Malacca with my Canon AE-1

Most of our short trips are impromptu, including this one. We've decided to check out the new boutique hotel Quayside Hotel by the Melaka River. We paid more than our usual hotel stay in Malacca for the sake of a balcony and the river view and the beautiful Casa del Rio.

I've missed the opportunity to snap some photos of popular landmarks in Malacca on my previous trip. (psst... actually I did load the film properly coz it's a new camera) And so, I insists on doing a photowalk around A Famosa (St Paul's Hill).

All photos below are taken with Canon AE-1 SLR with Efiniti UXi 200. This is my one and only roll of this film. I bought it through recommendation from Ms Gladys of Photocrafts, Kota Damansara. I like the resullts but have to be very careful with the weather. I guess it works better on a cloudy weather. Some of my photos look over exposed. I noticed that in darker lighting condition, the details are more defined and prominent.

 

This was taken at the foot of St Paul's Hill. Opposite of the Museum of Islam.

 

Part of the park with models of old transportation.

 

A pregnant looking tree spotted nearby.

 

A resting cat awaits its mate. Halfway downhill from St Paul's Hill.

 

I wish that I have a zoom lens.

 

A little bit of old and new.

 

Not too defined reversed bokeh.

This photo looked burnt and dreamlike. I guess it would work better with a Lomography X-Pro Chrome 100 film. 

Praying hard that my friend can manage to get me 6 rolls from Singapore soon. Heard that it's a bargain there. I would really like to try more of this film in darker lighting condition and hopefully the results come out better.

 This roll of film is also my fastest to finish and developed. This fun fact was pointed out by my husband. Who had to tagged along with me, climbed up the hill under the hot sun and wait until I'm done. Then drive me to the lab to get this developed. He fell asleep a couple of time and try to stay awake by playing Candy Crush.

*I really need to buy a wide angle lens soon

*The current 50mm lens is driving me nuts

*Limited space, I need bigger and wider space

I heart Lomography Tungsten 64 ISO film

It's sad that Lomography had discontinued this beautiful film. Although it's meant to have a greyish hue, but it turns out purplish and I love it! I still have 2 rolls of this film and will save it for something else in the future. This is my first experimental roll with the Diana Mini. And it was taken way back last year, I didn't have time to finish the roll.

This is my favourite pic of this roll. Was taken at Urbanscapes 2012.

 

Loungers resting and chatting by their boat docked at Straits Quay, Penang.

 

Love the in your face colours of this one. Taken somewhere in Penang. Old heritage building.

 

Famous drinking hole in Jonker Street, Malacca. Geographer is the place to be for beers and music.

My next experiment would be on the La Sardina The Guvnor. But for now, I will just load a cheap ass normal 35mm film to test. And I can't wait for Lomo Purple 400Iso to arrive in Malaysia. I heart purple shades.

 

 

My fisheye experience

If you've read my previous post here, you'll know that I've started dabbling in film photography again. The last time I did was when I was in primary through secondary school. Yeah I'm old, so shoot me!

Fisheye is something new to me eventhough it had existed for a long time. And the fisheye lens/camera alway gave me a bad impression, don't know why. Maybe because it can't be taken seriously as a camera or method of photography ? Who I am to judge? I am an amateur after all.

My colleague Ms TM owns a Fisheye 2 camera from Lomography and she lent it to me. Or else, it'll still be sitting at home gathering dust. I wanted to have a feel of the camera before I make my own purchase. She got bored of it after a while because it's a simple point and shoot.

Rule #1 of the Ten Golden Rule of Lomography is Take your camera everywhere you go and I did.

I have a habit of using normal 35mm films on my first attempt on a camera. This is to have a feel of how the camera works and it's a cheaper option. If the roll doesn't turn out right, at least I don't feel so bad.

Camera : Fisheye 2
Film : Fujifilm Superia ISO 200

 

Straits Quay Penang. This shot was taken closer to the evening and you can still see the bright blue sky.

 

Somewhere along the North-South Highway. Traffic was pretty bad hence, the photography opportunity.

