I haven’t been taking loads of pictures, so imagine how gravely disappointed I was when I found out that the black-and-white roll I tried came out of the developers as a long, black strip. Apparently, the ‘X’ meant that it was “exposed” and not “expired.” Lesson learned, I guess.

What I’m about to share with you right now is a chronicling of my first foray into Lomography. My cousin, Nicole, was the first person I knew who had a really cool camera that shot multi-framed stories instead of capturing single stills.

I was intensely attracted to the idea and so I got my own—a Supersampler! I loved pulling the string and hearing the four clicks when I pressed the button. The results were always surprising and fun, too.

I brought that thing with me everywhere. And it was nice how my dad indulged this obviously non-cerebral, anti-art—at least in the way that it’s supposed to evoke deep meanings and underlying themes—kind of photography. I mean, it was really nice of him, because look at what I have now! A bunch of memories from a really fun time in my life. I had no idea how expensive film and lab fees were. Now, I do, so I appreciate it all the more.

It’s just funny how photos from this camera represent to me things that I miss, as well as some of my oldest dreams. I miss being silly, and I miss feeling big enough to actually maybe live in New York City someday. In high school, I always thought I would be there by the time I was in my mid-twenties. Now that the date is nearing, I kind of doubt anything will come of that dream, but it’s still nice to have a reminder of who I was, precisely, when I fell in love with that city.

Here are some more photos of New York and me coercing my classmates to make silly faces:

Bangkok, Thailand

Sophomore Year

There has been an influx of babies in my family for the last year or so. I’ve had only one nephew, Jaime Alfonso, for five years before the other babies started pouring in. There was Iniko Matteo born last April, Summer Madeline born at the very end of December, and Ethan Joseph just this February. I had my last full roll developed, and in between random photos at the grocery, I found pictures of some of my favorite people to see these days.

Most are blurry—my estimation has regressed once again—but I think I’d like to keep these special moments, anyway. All photos taken with Lomography CN 100, which I imagine would look better with a lot of light.

Iniko Matteo in his new Audi~

When I got to my brother’s room, I found Jaime reclining on the bed—a usual spot for him when he’s not in school. We got him to be still enough for a few shots.

Summer Madeline with blur!Papa.

I was gifted with an Olympus Pen EE and, along with my Sprocket Rocket and LC-A+, it came with me on a recent trip to Buenavista, Marinduque, home to the (pretty) famed Bellarocca Resort and Spa. We were there for three days and actually left right before the Moriones Festival. Without saying much, here is a post with mostly photographs. As I mentioned, these were taken with an Olympus Pen EE—great mileage in terms of film—loaded with Kodak Kodacolor 200.

There wasn’t much of a beach to speak of so the main point of that getaway was for rest and relaxation. We swam all day or napped or slept for real. The beds were so soft, I didn’t want to leave.

We swam until we couldn’t.

We ate until we were stuffed. Incidentally, this is someone else’s meal dregs.

We watched sunsets.

And we waited for sunrises.

All in all, it was a pretty good way of spending three days. I have a bunch of other photos—three-and-a-half rolls worth and I can’t wait to post them!

The trouble with shooting with film is that it has enormous room for error. I haven’t touched a digital camera in months (I’m looking to buy a Canon S100 in May, though) so I’ve been shooting mainly in film. Funny how that sounds so uppity and snobby—it only means that I have been taking photos in film. Anyway, before I get to my gigantic (probably series-ed) Marinduque posts, a.k.a. the reason why I have been away, here are some examples of my photo fumbles.

I loaded my camera with Fuji Reala 100 and accidentally set the ASA to 400, so the photos came out darker than they are supposed to—and they are blurrier than usual. Sad. I like taking photos of everyday life and seeing them “come to life,” though. For some reason, it’s almost a foreign thing when I see photoshoots up online.

Sarie & me, waiting for our cheese steaks. This was on a lunch break during an Aaron Thomas workshop. On this day, we learned the difference between a character-driven and procedural television show.

Here’s Jaime’s face. He’s my godson (although I don’t think he actually knows that) and he’s six. We live in a compound and he’s up in our “house” a lot.

Beng’s graduation dinner. Steak at Mamou (!) and a stop to Gelatissimo and Jamba Juice. I’m sure my parents are thrilled that they are done sending kids to school.

Room buggering. In case you didn’t know, I share a room with my sister. Sometimes I bug her to the point of extreme irritation, but it does well to remember that I only do it out of love.

Lunch, a movie, and coffee with Barby and Isa! I missed these two and it was quite nice seeing them both. Funny thought, but I saw Isa twice that month—a rarity if I ever saw one.

Dragged Pau to have lunch in Ganso-Shabuway, which is my favorite restaurant, I have decided. This is unfortunate because it’s ask-pensive, but I’m just hoping that the cravings go away, else I’ll be poor and fat.

