seeing (and making) patterns

092312 - Sunday afternoon was a crafternoon for us. We attended a screenprinting workshop by CraftMNL at The Collective in Malugay St, Makati.


We've been dying to attend their workshops ever since I started stalking... er, following them on Facebook and thank goodness we were finally able to free up our scheds. So we hauled our asses off to Makati and got our craft on.


Say hello to Andrei and Sheina from Hocus Manila. I seriously love these two! They sure know what they're talking about and we learned a lot from them.

Here's Andrei showing us the photo emulsion and how to apply it on the screen:






If only exposing film was as easy as this...


Watch the image slowly reveal itself on the screen (really, I was uh-mazed!!)







We didn't really use this since we signed up for the pattern making screenprinting magic extravaganza (!!!) so we used patterns like this:







We had to try this, it looks fun.


Aaaaand viola!



It was a very fun afternoon. The possibilities of screenprinting are endless! We can finally cross this off our bucket list.

In other news, here are some shots of the studio.






















If you want to attend their workshops, "Like" CraftMNL's page in Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CraftMNL). Trust me, you'll love it. ;)

the day the sunlight decided to play with my hair

It was about 19 years ago when this trend started. I was in high school and everybody was getting red, blue or green streaks in their hair. At that time, I was too chicken to try anything drastic to my hair (I heard that it had to be bleached so the colors would show). So I forgot about it then, convinced myself that it wasn't for me. But it had always been something I wanted to do for a long time.

Fast forward to a few years. I watched the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and met Clementine.



I know that I will do it eventually. i just don't know when.

Then last weekend, I finally did.


It was actually supposed to be a dark shade of blue. But I kind of like how this looks now. At first it was blue-green but as it slowly fades, it's turning into a light shade of green.


It's like film. I love happy accidents. And this is most definitely an accident. That I'm pleased with. Haha! This earned me 50 quirky points. Say hello to your resident weirdo. I can't wait to show you my future tattoos (if I ever muster up the courage to do it.)

It's So Pink I Could Die!!

We must have entered the Twilight Zone because I didn't know a place like this exists in Alabang Town Center...













Welcome to Mochiko! The Yoshitomo Nara prints are what made me look twice. Well, those and the cats on the wall! They're all waving! I love how this place is designed. It makes you want to stay even if all they sell are mochi ice creams. Even the boyfriend thought the place was cute. :))

New favorite hangout! If you're curious (and I bet you are ), Mochiko is located at the ground floor of ATC's new wing. Ch-ch-check it out!

big girl decisions

So last week, we went house hunting...

Although we sure picked a weird time to do it. It was raining small animals because of a typhoon. It hadn't stopped raining all night so water was everywhere. But we promised the broker that we'd meet with her (and we were giddy to see the house) so we braved the rain.
It was not exactly a house house. We found a pre-selling condominium near the place where the boyfriend and I work. I was adamant at first because I know zilch when it comes to real estate. I was raised in "the suburbs". But when I saw the place, I actually saw ourselves living in it. I looked at the boyfriend and saw the same. He loves it as much as I do!








We've been together for almost 6 years now so this is a really exciting time for us. It's a weird feeling, really. I feel so... grown up. :)




When we stopped by Ikea in Singapore earlier in the year, we fell in love with the place. The best thing is, they have showrooms on the 2nd floor! So we took a bunch of pictures. I didn't realize that our future home would look so much like those little rooms.












If you haven't figured it out yet.... Yes, we bought a condo unit!
Ahh the paperwork is crazy. I let the boyfriend talk with the broker about money matters. I just know I would space out once we talk about downpayments and balloon payments. Ugh. You can talk to the boyfriend about that, I do not have the necessary attention span for all that. :))
Exciting times for both of us, yes. We have already decided how to decorate the condo. I just hope we don't jinx it!!

Diana's Last Salute to Summer

Summer had never been my favorite weather. The perfect weather for me can only be described as "gloomy". I'd love to look outside and see overcast skies then feel the cold on my skin. The kind of weather that would make you, nay, force you to stay at home.

But this year, I found myself wishing that I'm on the beach, just lounging and watching people play in the water or sunbathe. I don't know I guess I just wanted to see and feel a bit of sun.

I've recently acquired a new film camera, the Diana F+ and a bunch of accessories. I got lucky when I was camera hunting online.









When doing test rolls, a sunny weather is always the best option, especially if your film camera does not have "special quirks" that can help you shoot in low light conditions (like selenium cells and that thing inside the LC-A).

So I was thankful when I finally had the opportunity to test the Diana. Brought both the LC-A+ and Diana to the beach with me and snapped away. I was only able to use the Diana with a 120 Superia 100 film and the 55mm wide angle and close up lens.



Some lessons learned (which can also be useful to you, dear reader):

1. If you're using the 55mm wide angle lens, go ahead and take the mask off. Go on, don't be scared. Shoot mask-free! the vignettes would be more pronounced and you'll see your lens' full wide angle-ness. You won't see it my test shots though because I used the 12 shot mask. No need to put that mask in; you're still going to get 12 shots out of your film.

2. Embrace the sun. I've read so many first time woes about the Diana lomographs being too dark or underexposed so I lathered up on sunscreen and braved the heat. I got 8 out of 12 shots perfectly exposed (the others that didn't make it were indoor shots with no flash) which is actually more than I expected. So yay!

I was also able to find a Diana Exposure chart off the internets. I'm currently trying this together with the 35mm back for the Diana. Probably a good idea to load a film with a higher ISO so you have a better chance of actually seeing results. One of the most common reasons why a lot of newbie lomographers get disappointed is their own expectations of the medium. Film is always a trial and error thing. Yes, it can be expensive especially now that there are a lot of apps out there that can modify photos as you please. But I always go back to film because of the satisfaction that I get when I "do something right." It's just different. :)

So that's my first roll of Diana lomographs. I hope I get to finish my test roll soon so I can share more lessons I learned throughout the process. Yay film!