 

The dragon guarding the entrance of Jonker Street in Malacca. This shot was taken in a shaded area with flash.

 

The middle of Jonker Street. Performances are held here during the weekend for the tourists. Dark clouds looming above, heavy downpour is imminent.

 

This was taken indoor with low lighting flush flash. Fisheye is definitely a camera hungry for light. It creates a dreamy vignette feel to it. Dad is alway happy to pose for me.

 

My friend - the willing poser. Normally he's on the other side of the lens snapping candid shots of people. 

 I love clear blue skies. This was taken in front of SeChuan Restaurant in Teluk Intan, Perak. I was attending my cousin's wedding then and waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. Took the free time to experiment.

I will definitely try to shoot more using this camera because it's fun and easy. I get more into the frame than the Diana Mini. And this is so much funkier. I've acquired a second hand Fisheye One for a cheap price. Still shooting with it. I hope that it turns out alright because the film is long expired. Fingers crossed and more pics to share.

Me & My Toy Camera

I'm in love. My object of desire is neither a man or a woman. It's name is Mini Diana and she's not the dead princess either. She's a blue and black beauty from my lovely friends for my birthday couple of months back. You may read about it here.

 

I'm sexy and I know it.

And so I started playing around with it. Being the cheapskate, I started out with a cheaper film option Kodak Ultramax Colour (ISO 400). Bought it from The Click Shop at SS2 for RM10. Got it processed and scanned for RM15 elsewhere. 

Here are some of the 1st roll of film that I personally like :

 

Me posing with Mini Diana's len cap at Mr SI's house in Puchong during the Raya Open House. Nice and sunny. The stripes on my top looks great with the background autogate.

 

 

Where we parked our car during the Raya Open House. Love longkang shots.

 

Took a trip to Malacca. Stadhuys is the perfect place to snap photo. Lovely colours.

 

 

First attempt of multiple exposure with yellow colour gel. Creepy yet cool. Taken in Malacca at a satay shop in Taman Melaka Raya.

My 1st roll of Black & White. Fujifilm Agros Neopan (ISO100) also bought from The Click Shop at SS2 for RM18. I love photos in B&W, it's so vintage. Here are some of my favourites :

 

Lighthouse Cafe, Bishop Street in Penang. Lomography shots of heritage building kicks ass.

 

Don't you miss the old school parking meters? Found one along the Logan Heritage Building, Penang.

 

My sister, the perfect model for Lomo shots. Cute, quirky and a tad crazy.

 

Light in B&W. Taken by my sister at alt.space, Jaya One PJ our go-to coffee joint.

 

Yawn.. is it bedtime already ? Me as a passenger in my brother's car.

 

Multi exposure. The wall at alt.space and my brother. 

Is this the way out ? Outside one of the elevators at Jaya One, PJ.

After trying out the cheap films which I still love and will definitely buy more rolls. I took my first step and bought some slide films Lomography style. It's more expensive but the colours are crazy ~ RM69 for 3 rolls of Xpro Chrome. Bought it from Photo Crafts at Sunway Pyramid Just got it process and collected this afternoon. Super sexcited y'all. 

 

My sis, Kungfu-ing at JPO.

 

My parents posing at JPO. It was bloody sunny, hence the eyes.

 

The rich colour of cross processing a slide film. The red is redder than blood. The white is oh-la-la.

 

A burst of colours. Shipyard at Legoland, Malaysia.

 

Me and my reds. Love the colour red and it's crazy with this film. Love, love, love it.

 

Towards later in the afternoon when the sun is not at its peak, the low sunlight still workds on the crazy colours of this Lego ship. I'm practically having an orgasm right this moment.

 

Duplo ride at Legoland. The perfect place to snap with a roll of slide film. The 3 basic colours brought to life; red, blue and yellow.

 

The last burst of sunlight before sunset at Legoland, Malaysia.

 

Multiple exposure along Orchard Road and my sister's face. I call it Sis crossover LV & Dior. It looks like she's wearing a hat. She loves this shot.

