Initially, I wanted my last month for 2011 to be all portraits of important people in my life. But as the December days went by, I realized it was a far too busy month to be able to get my ideas become a reality. And with new things coming in, new clients, new path ( I got a job as an Art Teacher in a University) and the usual holiday obligations, I was just  too swamped. So I decided to just let things fall into place. No pressure. My father recently left me his Mamiya RB67, meaning he just wanted me to "borrow" it, (HAH! *evilgrin) and I so badly wanted to try it out. I was itching to use it for my December month. The problem is, I was just not too comfortable with it yet. And I just need to study this new monster. Frankly, it scared the shit out of me! hahaha! So I just didn't force it. Here's me with the Mamiya, testing it out.. VERY HEAVY camera :(( 

Pain in the Neck

Now on to my 2012 project :) 
hint: its written all over these photos ;)

Camera: Pentax K1000
Film: Ilford HP5 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

last month was a truly busy month. and im feeling really guilty :( it was super busy because aside from the domestic life and work, i recently got a job from my Alma Mater, teaching Art Direction to Fine Arts students. being in the university, now as a teacher gave me a very different perspective. and believe me, it is a positive perspective. it is challenging, and god knows how driven i am to teach these kids what i know and what i've learned thru the years..

now back to the camera...

the camera that i used was from a friend, it was a Yashica FX3 camera. she lent it to me because she wanted me to test it out for she was selling this pretty camera. to be honest, i am falling inlove with it and im kinda trying not to get tempted into buying it ;) hihi! a very user friendly camera, it is so easy to use. just like my Pentax, and im lovin the 50mm lens too. Melody, if you are reading this, can this be my early christmas gift? hahahaha! :P 

anyway, cant stay long. so here are the very very few shots that i took... 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Can't believe this project is almost over. Has it been a year already? This may sound too cliche but i feel like it was only yesterday that made me decide I want to push this project through. Because you know, im kinda lazy like that ;) I am so far beyond happy that I did this. Buuuuut… the year's not over yet. I still have this month and then the very last month of the year. I will be posting soon. I think im kind of sad. Oh well, some things just have to end..

*sigh!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

October was such a busy month that I didn't even get a chance to hear which camera was calling. Instead I got caught up with work plus I had to prepare some stuff before I leave for a quick weekend trip to two islands, Bacolod and Ilo-Ilo. They are located on the (western) Visayas region of our beautiful Philippines. I was excited about this trip! I was going there 'almost' alone, a friend is waiting for me on the other island. Wanted to go very alone but oh well ;)

So the camera that made it with me on October was Pentax K1000. You guessed it! ;) It has become my go-to camera. And of course, I brought along one digital I recently had, the Nikon D5100. But since this here is for the analog geeks, here's some photos that I took on that trip

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

How do I begin this tragedy?

It all started when I was getting ready for a commissioned shoot for a client. Usually I hitch a ride on my daughter's carpool, one because it was convenient with all my bag and etc I bring and two to save time and fare in commuting. I also never schedule anything in the morning because of motherhood duties and I need to see her get on the carpool for safety reasons.. 

And so while we were waiting for our ride, I checked my things for the last time, hoping I didn't forget anything. My camera bag had a pocket on the top, which I put my Digital SLR camera, and also a pocket on the front which I put in my extra camera, for this I brought along my Pentax K1000 (which if you've been following my blog, has become a favorite). I brought it along and checked it again, took it out from the front pocket, it was loaded and settings were ok, put it back, and closed it. (take note, i just closed it, not zipped the pocket) and now to check my Digital SLR. It was good, batteries are full, enough memory space for the shoot. Now the carpool came, I put the camera back into the top pocket, zipped it. and as I rose to stand up, my Pentax K1000 crashed to the floor! LENS FIRST!!! I literally yelled and my heart sank as the yaya handed it to me where it landed right in front of her. My daughter and I were shocked "Look what you did, Ma!" pointing on the lens. My heart sank as I saw the lens broken, one side of the lens got a dent! I was shaking for I didn't know what to do. I panicked! But the first thing i did, was let my daughter and her nanny into the carpool. But when I came back, my heart broke into a million pieces. Called up my dad and at first he thought I was joking, but then he heard me into the brink of tears and realized I was serious. He assured me that it's fine, we can always look for another lens. He didn't get mad or yelled at me or anything but I know he got really disappointed. He told me "in the years that i've had a camera, I have NEVER dropped a camera. next time, you be careful with your bag" I sighed and told him that I will be extremely careful next time.. I left Pentax home and safe, and went on to the shoot with a heavy heart.

