Roll 303
Film: Agfa APX 100
Developed & scanned: DEP Lab 2025/11/5
Camera: Ricoh GR1s 28mm f2.8
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I recently finished another work of photography literature: When the World Has Only Cats Left by Wu Yi-ping. I was genuinely awestruck by this book — I love this way of writing that guides you deeply through the story behind each photograph. Wanting to learn more about Wu, I naturally went looking for him across various social media, and I noticed that he seems to be someone who "defaults to not appearing publicly." Which, of course, only made me more curious.
Then one day I read a 2012 interview Wu gave to Books.com.tw. In it, the OKAPI editor asked him why he preferred not to appear in public. Wu replied: "I don't want to be recognized while I'm photographing cats."
That answer struck me deeply. I completely understand it — if you're someone easily recognized, it inevitably hinders this kind of third-person-perspective photography, making it harder to capture the everyday, ordinary, unguarded state of things. Imagine how difficult it would be for someone like Wu Bai or Chow Yun-fat to photograph passersby without being noticed. Perhaps that's too extreme an example, but I have deep respect for people who deliberately keep a low profile.
In my own life, I've met plenty of formidable people who don't go out of their way to build themselves up loudly on social media, stuffing their titles and bios full of keywords. Instead, they simply focus on doing one thing well in the offline world. Some might call that "not knowing how to market yourself," but I think the more someone understands, the more humble they usually are — they know how much they still don't know, so they won't casually define their current state with a single label.
Maybe making yourself high-profile actually robs you of the time to focus on the work itself. I can't imagine what it would look like if Christopher Nolan were out there making short-form videos or frantically launching online courses.
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This roll continues the camping trip from the previous one, again shot on the Ricoh GR1s 28mm f2.8. Because I was so impressed by Ilford Pan 100, I bought Agfa APX 100 to try — but in terms of performance, I personally still prefer the overall near-out-of-control character of Ilford Pan 100.
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#1
The morning after camping. As someone who wakes naturally and easily, I'm still usually the first to open my eyes even while camping. The only question is whether to lie in the tent scrolling my phone.
#2
Last night's scene, left untidied. Since none of our gear is expensive, we just leave it lying around, and I think that's wonderful — no need to fret over this or that.
#3
It was a bit cold, so I retreated into the car — the Nissan Kicks has quite comfortable seats.
#4
Just as I started scrolling my phone, savoring a moment of solitude, I was discovered by another early-rising child!
#5
Judging by the angle of the rising sun, it really was quite early.
#6
My son took a photo with my camera.
#7
Breakfast that day was the very hard-to-handle radish cake.
#8
The view from the campsite, like this.
#9
My formidable friend demonstrating how to split wood without an axe.
#10
Fast-forward to the day after camping — Monday. It had rained near home, and the ditch water level had surged dramatically.
#11
Took the MRT, heading to a client — but because of the heavy rain, my shoes were soaked.
#12
Very glad that the extra-long escalator at Taipei MRT's Zhongshan Station hasn't yet been completely covered in ads.
#13
I'd forgotten the escalator moves, so the photo came out a little blurred.
#14
The GR1s's default stopping-down really does live up to its reputation — shooting wide open at 28mm f2.8 just doesn't work.
#15
One morning, about to walk my son to school.
#16
My son's ability to assemble boxed Lego sets has more or less peaked — whether a set is big or small, it's just a matter of time now. That's a bit of a worry for a parent, because the boxed sets keep getting more expensive.
#17
7:24 in the morning. Any later and we'd be late for school.
#18
I watched My Neighbor Totoro many times as a child, but I never once understood it.
#19
I only meant to test whether the camera's focus was working, but accidentally pressed the shutter. I still remember buying Jay Chou's album The Eight Dimensions back in the day — I pre-ordered it at a convenience store.
#20
During this period I was thinking about how to redesign the blog, and sketched out a few drafts.
#21
Our family occasionally uses this brand of toothpaste.
#22
When I went to Chicago a while back, I found the density of Starbucks locations even higher than convenience stores here.
#23
This one didn't come out very clear, but I was trying to photograph the Konica Genba Kantoku DD — as a 40mm fixed-lens compact, I'd still highly recommend it.
#24
Got up early that day to buy breakfast for the family, and without paying attention, I spent 399 NT on breakfast for three. Being a dad means it's easy to accidentally over-buy, worried the kids won't have enough. My own father was the same way.
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That's this roll — Ricoh GR1s 28mm f2.8 with Agfa APX 100. Thanks for reading.
