ALL DAY Tattoo Studio in Bangkok : the passion for the art of tattoo

All Day Tattoo is one of the most successful studio of Bangkok, ideally located in Phrom Pong, close to the BTS station. This studio was created by tattoo enthusiasts with passion and love for the art of tattoo . English being their native language , the customers can precisely describe and customize the design they want.
All inks and needles are imported from the USA and the studio is fully licensed thanks to the best level of hygiene, on par with the western standards.
When I went there to take the pictures, I could feel a very friendly atmosphere and the dedication of the artists who seemed fully focused on their craft . Through my lens, I tried to capture this ambiance and get the interesting details that make a tattoo studio so unique.

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Bangkok lockdown shot on Leica film during the COVID-19 pandemic

These pictures were shot in April 2020, in Bangkok , with a Leica Mini 3 and the film Kodak TX 400. I’ve chosen black and white film because it’s the best medium to capture the atmosphere of a city. Film captures the light, the vibrations, the mood of a scene.
In Thailand, during the lockdown, it was allowed to go out, as long as you wore a mask, practiced social distancing, and comply with the 10pm curfew.
As a photographer , I had to document this special period, unprecedented in modern times…

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Longevity : interview with Dr de Weber, PhD in cellular biology, specialist in aging genetics

We had the chance to talk with Dr Ivan de Weber, worldwide specialist of anti-aging. Dr de Weber holds a PhD from the University of Geneva in the field of cellular biology, and a post-doctoral certificate in pharmaceutical bioinformatics from Uppsala University.

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Armenian Church in Singapore

The Armenian church was created by the first Armenian families that settled in Singapore.It was designed by George Coleman, the architect of many of Singapore’s early buildings. The church is dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, the first Patriarch of the Armenian Church.
The Armenians were among the earliest merchants and traders to arrive in Singapore after Sir Stamford Raffles established it as a trading port in 1819.

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Yerevan, Armenia : landmarks and street photography in 2019

I visited Armenia in April 2019. This is the beginning of the spring, the weather is sunny but there are still some rainy days. I’ve walked around Yerevan with my camera, and I went as well to some famous landmarks outside of the capital like Garni, Gerhard, Echmiadzin, Zvarnotz etc…
These pictures will give you an idea of the daily life in the streets of Yerevan, and you will discover as well the historical side of Armenia with churches which were built more than 1400 years ago. The conversion of Armenia to Christianity happened in the year 301 AD. It became the first country in the world to adopt Christianity.

Welcome to Armenia !

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Washi Film S for sound recording with Leica M6 and Noctilux in Brussels

Film Washi “S” is a film used by motion picture professionals for sound recording, this requires a very fine grain and a very high definition. This sharpness is guaranteed by a special anti-halation layer located between the film’s base and the emulsion layer, while its usually in back layer for ordinary films.
I tried this film for the first time in Brussels in the iconic Grand Place and its neibourhood. The rendering is very original, with a great contrast. The film has a good dynamic range and I could get back a lot of details in the shadows in Lightroom with the shadow slider. I also reduced the highlights sometimes. I didn’t do any other editing, I liked the pictures as they came from the lab.

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Paris Photo 2018 through the Leica Noctilux and Kodak film TMax 3200

Paris Photo is the most prestigious gathering of art galleries in the world of photography . It takes place at the famous museum Le Grand Palais in the heart of Paris. This year, the 22nd edition hosted 166 galeries and 31 publishers, from the 8th to the 11th of November. 68 000 visitors attended the event, 40% of them came from abroad.
Visiting this unique exhibition is very inspiring, considering the diversity of the galeries coming from 30 different countries. The atmosphere is special, this is a place where you can meet people and share your passion for photography.
In order to take original pictures, I choose to document my visit by shooting with film. I tried for the first time the film Kodak TMax 3200 . It is quoted at ISO 800 so in reality, they push it 2 stops when you meter at 3200. You can meter it at 800 or 1600, but you have to tell it to the lab. They have a chart indicating the different requirements of development corresponding to the ISO.
I shot it at 3200 because it was indoor. After a few shots, I realised that there was enough light to shoot at 1600. As you can not change the ISO after starting the shooting, I shot everything at 3200.
I’m very happy with the result. There is some nice grain, expected at such a high ISO, and we have a lot of details in the shadows. It is sharp and clear.
I used my trusted Leica M6 TTL and the lens Noctilux f/0.95 . I shot most of the pictures around F5.6-F8 , in order to keep a descent shutter speed.

