After a few months, I am still adjusting to shooting with a rangefinder. I’ve only had my Konica Auto S2 since January and it still has a long way to go before I could trust it fully like the Nikon FM2n I used to have.

Also, focusing with a rangefinder, nailing the focus takes time and practice. On a good day, I find it very easy and fast, and I nail the focus without difficulty but most of the time, I spend like half of the time focusing. I check and recheck my focus, and thats what slows me down. But, I’m sure I’ll get used to it with more practice and more rolls of film to burn.

Anyway, photographs, here they are, shot in color and black and white, since I use film depending on my mood.

I was on my way home one night and I passed by the local municipal hall, and saw this moment. I’m sure the guy in yellow is a local security watchman. I’m not sure why he is watching T.V. when he’s supposed to be watching out for the people.

With the upcoming elections, a lot of different kinds of activities were held at the local stage in which the candidates for the local positions in my town have a chance for exposure which can greatly help in his campaign. At that time it was a singing contest and these guys were practicing one last time but I see one member late, but her dress is already there.

One sunday while having coffee with my family, I saw this guy holding a bunch of balloons right in front of me. A party later perhaps?

I hate it when I forget my lunch box. Its so hot outside, that the moment you step out the building, you’ll be sweating like a pig already. Well, I forgot my lunch box one day and went out to eat. I always bring my camera wherever I go, and after a nice meal, as I head back to the office, I saw these two best buds.

One of my officemates, working, and his monkey stuffed toy beside him, probably watching to check if he’s doing his job the right way.

Here’s mom and dad, sharing a moment together.

I was at my sister’s university school one weekend, I took a few shots around the campus.

Luckily, a ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Course) Formation nearby. These two guys were the Military Polices, stationed at the entrance filtering late cadets.

I do commute on my way to work and back home. One day I was just trying how fast I can focus with a rangefinder. I know it will blur, the lighting inside the station is a bit tricky and it is around 1/30th. In terms of focusing I guess I really need practice.

On my way home that same day, I got lucky with the exposure in the morning but not in the afternoon. I’m still learning Sunny16 Rule, and the only way I will learn it is to experience it and make mistakes. This was underexposed by one or two stops, I just did a recovery in Lightroom and grains started to show up. Good thing modern films have a wide exposure latitude.

A night at the mall with my family, and there’s this Pyro Festival going on nearby. I was loaded with black and white film so I just shot people watching it instead.

Yeah, I know, its the same guy from above.

I was testing an Olympus 35SP that I will sell very soon, at first its great, it wins in size and weight against my Konica Auto S2. The color rendition and clarity goes to the Olympus 35SP too. Its a great camera, though I love the Konica Auto S2 more. I’m going to miss it.

Taken with Olympus 35SP, you can see why it’s one of the best compact fixed length rangefinders around. I’m happy I got one of my favorite shots of my girl before I sold the camera. At least I can say, it has served me well in the brief time I had it.

Back to the Konica Auto S2, practicing hyperfocal distance. shot at f/8.

These kids, well, see the ramp at the photo above? thats what they were doing. They go up the ramp and just let gravity take care of the rest. Looks fun actually.

Caught these guys resting after a long day. These guys have been selling starter cellphone SIM kits, I guess they have made their quota already.

And here’s my dad. My mentor and my bestfriend. A lot of times we disagree on each other. A lot of times we fight, but he never fails to be there when I need him. That’s my old man.

Anyway, that’s the last photo.

The heat is unbearable, and the scorching summer heat makes me want to hit the beach every single day. Hoping to hit the beach soon,

D.

Filed under: PhotoBlog ]]> http://denmarkyuzon.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/street-tales-aligned-superimposed-reality/feed/ 2 denmarkyuzon 000014 (3) 000041-2 DAY_100317-2 000020 000017 000015-2 000024 (4) 000027-2 DAY_100316-2 DAY_100316-3 000037-2 DAY_100316 000033-2 DAY_100316-4 000008-2 000013-2 000013 (2) 000012 (2) 000038 (2) DAY_100405 http://denmarkyuzon.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/street-tales-around-with-a-rangefinder/ http://denmarkyuzon.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/street-tales-around-with-a-rangefinder/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 09:17:34 +0000 denmarkyuzon http://denmarkyuzon.wordpress.com/?p=322 ]]> For more of my photographs, please visit my Flickr site.

