I’ve always wanted to get a portrait of someone at Bilar’s (Bohol) man made forest for quite some time ever since I saw the tall trees curving at the top, making a close canopy that resembles a gothic cathedra’s lancet.

That wish came true last Saturday when, with my friend, Eduard, we went to Carmen to see the Chocolate Hills and passed this magical place. Oscar, the driver, was a willing model and, upon my directions posed. I made sure the treetops were a blur by using a 50mm f/1.8 and framing him with it.

Next time, I would want to use a longer lens and see the effect.

Blast from the past! Second part of my post of a beach outing circa 1989/90 from old negatives.

While looking through the files of my hard drive, this scan of one of my old negatives caught my attention. It was a beach scene taken during an outing with my classmates in high school either 3rd or 4th year.

As for the negative, it’s really in a bad state with some mold on the surface as well as scratches. As you might notice, there are horizontal lines, marks of inexperience as I developed it myself and have pressed the foam too hard on the material when I wiped off water.

I got goosebumps as I was scanning and viewing my black and white negatives that I have taken about 20 years ago. Nostalgia of the past came back in a flood of memories, a torrent of faint images that looked surreal, distant but familiar. Already, some frames looked washed out, age making its mark, a far cry when I first dried these after having been developed at our kitchen.

I was into black and white photography during my high school days, probably 3rd or 4th year. Lugging my father’s Canon AE-1 Program camera with reloaded canisters of Kodak Tri-max films purchased from Island Photo in Manalili St. These were a lot cheaper and as a student that time, it was apt for my budget.

Images were taken within the home, environ and within our place while cousins became willing models. Photography was a passion and wanting to know more about the photographic process, I switched to black and white films so that I can learn to develop these myself. Well, with a limited budget, I was only able to develop negatives and left the contact printing to Island Photo.

I still have to go over my negatives from 25 rolls and will be posting some images here. When I will get back to Cebu this month, I will need to find the colored ones.