On the way home, I saw a jeepney unloading a variety of produce on the Greenbelt 3 driveway.

Before I forget to mention: these photos were taken with an LC-A+ with a wide-lens attachment. Makes me really, really want to get an LC-Wide. Maybe in the future.

March whizzed by so fast, I haven’t even had a chance to get grounded and settled in before April decides to slam into my face. I mean, tomorrow is already the last day of March. Funnily enough, I’ve found time to keep on writing on Nothing Spaces. As of 5 entries ago, March 2012 has seen the most updates from me.

At this point, it’s kind of pointless to even do my monthly goals, seeing as the only things I’ve accomplished this March is not even from my March list. And this is coming from a wholly disappointing February. Still, though, I think I did pretty well for myself this month, in terms of certain life experiences. Possibly silly to evaluate things like that in a public place, but I don’t know; it’s just what I do.

Anyway, here is a bunch of randoms my 2012 Film Diary. I have four to-be-shot rolls in four different cameras—LC-A+, Sprocket Rocket, Olympus Pen EE, Nikon FE—so I decided to post these a little early. March was so busy, that some of them feel like I took them so much longer ago.

Examination of the Self, Lomography CN 800

To humor everyone: TPOBPAH shirt, Uniqlo chinos, handmade necklace, Bag from Singapore, Keds sneakers

I had lunch and coffee with Isa. It was supposed to just be a lunch date, but she offered to drive me to Greenbelt so we can meet up with Tim because I hoarded bought film from him.

Sunday lunch with my mom and dad. My sister met up with a friend and my brother slept in, so it was an opportunity for Thai food, obviously. I missed you so much, crispy catfish salad.

Henry Royales

Henry Royales

Jacob Lindo

A show at West Gallery. Here I am, inside an elevator, with doors closing upon a creepy little scene. While I’m not afraid of the dark, in itself, with nothing to look at, scenarios start playing in my head. Anyway, I don’t know if I’d be more afraid of a real ghost or a real live psychopath. Both are people I don’t want to be stuck in the dark with, equally.

Our stove broke. Mercury retrograde hit our kitchen the hardest. We had to get a new microwave, refrigerator and a stove repair.

The Strangeness

The last Meiday ever! At B-side, where thieves roam free. There were a few incidents of thievery that night, which really just solidifies why I hate going to that place. Funnily enough, the place was brighter than usual/the other times I go there, which gave me a false sense of security, probably.

In any case, what we saw of the show was great! The 80′s theme was thoroughly entertaining, as the bands came up with stuff to cover. Outerhope even covered “More To Lose” by Ricky Gervais’ 80s band, Seona Dancing, a portion of which you can hear here:

The Strangeness

Purple Chickens

Manuel Ocampo, Finale. Talk on Kippenberger

Poetry on trains

Finally, I get to somewhat write about Death Cab for Cutie. Being generally unemployed as we are, Sarie and I lined up at around 1:30 p.m. for an 8 o’clock show, and we thought that might have been too much. But when we got there, there were two other groups of people who had already been waiting there since 10 and 11 a.m. Call it crazy, but we’ve been waiting for this show for ten or so years.

A few hours into waiting, we caught part of the sound check. It was spine-tingling hearing Ben Gibbard’s voice float towards us across the room, through the glass. (A melody softly soaring through the atmosphere, hehe.) I felt my heart rise up to my throat, and it was a nice preamble to the show we were about to see. Some of the songs they played weren’t part of their set list but we didn’t know it at the time, so it was like an extra show. These were the songs they played:

• “Different Names for the Same Thing”
• “Meet Me on the Equinox”
• “Death of an Interior Decorator” — this was particularly fun. Everyone we were there with sang, Can you tell me why you have been so-oh-oh-oh sa-ah-aaaaahd?
• what we think might have been a portion of Big Star’s “Thirteen”

In the end, I wasn’t allowed to bring in my SLR—hey, a girl’s gotta try!—so it’s been a painful wait for these photos to be processed, since I took with the only other camera I had with me, an LC-A+. With only one range, four focus points, and a dark room, I’m pretty happy with the results.

Sarie, Belle & Helga. We were front and center. It was glorious.

Thinny Ben! He ran all over the stage like a little critter.

It was a great, great show. Tops a lot I’ve seen, and I’ve seen quite a few amazing ones. They opened with “A Lack of Color,” starting it with a really great soft mood. I had expected a more energetic song, but for an audience deprived of seeing them live, it was perfect. After a few minutes, I looked over to Sarie, and she was already crying. Death Cab for Cutie has always known how to find ways for us to say the little pains and hurts we can’t verbalize or seem to make sense of.

