Good ol Ralda :-) I made a large print of the Riverfest fireworks and the size I chose cut out some of the width much to my dismay. Within 10 minutes, she made a print one size up for me at no extra charge! Very impressed. But for convenience, I'm happy with the fellas down at Kodak MacArthur.. one of the girls, Ellen, is new but nice and really helpful.
Oh also stuff I didn't put up earlier, some snaps from BrisPDML on a roll of Fujipress 1600. Not very impressive snaps (I was distracted by the heartiest conversation..) but it's all about documentation ;-) http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/John.JPG http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/Tanja28-105maraca.JPG http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/RyanTanjaJohn.JPG http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/JohnJan.JPG http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/TanjaJohnJan2.JPG http://home.iprimus.com.au/heygoose/TanjaJohnJan.JPG Cheers, Ryan ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Coyle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 4:40 PM Subject: Re: China - dream or nightmare? > No Ryan, we decided to not to buy any gear at all, although the temptation > was there! > The photos are currently with Ralda (Ryan knows who she is!) for D&P, and > then it'll probably take me a week to sort out the duds from the rest! > > John Coyle > Brisbane, Australia > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ryan Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 3:52 PM > Subject: Re: China - dream or nightmare? > > > > Sounds like it was a great trip John.. Overwhelmed by it all you must have > > skipped the camera equipment bargain hunting because I don't hear mention > of > > any new toys.. Can't wait for the photos and live commentary! > > > > Cheers, > > Ryan > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "John Coyle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "Pentax-Discuss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 3:16 PM > > Subject: OT: China - dream or nightmare? > > > > > > > Hi all: well we're back from 2.3 weeks in Hong Kong and China, and the > > > subject of this email is because I can't make up my mind which China is! > > We > > > had a fantastic time, saw all the classic must-see things (Beijing - the > > > Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, Peking Duck dinner, > > > Beijing Opera: Xi'an - the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Mosque, the > > > Muslim quarter: Suzhou - the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Silk > > > Museum: Shanghai - the Bund, Nanjing Road, the Shanghai Acrobats, the > > view > > > from the 53rd Floor of the Grand Hyatt, the French Concession and the > > Jewish > > > quarter, the traditional markets, etc., etc., etc.) amongst a thousand > > other > > > smaller but equally memorable experiences. The most memorable was the > > > Chinese people themselves: they push and shove, hawk and spit, mill > around > > > in the most chaotic way, but on an individual level we found nothing but > > > kindness and helpfulness. We travelled hard sleeper from Beijing to > > Xi'an, > > > and spent a fascinating evening talking to a Chinese professor of > > philosophy > > > who had spent ten years in Canada, so his English was very good, and his > > son > > > who is a lawyer working for the local government in Xi'an, whose English > > was > > > much less accomplished. > > > Why am I unable to make up my mind between a dream and a nightmare? > > Because > > > it is a photographer's dream, in that there are a hundred different > > subjects > > > on every corner, and one could shoot frame after frame, film after film, > > day > > > after day and never tire of it. A nightmare because, and this would be > > true > > > whether you're shooting film or digital, you are never going to have > > enough > > > film or enough memory cards for it all! I found myself restricting what > I > > > was shooting as I was conscious of the fact that a film an hour was > going > > to > > > be hard to keep up with, and I would still have to carry it all back and > > get > > > it processed! > > > I'm pleased to say that nearly all our gear worked flawlessly: I took > the > > > MZ-5 and MZ-S, with AF18-35 Sigma, Pentax PZ 28-105/4-5.6 and A70-210/4 > > > zooms, AF330FTZ flash, and my wife had her Espio70. Some casualties > > though: > > > the Espio suffered water ingress from a leak in the backpack, and > refused > > to > > > function after day 7. The Sigma lenshood was broken when the bag fell > > from > > > a hook that broke under it's weight , and a Hoya filter unscrewed itself > > and > > > fell apart in Suzhou. Only one set of batteries needed changing (for > the > > > MZ-S, on day 12). I found the zooms I used most of all were the 18-35 > and > > > the 70-210, the first being irreplaceable in some of the narrow alleys > > > everywhere, and for the majestic buildings in Beijing, while the 70-210 > > was > > > excellent for candid street portraits and for performance photography > (the > > > opera, for example). The 28-105 I used for general scenes in more open > > > areas, and for crowd scenes everywhere. Film started off only as Kodak > > > Supra 400, but emergency purchases in Hong Kong gave me also some Kodak > > Max > > > 400, which is an unknown quantity for me. I used up an odd roll of > > > Elitechrome 100 at the opera, that should be interesting! Weather > > > conditions were generally very good, 12-20� C during the day, which is > > > reasonably warm for China at this time of year. However, pollution is > > such > > > that over both Hong Kong and China, a blue sky was a rarity, so I was > glad > > I > > > had fairly fast film with me. > > > > > > For photographers and non-photographers alike, China is a huge > experience, > > > one both my wife and I are so glad we've had: there is a little bit of > us > > > left there I think. I'd thoroughly recommend doing such a trip if you > > > possibly can (we did an Intrepid Tours 9-day "A Taste of China" tour, > > > 2-elephant grade, which means it's not too strenuous!) > > > > > > Hope that wasn't too long a ramble, felt I just had to tell everyone > about > > > it! > > > > > > John Coyle > > > Brisbane, Australia > > > (who came back to 3500 PDML messages, 1280 junk e-mails, and who has > only > > > just caught up....) > > > > > > > > > > > >
