Analox & Admire's Photography

40th anniversary of OM system: Weinheim, Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:58:00 +0000

Previous post on the series "40th anniversary of the OM system":

Our next stop - Weinheim, Germany

The garden / Schau-und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof

German houses

The streets

View from the ruined castle / Burgruine Windeck Schlossberg

Analox

40th anniversary of OM system: Ladenburg, Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:47:00 +0000

Previous post on the series "40th anniversary of the OM system":

Our next stop - Ladenburg, Germany

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40th anniversary of OM system: Cologne, Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:19:00 +0000

Previous post on the series "40th anniversary of the OM system":

Our next stop - Köln (Cologne), Germany

One more pic @ Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof

Analox

40th anniversary of OM system: Leverkusen, Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Previous post on the series "40th anniversary of the OM system":

Paris

Our next stop - Leverkusen, Germany

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40th anniversary of OM system: Europe on film

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:28:00 +0000

This year 2012 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the OM system. Rumor has it that Olympus will release a new line of digital OM system (OM-D) to mark this anniversary. Just like what happened to the EP-Pen series. But that is for the future.

From Wikipedia:

"The Olympus OM System was a line of 35mm single-lens reflex cameras, lenses and accessories sold by Olympus between 1972 and 2002 (some accessories were sold through early 2003). ... The range was designed by Yoshihisa Maitani, chief designer for Olympus, and his staff. ... The first model introduced was the all-mechanical M-1, which after pressure from Leica was renamed OM-1. ..."

I only start using OM camera since 2010 and really like it. Maitani's design is simply beautiful. The camera is compact and fits right in my hand. Using rings to control shutter speed and aperture so that you can keep your eyes on the viewfinder all the time. And OM lens has their own reputation, obviously.

I'll start posting the photos that were taken using OM cameras during my 2 months of staying and traveling in Europe. Shooting about 24 rolls of negative films. Hope the series could demonstrate how the 40-year-old camera system is still capable of sketching the moments.
Camera: OM1 and OM2-MD
Lens: OM 28mm f2.8 / 35mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.4 (1million+ series)
Lightmeter: Sekonic L-308S Flashmate
Film: various brand of negative film, color & BW

Side note: Though the camera's metering is still quite accurate, I prefer using an external light meter to decide "correct" exposure. Not much slower though, since you're already slow when using a manual focus camera!

So, our first stop - Paris:

Analox

Family portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:54:00 +0000

I planned to make some portraits of my parents during a home visit last week. I thought it would be on film, medium-format, and by an old TLR camera to hopefully create an old look.

Choosing a time when they are most relaxed, I let my mom and dad sit by the window. One big and soft light source. And the curtains were used to control the light on the face and on the background. Pretty simple setting, I guess.

The difficult part comes in the communication. It's not a procedure of "1...2...3... smile" - to create something memorable. It takes time and practice to learn how to communicate, and I'm still very much in the learning phase. Though the photos are much closer to what I want to tell about my mom and dad, I still think there is rooms for improvement... Maybe even closer. Maybe better communication. Maybe next time.

Film: Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160

Camera: Ricoh Diacord G

Lens: 80mm f3.5

Analox

2011 Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:02:00 +0000

2011 is coming to an end... Realize we haven't done much, as usual. Folders of photos are still untouched. Films have not been developed. And the vision is still blurry... Nevertheless, it is still worth-while to look back and appreciate what we've achieved in the past 12 months.

Early this year, we created our website for wedding photography, http://a2nh-wedding.blogspot.com/, and did some serious assignment ;). Yay!

We completed our Paris Project (Part 1,Part 2), which composes of our photos taken in Paris in 2009 and 2010. And we finished processing them in 2011, finally!!

We participated in the IPA Street Photography Contest. Not awarded. But the process of selecting our photo entries (i.e., "cut" or "keep") was fun!

I explored extensively on film. Here is my favorites this year.

We traveled quite a lot. In Asian and Europe. \:D/. More photos will be posted on 2012, I guess. And hopefully there will be Italy Project, Germany Project, or Vietnam Project :D

....

Sometime, I wanted to share more here with my thoughts on photography. And there's a time when I wanted to delete this blog as I'm not sure what's the purpose to maintain it. In the end, let only the pictures speak. Emotion that comes from a photograph to audiences, if any, should be the end result.

Anyway, I would like to thank you all for stopping by and wish you an awesome 2012 ahead!

Cheers !!!

Favourite film shots in 2011..

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0000

January:

February:

March:

June:

August:

September:

October:

November:

Analox

Occupy Frankfurt - 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:02:00 +0000

Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #ows is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.

(ref: http://occupywallst.org/about/)

As the financial center of Germany and the largest financial center in continental Europe, Frankfurt city could not be left out from this Occupy movement.