A day after the shoot, I tested the broken lens. Shot my daughter early in the morning seen here. Looks perfectly fine, but then again, I still have a broken lens :(

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Papa Pudding just left for the land of Dubai, and Mama Pudding stays home with them. They love to spend their afternoons together with dirt truck playtime. Big brother pudding, Zaiid loves to play with his cars and trucks on a special spot with his special sand. While the baby brother pudding, Akii loves to drag around his little and big car and truck toys everywhere.

Big Brother Pudding

Baby Brother Pudding

Thank you Mama Pudding for thinking of me. All photos taken on Pentax K1000 with Kodak Ektar100. Interested in having me document your little ones? Drop me a comment.

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, Jordan told me that there was an online shop here that was handing out free films if we reply to a post in Analog Cebu's Facebook. He then told me that my former colleague, Melody was one of those people handing out the free films, she is also one of the people behind their shop Piiq.us. I quickly replied to the post, of course i can't let this opportunity pass me by :P Turns out, she already reserved a film for me, the Ilford xp2. YAY! Thanks, Mel! :) she also told me that after i finish the whole roll, I have to write it here in my blog, and kinda do a review about it. I said "kinda" because im really not the type to write reviews :P

But anyway, here goes.. I used up this film quickly. I had to finish it because it was already almost the end of my monthly deadline, Ricoh 300 was not happy about my delay already.. So to start off, Ilford XP2 is a great film,  it is a sharp, fine grain black and white film. Most of all, and probably the most important of all, it is a C41 film, that means it really is not a true black and white film compared to Kodak Tri-X or Fuji Neopan or the Ilford Delta 400. It is also very convenient especially for most of us who doesn't have their own equipment to develop the traditional black and white film, you can process this film together with the colored ones. Awesome isn't it?! :) But its also great to process your own film, yeah? Its just that the chemicals and equipment are really hard to find from where i'm from.. Another film similar to the Ilford XP2 is the Kodak Pro BW400CN, which I have already tried a bunch of times. And have given me good results. And oh, by the way, this is my first try on the Ilford ;) 

So far, it gave me good results. Thank god it was a sunny day too! It has nice contrast especially in good lighting conditions. I haven't mastered the Ricoh 300's focusing, because the lever for it is kinda distracting, but all in all its a good camera, and a good film. But I kinda still prefer the Kodak BW400CN, or i just maybe need to use this film more often. After all, this is my very first try ;) *hint! hint! to you, Mel :P *

Anyway, so how about i show you the results, eh? Here they are..
(click on images to view larger) 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

This  is one helluva late post. 

Last weekend, my friend Kahlil (also a film enthusiast) met to have our very old Black and White films developed. Most of these films were from last year, or older. Imagine! And it was my very first time to get my hands on the chemicals. Last time I developed my own films was way back 2000 when I was still in college, Photography Class. And we didn't even have to mix the chemicals ourselves. It was already premixed by our professor. This time, I had to mix it myself, with Kahlil's guidance of course. He's been developing his own film for awhile now (lucky you dude!) So we used these chemicals… they could pass for mouthwash, eh? ;)

Here's Kahlil refreshing my memory on how to attach the film to the spool. Whew! It took me awhile to get used to it with the changing bag. Its not as easy as it looks like.

See the full gallery on Posterous

And here are the results. This was shot for my BFF, Faye on a very cloudy day. Before this shoot. We did this indoors. Very difficult. Film was Fuji Neopan1600, although it had very high ISO, i don't understand why it is all underexposed when i had set it on f2.8. probably not enough? Or something went wrong in the developing? Agitated it too much? Oh well.. 

We didn't have a guide that day too :(  But will do better next time around. AND will definitely bring a film developing guide! But all in all, it was helluva fun day! No regrets. After all this time, i cant imagine myself developing my own film again. But now? Hell yeah! Will definitely practice practice more. Especially on the spool. Soon soon, i'll do this again soon.

