Lomography La Sardina [El Capitan version] - a little look-see

If you read my last post you will know that I ordered a Lomography La Sardina just an hour after it's release. Since it ships via DHL I actually had it with me day before yesterday afternoon, was just a bit lazy to post these pictures. Anyway, here is a photo session with the little cutie.

It arrived safely in this box with gargantuan bubble wrap.
Main stuff in the box- The camera, flash (the flash is actually named Fritz the Blitz, how awesome is that??), lens cap, & three filters & one diffuser for the flash.

This is Fritz the Blitz, the flash. It's being touted as Lomography's most powerful flash, ever!

The front.

The back. I frickin' love the back.

The instruction leaflet. This is the front, it has these really great illustration of different fish cans. The back has instructions in all major languages.

All Lomography cameras come with a booklet or booklet with sample images, simple tips & of course the 10 Golden Rules of Lomography! I love this one. The texture of the paper is amazing. :)

So here was a first look at this lovely new addition to my small (but growing) film camera collection. If I were to judge this camera on looks alone, I'd give it an A++. I love it! So quirky & kitschy. This camera grabs so much attention! I generally hate grabbing attention but it sure is amusing to see people's perplexed expressions while they try to figure out why I'm jumping around in public with a toy. (Yes, everyone assumes it's a toy. Everyone).
Again, I just cannot stress on how much I love the looks of this camera. It puts all my other drab cameras to shame, it's so pretty & it just fills me with happiness whenever I look at it. I think I am in love.
Very happy with this purchase for now (how it was sent & how it looks), but I sure do hope it performs nicely too, I love the sample images. I am carrying this camera with me everywhere, to college, restaurants, the manicurists & just about anywhere else.
I am dying to try out Flitz the Blitz too (the flash, if you don't know already!) It's got three distance settings & is supposed to be super powerful. One obstacle is that it uses a CR123A battery, those are somewhat hard to find. I know where I would get one in Fort, but the next few days are completely booked for me, hoping to find one somewhere here. I asked three shops. They all claimed to have it, searched their stores, & then realized that they didn't.
Can't wait!!

Love,

Some stuff & a winner announcement

Even though I have been in Bombay I haven't been posting regularly. College has started, I have an internship (which is awesome, btw! More on that in a while) & I hardly even get time to sleep properly. So I'm just gonna update you on what's been going on in my life these past few days.

First, I went to see Raell Padamsee's adaptation of The Sound of Music. It stared Delna Mody, Dalip Tahil, Lucky Morani, Marianne D'cruz Aiman, Darius Shroff & kids from 8 different NGOs.

Photos courtesy Google Images.

I have seen very little theatre in my life, sadly. The last one I saw was also Raell Padamsee's & it was called Murder on the Menu. (That was a comedy & The Sound of Music was obviously a musical).

As I said I have seen so few so I am definitely not going to try to review, just give my views. The sets were amazing, the singing was all done live & OMG I don't remember  when I have last been this awestruck with something. Marianne D'Cruz Aiman played the Mother Superior & her solos were the most amazing/beautiful, that's why she got the loudest ovation. (That's not saying that the others sang badly, as I said they were amazing too). I do not remember the names of all the NGOs involved with the play. The youngsters from the NGOs were varied, some were just underprivileged while there were spastic, blind & even mute children involved. It was so creative & artistic & there had been so much hard work, love & passion put in to it. What can I say, just as the announcer stated this show was worthy of a TONY. I hope to see more theatre in my life. And this was a special screening organized in my beloved college auditorium, how cool is that, yeah? :D

Anyway, moving on.

I ordered a new camera. Yes. You guys know that Lomography, the beloved awesome retro analog camera company (yeah, I call it all that, okay?) is in India now, right? At about this time three days ago they launched their brand new camera range, the La Sardina range. There are four incredibly cute (I mean it!!) cameras in this range, all modelled after Sardine Tin. No, actually one is modelled after a Calamari tin, I think. (Whoever heard of tinned Squid? I sure haven't). Two of them also come with Fritz the Blitz flash, lomography's most powerful flash ever. Anyway I wasn't supposed to shop anymore but the moment I saw them I knew I just had to have one of them. (I would have loved to have all four, but that would just be horribly unrealistic.) The camera was pretty inexpensive and since Lomography is running Free Shipping to India for the month of June that was excuse enough for me.