Been to a lot of places recently, and everywhere I went, I brought my Konica Auto S2 with me. Testing it in a real world situation where familiarity with the camera, fast eyes, being observant and guts are needed. Honestly I don’t trust it that much yet. It’s only been with me for a couple of months and I’m still adjusting to it. Maybe I need to go out more often, and take more pictures with it to get used to it.

Anyway, I been to Palawan last holy week with my girlfriend and her family. Here are some shots I took from that trip.

I took this at a souvenir shop there. A lot of smiling faces smiling at me.

There were a lot of palm trees, and a lot of fallen coconuts. This one was fresh, put alongside the dried up ones, cracked open from the force  of impact.

I just love palm trees.  Everytime I see one, it reminds me of the beach. And I love the beach!

We went out for a little island hopping. Its a bit expensive, but we’re in Palawan, might as well enjoy it.

A closer look at the boy at the back of the boat in the photo above.

And a bar in one of the islands we visited which doesn’t have anything to sell but water. LOL

On our way back to the hotel, at the pier, I saw these kids playing with bicycle tires, and using a piece of wood stick to make it go forward. I used to do this back when I was a kid when I visit my province. It is fun. Just don’t let the tire go faster than you or you’ll eat it’s dust. Haha.

At the airport, waiting for our flight home. I just love airports. There’s a lot of things going on. People waiting, eating, sleeping…

My favorite photo from that vacation. Twilight. Photographers and painters refer to it as the “Blue Hour” after the French expression “l’heure bleue”. It is the time between dawn and sunrise, and is also the time between sunset and dusk.

Then off to Baguio for a weekend summer bonding with my family, the summer capital of the Philippines. We’re not expecting it to be really cold, that’s only wishful thinking, but we didn’t expect it to be really warm especially at midday. But it pays off to be there during the nighttime. It’s cold. But not as cold as it used to be. Blame it all to Global Warming.

Anyway, here are the photos from that vacation.

Baguio Botanical Garden was the first stop, so yeah flowers. A sunflower, reminds me of the scorching heat of the summer.

You just got to love that Hexanon sharpness. Damn.

A wooden craftsman, putting finishing touches on the wooden carving.

Baguio natives posing. Seriously they make a living out of this. Posing with them or any picture taken with them, they will ask for a fee. I don’t know how much, we were leaving and I sort of ran away, good thing that man didn’t throw his spear at me. Haha. But he was pissed off. Seriously.

Then we went to Session Road. A famous road in Baguio where you can find the restaurants and malls, and an Anting – Anting. An Anting – Anting is some sort of an amulet that protects the bearer from evil. It is a Filipino belief that if you have one, you possess some kind of magic that makes you immune from everything bad that can happen to you or can bring you luck.

I had the chance to talk to this lady after taking this shot. This old lady sells stuffs from stones, dried plants to oils, and some beads. She is a very nice old lady, full of stories.

The most interesting story she told me was the power of the stones. I will never forget that she said it will bring me luck so that Iwill not use old cameras anymore and ill be able to buy a new camera. Of all things she could talk about, she talked about my camera. Seriously.

Global warming has truly made a huge impact in our environment. Imagine being in the summer capital of your country and needing a huge 7-11 GULP to coold you down. Unbelievable.

And an ice cream too.

Mom and Dad.

Hoping for more vacations and out-of-town trips. I prefer the beach, its so hot you just want to be in the water all day.

Cheers,

D.

When I learned about Rangefinders, I got hooked, I dreamt of having a rangefinder. I don’t know what’s all the fuss about rangefinders, and people who used them tell their stories of how great a rangefinder is. It made me want a rangefinder more. I don’t understand why people love it. Why people shoot with it.

Ive been shooting SLR’s for over a year. My first camera I held is an Auto-Focus Nikon F60 that was lent to me by my girlfriend as she taught me the basics of photography. Then I bought my own manual Nikon FM2n to get me to the next level. I’ve shot with it for over a year, and due to unfortunate circumstances, i had to sell it to a fellow RFFil member. And then i found my father’s Minolta X700, sitting inside his cabinet for 25 years, a “Mana” from my father, which his father [my grandfather] gave to him as a gift for graduating college. I got it fixed, and been shooting with it for months… so as far as my photography goes, its all about SLR’s.. and dSLR’s..

and then this came along..

I got this before I sold my first love Nikon FM2n because i want to try a rangefinder for myself, and after unfortunate events, and almost two months of waiting, this came in the mail..

though i havent finished my test roll.. I can clearly see the difference between an SLR and an RF.. clearly, this has been a liberating experience for me.. the shutter noise, the focusing with eyes open (it will take time to get used to it, i always lose the patch)… and of course, no black out when you press the shutter.. I LOVE IT!

