Day trip to Wat Rong Khun

Since my girl is having her school break (1 month).  We took a day trip to the famous Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai last Saturday.  Its about an hour drive from our home and its a beautiful place to shoot.  I didn't bring my "beast" as I have 2 kids and I guess I don't have the time to be serious with landscapes or architecture shots anyway. 

It's a bit funny but it was the first time I've been there actually.  I have heard and saw the temple from far (on the bus to Chiang Mai) but never really set foot on it.  I've seen tons of photos of the temple and promised myself to visit there.  And I was in awe.  Really in awe because its a very very beautiful piece of art (building) just in front of me.

The weather was kind to me too.  Its cloudy but still have enough sunlight to brightly illuminate the temple.  Its still under construction though :P  (I've read that it already took more than 15 years so far to build the temple but it's still incomplete.  You may google it and read more about the temple and its wierd artist who conceived this.

Anyway, the rest of the photos are here on my facebook account.  I didn't take much as I was just admiring the whole site :P.  Camera I brought along was my trusty Sony A900 with 24-70mm Zeiss and 85mm Minolta G.  After shooting so much with crappy toy cameras and hazy viewfinders of the "beast" :P, the 900's VF was a fabulous reminder on why I bought this camera in the first place (besides being a FF camera).  Think I will start to use it more often besides copying slides...

For those interested in getting there. Here's a map of the location.

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Another favourite - SOLD -

I did a crazy thing yesterday. I saw a minty 250mm f/5 Press lens at an incredible price and condition which I could not get my eyes off in E(vil)-bay.  

Since I do not have a day job at the moment, I do not have the luxuries to buy it on the spot.  You may asked "Didn't you sell off your Hassy for 2k?"  Well that money is actually used to pay off the credit card bills that I incurred from purchasing the Press Camera.  And actually I spent another $500 on another Super 23 with lens and back :P  So the 2k already down the drain liao.  Not to mention I restocked a lot of 120 film for my new camera.

 As I was venting my fustration in facebook.  Some RF photog friends gave me an idea.  Sell off my Hexar!  Its a great RF I got just about a year ago.  I think less than 10 rolls were passed through it only and I actually re-calibrated the RF patch myself.  Its a great camera and actually I used it more often then my Bessa R3M.  Actually, I totally stopped using my R3 after I got the Hexar.  Its that good.  

But I don't really need 2 RF bodies at the moment.  I'm shooting MF more often in Thailand and with my NEX 3.  The only time I find I'm using the Hexar was in Singapore, where I do street photography in an urban environment.  I also really need to downsize as all the lenses and gears I have that are mostly in my dry cabinet.  The Press cameras are huge.(and so are the lenses).. :P So I made the hard decision, sell the Hexar away and get the rare 250mm.  Anyway, I still have a Bessa if I need to shoot RF style. 

Goodbye! My companion for 2 years

Almost 2 years actually.  I bought my used Hasselblad 500CM camera in 2009 in late Sept (see post).  I have been shooting over 40 rolls of film with the camera and I was very happy with it.  So happy, during the course of shooting.  I accquired another lens, a prism and another A12 back to compliment it as a shooting system for me.  

I loved how it handles and the safety features that prevents you from accidentally exposing the film (not so smart for the Mamiya Universal in this department),  The  lenses were pretty good too.  But 6x6 is really not a good format for me particularly in landscape.  I found that I shot most of the rolls with my family and portraits rather than serious landscapes(original intention of purchasing the camera).  I found that most of the shots I took needs to be cropped to 2:3 to be good for me.  I found that I spend more time trying to frame a shot in a square that it disrupts my original intention of angle of view or pre-vis.  Its a great camera but I just find myself struggling with it.  Maybe if I took more time to master it then I might get used to it.  Actually I think I am getting used to it but I just find that the slides are still small considering the fact there are 6x7, 6x9 or even 4inx5in.

