Flickr vs Multiply

Ever since I made my third photo book at Blurb, I have considered migrating all of my albums from Multiply to Flickr. The only reason that has stopped me from purchasing a Flickr Pro account was the thought of transferring all of my 152 albums and 52 videos there. I've transferred 14 so far and I've still got a long way to go. Good thing I still have the original pictures in my hard drive or else, I'll be stuck using the ones I uploaded from Multiply.

Like any curious web savvy person out there, I did a little research and found out that there were quite a few discussions comparing the two. I also included a screen shot to show that what I read about photos in Flickr looking better than in Multiply are actually true (click on the photo above).

If you noticed, the picture of the LC-A on the right (Flickr) showed more detail than the one on the left (Multiply). The Flickr upload showed the same sharpness and detail as the original photo whereas the Multiply version wasn't able to maintain it. My point is...I don't want the photos I have uploaded for permanent storage to look different from the original. Of course I'd want the photos to appear exactly the same as when I uploaded them.

As for the cost: Flickr is more expensive at $24.95 whereas Multiply costs P799 now--I got mine for almost a thousand when they still offered it for $19.95 last year. Another point to consider is that Flickr does not have the option to download their sets/collection into a zip file, a feature that I very much like in Multiply. However, there are third party applications like Flickr Down that can do the downloading of sets too. Though I would much rather have Flickr come up with their own batch downloader instead of a third party application from an untrusted source.

Being a user of Blurb, I was excited to test out BookSmart's integration with Flickr. I ended up being disappointed when I found out how slow it was. Blurb's BookSmart also crashed on me almost every time I used it to try importing my images from Flickr.

My Multiply Premium account will expire a few months from now giving me enough time to transfer and decide between the two. It will depend on which offers the better service and features--no easy feat because these sites both have their pros and cons ;)

a reflection

Spent lunch at the memorial park yesterday. My family and I celebrated my grandfather's third year death anniversary in the mausoleum and while we were chatting, the stained glass image of Mama Mary caught my eye. The reflection was just as lovely on the granite surface that I just had to take a picture. After three tries with my point and shoot digital camera, I was happy with the results of the third shot (shown above). Too bad I don't own a DSLR (yet)--it would have been better looking taken with it :)

Archived: my Olympus XA2

After just two rolls, my Olympus XA2 has broken down. I don't think I'll have it repaired anymore...

Lesson learned: never buy anything second hand ever again.

my first lomo photo book

I

finally made my first lomo photo book after months of wanting to do it. I love the picture I used for the front and back covers. It's my most favorite one of all.

it is better to give than to receive

Ever since I was introduced to BookMooch by one of my friends, I have given away more books than received them. Giving away books that I no longer want to read in exchange for books that I want to read has been a worthwhile experience. At first it was hard to let go of the books I had bought and finished to read, but just thinking of how much other people would better appreciate them was enough for me to put them up for "mooching" and send them off to the lucky someone who wants to read it.

It's also a great way to get books which are not available in one's country. You can send requests to BookMooch Angels who are willing to send books which are only available in their country to yours. If I only had more time, I'd sign up for the BookMooch Angel network too.

So if you're ever willing to give away books in exchange for other titles, please do sign up and join the ever growing community of BookMoochers worldwide :)

tips for new lomographers

When I was new to lomography, I was excited and eager to buy the cameras and start shooting. The thing was, I didn't know which cameras to buy first then. I was immediately interested in the Holgas, impressed with the LC-A, and curious about the Supersampler and Fisheye cameras. I researched and asked a few people which cameras they would recommend for a newbie and the answers ranged from either the Holga 120N, the Fisheye, or the Colorsplash flash camera (which I never bought because I didn't like the flash sticking out like that). Some people have recommended the Holga 120CFN and the Holga 135BC (for those who would rather use the 35mm version). In the end I got both the 120CFN and 135BC.

For newbies, I would recommend you start with the Holga. Square Frog is one of my favorite sites for information on Holgas. There are videos on the site (and in Youtube) on how to load and unload film, how to use 35mm film in the 120 camera, etc. Once I decided which Holga I wanted, the next site I went to to buy one was eBay. Check out my favorite Holga sellers on eBay in this entry.

After learning to use the Holga, I bought myself a Fisheye 2 and then a Supersampler. The Fisheye 2 was tricky to use but I eventually learned to love it after I discovered that I preferred to use negatives instead of slides. The Supersampler is one of my favorite cameras.

If you want a Lomo LC-A but don't have the budget for it, one of the next best cameras in the market that can give you similar output pictures are the Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim (or its lookalikes and clones) and the Olympus XA series. If you're lucky, there are second hand fully functioning Olympus XA for as low as £25 (shipping excluded) on eBay. Other alternative camera discussed in forums for the LC-A can be found here and here.

It's fun to experiment with toy cameras and eBay is now full of them. Just check out the Fun Camera store for other plastic camera goodies.

If you want to start colorsplashing, you need not spend for a colorsplash flash. You can just buy an ordinary hotshoe flash and make an improvised one like what I did here.

As for films, a good site to see the output of the negative and slide films would be in the Lomo Film Shop. Don't be discouraged with the prices as you can buy them cheaper on eBay.

Anyways, I hope this entry has helped those who are new to lomography. I know it's not complete but it's a start :) good luck and happy shooting!

Poladroids

sunset in Guam
used my Nokia N72

I am officially addicted to Polaroids. I remember my dad had a polaroid-like camera for his ultrasound machine but other than that, we never owned a real Polaroid before. Anyways, I didn't want to buy one yet so I was thrilled to have discovered Poladroid when @petapixel posted it in his Twitter page. It's easy to use and right after I converted my first digital image into a "Polaroid", I was hooked.

Diego when he was a puppy
Canon Powershot

The retro look that the Polaroid gives to each picture is just beautiful. I am glad to have appreciated this even if it were a "digitized" version of the real thing.

In prayer
Canon Powershot

film speeds

For those who would rather not delve into the technicalities of film speeds all you have to remember is the higher the ISO, the grainier your pictures will appear. I discovered this when I experimented on one of my uncle's ISO 800 films (before researching on it or asking any of my photo-buff friends) and was dismayed by the output of the pictures. I didn't like how grainy my pictures appeared. Anyways, if you want smoother pictures like me, use speeds like ISO 100 or 50 (Velvia).

High speed films like ISO 800 and 1600 are used in low lighting conditions. ISO 50, 100, and 200 should be used in bright lighting conditions. ISO 400 is versatile and it looks best in black and white :)