Thanks much to Kahlil for this. Cannot wait for our next Debelap Adventures ;) maybe next month, yeah?

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

i have now the best of both worlds. got my first Digital SLR camera the other day, a Nikon D5100. a surprise bday gift from the ever supportive hubby. I got to read some reviews and i think this baby is really great! Check out this video comparing D5100 to the D7000.

i tested it out for a bit yesterday, and so far, i got these :) 

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

exactly one week ago i did a photoshoot with my preggy bestfriend, Faye. we have been friends ever since college and this is my first shoot with her. we are both very excited to see the newest addition to the family. that whole day was so wonderful. it was a beautiful beautiful sunny day, and we spent the whole afternoon just catching up with life in general and laughing our hearts out.

so here's a little sneak peek..

isn't she the loveliest preggy you've ever seen? :) oh-so-blooming! and then we ended our day with pancakes, waffles, and milkshakes. i only ate half of it, she ate the rest :| 

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

August was my birthday month, but I used a September camera to test it out ;) Hello Ricoh 300! Yey! My Ricoh has a sister already ;) There is not much info about this camera compared to the other one i have, but i found the manual for it right here This camera was a gift given from my very good friend Anne, who was also a former colleague of mine back in the Bigfoot Ramos days. She went to Japan for a short vacation with her hubby, and while we were chatting one fine evening, she excitedly mentioned to me that she and her hubby bought some vintage cameras there. They came across a shop that was filled with vintage cameras! Pure heaven! She was asking me about the basics of shooting on film. Of course I gladly shared some things that I learned. And then she asked me "Do you want me to buy you one?" HAH! What a question! OF COURSE I SAID YES! hahaha! :) And there you go, Ricoh300 found a new home with me. I was so delighted to see it. And when I finally got my hands on this new baby, I was ecstatic. It was so uber shiny and it looks so new, Im so used to the very old and uncared for cameras that I find all the time, this was quite new to me. Looking at it made me feel that this cameras was truly made special by its owner. It was so well taken care of... almost.

But then it came with a problem. I didn't know that this model had some shutter problems, it is the same problem posted in this forum so Anne asked me first if I can have it fixed here. I then asked my superhero Dad if he can fix it for me. He told me can't, but he knows someone who can. Another YEY! ;) So i gave it to him, and was returned on my birthday. I had an extra film with me and I shared the day with this baby too :) 

So here they are. My first try.

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

August started out frustrating for me. But then it eventually picked up as the days went by.

from my first roll, on the first week. BUT not on the Camera of the Month: Ricoh 35ZF
sorry for the inconsistency, this was supposed to be a backup camera, but the shots from Ricoh weren't that good, i used an expired slide film that was given to me a few months back. the output wasn't really what i expected. not to self again: don't use expired films. its not what i really want :( It was better that i had a backup too, i couldn't pass up this trip with not so nice photos ;) anyway,here they are.

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

this is a very quick post. for i have to head off soon...

meet Ricoh 35ZF. my story with this camera:

this camera is the reason why going back to film became so much fun. my dad (as always) made me borrow this old beauty, and after that few rolls of film, i was hooked. what got me was its surprise light leaks. and the challenge of it because it is a rangefinder. i can never focus perfectly. but thats the beauty of it. you can see all the wonder it brings with its imperfections! :) one thing though, is that every time i try to really really calculate the range, thats the time when it gets out of focus. every time i take a picture and realize i didn't get the focus right, i always tell myself "uh-oh! that's going to be blur. again!" sometimes i take a second shot, but then when i get the film from the lab and check it, it looks alright. with matching few other surprises too! hahaha! i just love this camera. last time i took this out was 2 years ago. now i took it out for an adventure.

will be posting the photos soon. for now, let me enjoy my day! because its a special day for me ;)

more technical details about the camera here and here

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

ok so this is really not the camera i wanted for this month but the husband distracted me with a lens. he wanted me to test out his friend's Vivitar 1:5 Macro Lens. and so i did. even if i loaded the other camera already.