I started to look for a view camera that accepts 120 roll film (easier to load the film, easier to develop, easier to handle and cheaper)  in 6x9.  Not 6x7 as I want to prevent myself trying out another aspect ratio.  I am so used to 35mm and so 6x9 should be the way to go (as explained in my previous post).  I plan to buy it mainly just for landscapes and keep my Hassy for other things.  Then after some research, I found out about the Mamiya Press system.  Its cheaper then a Hassy system and its very modular like a Hassy too.  So naturally I got one and after using it for just a week.  I know its a keeper.  I started to neglect my Hassy because besides shooting landscapes, its great for family shots or portraits too :P.  For the pass 2 months, it was in my dry cabinet and the thought of selling it came when I find my drybox in Thailand is not big enough for both of them.. :P  At first, it was a bit reluctant sale until the developed slides of my Press camera came back.  The colours and sharpness actually are equal or I dare say, even more superior then the Hasselblad!  So I made up my mind to sell away my Hassy system to get back some cash to invest in more lenses and accessories for my new Press camera.

Anyway, here are some landscapes/nature shots I took with this companion of 2 years,  Its has been great having you serve me but I guess you have a better home now.  One who might use you more often to create great images rather then sitting idly in my dry cabinet :)

Light leaks.

When I received my 75mm lens and started shooting some Fp100Cs.  I noticed that the lens on and off gives me very low contrast photos, especially those taken outdoors.  At first I thought it was lens flare as its the entire photo and so I was very particular about having the hood on the lens all the time.  

When I received the 100mm lens, I too shot and sometimes occasionally saw the photos are a bit over exposed or low in contrast.  I was really dissapointed with the results until I developed my slides and negatives.  Its a total different experience!  The shots on the slides and negatives were great.  Very contrasty and sharp.  No flares detected.  

Then my 3000B arrived from the mail and I shot a few shots with the 100mm and to my horror, see light streaks all over the place.  Then I felt so stupid, its not the lens that flared!  Its the back!  The lightseals are worned and need replacements!  The higher iso 3000B actually reacts faster to even the least of light leaking into the back.  So I could easily determined the previous low contrast photos were due to leaks.

I have to quickly finished the 10 shots that I loaded and performed an operation on the polaroid back.  Shined my torch through the lightseals and presto.  Saw the leak.  Opened the back up (just held with 8 little screws) and cleaned the seal with some alcohol and replaced the foams.  All done in less than 30 mins time.   

Before

After

Moral of the story?  Check your equipment, especially those old old cameras for such issues first before blaming the lens... :P

2 years old!

Last Sunday (17th Jul) was my son's birthday.  He's 2!! Time really flies! Wife's friend came over for dinner and some cake.  Only 3 kids came but still havoc man.. 

Boy boy seems blur blur on what is happening hehehe.. But he did blew out the candle all by himself.  

It was sometime I shot with a DSLR and flash.  I did not take a lot this time as I was busy shouting here and there to control the crazy commotion. :P  I also shot some instant photos.  There were 3 shots left in my Press back and I finished them all in one go.  Then to my horror all came out blur as I forgot I had the 100mm lens retracted! !#$@$#  Bloody money wasted...

The "Beast" is really hard to tame but I am kind of getting attached to it.  i was thinking if I could retire and sell off my Hassy if it delivers but from the testing so far, there is one big problem with the press cam.  And that is the lens is a bit wanting.  Not say its not sharp but I am so used to Hassy's Zeiss glasses, the Mamiya photos is a bit "less contrasty".  Bokeh is actually better on the Press but the 75mm (which I intended to use it for serious landscape) is so easily prone to flare that I already nearly given up on it.  Even with the shades on, the 75mm could easily get flare in my photos.  Which means I need to be very very careful in positioning myself.   I planned to do some more test shots before confirming if I would sell of my Hassy system.  The Zeiss lens on Hassy is just brillant and its one of the main reason I am holding onto it. 

The rest of the photos are on my facebook album.  Do feel free to browse through them :)