Finally, the first two test rolls arrived.

What can I say?

The Hexanon lens is amazing.

Handling is okay, you get used to it. Its a bit big, but size doesn’t matter.

Focusing is smooth. Changing shutterspeeds is easy. The aperture rings doesn’t have click stops, and a bit thin so changing aperture is a bit of a pain especially if you have big hands and fingers.

I can say that viewing through a Rangefinder’s VF is awesome.

It is different from an SLR.

When you put it in front of your eye, you seem to foresee the picture you are about to take. I was surprised that the pictures I took were exactly the way I imagined them while looking through the VF.

Sunny 16 isn’t rocket science after all.

Rangefinder is definitely my type of camera.

What else? Ah pictures.

I saw this guy playing his top while waiting for my girlfriend to arrive. He almost hit my feet with that thing!

This guy’s all crouched down while reading a book. It must be interesting, that book.

This one’s making his friend’s mohawk sharper. Looks like they’re going to bully someone with that hair.

Look for a new tv boy?

Lets just stop and take a photo of ourselves!

Saw this kid with a whole bunch of popcorn. Now that’s gluttony. haha

And a loving mom.

Another one bites the dust!

I’m sure he’s going to sit on that chair when the red light is on. And he did sit on that chair!

Back at work, when all computer’s gone down, we all go back to fully manual. Funny thing is, when all digital breaks down, there’s only film and a fully manual camera that will be left behind. Isn’t it ironic?

With a little snack, chicken gizzard, and a bit of barbeque is all I need to get back to shooting.

And pedestrians are for bicycles too, you know.

hyperfocally, i love it!

I was on my way home and this bus stopped right in front of me.

Closing time for these guys.

Hanging on to something sturdy.

That’s it!

Cheers,

D

I ran out of 120mm Superia’s and I had no choice but to buy a few Slide Films from my sister and try the Cross – Processing thing… I’m not a fan though, but it’s worth a try…

From our recent Hongkong Trip, we went to Hongkong Disneyland.

I don’t know why I like shooting airplane wings. There’s nothing special with them, and its always the first shot whenever I bring my holga to a trip…

Another set from our recent Cebu Trip, Hilton Hotel Cebu.

Anyone up for a game of chess?

The Cebu version of Jeepney. I must say, It’s a little too small for me. It’s a knee-to-knee experience for me. Lol..

Hilton Hotel Cebu, Shuttle Bus.. Lol, it’s an airconditioned, pink colored jeepney. Lol..

That’s It.

What a beauty this is… Oh I so envy my sister, Venice Yuzon, for this! Check her photographs too.

This made me want a Rolleiflex!! If only there’s an affordable one out there!

It is currently on test roll. I can’t wait to see how it rocks!

Thank you for the memories we’ve shared.. The pictures we took together.. The places we’ve been.. you hold a special place in my heart.. forever.. someday, we will meet again…

Let’s get this started.

I was on my way home from work, and I didn’t bring my car. Why? because of  rising oil prices, toll fees, parking fees, limited parking spaces, heavy traffic and of course, a chance to use my camera, and photograph just about anything that catches my eye.

Things people do while waiting for the train. Reading and Halumbaba (chin rested on palm)

Caught this scene at the MRT, Paranoia? Reminds me of Linkin Park’s Papercut. I love that band by the way.

“It’s like a face that I hold inside – A face that awakes when I close my eyes – A face that watches everytime I lie – A face that laughs every time I fall, and watches everything – So, I know that when it’s time to sink or swim – The face inside is here in me, right underneath my skin.. – It’s like I’m paranoid, looking over my back – It’s like a whirlwind inside of my head – It’s like I can’t stop what i’m hearing withing – It’s like the face inside is right beneath my skin”

After the train ride, I rode the bus home. A bus conductor waiting for passengers.

A typical “Ordinary” Bus driver. In the Philippines, there’s such thing as an “Ordinary” Bus, meaning, not airconditioned, poorly maintained bus units, and “Air-Conditioned” Bus, the latter speaks for itself.

A typical “Ordinary” Bus Conductor. This one is a trainee, with his supervisor close by. This one is a KID! and he’s only 16. This is child labor. Only in the Philippines.

after the bus ride, I then rode the Jeep. Caught this soon-to-be nurse on his way home or his on-the-job training at some nearby hospital, or whatever, its a mystery!

