The authors of "Trinidad Dreamscape" and "Digital Trinidad" would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas. Also, best wishes for 2008!








As criminality grows in Trinidad, we diminish. As important as our pictures are to us, we really can't continue taking the risks we do to get them. We, however, take some snapshots here.






















A new title picture has been posted over at Digital Trinidad. We're sorry, but digital black and white still leaves a lot to be desired. Even artificially introduced grain looks weird. Digital black and white prints cannot match the tonality of prints from large format negatives.








In-spite of everything going on in Trinidad and Tobago these days, we'd still like to wish you Season's Greetings. Remember what Christmas is all about. We have been slowly upgrading the quality of some of our original scans, some of which were remarkably awful. Therefore, especially in the 'Miscellaneous Moments', 'East Coast', and the 'Northeast Coast', galleries some pictures may look completely new thanks to our new scans. The rest of the upgrades will be slowly ongoing.








We have added a small new article, with 2 pictures, on some of our musings about allegory in the landscape. You can find the article here.










Trinidad Dreamscape is pleased to extend Divali greetings to the Hindu community. We wish you peace, and happiness. On another note, we urge Hindus to use the traditional deya in preference to electric lights for lighting-up, and to NOT cut down bamboo from protected wetlands/forests.








Well this (unofficial) election result of PNM 26, UNC 15, COP 0 will be analyzed to death in the coming days, weeks and months. The recriminations have already begun, with Panday equating COP supporters to those who essentially condone murder, rape, and the PNM. Tut, tut, such rancor: we thought he would have been used to losing elections by now, or is it that the looming spectre of jail-time is now foremost on his mind? Zero seats for the COP is a devastating blow to many of the brightest and youngest minds in the country, and we expect another brain-drain surge. Anyway, Trinidad gets the government it deserves.








Our first new large format picture in some time, as well as a little bit about the last sugarcane factory here. - UPDATE - New large format picture scanned and uploaded. It can be found at the bottom of the page here.









In case sugar workers weren't aware, they have now been categorized as 'slaves' according to a new classification scheme, the derivation of which is known only to our illustrious leader. We will have something to say about that later on. In the meantime, we have a small preview of our latest 8x10 photograph above. In fact, it is still drying out after development. Anyway, it is our first Tri-X Pan exposure, and our first use of HC-110 developer. Happily, the negative seems okay; we'll have a better idea after we do a full resolution scan. It is a picture of the now dormant sugar factory at Usine, St. Madeleine. Unless the 'Congress of the People' take the government, this factory will probably be razed before too long.











We mentioned something about a large format book project recently, put together by large format film photographers from around the world. Well, the book is finished , and available, but we will not post the link up just yet. Apparently the publisher botched some pictures so the book has been re-compiled and a new version will be published soon. Two of our pictures have been published which are arguably the two lamest pictures in the book, but it's the best we could do on short notice! We'll keep you updated.









The 'Congress of the People' bandwagon rolls into Dreamscape territory with its leader, Winston Dookeran, at the helm. We are happy to report that the people of Trinidad and Tobago are a highly intelligent, but sometimes stubborn, bunch. Vote smart, vote issues, and we all benefit on November 6. Forgive us for belabouring the point: go out and vote! If there is a civic duty which can be argued as of the greatest importance in any democracy, this is it. Our confrontational style Westminster system of governance essentially locks most of us out of the decision-making processes of our country. Every five years we have one moment, one opportunity, to make a change, or to continue on the present course. Make use of your democratic right: democracy is weakened when you don't.









Trinidad Dreamscape celebrates its 2nd anniversary online today. We've been pretty dour of late, but there are glimmerings of hope for Trinidad as we enter our third year online. In fact, these days, many of the younger generation are practically falling over themselves to be seen as socially conscious, and environmentally aware. It is fashionable to be so now, and some are almost rabid with their new found passion. But many are still to acquire wisdom, humility, and tolerance. Instead, we would like to take the opportunity to thank those who make Trinidad and Tobago a better place in their own small ways, never giving up on us through the thankless years, always existing in obscurity while altering the fabric of our lives in subtle, yet significant ways. The real heroes are the ones unsung, unseen, unheard.