I went ahead & snagged one up within the first hour of it's release. And Lomography ships by DHL (yay for fast & safe shipping) I will probably have my camera with me later today!

I chose the Red One. Why? It's pretty simple, really. It's named El Capitan. My dad is a captain in the merchant navy. So I can call it a father's day gift to him, though I will be the one using it! :D

On a more serious note, I chose this one in homage to him. Can't wait for it to arrive. A full hands on unboxing & review post later, okay?

And last but definitely not the least (I am so tired right now that I'm cracking sad, stale jokes) the winner to the Brahma Books giveaway. We had five entries. I wanted to do something awesome & theatrical like pulling a name out of a hat but I am just too lazy & someone I know waxed eloquent about how I should just pick a winner using random.org because it's more practical.

We had five entries-

1. Psych Babbler
2. Sandhya Dubey
3. Pallavi
4. Kalyan
5. Manav Dhiman

And the winner is...

Sandhya Dubey! Congrats. Will contact you in the morning. :)

About my irregularity of posting, I have so much stuff I want to share but believe or not I don't have the time to do it. So I am going to try & schedule some photo posts from Goa & some lomography analog photos too. I am in love with 35mm film!

As much as I like being busy I hope I can find some balance in life to blog more often as well as comment on your blogs & reply to your sweet comments on mine. I am a bit of a procrastinator but I will do it, eventually. Please do give me some time & don't be surprised if I reply to a comment you posted on my blog two whole months later. I do hope that everyone in the blogosphere has being doing well.

love,
Magali

Magazines, magazines...

So now I'm going to talk about magazines. Do you like magazine? I love them. And you know what's better than just buying a magazine? Why, a magazine subscription of course. I hate the thought of missing an issue, or running to the news stand to buy it every month (twice a month in some cases) so I have subscription. Personally, I am subscribed to three magazine. But my home gets seven. Two magazines we have been getting for years? National Geographic & Reader's Digest. I remember getting those month after month, year after year. I loved the peculiar smell National Geographic always had. Was it the paper? Glue? I'm not quite sure. Does it still smell like that? I'm not sure, it's been a while since I've picked one up.

I personally subscribe to a photography magazine & a city-based one (fun!!) One magazine I want to subscribe to? Ranger Rick magazine. So what if it's meant for kids aged aged seven and up? It is a fun magazine about the environment and has been in publication since 1967. So yeah, I now want to subscribe to Ranger Rick. Don't judge me if I choose it over Vogue. Or Time. It seems infinitely more interesting. And fun. Did I mention fun? Have any of you ever read this magazine? How was it?

love,

Back with a *Bang*

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm back from vacation. I got back on the 7th actually. The bus I was returning in was in an accident. In short, the driver took a wrong turn & drove it into a ditch. The bus was about 40 degrees on it's left & I had to jump out a window (well over 7 feet high) & the whole experience was somewhat scary. There were no serious injuries, just some scratches, cuts, etc.

What made the whole experience so scary was that it was just so close. The driver took a bad turn & fell in a ditch, he could have very well fallen off the side of the mountain. Everyone was just so thankful to be alive. After we were out safe I think I just hugged my mom extra tight.

I admit that the first day after I got back passed in a haze of laziness & constant thoughts about the accident. But then I had some impossible deadlines to meet so I couldn't blog at once. But yes I am back now. Expect regular updates! ^_^

I went for my first Lomography India photowalk today yesterday. The sky was overcast & it was pouring cats & dogs, but it was oh so much fun!! :] (The journey back was a lot of fun too! ;) ) Did I mention how much I am enjoying shooting film? Way more than digital, that's for sure. Will talk more about it when the photos get back from the lab! :) I look forward to shooting with a whole lot of film cameras in the upcoming days!

So much stuff is happening in my life right now. I'm a little stressed but still very happy that I'm busy doing the things I love.

Bye for now.

love,

PS- Executives at CBS, what the fuck is wrong with you? Quit screwing with Criminal Minds & give Thomas Gibson a contract.