Thirty Five Millimeter | The Economy of Scale

From a recent roll of 35mm, shot on my old Olympus Epic Zoom in the Philippines and Indonesia. Still not sure what's causing the halo effect with this particular camera, but it adds a little something, some of the time. These were taken over the course of a month spent in Southeast Asia, from the gritty streets of Davao City to the secluded perfection of Palawan, and finally into the mountains of Eastern Java to drive Land Cruisers. 

An excerpt from something I started to write... 

the last great place at the end of the earth.

Alex stood, sweating, beneath a blue and brown tarp stretched from the edge of the kitchen palapa. He looked down at the beach below, the green, metal roofed bungalow facing the beach, the white sand slipping into a crystal blue sea. A "speedboat" had just pulled ashore and four people were unloading freight from its deck. Small refrigerators, resin for the wood floors, diesel generators and air-conditioning units for the cottages. The fruits of a foreign investment that was made just as the global pandemic had kicked Alex's ass one last time.

The kitchen was busy preparing our last meal, a no-brakes kind of breakfast that set the tone for our departure. This was the last time we'd see the place like this. An oasis on a tropical peninsula, free from cellular signals, buzzing diesel boats or rented jet-skis with their equally buzzed captains clad in blaze orange PFDs. The last time we'd spend our evenings lying naked, flat atop the sheets with a hand fan as our only means of escaping the heat and humidity. The last time they'd cut the lights on the deck so the insects would chase the light in a different part of the property. The last time we'd be someplace where we would find true tranquility without paying an entrance fee. The kind of calm that is acquired by escaping, not by sitting inside your air-conditioned hotel room waiting for room service.

This was the end of something amazing, but for Alex, the beginning of an entirely new life. And can you blame him for wanting to make more of what he has? To expand, if only slightly, or to add creature comforts so they can increase their prices, overall revenue and make good for their foreign investors?

Alex asked one of his staff to help a friend with her bags. The boat was waiting to take us to the mainland, and Alex was eager to unload the rest of the speedboat in anticipation of the next.

We were Alex's last guests, the final four before the cottages would shutter their doors in preparation for a three month renovation. His face was a mixture of excitement and anxiety as we said our goodbyes. The bar was barren, a few old bottles of Chivas and Captain Morgan on the shelves. Only the necessities were packed into the outdoor refrigerator. The road ahead would be hard work for his staff and himself as they prepared to reopen in the fall ahead of the seasonal tourist wave. And when they did, the place wouldn't be the same. Alex wouldn't be sweating because he was standing on the shore in the beating sun, fighting the humidity inside his shirt. The sweat on his brow would now be from the concern as to whether his tropical oasis would be as well received as it was previously, whether the price increase and added accoutrements, the new bar with shiny bottles and the dive shop they planned to open would in fact be worth the sacrifice of thirty-percent ownership.

There's so much more to say about this experience, but I'll save my words for another time, and likely another place.

Thirty Five Millimeter | The Quest for Urza's Chalice

As the new year dawned, an eclectic assortment of men, women and goats gathered in the perennial woods of a coastal state to cast old spells, tap kegs, play the corn tossing game, eat mind altering fungi and pretend that they were wizards and shit. Days turned to nights at this camp of casting spells, and the quest eventually ended with a Swede and a guy named Paul playing for the coveted cup. It was a wild fucking weekend, for sure. One that I will remember for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I have these 35mm photographs to remind me of simpler times with better people. 

Thirty Five Millimeter | The Battle of the Alamo

Way down in Old South Texas, you just might find yourself a man...

Scenes from the 'Battle of the Alamo' in San Antonio, TX. Shot with an Olympus Epic Zoom 80.

Thirty Five Millimeter | The Philippines

From three rolls of film that I shot in the Philippines. Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron and Davao City, mostly. Spent a month amongst the islands, my second time in the archipelago. Traveled by boat, shot 1911s, drank countless San Mig Lights, and did the kayak, snorkel and swimming stuff. Found paradise on a peninsula off the coast of El Nido, accessible only by boat, with nothing but huts and beach sand and rum filled coconuts. I won't say where. It'll be ruined. Just know that your trip to Thailand has nothing on this place ;)

Thirty Five Millimeter | Crispy Boyz: Season 1, Episode 2

Rolled to Vegas with the DT crew for the annual GP. Crushed countless Crispy Boyz, smoked cigars in the lobby, played video poker with a pro, watched Old School Drew shoot his bananas, crashed a bachelorette party and just generally got after it for 72 hours. Photos taken with one of my old Olympus point-and-shoots.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Around the World in Eighty Days

Italy, France, Russia, Mongolia and China, in 35mm. Shot with my old Olympus Epic Zoom.