Camera: Nikon FM10
Lens: Vivitar 1:5 Macro
Film: Kodak Gold 200

the highlight for this month: when the big sister came home for a quick 2week visit. here they are with the kiddo, being matchy matchy with their clothes ;)

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

I didn’t realize it was already the end of the month until this morning. Went on with my daily routines and as I was rummaging through my bag, I saw a film asking to be developed! It was an “AHA!” moment. I am so forgetful, I swear I’m gonna get Alzheimer’s when I get old.

I went out with the faery friends last weekend: Fyns, Bevlee and Govinda. It was a reunion of sorts, and we laughed the whole day! Our stomachs hurt so much from laughing.. Well, I don’t know about them, but I did for sure. Bevlee, being the wind faery that she is, took us to an island called Olango. It is right across Mactan, Cebu. She shot a film there before, and discovered this lovely place when she and her crew were scouting locations for the film. She took us to Sta. Rosa, in Olango. And it took our breath away! It was a gorgeous little town! It had so many secret places, a day is not enough to discover them all. Bevlee was the model, Fyns and I were the photographers and Govinda of course was the stylist. Fyns was more likely the official one since she was more into really shooting our model and I was just roaming around and I ended up being the impromptu powder girl since I was the one who had the powder and other stuff! Paet :p Tell you the truth, im saving film ;) I only brought one and I didn’t bring extra cam since I don’t want little Rollei to feel deserted. Yeah I know, I am THAT attached and emotional to my cameras haha! Sorry, Bevs. But I’m sure Fyns has great shots of you! As usual ;) I only wish I brought one more film. Tsk tsk! (hay naku nimo toting!)

It was such a lovely trip. And with only 10pesos for the boat ride! Awesome! I can never get enough of my island! So many enchanting places waiting to be discovered. And I am thankful for the WindFaery, Bevlee to take us to these places. Lucky to have you, Bevs! And then we ended that wonderful, twisteeeed day with pizza and pasta! Till next time again faery friends! Fyns, don’t go so far away too long, ok?! :)

Hello Sta. Rosa!

Abandoned Chapel

Seaside Chapel

Gorgeous Stream

Goin' home :(

Introducing: The Windfaerie, Bevlee

i have no idea where that light came from, Bevlee

3 Faery Friends! BTS ;)

Introducing: Josephine "Fyns" Sicad - Minerva (photographer of the day)

there you have it! an awesome day with my faery friends! can't wait for another adventure.. on to the next month! :)

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Meet the Stylefaerie. You probably remember her from the month of April. She was my model for that month. She is also the BFF who have been the most encouraging person so far in this adventure. Well, minus the husband of course :p And she claims to be my number one fan :) (may nalang!)

It has always a dream for her to become a stylist, a fashion designer, among others. And last Sunday, she officially became one. It was the FIRST night of her FIRST collection, and it was also my FIRST fashion runway shoot ever. So it was both our firsts. It is difficult to imagine not being there when this dream took shape for her. And she insisted that I become her official photographer. Insisted because when she mentioned it, I almost backed out. For one thing, I don't think I have all the gears needed for a runway show. And another, well, I have never imagined myself to shoot fashion runways. But hey, there's always a first time for everything :) That's what I get for having a very talented stylish friend :D So, The Analogjunkie has now become the official photographer for The Stylefaerie… sounds really good, dontcha think? ;)

Like I said, I don't have the necessary gears for this. I was not prepared. But then, my father to the rescue. I borrowed his 150mm zoom lens, Kako Flash and for luck, I made him load the film himself. Just to be on the safe side. And luck he gave me indeed. Thanks always, dad! There were tiny problems along the way, but then he managed to fix it. He also helped me understand how to use the Flash because this will be the first time I'll ever HAVE TO use one. I don't use flash mostly in everything, i love available light. But of course, i just have to be on the safe side. I asked him a lot of questions and he was patient enough to teach me. I also did my research about it, also looking for inspirations. I have to be prepared. I don't want to disappoint the stylefaerie ;) 

Anyway, here are my shots on Govinda Trazo's LBD Collection, BETTER SLATE THAN NEVER :)
Cameras used: Nikon FM10 & Pentax K1000   |   Film: Kodak BW400CN

The Designer and her Models

Model: Nesy

We both decided to use Black and White film, because it just adds more drama and it just feels right for something called the Little Black Dress collection ;) I was shooting mostly in the backstage rather than the runway. I decided at the last minute that the cameras i have with me is i think not enough for the runway part. although i had a spare zoom 150mm lens, i didn't know it well to know how to maneuver it fast enough. So i just trusted my gut. And stick to what i know. 