 

Before sunset at Universal Studio, Singapore.

So, here are some of the photos taken with the mini Diana and I love Lomography. Will snap more with different films to see the different effects. When I am more well verse with the camera, I will buy a vintage film camera to play with. There are some in mind but it's too expensive. I also want to check out fish eye and wide angle camera.

Weekend getaway at Philea Resort, Ayer Keroh, Malacca

When it's near end of the year, the body turns into autopilot of laziness. Perhaps it's the rain, maybe it's the holiday season or the Christmas music lulling in the background. Who really knows? I was introduce to Philea by my bro Ms TEL. She was also dying for a weekend getaway to one of our favorite destination in Malaysia, Malacca. To a lot of people it may sound weird for it's so near to the city. But the love of good food and short drive to another town is too hard to resist.

The day started out with a late start coz we wanted a no rush break. Woke up when the body wants to, Ms TEL and Mr LSY came over to pick me and Mr Hubs up. Went for a dimsum lunch in ghetto Puchong. Placed our order and choice of Chinese Tea. One or two of the dimsum came with our tea and the order stopped. We were all hungry and was wondering WTH was going on. After signaling to the waiter and enquire about the slow dimsum delivery only then we were told that the kitchen is malfunction and smoky therefore the chef can't produce any morsels. WTH? If we did not took the initiative to ask, I think we had to wait til kingdom comes. We asked for the bill and paid it angrily and hungrily. If there was a pig walking the street at that very moment , I'm sure we will "telan" the damn thing without any hesitation.

Anyways, we then proceed to a nearby PappaRich for good ol' kopitiam food (no choice... i know you feel me, weekend is for eating tasty food only) and the food and drinks were served swiftly. Tummy filled and ready to hit the road! The time reads 3-4ish in the afternoon. Make a quick call to the resort to hold our rooms coz we're late for check in. Was told not to come early (eh?) coz the rooms are not ready. WTF? It's definitely not our day. Traffic was quite shite along the way coz a lot of people dunno how to drive.Sometimes I wonder how they pass and got their driving license.

We finally arrived at the resort around 5-ish. And proceed to check in, once again was told that the rooms are not ready! One of the check in staff said to wait for another 20 mins and another blurted out a 30 mins waiting time. We din give a shite as we are contented to be there. Had a lil chat (chicken backside..can't help it lor) with the friendly staff there and was told that there was a lot of late check outs from the previous nite (kiasu company trip staff, the company name starts with an H and has 5 letters and from Japan, quite popular on the road in Malaysia).

I realised that I'm writing too much unnecessary information here. Therefore, I shall proceed with the photos. Here you go folks, unveiling first time ever Philea Resort *drum roll please*

 

The signage outside the resort

 

The facade of the resort. Entrance to the lobby area

 

The signboard

 

Rila just wanna have some fun

 

This Christmas tree is made out of recycled mineral water bottles. It's their eco-effort and guess the number of bottles correctly and stand a chance to win something. Forgot to read what the prizes were. But these days, all prizes are iPads.(trust me!)

 

One of the minum and hangout lounge

 

An attempt for a gingerbread house. Not too bad.

 

Ugly as fuck Christmas deco. But love the place.

 

Entering the room, the sofas and my handbag

 

Comfy king size bed. We all love it and can sleep anytime. We give it 11 out of 10 points. haha

 

Entertainment area (i think there's about 10 channels max but who's here to watch tv?)

 

Above the desk is the Daikin a/c, quiet and too cold for words.

 

Ruang membuang sisa-sisa badan

 

Rain shower...want to install one at home lor after using it...damn you rain shower!

 

Had 2 bubble bath session here myself... so relaxing muahaha

 

Clean towels to wipe the body after shower

 

Complimentary coffee & tea

 

The power socket, nice to see but not lasting wan.. very fast spoil. We had a discussion about it at night.

 

Welcome fruits...din touch any coz no time 

 

Who's dat you ask? Rila in the house!

Apparently, there's a cut off of photos in each blog post. Therefore I have to end this Part I of Philea Resort here and write another post.