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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Leica Mini 3 review with Kodak TX 400 and Portra 400 in Bangkok

I’ve been shooting with a Leica M6 TTL for 3 years. This was my only film camera, and my only lens is a Noctilux f/0.95 . I love this camera and I’ve been shooting portraits, landscapes, street photography etc… However, it’s not a light combo. And I take it with me when I really have a purpose. On many occasions, when I had not something special to shoot but still wanted to keep a souvenir from a nice day of walk or visit, I didn’t take my M6, but instead, I was buying a disposable camera. And it was fun. But of course there are huge limitations in terms of lens quality, focus, and type of film availability. So I decided to buy a film point and shoot camera, to have a camera always with me.

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Hua Hin,Thailand : Leica M6, Noctilux and Ilford 3200

I shot this pictures in Hua Hin, a beach resort in Thailand. I used a Leica M6 TTL and the lens Leica Noctilux 50mmf/0.95 .The film is Ilford 3200, metered and developed at speedbox. I started to shoot at sunset until it was dark. The high ISO 3200 was necessary and the last pictures were shot wide open at f/0.95 because there was not more light available.
For the first 6 pictures, there was too much light for ISO 3200 so I used a Heliopan filter Yellow 8 . It block 1.5 steps of lights and at the same time it enhances the contrast.

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Street Photography in Cheung Chau Island, Hong-Kong : Leica M6 & Noctilux

Cheung Chau is a charming island located 10km Southwest of Hong Kong. You can take the ferry from Central Pier and you’ll be there in less than an hour. The ride is quite enjoyable.
People are living a traditional and quiet life. There are many fishermen and seafood restaurants. Hongkongers come during the week-end to enjoy fresh seafood and a walk along the beach.
I went there in December and I shot a roll of Kodak Portra 400 with the Leica M6 and the lens Noctilux 50mm. I tried to document the life of the island with the street markets, the temples, the beach, the tourists, and the local fishermen.

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Washi Film V a special emulsion made from Gampi Japanese paper

Washi Film is a French company created in 2013 and based in Saint-Nazaire. They are specialized in handcrafted film making and industrial film conversion.
Washi (和紙) in Japanese literally means “Japanese (wa 和) Paper (紙 shi) ”. It is handmade from local wood that makes it stronger then standard paper. Usually used for traditional arts like origami, Washi Film created an emulsion from this special material.
The Washi V is handcoated on artisanal Gampi paper made by Awagami Factory in Japan. This is a delicate film and you have to be very careful when you load, advance, and rewind the film. You can shoot 16 pictures per roll.
I shoot with a Leica M6 and the Noctilux 50mm . When I shot my first roll, everything went all right until I rewinded it. The film broke inside the camera and then I made a huge mistake : I opened the camera instead of asking the lab to open it in the darkroom to remove the film. However, I was lucky enough to save 6 pictures.
I love the rendering of this film! I’m crazy about it! It looks like an ancien ink painting on silk.
So I decided to shoot another roll in Paris. And this time everything went all right. I brought it to the lab Friday, the 4th of January 2019 and I’m still waiting for the scans.

Update : 16th of January 2019

I received the scans from my second roll . They are great except some stains on almost all the pictures. I asked the owner of the company Washi Film about that. He told me that the emulsion was applied manually on the paper and this explains that it’s not 100% regular on the film. Besides the film is hand-coated in the dark with infrared glasses so he can not see all the flaws. Let’s say that these irregularities make the charm of the film. However I decided to remove the stains with photoshop. You can still have a idea of what the stains look like because I didn’t remove them on some pictures.

Well, despite the stains I still love this film and I’m looking forward to shoot more pictures with it.

Update 29 of January 2019

I’ve received the scans from my 3rd roll. I shot it in Paris, early January. This time, there were no stains, it came out clean! I’m very happy with the results. I went to the Arc de Triomphe, on the roof top and and had some panoramic views of Paris. It was foggy so the Eiffel Tower is not really visible. I went as well around the Ile Saint Louis to finish the roll.

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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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Portraits with b&w film and flash : Leica M6 TTL, Flash SF20, Noctilux f/0.95

I shot these pictures with my Leica M6 TTL, the lens Noctilux, the flash Leica SF 20 , and two different films : Kodak Portra 400 and Ilford HP5 400. The great thing about this combo is that the flash is TTL compatible which means that the light meter takes into account the ISO, the shutter speed and the light coming “through the lens” . In the viewfinder a “thunder” symbol appears, that indicates that the flash is well connected. The internal meter of the camera will take everything into account and will guide you to get the perfect exposure. You’ll find it by playing with the aperture until the red dot appears . Just as an external meter would give you the right aperture in a studio when you fire the flash for testing.
The big challenge is the compulsory shutter speed you have to use : 1/45s . Faster than that, the flash doesn’t fire. But finally, I managed to keep my hands steady and the pictures turned out sharp. I think the flash is really necessary when you shoot models indoors, because it lifts the shadows and make the image brighter without pushing the film.
Black and white films are less forgiving with under or overexposure so it’s not easy to get a great picture indoors with flash. sometimes it looks a little bit underexposed and there is two much grain. As much as I love grain for landscapes, building and objects, with portraits it’s not so flattering. However, all is all, I’m really glad that I shot black and white because when it’s well framed and exposed, it’s really beautiful and more special than color. And finally I’m happy with the pictures I got.
The first pictures featured are the Ilford ones and than it’s Kodak .

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