It was a pleasure to have been a part of this. From the fashion design school hunting, to listening to her every bit of her inspirations, to watching the designs take form, her highs and lows the past weeks, and most especially to have taken photos of the most important FIRST of her fashion design life :) i am so proud of you dims! way sukod ang kalipay! and im looking forward to your next step! Congrats, Kakabs!!! :D Thank you also to the other designers for allowing me to shoot their models in their collection. And thank you to the models! who were ever so graceful and always quick to pose a model-ish pose, you girls will go far in this adventure too, i just know it! Goodluck to all of you! :)

Last but not the least, thanks to the husband. As nervous as I was that day, and the day before, he reminded me not to let the pressure get to me too much, he reminded me to have fun, because after all, that was where this whole thing started for me :) Thanks, Di! MWAH! 

*note: i only uploaded a few, because it takes a looot of time to load :( so please visit my Flickr page for more photos. 

All content and images on this website are the sole property of © Cheryl Lyn Toting-Villarino, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No form of reproduction, including copying or saving of digital image files, usage, or the alteration of said image files, is authorized unless written usage rights have been obtained and issued. For more information, please email: tambolbeedesign@gmail.com

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

“We are not supposed to get emotionally attached to a piece of equipment. “Cameras are tools” we are told. Personally, I think that’s nonsense. To a craftsman, a tool is a very personal thing. Each one is selected for very precise reasons. If you are just making money with cameras, yes, they are just tools. If you are a craftsman, there is a joy in what you are doing and making money is secondary. The reward for what you do isn’t money, it’s the personal satisfaction of doing something that brings you personal joy.” - Ken Norton

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

have you ever had the unfortunate habit of forgetting things? i do. i keep forgetting about things that are supposedly important sometimes. even moments and dates and happy funny things in my life, i forget. even if someone tells me all about it, even if they insist that it happened. i-am-always-BLANK. its a sickness, really. and it visits me from time to time. and it happened today. again.

i had the pleasure of having a somekinda roadtrip today. it doesn't happen all the time because of our busy lives. but we did. and i felt lucky i have a new-old film already loaded in my camera... NOT! i was happy shooting my heart out, a part of me was saying i was wasting my film away, a part of me was saying go for it. what the hell! i listened to the latter one. now i sent it through the lab this same day and tedeeeeen! i was not happy with the result. then i realized that my film was not the perfect one for the settings i used n my camera. damn! i was using a Fujichrome Provia 100F color reversal (slide) film, knowing every lab in this city, it will be postprocessed to C41. no choice. but i managed to get just one decent shot. this one 

but well, some shots from the roll. its not the best but for June's sake, i should put more than one photo..

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

hello june! please be good to me…

so the muse came back! and he told me i should take my Rollei 35 out already. i miss the tiny little rollei too! here she is… (photo from Ipod touch for instagram)

now, all about Rollei 35… This camera is the smallest 35mm fully mechanical camera ever! you can definitely fit it in your pocket ;) It was introduced in 1966 along with the Rolleiflex SL66, a medium format SLR. the one i have right now is the original one, Made in Germany. there are 2 deviations of this camera, the one made in germany, and the later one that is made in singapore. for more details about the story, click here and here

my experience on this camera was really surprising. i did not expect it to get really sharp outputs. i had great adventures with this camera. it is one of my favorites! she is very compact so i can take her anywhere. although it fits in my pocket, it is kinda bulky and heavy, so i prefer putting it in my bag instead ;) now its loaded with my first roll! im ready :D i hope my outputs will be good. its been awhile since i took this out. wish me luck! :)

here are some of my past photos from little Rollei, but view more from my cargo site

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

On the previous post, i was very open about having a meltdown for this month. My muse has left me, he has gone to the beach and enjoyed summer without telling me. But he left little inspirations for me to work with.

So for this month, I have already begun working on my Photo Wall! Yes i did! I finally did! ;) Look! (images taken from the iTouch)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Permalink | Leave a comment  »