Oh!, I went to the beach one long weekend, luckily my black and white roll had a few remaining shots with it, and I had a color negative film with me too, my last roll of color film. hahaha.

Took the time to get to know the locals. This is Aling Musing. A widow.

Kuya Mandong, (at the right most part holding an umbrella) with his friends. He is one of the staff in the resort where we stayed. A very nice guy.

Fishing time! I wished I could come along, but, I’ll be a burden. A big ass burden to this guys.

Finally! Our banana boat arrives!

My photograph of the day. Saw this kid running while buying fruits at some wet market close to the beach.

I was sad to go home, but Monday is fast approaching, and I’ve got tons of work, but even on our way home, the camera is still clicking!

One rainy sunday afternoon. It was my birthday, and it was raining so hard, but these kids decided to take a bath. The simple  joys of being a kid.

That’s it!

Cheers,

D

Starting this blog with portraits of people i know, like this cute little boy named Renzo from our church, caught him like this, good thing i had my camera ready and took that picture.

and this little kid, found relief with a glass of Gulaman from the intense heat. I just couldnt resist it, I was driving at that time, and saw this kid, good thing my camera was ready to shoot.

Dad, while at the restaurant, pointing his fingers on a food item in the menu.

and my beautiful Mom, posing.

Mom and Sis, at the beach, though the highlights were blown

and two boys from our recent Bataan trip. They were out swimming in the middle of the day, I hope their skins can take all that heat from the sun.

Im done with portraits, moving on, this is a commuter, waiting for his bus home, i was waiting for mine too, i was bored and decided to take his picture, nothing special with this one.

I was at Ortigas, waiting for my girlfriend, and saw this father and son playing at the sidewalk, they were dancing along with a music that was playing loudly nearby, it was more of like a Cha-Cha to me.

I was riding the bus, and we stopped at the bus stop somewhere along Edsa, saw this kid and he was just so bored, and i wonder what he was thinking at that time.

These were taken inside the mall, when I brought my films at Fujifilm and have it developed and scanned, walked around a bit while i was waiting.

This guy must have been too tired to go home and just slept inside the food court. Maybe he was just resting and will go home after.

Waiting for someone?

The future dance interpreter. Seriously, the little girl was listening to a CD, with her headset on and just interpreting what she was listening to. I was too late, and she saw me when i brought out the cam, she quickly sat.

Up Dharma Down at Trinoma

It was a Sunday afternoon, we went to my favorite chinese food restaurant, and while waiting, i just took a pic of a cook. Nothing special really.

A view from our room at Matabungkay, Batangas,  an early morning beach scene.

and a Bell, from the Japanese-Filipino Friendship Tower at Bagac, Bataan.

My favorite photo from this set.

Saw this jeepney when I was out running an errand. Apparently, the kid, the Jeepney driver’s little son, was looking out and seemed to be dreamin of something big, or maybe something totally different from what i think, we will never know.

i call this picture, Dreaming Big.

That’s it!

Cheers,

D

I attended a great wedding last weekend at Tagaytay. It was my cousin Lani, tying the knot with a good man, Louise, whom i got the chance to meet and talk to months before. It was raining so hard throughout the week, and i was very happy that the sun came out that day.

I’m always fascinated about weddings. I’ve always wondered what the bride feels, and what the groom feels on their wedding day… I guess I need to experience it myself.. LOL.

We came in when its just about to start… lucky me.. I took pictures of my sister with my cousin Pao (the bride’s brother), and my mom and my dad before they walked down the aisle..

Venice, my sister and Pao, talking before it starts, and the bride can be seen far at the background anxiously waiting.

and now, their turn to walk down the aisle..

Now, this is my mom and dad… and dad’s all dressed up looking like James Bond.. Lol..

and then comes the bride’s turn to walk down the aisle… all dressed up in white, and with a smile on her face, and tears of joy in her eyes… It was a lovely sight, i told to myself..

and she smiles as she walks gracefully down the aisle…

and finally, she’s with her groom at the altar…

and this little boy suddenly went walking around and seemed to be pointing at the majestic Taal Volcano. I seriously don’t know who he was talking to… an imaginary friend perhaps?

After the wedding ceremony, the guests and sponsors were called in for a photo with the newly weds… i only took photos where my sister and my parents were in… lol..

and then the photo ops begin!.. lol..  someportraits of my sister, Venice..