I was in Frankfurt on a Saturday afternoon to witness the scene. Occupy Frankfurt happened in a much peaceful and quiet way than what I saw on TV in New York. Few people gathered & camped out in Frankfurt's banking district. Probably it was just a start.

The mask of ‘V for Vendetta’, with the mustached white face frozen in a wide-mouthed leer, which is rather surreal and self-mocking, stood out from the crowd.

There was a debate event (I guess), as someone was giving a speech on stage, together with some music performance later.

Personally, I'm not sure if the protest/movement could make a big difference. Nevertheless, it has been amazing to see how the movement has spread globally and made us aware of these economic and social issues. For that, I choose these two photos to end the post.

Photos were taken on 29.10.2011
Analox

Paris en couleur...

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Another side of Paris in our eyes - a vibrant city

Paris en blanc et noir...

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Shots taken in our trips to Paris in 2009/2010

Think the slideshow best conveys what we feel about Paris - a timeless romance

Bali, Indonesia (2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:05:00 +0000

My favorites

The whole set is here :)

Analox

Street photography in Wedding...

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:49:00 +0000

When a child picks up a camera and pushes the button that simple spontaneous image is a Street Photograph, it is, first of all, a raw reaction to the scene in front of it, a person, a car, a color. That primitive urge to react, to make a picture is at the heart of Street Photography beyond any other area of picture making, it comes before any other agenda.

Nick Turpin - Undefining Street Photography

Some of the shots taken as my pure reactions toward things happens on wedding days. And they become my personal favorites :)

Analox

Just another quote...

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:45:00 +0000

This quote from Antoine d’Agata that keeps me thinking for a while

Well, I don’t believe in photography as an art or a job or anything. I think of photography as a language and I think a language should be used to speak, to say what you have to say. So, the only things I have to say about my life and what I know about the world, is the way I see it.

The full interview can be found here. Honestly, unable to understand many of his points but pretty much agree on this quote. Now are some unrelated photos that I took recently...

... when I walked in Botanical Garden

... when I was at city center during lunchtime

... when I got home early after work and saw the sunlight leading to the staircase

... when thinking about living and hell during Ghost Month (7th month of lunar year)

Canon QL17 GIII 40mm f1.7 / Lucky Color 200 film

Analox

Medium Format - an irrational decision...

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:04:00 +0000

Here are the facts:

A roll of medium format film (MF, 120) is more expensive than a roll of 35mm.
You can only take 12 shots with medium format film (6x6 size), as compared to 36 exposures in 35mm.
The cost of develop and scanning MF is also more expensive than the usual 35mm.
People talk about the rich tonality (dynamic range), the smooth bokeh and great details offered by medium format... But honestly, it is a bit hard to "really" appreciate these in normal small prints and 16-base scan. I also don't think that the bokeh is significantly better, if not inferior to those using 35mm with fast lens 35mm f1.4 or 50m f1.2, etc...

Then why investing on medium format... ? I just love "too much" the square format (6x6) and the big viewfinder (56x56cm) of a MF camera. Plus the cool factor, especially when you hold a twin-lens reflex TLR (here for some examples). Clearly, it is not convincing, irrational, not economical at all.

My first roll of MF was taken on a TLR camera (Ricoh Diacord G) as my Valentine gift from my wife (:X). I often joke that shooting MF shows great respect of the photographer toward the subject. You always has to bow your head (example).

I guess one application where MF should be useful is for photographing landscape. So on my 2nd roll, I tried to capture the light show (every night) at Marina Bay Sand (Singapore) that is only about 5-10 mins. The shot below was taken at 8s, f5.6 on a 50mm MF lens (equivalent to 28mm lens in 35mm format). Until now I start to appreciate the mirror lock-up mode, otherwise, the picture will be shaky due to the vibration when big mirror goes up in long exposure... (a bit technical...)

It's kinda funny that the logical reasons above just vanish when I hold the camera and then saw the pictures from the lab. Sometimes, irrational decision makes sense...

Analox

MacRitchie Treetop Walk, Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:41:00 +0000

Put here before I forget :D
Taken with OM1 + Zuiko 50mm f1.4 / Afga Vista 200

Analox

Punggol Jetty, Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:27:00 +0000

Photos taken by Olympus OM1, Zuiko 35mm f2.8 on Afga Vista 200 film (expired 02/2011).

My two friends were still shy in front of the camera, but surely in L.O.V.E :P

Some extra shots on the day...

Analox

Train in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:46:00 +0000

These are the photos I took on train or at the train station. In Singapore, they call it Mass Rapid Transit or MRT. I tried to write an "artist statement" about this "project" but I could write none. I just was there, saw it and took photo, simple as that. Put it this way, I'm so busy with work and daily chores that I couldn't travel for vacations or pursuit a big photography project. But I still love photography. So I brought a camera with me, in this case the Olmpus 35SP with Tri-X film, everywhere I go for about a month. I use train for daily transport, to go to work, to go out and to go home.