The next song, “I Will Possess Your Heart” with a shortened intro, was incredible to hear live. To follow were “Crooked Teeth,” “We Laugh Indoors,” and “Photobooth,” something we had hoped they would play. My brother caught it on video:

It was followed by a bunch of songs that I like but had little emotional ties to: “Doors Unlocked and Open,” “Long Division” (sooooo good), “Grapevine Fires,” and “Codes and Keys.” I was casually enjoying the show, good musicians that they are, when I hear a familiar trickle of piano notes. They were beginning to play “What Sarah Said,” and I lost it completely. I love this song; I had been hoping I would get to see them play this, and I did. Amazing.

As if that weren’t enough of bruising for my heart, they launched into “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” another song that is just so damn good and so sad. Following this was “Title and Registration” (another favorite), “You are a Tourist” and “The New Year,” which is everyone’s New Year song and is super duper fun to sing to.

Ben and Chris Walla. I love how they switched some of the songs up with instruments and arrangements. I can’t grasp how much talent was up there on that stage. I mean—Chris Walla—come on.

Then, we got “Company Calls,” “Company Calls Epilogue,” “Soul Meets Body,” and another personal favorite, “Cath…” Then, we really got to hear their musicality through a really long version of “We Looked Like Giants,” during which Ben played on another drum set along with Jason McGerr. I don’t particularly like that song, but it was so intense, I just watched in awe. A lot of people came to love Death Cab for Cutie because of their emotional hold around us, but I saw then how amazing they are, even beyond creating emotions.

They “finished off” their set with “The Sound of Settling,” which is something they seem to rarely play. Everyone knows there’s going to be an encore, and we tried to think of songs we would love for them to play. They came back out and launched into “Home is a Fire” and, weirdly enough, “Meet Me on the Equinox.” Apparently, there is a huge-ass Twilight following in the Philippines, so I guess I am blaming them for this song choice. I mean, it’s good, but why do we get the Twilight song, when according to Setlist.fm, they haven’t played since July 2011.

But I can’t complain, because they sang “A Moviescript Ending,” the first Death Cab for Cutie song I remember truly, completely loving. And then, of course, they finished off with “Transatlanticism,” reducing us all to a big, living pool of tears.

Looking at the ratio of songs, the Manila set was filled with old favorites and just a handful of new songs. My brother thinks that it’s because they have only been here to play once. At the beginning of the show, Ben apologized to Manila for never having played here before. I think the crowd’s energy just stunned him. It stunned me, too. Everyone was singing along and knew all the words. It was an incredible place to be in; it was thrilling to have seen it all unfold up close.

Ben tweeted the best compliment a group of fans could ever hope for, and I don’t know, I guess I forgive them for having taken this long to get here. Just as long as it means that they’ll be back.

Sprocket Rocket, Fuji Provia 100

I’m no photographer; I just do it for fun. Frankly, at this point, I would not trust myself with a commercial or editorial shoot. Thankfully, my friend Bia (a photographer and filmmaker) invited me to go to a shoot she was doing with Jacq Yu. This was done way back in September, but I’d been apprehensive about posting them for several reasons. Anyway, I’m posting them now, and I hope you enjoy them.

It was nice seeing what happens at these shoots and how people my age manage to shoot them. For some reason, I still feel really young (despite being 23) so it’s always a jolt of surprise to me when people my age pull off complicated things with more grace and know-how than I could ever.

Bia, doing her thing. See Bia’s photos here.

Chiara did the make-up (see her work here), and Kimmy did her hair and styling.

Chiara’s brushes and my favorite model.

Sarie.

My mom had an old Olympus Pen from her dad, and I wanted to use it, but when we went to have it cleaned, we were told that it didn’t work anymore. In pursuit of a nice half-frame camera, I browsed through online sellers but Sarie got me a surprise second-hand Pen EE from Hidalgo!

Here are a few of shots from the test roll. It was loaded with an unexpired Kodak Pro Image 100 roll, and I overestimated its ability to capture images in low light since my LC-A+ does pretty good with 100 ASA film. It’s a single focus camera as well, so a lot of my other shots were well-lit but quite blurry. I’ll try to remember this next time! It was a good test run. Mostly, I was just shooting random things to get the roll developed because I was so anxious to see how they turned out!

As you can see from this combination, it works wonderful in enough sunlight. Registers colors really well, too. I think I just need to remember that it’s not an LC-A+ so I need to be careful.

I was going through old pictures that I took in high school with my FM2 and Super Sampler (my weapons of choice in those days) because I wanted to post a few memories. I like these photos of two beautiful people that I’ve known for almost ten years.

We took a photography class when Petra and I were juniors, Nash a senior. That’s why we were bringing around cameras a lot, I think. Anyway, enjoy. It’s nice to have these reminders once in a while.

Random shots from the first quarter of 2012. I think I want to do this more often. Used: Ferrania Solaris 400, which I sadly have only one more roll of.

Toro y Moi.

Mama.

Me, taken by Sarie.

Unwrapping artwork for our walls.

Youkulele & Me.

Driving to Isa’s.

For puppies!

Stan the T-Rex.

7-11, Connecticut.