The last roll from Europe

I developed the last roll of film from my trip to europe, and i found some very pleasant frames.
I was shooting the night before in Paris, so i pushed the film one stop, which limited what i could do the next day in the morning. I kinda hate it when that happens.

Also I finally went down to the streets of amman and shot with my rangefinder, got some nice stuff, but it was a very quick trip downtown. The streets of Amman are so full of life, and its my mission now to capture the beauty of everyday life on celluloid.

As for now, here are some pictures from the last film.

This has to be my favorite picture that I made in this trip. The whole family around an Ibook, enjoying a memory.

It was a sunny day, but this old man had an umbrella around his neck.

A street book show, the pipe caught my attention.

Waiting for the train to the airport.

All images shot with a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII Range finder. 40mm/1.7, on Ilford Delta 400 +1

Photoblogs I follow

Just wanted to share a number of Photoblogs I follow on a daily basis. These photographer have some beautiful photographs that inspire me to shoot more and more.

Enjoy and add them to your RSS feed readers.

Chris Weeks
Journal of a photographer
My fascinating opinion (Darren Abate)
I am not a photographer
Severin Koller
M6y
Sean Flanigan
As you were (Mathew Craig)
Trivial Matters
Urban Views (Markus Hartel)
Magnum in Motion ( Great interactive essays)

On the streets of Amsterdam- Part 2

I've been spending countless hours in the darkroom developing and printing some pictures from my best friend's wedding, which hopefully i'll be posting here soon.

But for now, more pictures from the streets of Amsterdam. Enjoy

On the streets of Amsterdam

More street photographs from Amsterdam. Did I mention how bad these negative scans are? They don't do the pictures justice. Maybe i'll scan some prints later on.

I spotted this in the midst of a street show, i like how her hair is covering her face.
Ilford Delta 400 +1

Moments like this one is hard to get in Arab countries, so i captured a number of couples.
Ilford Delta 100

The guy is so chill, people in Amsterdam seem to all be relaxed.
Ilford Delta 100

HM the King announces: A Jordanian School for Cinema

Start building your cinematic portfolios if you want to apply in 2008.

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- King Abdullah II of Jordan presided over a ceremony in New York City on September 20th marking the creation of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in Jordan's Red Sea resort town of Aqaba. The institute is a joint effort of the Royal Film Commission of Jordan and the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California. The institute will enroll men and women from the Middle East region in a specialized learning environment dedicated to teaching all disciplines of the cinematic arts.

The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts is in line with His Majesty's efforts to harness the skills of Jordanian youth by exposing them to the latest technologies in filmmaking and production. The institute would also contribute to His Majesty's vision of establishing a hub for intellectual and creative capital in Jordan, where youth in the region can be equipped with the necessary tools for success.

His Majesty drew on the expertise of filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who recommended the partnership with USC, to make this project a reality.

"When His Majesty the King approached me on the subject of a Jordan-based, world-class film school serving every country in the Middle East, including Israel, I immediately saw the importance and significance of such a venture for the people and the future of the region. I knew as a trustee of USC and a member of the school's Board of Councilors that the university had the exact expertise he needed for this incredible initiative," Spielberg said.

"The Middle East is a melting pot of cultural richness and diversity with story-telling traditions as old as time, yet contemporary cinematic stories from the region are in short supply," said Mr. Mouasher. "In establishing this institute we will draw from a diverse and vast pool of cultures and experiences, to offer a more complete idea and multi-faceted perspective to the viewer, and the world audience."

The University of Southern California is home to the oldest cinema program in the United States, which was founded in 1929 as a collaboration between USC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The School of Cinema-Television has over 10,000 living alumni who are among the entertainment industry's most distinguished animators, scholars, teachers, writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, sound experts and industry executives.

USC faculty and staff teams traveled to Jordan to conduct pilot programs in 2005 and 2006. Those experiences will now be formally expanded into the RSICA, a fully accredited and free-standing graduate school that will offer a three-year Masters of Fine Arts Degree through advanced education in cinema, television, and a wide range of dynamic screen-based media.

Construction of the RSICA campus is set to begin in early 2007 in Aqaba, a special economic zone in Jordan on the Red Sea, bordering Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Its facilities will include digital screening rooms, post-production, animation and interactive media laboratories; sound stages with green-screen and motion capture capacities; high-end professional video production packages and an extensive digital and print library.

Faculty will be drawn from industry, arts and academic institutions around the globe. Students will be admitted from Jordan, as well as the entire region, with first admissions in September 2008, and the first graduating class in June 2011. Admission will be based on a competitive portfolio, clear evidence of talent and outstanding personal expression, as well as strong potential for creative collaboration.

Pictures en route to Amsterdam

Finally got my negatives scanned. Not too happy with the quality though. The lab left marks and dust on them. I miss the pro labs of L.A.
Anyways, here is the begining of the photos from my trip to Amsterdam and Paris. Street photography is my new thing, loving it and i'm happy with a good number of shots on all the rolls of film I shot.

All shot with a Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII range finder
40mm
On Ilford Delta 400 +1

Back from Europe

Back from a week in Amsterdam and Paris, had an amazing time, and shot about 8 rolls of film with my Minolta range finder. I just loved it. Its small, silent, and i can go really close to someone and snap a pic with them not even knowing. Im also practicing shooting from the hip, for sometimes one can't look through the camera to get certain shots.
I'll be scanning the negatives tommorow, but for now , here are some ones i scanned.
All these were shot in Amsterdam on Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed one stop.