My sister with Josh, Ate Cecile’s transformer-addict son… haha

Ate Cecile and Josh

Me and Josh

My Cousin, Paolo and his girlfriend, Avie

And, the love of my life.. Pam and Me..

And a solo pic of my love.. Pam..

while waiting for the newly weds to arrive at the reception, i took some pics of a very cool wedding cake…

The newly weds arrive with a bang! (finally, we can have dinner! lol)

the newly weds enjoying their wedding dance…

The slicing of the cake..

A word from Tita Nilda, the bride’s mother…

And another inspirational message from my dad, its unfair, why does he look so good?

and after all that has been said, and done, the fun starts! hahaha…

It started with a macho dance number from the groom, Kuya Louise, supposedly seducing his wife… Lol

and getting the lace thingy from the bride’s legs… i dont know what it is called.. LOL..

the groom’s men line up for three shots of tequila and then they were handed a thread and a needle.. The last one to thread the needle will get the lace thingy and put it around the bride’s maids’ legs.. it was fun watching these men struggle..

The couple pray for their marriage as they were prayed over by their Priest.. it was very solemn..

And that was the end of a beautiful wedding…

Some shots after the wedding..

Pao and Avie browsing pictures.

Dad posing for the camera, My sister, Venice, took this shot.. haha

My mom, dad, and my sister..

That’s it! The end!

Cheers,

D

The first one on the list is my favorite. The Holga 120N.

This plastic toy camera was given to me by my girlfriend as a Valentine’s Day present. It is my favorite because of its simplicity, it is easy to use and of course it has sentimental value to me. It never leaves my camera bag. I love taking pictures with this camera outdoors when the sun is high up and bright, loaded with Fujifilm Superia 100ISO, and take colorful landscape pictures, like mountain top views, beaches, etc.  I don’t bother using this indoors, since it has a fixed shutterspeed of 125th of second, blurred, underexposed pictures is all I’m going to get.

I would love to try E-6 slide films with this camera, and have it properly processed to see the plastic lens’ performance and how capable it is. Cross processing is not my cup of tea. I’ve seen some cross processed shots, some are great, the colors are saturated, and gives pictures some kind of a fun, warm feeling to it, but yeah, I’m not much of a fan of it. I only use Fujifilm Superia 100ISO 120mm film, i like the saturation of colors and the overall tonality of it when used with this camera.

When used properly, i mean, properly focusing, using the right kind of film, and proper knowledge of exposure, with a little bit of creativity, it give amazing crappy pictures. LOL.

I love it. ‘Nuff said.

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The Nikon FM2n

This is my first Single Lens Reflex (SLR) Camera. I bought this a couple of months ago. It came with a Nikon 50mm F/1.8 Series E Lens.

I’ve taken so many pictures with this camera, and it has been my workhorse. I’m planning to get a new lens for it, a Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 AI-S maybe or a longer Nikkor 105mm F/2.5 AI-S to replace the Series E lens that is like glued to the body because I have no other lens to replace it. LOL. But looking at the bright side, I get to master one lens, and  I was able to produce great pictures with it.

It’s fairly easy to use once you get to know the camera. There are no White Balance settings here (of course, its a film camera), or exposure compensation knob (EV + or -) but just shutterspeed, aperture and ISO, i guess what i meant to say was, if you really want to learn photography, then you have to know the basics, and this camera is a great tool to master it.

This camera is built like a tank, and it looks great.

This camera gave me the best pictures of my life, and I think I have more pictures to take, more adventures to be shared, and more films to waste with this camera. I plan to keep using this camera until it dies, and when it dies, i plan to revive it, and use it again and again.

————————–0—————————

Minolta Hi-Matic 7s Rangefinder

This is the latest addition to my gears. It is my first rangefinder, and I got it for free. I got this baby a few months ago, it was given to me by my uncle all the way from Canada. He said, he found it at some flee market 20 years ago, and rarely used it. It was sitting inside the closet until he learned that I’m into photography.

The fixed lens is wobbly. I plan to have it fixed and get it in tip top shape. I saw pictures taken from the Rokkor Lens, and it is amazingly sharp. I tested this camera, and found out that is still functioning, and no light leaks, thank goodness. I just have to get the lens fixed since the focusing is so bad, I only have a handful of properly focused shots in my test roll. LOL.

Cosmetically, its great, like it came out from the box, thats why i plan to get it running.

 I always refer to it as the Minolta Hi- [Proble] Matic 7s… LOL.

These are my cameras. And i love them all. I plan to add more in the future. Who knows, maybe I will get my hands on a Leica! LOL.