So these photos are about trains and the people using it.

Moves at the train station

Morning train

Evening train

Night train

Pioneer Station - near to one end of Singapore.
This scene is no longer there as they've already built the safety barriers in the station.

Commonwealth Station

Analox
(Olympus 35SP, 42mm f1.7 G.Zuiko/ Kodak Tri-X 400)

About Admiré: Through the pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:53:00 +0000

Decided to "document" stuffs about my wife in my first roll of Tri-X 400 (BW film)

1. She likes to take photos and she's more outgoing than me :">

2. She likes to read books. She visits library for things she doesn't know...

3. She likes sewing, fixing clothes, making clothes...

4. She cooks well, creatively & really fast...

5. She's cute, at least to me :X

6. To be continued... in my next roll.

Analox

Be careful when shooting film in hot weather - Example of over-heated Kodak Advantix 400

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:42:00 +0000

(continue from my previous post on APS film)

Finally I've finished a roll of APS Kodak Advantix 400 film (25 exposures), after nearly 3 months of shooting (since March 2011). Using a point-n-shoot camera like Canon ELPH LT actually slows down my pace. As the camera's lens is not for bokeh thingy (blur background), it becomes hard to find a frame that is... nice when everything from near to far are all in focus. Anyway, I just have the roll developed and scanned by Grace Digital last week. Kinda disappointed as the scans came back with heavy noise (grainy) and strange red color cast (some lomo user may like this effect...).

I learned from the lab that the film has been over-heated, probably during the very hot period in Singapore last month (May). Lesson learned. I tried to remove the color cast to save the pictures that I like. Interestingly, some look nicer with the red cast, so I decided to keep them original. I got a lesson to learn, and some surprisingly nice results. Guess I shouldn't regret :)

Here are samples of the over-heated Kodak Advantix 400 (APS film), for your reference....

#1 - Singapore cityscape - viewing from the sea

#2 - A man with light & shadow/ Pioneer MRT station

#3 - Maze at shopping mall

#4 - Kids at Botanic Garden on a sunny afternoon

(guess this is when the film got burned)

#5 - Concert at Botanic Garden

#6 - Cute little girl

#7 - Trees in Singapore

#10 - Isn't it good...?

Analox

Our entries for the IPA Street Photography Contest 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Tue, 31 May 2011 03:03:00 +0000

Some words of introduction: Invisible Photographer Asia (IPA) has been a very active platform for photojournalism and street photography, particularly in Asia, since 2010. IPA Street Photography Contest 2011 is organized to celebrate its one year anniversary, with the special prize of a LEICA M2 Rangefinder Camera with a Nokton 35mm F/1.4 Lens. The winner takes all.

Each may submit up to 3 entries and the photo must be taken in Asia within the last 12 months.

And here are ours. Can't wait to see other entries and the winning photo... ;)

Entry Title: "Precious Moment"

Photo Caption: I saw this scene composed mainly with red and white, as in the Singapore flag, while wandering around in the center area of Singapore. Couple of elements that all come together: the red car, red windows and white wall, then two men also in red, one was helping the other to raise a Singapore flag. Little surprise from the street, I guess so.

Photographer’s name: Minh Nghia Le

Camera or equipment used: Canon 5D Mark II + EF 50mm f1.8 II

Entry Title: "Ponder Upon"
Photo Caption: Taken at Orchard Road, Singapore. Which store would you prefer?
Country in Asia where the photo was taken: Singapore
Photographer’s name: Minh Nghia Le
Camera or equipment used: Canon A710

Entry Title: "A Painter"
Photo Caption: Art needs not be glamorous or extraordinary. It can be normal people and ordinary things in our everyday life. This photo was taken of a shop owner cleaning his windows like a painter with his canvas.
Country in Asia where the photo was taken: Singapore
Photographer’s name: Minh Nghia Le
Camera or equipment used: Canon 5D Mark II + EF 50mm f1.8 II

Entry Title: Bon Appetit
Photo Caption: This photo is taken in Amoy St, one of the most popular street food center in Singapore. Located near the business districts, the place is usually crowded during lunchtime on weekdays. I was there on a public holiday, and caught this conversation in silence.
Country in Asia where the photo was taken: Singapore
Photographer’s name: Mai Phuong Duong
Camera or equipment used: Canon A710

Entry Title: Balloon ride of hopes
Photo Caption: This photo was taken on the afternoon of the Lunar New Year's Eve in Vietnam. Most of the shops were already closed as people rushing home for family dinner to welcome the new year. However, there was still this man selling balloons on the street and many other hawkers (who carry goods for sale on the streets) trying to make their living.
Country in Asia where the photo was taken: Vietnam
Photographer’s name: Mai Phuong Duong
Camera or equipment used: Canon 5D Mark II/ EF 17-40mm f4 L

Analox

Some thoughts on a Saturday morning

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sat, 07 May 2011 05:51:00 +0000

(5DII Monochrome 1600, Zuiko 35mm f2.8, in Street Photography group)

I've been busy with other stuffs since early of this year. Less and less time with photography, especially with the post-processing of our pictures. Many shots, even in 2009, are still in the archived folders. That's the main reason why I decide to shoot in film recently (not so convincing right? :D). It has been good so far, but quite costly due to cost of buying and developing film.

