And September
Yes, it’s been a whole month since my last entry here, though I’ve written a few times in my other blogs since then. Just not in the mood for writing lately, though things are still going on. Promptly on the first of the month, the weather became very Fall-ish, with cloudy skies and cool breezes. I’m sure this won’t last, though.
The Muddy Basin Ramblers had a great gig at Center Stage, aka the former Living Room, a couple of weeks ago before it closed down for good. It was short notice after a potentially well-paying gig in Kaohsiung was canceled at the last minute, and I was afraid nobody would come. Just before 10pm, when we were setting up, hardly anyone had shown up, but a short time later the place was packed, and we played two riotous sets, pounding away until 2am. Sandman and Conor had to split early, but David, Slim, Thumper and I made our way over to the 24-hour bagel place on Anhe Road for some early breakfast. Sitting there chatting about the show and other things over eggs and toast felt like we were on some tour somewhere. I wouldn’t mind doing that, actually.
In other news, a while ago I borrowed a couple of vintage film cameras from Thumper. I haven’t shot film since I sold my Nikon FM2 years ago, so it was an interesting experience. Thumper owns an old Zeiss Icon and a Leica M3, both with 50mm lenses, f2.8 and f2.0 respectively. I tried out the Leica first and shot two rolls with it. The camera has no light meter, so I was back to guessing the aperture and shutter speed based on long-ago experience after not having to worry about that kind of thing for years. Still, after I got the hang of the double wind and the various controls, the Leica turned out to be very nice. As for being more natural and unobtrusive, it’s better than a big DSLR, but about the same as using my compact DP1. I have to admit feeling a bit more trendy than usual, as if I should be sitting in a cafe writing travel notes in my Moleskine notebook before jumping into a vintage Mini to go hang out with people wearing berets. When I got the prints back from the 5 Color photo shop in Gongguan, I was surprised to see that I got the exposure and focus more or less right, most of the time. The guy at the photo shop has a collection of vintage cameras of his own, some of which he took out to show me.
After my positive experience with the Leica, I was looking forward to the Zeiss Icon, as it has an actual light meter as well as a clever aperture/shutter speed mechanism on the lens. I might have loaded the film wrong, however, because most of the film came out blank. I’m not really sure I like the feel of that camera or the sound of the shutter as much as the M3 in any case.
Speaking of pictures, an article of mine on Matsu, based on my trip there with Prince Roy a few months back and accompanied by pictures, is in the October issue of the Taiwan Review. One of my photos made the cover, but not before being mauled within an inch of its life by a designer using Photoshop to jam a fake sky into it. I told them that I not only could have done that myself, I would have done a better job if they’d just told me beforehand.
That was a great trip. I still look at the pictures all the time. Looking forward to your article, and reading your account of that night at the restaurant when you were smashing my poor little tripod with open palm.
Comment by Prince Roy — September 2, 2008 @ 6:38 am
Thats great news. I like Taiwan Review and I also enjoyed your matsu travel posts and pictures. Can’t wait to get my hands on TR to see them in print. Congratulations.
Comment by Ashish — September 2, 2008 @ 9:27 am
Alas, there was no room for such details, so it’s a rather bland version of the account I already wrote in here.
Comment by Poagao — September 2, 2008 @ 11:05 pm