Pentax Spotmatic II

For the last couple of months I've been scouring through eBay and other online stores for the right film camera. I've read as much articles as I could, joined and lurked plenty of photography forums and watched countless YouTube videos but the selection was just really overwhelming. When I saw the listing for this Pentax Spotmatic II, I knew I didn't want anyone else to have it. Great condition and it was dirt cheap!


I'll try not to geek out too much here.

Having learned everything I know on a digital camera, I got used to having unlimited amount of shots I can have in a single memory card. There's always that thought of "take one more just in case". Where at times that saved my butt from shots where someone blinked or an unwanted passerby getting in the way, it also spoiled me and even held me back from learning more about the process. Since I picked up my very first DSLR camera, I've only shot on manual mode. Yes, it took a while and a lot of deleted files but I forced myself to never rely on Full Automatic mode or P mode. I'm still working on getting to a point where I can look at a scenario and say to myself, "I'm going to shoot this at ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/1000th." and be spot on without monkeying around and fiddling with the settings.

For my first roll of film, I just went with the cheapest and readily available pack I could find (Fuji X-TRA 400). I'm saving the good ones for another time. I wanted to check if the camera's metering is accurate. The battery for this camera has been discontinued and there really isn't an official replacement. Others suggested using 1.55v batteries that they sell at electronic stores but I read somewhere that it can cause incorrect metering which could either result to having under/overexposed images depending on which battery type you end up using. So far everything is good and it doesn't appear to have any light leaks except for the first photo I took of Amado.

Yes, he's eating salad from a huge metal bowl. All for him.

And yes, he really dresses in Japanese robes with matching pants/shorts when we're at home.

I know, harsh shadows! Again, this was my test roll so let it slide just this once.

Some people on the train heading to Anime Expo. We took some friend from out of town all over DTLA and Hollywood. My legs are still sore.

I'm still waiting on my 2nd roll to be processed. The lab's machine broke down after they processed my first roll. Anyway I like having to wait until the film is processed to see how the photos turned out. It's like opening gifts on Christmas day. There's no guarantee to what you're getting. Which isn't really completely accurate for me because I just check our bank statements to see if Amado bought anything during the holidays and my birthday. But so far I'm enjoying the process.

Pat and Kevin - Proposal

It was all Kevin could think about for the last couple of months, how was he going to propose to Pat? Kevin arrived from Miami the night before and drove out to Manhattan Beach at 6 in the morning so we can go over how he was going to do the proposal. We've talked about it before the big day but I though it would help if we actually saw the place to help calm his nerves and have less things to worry about. Pat flew in from Singapore 2 hours later and he went straight to the airport to pick her up.

Kevin told Pat that they were going to have brunch with me and Amado since we're close by and because we might not be able see her for the rest of her stay here. They walked towards the shore under the pier, Pat still very much clueless on what was happening. Amado and I found a nice lady to join in on the plan. She walked over to the couple and handed to Kevin a scrapbook he made titled "Why you should marry Kevin". Along with some of the photos they've taken since they've been together, he took photos of each family members (her family and his) holding a piece of paper where we wrote our answers to the question/title of the scrapbook.

What seemed to have been seconds for them looking through the book were long minutes for us and the rest of the people that started to gather around them. The rush of the moment finally kicked in when Kevin got down on one knee with the ring and popped the question.

Obviously she said yes!

Congrats Kevin and Pat!

DTLA Antthony

A video we shot for Antthony Designs in DTLA a few months back.

Juku and Kami waiting for Amado

Instagram has made me very lazy in updating my blog. I really want to break that habit, but it's so convenient!

This is what you'd usually find before Amado gets home from work. The girls sitting at the edge of the couch next to the door waiting for him to walk in. After cleaning my gear (which is way overdue for a good cleaning) I thought I'd bug the girls and test it out on them.

She looks so sad but it's really more of her annoyed look. I kept on calling out every word she knows just to get her to look at the camera. From "treats" to "birdie" but she was so hesitant. She knew what was up since I had my camera pointed at her.

And she continued to ignore me.

Kami runs out from the room once she heard I was giving some attention to Juku. We refer to her as the needy one. Even when I'm petting Juku, Kami will wedge herself in between us and sneak her way in. Notice how she's closer to the camera. She placed herself there!

Again, I was trying to rub Juku's face to wake her up and Kami lays down on her. It's her "it's my turn!" move.

Pedro Vidallon

After Greg and I started Malaya Project, I forced myself to be more selective when in comes to choosing what images to use to tell our participants' stories as clearly as possible. I can't be the only one who's attached to the images they've taken, I feel bad when we exclude a good amount of them from a series. Not that they're bad images (or so I think) but because it's more important to keep photos that will help develop a strong message.

The two below fall in that category. I was really excited about them after we left Pedro's place the night of the shoot but after putting everything in order, we decided to put them aside. They're great and we had a blast setting up and taking the shots but we felt it would distract the readers. At least Pedro has some new images for himself!

You can view the set of images we put together for his series on the Malaya Project site.

Zhiara's 1st Birthday

Zhiara, also known by her Uncle's friends as Baby Z celebrated her first birthday last weekend. Amado and I couldn't make it to her Hawaiian themed birthday party but we were able to spend time with her and the rest of her family for their family portraits.

Mom (Karen) coaching Baby Z to show off her pouty face.

Now with her very proud grandma, Tita June.

One of my faves of the whole family at their front porch. I told Tita June I had to get one of them in front of their house. Amado and I have been watching a lot home renovation shows and I've grown to like/obsess about craftsman homes. 

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Z!

Eggs In A Basket - The Trails Cafe Recipe

After going for a 24 mile bike ride yesterday morning, I thought I'd take it easy and prepare something quick and simple for breakfast. A few seconds of glancing inside our fridge and I saw I had the ingredients I needed to make a dish I saw on The Selby (one of my favorite sites). Then it changed from simple to a very extensive task.

So what was meant to be a quick fix meal turned into a whole messy set up for a photo. I posted a snapshot on my Instagram. I will stage food photos even if it's only for Instagram. Hey, it's either you give it your all or don't do it at all! Behind the white reflector is a whole lotta mess I made just to prepare the shot. The kitchen sink is a whole different story.

Amado and I have been to The Trails Cafe in Griffith Park years ago and I don't remember their menu being as pleasant as it is now. Then again we weren't really the nature/outdoors type at that time and we complained about our allergies the entire hike. We'll have to plan a weekend hike with the girls (Juku and Kami) one of these days and check out the cafe.

This egg in a basket is really savory, with pesto sauce and parmesan cheese on top. Like The Trails Cafe recipe, I made the pesto without pine nuts. It's the one item I didn't have in our kitchen and they are expensive as hell!