Click here for more of my film photography.

Thirty Five Millimeter | DAKAR

I shot a few rolls of film during the Dakar Rally.

Unfortunately, my old Fujica had a light leak.

Here's a handful of frames that weren't all the way ruined.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Lisbon, Mostly

Spent a few weeks in Portugal following the Scrambler launch I attended for ADV Moto. Burned a few rolls of film through one of the two Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80s that I own. Mostly in Lisbon. Predominantly in portrait. It's a pretty amazing place. Narrow streets lined with ancient buildings. A railcar that rumbles all over town. And hills. Holy fuck, hills. But we wandered all over. And ate everything. I wasn't eager to leave. Might go back in May to ride rally bikes and visit the little island off the coast where my family is from. Not sure why that little Olympus keeps putting halos around everything? Divine intervention. Anyhow. Enjoy the images.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Around Arizona

Sent three rolls up to Seattle to be processed and scanned at Panda Labs. The first roll was the last I shot with my long-loved Yashica T4, which was stolen, along with all of my other camera equipment, a few months back. Long, shitty story. The other two rolls were shot with an old Olympus Stylus point-and-shoot that I picked up on eBay; the same camera my father gave me for Christmas in 1998 (?). The collection of images is sort of an amalgamation of events and people and other strange shit that happened in Arizona this winter. Suppose I should let the photos speak for themselves.

Check out more of my 35mm musings here.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Washington, D.C.

In the winter of '87, I traveled to our country's capital, Washington, D.C. I took photographs using one of those fancy new Yashica T4 cameras with the Carl Zeiss glass, and some of that Ilford HP5 (?) film. My father was with me. We saw where The Trump resides, drank rye whiskey and long neck Budweiser at the Round Robin, visited the theater where Lincoln lost his lid (too soon?), and saw kids do tricks on skateboards. It was eye opening. Our nation's capitol, amidst great change, with people of all the creeds and colors converging. And so I left wanting more. Good thing I've got thirty years.

Check out more of my 35mm musings here.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Biltmore & Monticello

From the largest private residence in the United States to one of the most important ones. This roll was shot while traveling between Asheville, NC and Charlottesville, VA. We visited both the Biltmore Estate and Monticello, two homes, as mentioned, of tremendous significance. This was my father's first time on the East Coast, and as an avid student of both history and politics, he insisted we include the latter in our travels. Not much else to say about all this, other than that if you haven't visited, you should.

Check out more of my 35mm musings here.

Thirty Five Millimeter | The Blue Ridge Parkway

This is the third (maybe fourth?) roll of film that was shot during our ride up the East Coast. After a few nights in Nashville, we headed east through Gatlinburg, TN - one of the weirdest places I've ever been and where I acquired a most dope wiener dog shirt - and into the Great Smoky Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We eventually found our way to Asheville, NC, where we stayed the night and then spent the following day exploring the Biltmore Estate (next roll). This was my first foray into that big stretch of green running across four (maybe five?) states up the East Coast. And while the pace was just about geriatric and the tourist attractions a pungent mix of terrible and comical, it was a beautiful ride, and a great way to shake off the post off-motorcycle-incident that my father incurred. More to come.

Check out more of my 35mm musings here.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Nashville

This is the second roll I shot during our ride up the East Coast. After picking up our bikes in Daytona Beach, FL, we rode north to Savanna, GA for a night, and then on to ATL where we stayed for a few, visiting our friend and jeweler, Steve West. From Hotlanta we traveled Birmingham, AL to kick it with my old friend and former Cold Track Days photographer, Raymond, and also to visit the famed Motorsport Museum. All of that is included in this post. After Bham we made our way north to Nashville, TN for hot chicken and some honky-tonk shit. Memories from our time in Music City are pictured below.

Thirty Five Millimeter | Daytona to ATL

For whatever reason, I've overlooked a great deal of images I shot during the twilight hours of summer in 2016, when my father, Kyra and myself rode a trio of Indian Motorcycles from Daytona Beach, FL to Lebanon, NJ. Kyra wrote about our trip for RideApart, using a few photos taken by the both of us. But like a lot of our adventures, I dragged along something more archaic - in this case, a 'Safari Green' Yashica T4 and a half-dozen rolls of film. This is the first roll. I'll get around to posting the remaining five. Promise.