Here are the pictures :

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Empire State 360 views with Cinestill 800, Leica Noctilux, M6 in New York

In June 2018 I was in New York and I decided to shoot some film at the panoramic desk of the Empire State Building. It’s a great place to get some amazing 360 views of New York. This day it was raining which adds some charm and mystery to the pictures. I shot a roll of Cinestill 800T because New York is a very cinematic city and I thought it would fit perfectly with this film which comes from the motion picture film Kodak Vision 3 5219. The major landmarks of the Big Apple are there on the pictures : Flatiron, New York Life (golden top pyramid), Chrysler, 432 Park Avenue (the new and tallest building of the hemisphere), and the Hudson river!
I used my trusted Leica M6 TTL and the lens Noctilux. I had a lot of light despite the rain, and it’s a 800 iso film, so I was most of the time at maximum shutter speed, and the aperture was between F8 and F16.
You can see below the video and the pictures

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Bokeh Challenge f/0.95 in Lisbon with Leica M6, Noctilux and Ilford HP5

I was in Lisbon in June 2018 and it was a good opportunity to do a “Bokeh Challenge f/0.95” ; it’s about shooting an entire roll of film wide open at the aperture of f/0.95. I used my Leica M6, the lens Leica Noctilux, and Ilford HP5 Plus 400. As it was a bright day, I was afraid of overexposing the film even at the highest shutter speed of 1/1000s. So I used a yellow filter to block a little bit of light, and at the same time it could give me more contrast with the black&white film ;
Heliopan 60mm #8 Medium Yellow Filter made in Germany, bought in B&H New York 3 weeks earlier for $65. It blocks one stop of light. But I didn’t have to worry about this because my M6 is TTL so it measures the light through the lens. I just had to follow the internal meter.
I started shooting avenuda de la Libertad, Restauradores , then I went to Praça Rossio. I walked to Baixa-Chiado via rua do Carmo. This is a very lively neighborhood with locals and tourists. Fernando Pessoa used to come here regularly for a coffee in the famous Café A Brasileira. Then I walked down to the Praca do Commercio on the banks of the Tejo river. Not far from there, there is San Antonio’s church, build above the crypt where Saint Anthony of Padua was born in 1195. I finished my roll by walking around and shooting the legendary Tram 28.

You can see below the video and the pictures.

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Street Photography with Leica Noctilux at f/0.95 and Techart Pro in Paris

June is a great time to shoot Street Photography in Paris. The weather is beautiful, many tourists are visiting and there is a lot of action in the city. I choose Montmartre and le Sacré Coeur to try for the first time the TechArt Pro adapter for shooting street photography. I had the Sony A7R2 and the Leica Noctilux. In order to add some fun to that I shot all the pictures wide open at the aperture of f/0.95. It’s rare to see this kind of pictures at this aperture. Usually people use the zone focusing technique with an aperture around f/8. As I don’t like to do like everyone else, I did the contrary, I shot wide open! At this aperture you need to nail the focus perfectly. That’s where the autofocus function of the Techart Pro is essential. The depth of field at 0.95 is so shallow that too much time would be necessary to manual focus and I would miss the shot. Obviously people won’t pose for you. The concept is to catch a slice of life, to capture a special moment, to document street life. To do that you need to focus quickly otherwise the scene will change and you miss the picture.
The adaptor worked perfectly! Sometimes the face detection was working, but not always. When the face couldn’t be detected it was not a problem because the focus points could detect my subject and I just had to shoot. I was really glad to have it and try this experience because street photography makes more sense at this aperture. As only your subject is sharp, it draws easily the attention on it and immerses instantly the viewer into the story.

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