{"id":49118,"date":"2024-12-28T06:57:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T22:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/blog\/49118"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T01:20:32","slug":"%e7%ac%ac-239-%e5%8d%b7%e5%ba%95%e7%89%87%ef%bc%9a%e5%8f%b0%e5%8c%97%e8%ac%a0%e8%a8%80%ef%bd%9ckonica-big-mini-f-35mm-f2-8-%e8%88%87-ilford-delta-400-professional-%e9%bb%91%e7%99%bd%e5%ba%95%e7%89%87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/blog\/49118","title":{"rendered":"EP239: Taipei Rumors \u2014 Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nRoll #239 \u2014 my favorite stretch of greater Taipei runs roughly between Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Shandao Temple MRT stations<\/p>\n

Film: Ilford Delta 400 Professional
\nDeveloped & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024\/11\/4
\nCamera: Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

Lately I've been reading through Taipei Rumors<\/a> by photographer Juan I-Jong before bed \u2014 almost done with it. I have genuine admiration for his eye for Taiwanese society. This is the second book of his I've read; the first was People and the Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference between the two: People and the Land contains many close portraits of early Taiwan, most of which were presumably taken with the subject's consent. Taipei Rumors covers similar territory, but most of the images aren't specifically focused on individual people \u2014 so the question of consent rarely applies.<\/p>\n

Reading Taipei Rumors doesn't carry that unsettling feeling of looking at candid street shots taken without permission. What's also remarkable is how thoroughly Juan I-Jong reconstructs the context of each photograph in writing. His memory is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Both books are, to me, masterworks of Taiwanese humanist documentary photography.<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#1
\nThe film box itself \u2014 probably at minimum focus distance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#2
\nMy phone home screen lately \u2014 stripped down, one page, four icons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#3
\nThe many expressions of daily life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#4
\nThat evening my son and I went to the park to look for toads. In the process I spotted a frog \u2014 didn't get the shot, too close. The light here is from a headlamp, not the Big mini's flash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#5
\nFound a toad on the ground. Missed focus again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#6
\nOur ecology teacher once mentioned that human body heat is too much for frogs and toads. When observing them, it's better to just hold down their back legs so they can't move, without gripping the whole body. Grabbing them fully can essentially burn them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#7
\nMy son and me, headlamps on, hunting for toads in the park grass after dark.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#8
\nFirst-person view of reading in bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#9
\nWhat I was reading around this time \u2014 Silent Kyoto<\/a> by Amo Mookio.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#10
\nI basically rotate between three work locations: MOS Burger, McDonald's, and Q Burger. This day I was at a McDonald's, sitting at a two-person table that's really only comfortable for one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#11
\nBokeh test \u2014 the Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 performs really well indoors at wide aperture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#12
\nMy phone wallpaper, and behind it on the computer screen \u2014 I was working on the redesign of my studio website (https:\/\/refine.tw\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#13
\nOne of my favorite things about shooting sky on film \u2014 the way the tones fade naturally toward the corners. Is that vignetting? Technically yes, but it doesn't look forced.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#14
\nAbout to cross the road. That day I'd ridden to Xindian to meet someone selling an iPhone 15 Pro \u2014 my wife's phone, which she sold to upgrade to an iPhone 16. She figured she wasn't using the Pro camera features anyway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#15
\nWatching the Apple event at home \u2014 the closing credits genuinely stopped me. What could be more persuasive than that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#16
\nAn IKEA candle that supposedly smells like charcoal fire. Discontinued, unfortunately. Should have bought more when I had the chance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#17
\nWorld peace. Always hoping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#18
\nBirthday dinner \u2014 asked a staff member to take this one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#19
\nA corner of the apartment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#20
\nTried to photograph an Asahi Dry again \u2014 misjudged the distance. Minimum focus is genuinely unforgiving; should have pulled back a little.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#21
\nAn outdoor corridor on an office building \u2014 interesting design.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#22
\nThe kind of prop that shows up in every crime drama interrogation room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#23
\nToo dark for a self-portrait. Didn't work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#24
\nWhen I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with skull imagery \u2014 a classic phase. This was shot at my son's English school; it's their Halloween decoration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#25
\nNational Taipei University of Technology \u2014 walked past it countless times, never actually been inside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#26
\nKo Shu-yuan \u2014 I grew up watching his dramas.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#27
\nUnusually sharp. This one surprised me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#28
\nExit countdown.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#29
\nCouldn't resist \u2014 saw the light and shot it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#30
\nI genuinely can't remember the last time I used a coin payphone. I have a vague memory of the coin return door feeling very heavy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#31
\nI buy newspapers not to read, but to use as packing material for shipping. A friend recommended the United Daily News for this purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#32
\nPicked up a fossil excavation toy for my son \u2014 you chip away at the plaster and reassemble the skeleton inside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#33
\nI often pull the camera out when it's just the two of us. This day I took him to Taipei City for his English class \u2014 it was raining and we were jumping in puddles under an umbrella.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That's the full roll \u2014 Konica Big mini F 35mm f2.8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roll #239 \u2014 my favorite stretch of greater Taipei runs roughly between Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Shandao Temple MRT stations Film: Ilford Delta 400 Professional Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024\/11\/4...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1852,1933],"tags":[1795,1797,2039],"class_list":{"0":"post-49118","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ilford-delta-400-professional","8":"category-konica-big-mini-f","9":"tag-35mm-fixed-focus-point-and-shoot-camera","10":"tag-lilai-photo","11":"tag-iso-400-black-and-white-film"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/31590030.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49119,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49118\/revisions\/49119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}