EP270 The Biggest Progress in Writing a Book｜Minolta AF-C 35mm f2.8 and Kodak Gold 200

Roll No. 270

Film: Kodak Gold 200 color negative (passed through airport X-ray)
Develop & scan: DEP Lab 2025/8/5
Camera: Minolta AF-C 35mm f2.8

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I’ve been saying I would write a book for two years, and the biggest progress I’ve made is… no real progress.

Since the AI revolution began, my perspective on "ability" has completely changed. In the past, I thought skills were the most important, but now I feel that "standards for things" matter more than "skills for things." That’s because everyone’s skills today can be maximized with the help of technology. But if your standards don’t improve, your output will still stay at a poor level.

To borrow one of my favorite quotes:
"Your biggest problem is that you don’t know where the problem is!"

That’s terrifying. Nowadays, as long as we know what the problem is, we can almost always find a solution. The real fear is not knowing where the problem lies.

The reason I bring this up is that ever since I decided to write a book, I’ve tried many things. I picked the photos, set the themes, but the more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew. In that situation, I had no idea what kind of state the book should be in.

I once read photography books that focused on gear, but since I didn’t own that gear myself, the whole book felt like just flipping through without taking in much. I barely remembered the photos taken with those cameras.

So—gear books are not the way.

After going back and forth, I think the safest choice might be "photography literature." But honestly, nothing much worth writing about has ever happened between me and photography. I’m just someone who treats cameras as toys and camera buying as a game. For me, photography is just a hobby. On such a flimsy foundation, do I really deserve to make a book? Or should I just stick to making a website?

I don’t know. There’s no answer yet. If you have any thoughts, please leave me a comment—thanks in advance!

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#1
Since this trip was to the U.S., the birthplace of the film, I arranged a "straight from the source" film purchase plan. I ordered the film on Amazon only after arriving in the U.S., but unfortunately, the shipment got lost. I almost had no film to shoot and had to rush to a physical store to repurchase.

 

#2
In Chicago, since my foot hadn’t fully recovered, I traveled super light—just two autofocus cameras: the Konica Big Mini HG BM-300 35mm f3.5 and the Minolta AF-C 35mm f2.8. I didn’t bring a large tripod, only a mini one.

 

#3
I’ve always thought my brother’s house was beautiful and needed documenting. Even though this is just the bathroom, if the bathroom is this nice, then surely the other spaces must be too.

 

#4
Another mirror selfie, but I actually prefer the previous one because unexpected light entered the frame.

 

#5
Today’s highlight: Costco in the U.S. Whenever we travel, we love visiting familiar places we know from Taiwan to compare cultural differences. We’ve gone to Ikea in Iceland, eaten Kagetsu Arashi ramen in Okinawa—it’s always a special experience.

 

#6
Costco in Chicago looks shockingly identical to Costco in Taiwan.

 

#7
Honestly, I can’t remember how this photo was taken. At first, I thought I had handed the camera to my son to take the shot, but then I saw him in the bottom right corner. Maybe I used the Minolta AF-C 35mm f2.8’s self-timer and placed the camera on items in the shopping cart.

 

#8
The weekday checkout crowd at Costco Chicago. In Taiwan, I don’t think you’d see this—maybe because people in Taiwan don’t have to work? So they all have time to shop at Costco on weekdays.

 

#9
This is my mom and my son. To spill a secret: for a while, my relationship with my mom was tense because I felt she was giving me too much pressure and trying to control many things. So I renamed her in my phone contacts as "Queen Mother."

 

#10
A candid of a man checking out at Costco Chicago. Don’t call it street photography—it’s basically candid shooting.

 

#11
Look at the price of the hot dog combo at Costco U.S.—just $1.50. In local terms, it’s like selling a hot dog and soda for the equivalent of NT$5 in Taiwan.

 

#12
And the best part? The hot dog is all beef—so luxurious!

 

#13
Following tradition—Taiwanese people always eat on-site at Costco.

 

#14
Leaving suburban Costco and driving home.

 

#15
Driver’s perspective. Blind spot detection is extremely important—I think it should be standard equipment on all cars in Taiwan.

 

#16
After arriving in the U.S., my son said: in Taiwan, traffic lights are usually horizontal, but in the U.S., they’re usually vertical. I was shocked—I hadn’t even noticed.

 

#17
Clearly fewer people walk while using phones in Chicago than in Taipei.

 

#18
Maybe car windshields in the U.S. are just that clear—while shooting from the driver’s seat, a boy crossing the street cheerfully waved at me.

 

#19
Chicago’s downtown weather is unpredictable due to Lake Michigan nearby. In the center is The St. Regis Chicago. Rooms start at NT$20,000–30,000 per night—equal to a month’s salary for many people in Taiwan.

 

#20
First-person view while nervously driving.

 

#21
Cool typography spotted in a parking lot.

 

#22
Today, my brother treated us to see Chicago’s Flyover theater. It was incredible, leaving a lasting impression and completely beyond my imagination. Currently, there are four Flyover theaters worldwide: Chicago, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Iceland. I think this will become a must-do activity for me in the future—though the tickets aren’t cheap, and you really need to swipe your credit card boldly.

 

#23
One of the pre-show spaces in Chicago’s Flyover. I thought the screen design was interesting, so I took a shot, but this wasn’t yet the actual Flyover theater.

 

#24
Realized the film was almost finished, so I took a selfie to burn the last shots and quickly switch to the next roll.

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That’s all for this roll—Minolta AF-C 35mm f2.8 with Kodak Gold 200 color film.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to DEP Lab for the develop & scan service!