If all you want is to just go out and shoot an easy session, a compact, fully automatic camera is preferred over the manual ones requiring careful metering and focusing. For example, the Agfa Optima 1535 and the Olympus 35RC are both good options. The only manual part to these cameras are probably just focusing with the built-in rangefinder (unless you decided to go full manual on 35RC).

What about Olympus Mju the "Party camera"? Or even a smartphone? Very compact very easy. Oh no, there's a certain fun in photography where some manual component is required.

A friend called me out for a sunny day shoot in Shing Mun Reservoir. The afternoon sun light shoned above the hills and onto the trees. This was before the raining season so the water level was low, exposing extra grounds instead of partially submerging the trees.

I had only one roll of Hitchcock 500T (basically rebranded Kodak Vision 3 5219) with me and originally I expected I could finish maybe half the roll and had to spam it somewhere else and I was wrong. I mean, the light was good, and the place is full of photo opportunities with the people doing their own things. The unique setting of a reservior means I got to see trees and terrain in various configuration with just a short walk on the fully paved road. Eventually I missed maybe a couple good shots when I ran out of film near the main dam.

I struggle to find a better example of a good shooting day. All of the best shots of the months are actually from this one day of shooting. And just like the English caption of this shot the best way to not waste time is to take it slowly, instead of spamming for shots and hope something good comes up.

Also, even without nice photos, one can get a healthy dose of Vitamin D and hike plus a fun time going out with friends. Think about that.

Kodak Vision 3 500T 5129 or whatever else the rebranding people call this Tungsten balanced film works under daylight despite without the perscribed WRATTEN 2 filter, especially in low-light situation devoid of sunlight like this. Over-correcting the color tempterature like the best #1 and #3 of this month seems to yield a characteristically nice image. But that probably won't carry over to other subjects and lighting situation.

All I wanted to say is 500T can be used as a daylight film just fine. But might as well just use UltraMax 400 during the day, the price is higher but the color is more vibrant.

In Shing Mun Reservoir it's strange that this this rock-paved road exists to connect the road to the lower ground by the water because it's not standard construction. Nowhere else in the reservoir can this can be found (maybe they exist, but they have to be quite hidden). The absence of overgrown vegetation suggests that this road is frequent by visitors, and in low-light situation, Agfa Optima 1535 naturally has to use the widest aperture f/2.8, giving this slight bokeh with emphasis near the bottom left quadrant of the frame.

I might more control had I used the Olympus 35RC's full manual mode. Emotionally though, I like Optima 1535 better than 35RC (and I am telling this to my cognitive dissonance).

Well, on a fully automatic camera there's no way to control exactly what the camera does with the exposure except in situations like this where light is excessively low and you can reasonably expect a slow shutter speed and large aperture. Some cameras from the 1970s-1980s have shutter or aperture priority mode, some have both. The more I know about using them, the more fun I found using them.

Another monthly best shots taken on the trip to Shing Mun Reservoir, the same film, same camera. When the subject is good, it doesn't matter what equipments are being used, one can easily get the some good photos.

I have always had issue tuning the photos taken with the Vision3 stocks. Be it 50D, 250D or 500T, they all seem bit flat from lab scan, and the same happens from different labs. This time by cranking the temperature all the way up (thanks to golden-hour sunlight) and increasing the contrast and saturation a bit, I am able to a more balanced and tasty image.

The area shown on the photo will be underwater after the wet season in May/June. Some grass have grown over the spring while water was still low, meaning the scene is ever-changing throughout the year, and a good chance to revisit comes the summer and autumn.

Bulk loaded Vision3 film are cheap. Compared to C41, ECN2 takes longer time to develop and costs more, plus a certain level of post-processing is required to get anything usable. The "cinematic" feel becomes boring after some time. While I still have a good bunch of Vision3 film by Hitchcock, I probably will buy less of them in the near future.

This photo is a double exposure in post-processing combining two shots, one taken by the newly acquired Olympus 35RC and another by phone.

The background is a black and white shot of a playground in Tsing Yi, taken during my photowalk to test out the new camera. The foreground is a photo of Antony Gormley's Asian Field on exhibit in Hong Kong M+ museum at the time.

Overlapping color shot over a black and white shot gives an accent color to the monotonous shot.

One time I obtained an VIP ticket to private viewing session at the M+ museum, and went there with a friend of mine. The exhibits are best viewed when the place is quiet. Looking into the room of tens of thousands of mud dolls, the silent room has a meditative quality.

The badminton field looks empty, so adding a bunch of mud dolls add some signs of live to it. That's why I chose to overlap them to create a double exposure shots. As I do not consciously shoot for double exposures, good ones like this rarely come out. That's why I consider this the best of June.