinulog dance.

Other sources state that the dance came from Rajah Humabon's adviser Baladhay who believed that he saw the child Jesus who taught him the dance steps.

Today the festival serves as a celebration of God's gift and a commemoration of our acceptance to Roman Catholicism. We celebrate Sinulog by conducting a series of novena mass, a solemn procession, and other various means of praising the Child Jesus, such as holding a Sinulog dance competition, a mascot making competition, and conducting a fluvial parade. Of course, some people, especially the millennials celebrate Sinulog via street parties, which is not bad, but some limitations must be considered.

My way of celebrating the festival is not by attending street parties but by simply joining the traditional Sinulog on the feast of Sto.Nino and by attending a mass. My simplest way of capturing the beauty of the festival is by taking photos so here you go.

A giant mascot made of compact discs and paper mache.

The many faces of the Child Jesus

Taho :)

Sinulog dancers, January 2016

Sinulog fluvial parade, January 2015

The Creation of the World; a painting on the ceiling of Basilica Minore del Santo Niño

Sinulog Novena Mass

I'm not a very religious person. I haven't completed any novena mass yet but celebrating Sinulog in my humble ways makes me more proud of being a Cebuano. The celebration reminds me of how beautiful and jocund life can be when God is with us. It makes me feel blessed.

If you are visiting Cebu on a January, don't ever miss the grandest festival of the Philippines.

Have a blessed weekend!

love lots,

Tin