Last week I tried to set the 5D Mark II to Monochrome (BnW) mode, push a contrast level from 5 to 7, and just shoot with it. It is quite surprising that the BW tonality I got from the OM Zuiko lens and recently the Sigma 50mm f1.4, is quite pleasing. Sometime it is just too clean in ISO 400 for a BnW look (named it 5DII Monochrome 400 if you don't mind), I prefer the 5DII Monochrome 1600 or even 6400.

This morning I do a short test with the Sigma. Shoot some portraits of Phuong for 15'. Blog for 20'. Here I'm done and gonna work on "other stuffs" again...

One more thing: since we move our Wedding thingy to a more official blog (http://a2nh-wedding.blogspot.com), I can now write freely anything related to photography here, yay :D

These two are my absolutely favorites...

Analox

Tho Ha Village, Bac Giang, Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:49:00 +0000

Thổ Hà village is situated on the bank of Cầu River, about 50km from Hà Nội, in Bắc Giang province. To visit the place, tourist needs to take a local ferry to cross Cầu River. Different from other Northern villages, Thổ Hà did not rely on rice cultivation for living but pottery and floating market on the river. Thổ Hà used to be a famous place of Gốm Sành (pottery without glaze fired with dry grass, and then firewood and coal). In the early 1980s, Thổ Hà villagers turned to making dry pancakes (bánh đa nem, mì gạo) and raising animals as pottery was gradually abandoned.

You will discover here a real country life with the special walls have attracted film producers, painters, and photographers. Sadly, there have been several environmental issues in the area, polluted river water and untreated trash/ livestock waste, which should be addressed urgently to keep the place as one of the tourist attractions in Northern Vietnam.

(More info at: Vietnam Travel Guide & Wiki)

Here is my photo essay about the place:
Camera: Olympus XA (35mm f2.8) - Lomo LC-A 25th Anniversary Film 800

Analox

A film review

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Below is the list of films that I've tried. Not truly a good review as I'm not the one that controls the developing and scanning process (different scanners can give very different results). But I hope you can still made some judgement about the "feel" of each film from the photos I posted.

In my opinion, I think that Fujifilm is a bit "cold" and renders the green pretty well. Kodak is more toward yellow warm colors, thus gives nice skin tone. Not sure if there is any connection between Lucky and Kodak film as they seems to have similar looks. Lomography 800 film with its vivid colors is my favorite so far.

APS

Fujifilm Nexia 400 (color): #1
Kodak Advantix 400 (color): #1 (over-heated)

35mm (135 film)

Fujifilm Superia 200 (color): #1
Fujicolor Superia X-Tra 400 (color): #1
Kodak T-Max 400 (BnW): #1
Kodak Tri-X 400 (BnW): #1, #2
Kodak ColorPlus 200 (color): #1, #2
Kodak Gold 200 (color): #1
Kodak UltraMax 400 (color): #1
Lucky Super New 200 (color): #1
Lomo LC-A 25th Anniversary Film 800 (color): #1, #2
Afga Vista 200 (color): #1, #2

120 film (MF)

Kodak Portra 400VC (color): #1
Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160 (color): #1

To be continued...
27/04/2011: Added new post for Lomo LC-A 25th Anniversary Film 800
06/06/2011: Added new post for Kodak Advantix 400 APS film
23/06/2011: Added new post for Kodak Tri-X 400 (BW)
27/06/2011: Added new post for Kodak Tri-X 400 (BW)
21/07/2011: Added new post for Afga Vista 200
19/08/2011: Add new post for Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160

Analox

In Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Nghia Le Minh) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Just to share some street photos that I made recently with an Olympus 35SP rangefinder (42mm f1.7 lens) loaded with Kodak UltraMax 400 film. The lens come with little fungus but I think the photos are still quite alright.

The girl feeding pigeons - HCMC, Vietnam (2011)

People waiting for boarding at Tan Son Nhat airport - HCMC, Vietnam (2011)

Little corner of Japan in Singapore (2011)

Near Singapore National Library (Bugis). Windy spot where people like to gather around.

Analox