Kelong

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

My first roll of Fujichrome Velvia 50

Production of Velvia 50 was halted at the beginning of 2005 when vital raw materials used in the production of the emulsion became unavailable. The re-launch of Velvia 50 is a further illustration of Fujifilm's continued commitment to the production and promotion of professional film.

I read about the news in a photography magazine, in which Charlie Waite, one of the renowned British landscape photographers, reviewed and compared the new with the old. Here's his verdict:

My conclusion is that the new Velvia 50 is by a whisker slightly warmer, albeit aided and abetted by magenta. I made an image in a lit landscape setting (old Velvia) and intentionally in the same place with a 50% overcast setting (new Velvia) and was keen to note the changes. I concluded that I would be more than happy to live with either and it would be churlish to suggest a marked difference between the two. Resolution and definition is unchanged - still terrific.

Likes: Fine grain, punchy colors, terrific resolution and definition, extra warmth

Dislikes: None really, but I will be intrigued to see how new Velvia 50 performs with extreme backlit greens, which is about the only area where the old Velvia was weak.

So I bought myself a roll (120) to try out. The price is $8.50 per roll (120 format). I'll put up the images I made, soon. Do come back and keep a look out. If you'd like to know of my updated posts, do let me know so I can add you in my mailing list.

Vespa Scooter

Vespa Scooter

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

Came across this nice looking Vespa scooter in Aljunied Crescent, while I was on my way to Kampung Senang's 8th Anniversary Senor Citizen Day celebration. Initially I spotted its tail behind one of the HDB void deck pillars. Out of curiosity, I walked up to take a closer look. And there it is!

Overall the lighting was just nice and look at that front tyre - so clean, good as new. The varnish on the scooter body is clean and shiny too. This image was made on Kodak UltraMax 400 color negative in Nikon FM10 with 50mm f/1.8 lens. I converted it to B&W in Photoshop. The original body color on the scooter is coffee color.

Best of Friends

Best of Friends

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

I was volunteering at Kampung Senang's 8th Anniversary celebration, as a photographer doing event photography. This is one of the many images I took on 3 November 2007, Saturday. After a nutritious lunch (FYI they were having organic food for lunch), the old folks retired to their own lodgings. As I was mingling around the area, I stopped to view some of the images I took earlier. In that moment, I noticed these 3 persons coming in my direction. Without hestitation, I lifted up my camera, composed and took this shot. It happened so fast that I hardly have enough time to do the essential camera settings, not to mention composition. In a closer look, you'll notice that the friendly and cheerful Filipino was posing for the camera with a Peace hand-sign. Before she was putting them down, I snapped. Though the result is not desireable for me, but I still love this beautiful image.

This is what I called Friendship. I think the man behind her, is visually handicapped. Look at their facial expression. It was that precise moment that I was looking for in such event i.e. friendship, warmth, harmony and happiness.

This image was captured in a wide angle frame and was later cropped in Adobe Photoshop. B&W conversion with basic tweaking on Level and Curve. Basic burning on the fore & background, so as to minimize the messy scene and maximize the focus on the main subject. Captured with my D70s on Tamron 17-35mm @ f5.6, 1/180sec. 'A' mode.