Many digital shooters argue that at small enlargement sizes digital pictures and film pictures should look identical. Um, nope. Find out here.









Eid Mubarak to the Muslim community from the authors of Trinidad Dreamscape. We've been itching to use this picture for a while now, with its sliver of a moon. We are happy to use it today.









Possibly the most remarkable tree we have ever seen, or will ever see again, has been cut down to make way for another voter-padding housing project. We believe that this represents a watershed moment for us. Sometimes we think that Trinidad isn't really worth our time anymore.







We have added a link to the blog Barbados.In.Focus, captained by a persevering photographer who works to preserve the idiosyncratic places of Barbados before they too are cut down, demolished, or just fall apart from neglect. Oh, and he can take some great pictures to boot!







We have acquired a new batch of 8x10 black and white film. We have been forced to switch from our current film, Ilford FP4+, to Kodak Tri-X Pan largely as a result of Trinidad customs officers opening our Ilford film boxes and exposing the non-sealed film. Our large format colleagues abroad, as well as Harman International, the parent company of Ilford, are appalled that Trinidad customs could be so backward with regards the handling of light-sensitive materials. We would like to thank Mel Greene of Harman Technology, UK for trying to help us solve the problem. We will also be switching our present developer, Pyrocat MC, to Kodak HC-110.

Kodak Tri-X Pan was designed for excellent highlight separation in high-key portraiture. The film exhibits almost a straight line in its log exposure scale, but has a very short shoulder in the highlight region indicating this film is prone to blowing-out the highlights. We'll have to experiment to arrive at its optimum speed for our specific developer, and for the kind of photographs we take. As we drum develop with continuous agitation, we'll reduce the recommended developing times by about 15% for starters. Testing a new film/developer combination, especially in 8x10, can be a real drag. On the bright side, we have seen some stunning work done with this film, so we have high hopes.







A new large format picture has been uploaded. Yes, we know: we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. Well, at least you're getting something!! You can find the picture here.







A survey of more than 9000 professional photographers in the United States has revealed that 68% of the photographers surveyed preferred film pictures over digital pictures. Many of the professionals surveyed make daily use of 16 megapixel resolution cameras and up. Most agreed that digital pictures lack the 3 dimensionality of film, and others made mention of film's 'organic' look. This flies in the face of what Trinidadian pros would have us believe. You can find a brief report on the survey here. The proof is in the pudding, of course: we challenge any pro digital shooter in Trinidad to put up a print from his/her digital camera alongside one of our film prints. The enlargement size: 80"x100" (and that's not a typo), and viewers can be allowed to walk right up to the prints.








Believe it or not, we do actually take pictures of places beyond Trinidad's shores. We want to share some of them with you, along with our own vignettes of the places we visit. To do so, we are building a new website entitled, "Trinidad Traveller". It will be a while yet before the website launches, but we wanted you to have a "heads-up" on what we are up to.

"Trinidad Dreamscape" will soon be entering its third year online come October. Risking life and limb to get the pictures has been a great deal of fun. We are happy to say that, with the exception of one occasion, we've never been harassed, or attacked. Trinidad and Tobago is still full of friendly, curious, and considerate people. Sadly, "Trinidad Dreamscape" and "Digital Trinidad" may both become dormant within the next 6 months. Over this period we will transition to "Trinidad Traveller" as the aforementioned websites become static. In the meantime, it's business as usual.







The nut over at 'Digital Trinidad' is on a roll: he has now put up a sugarcane trail gallery of his own. No film for him as he instead opts for his Canon DSLR. You can find the gallery here.







bpTT's 'Energy for Life' exhibition has disturbed our friend over at the 'Digital Trinidad Asylum for the Digitally Affected' requiring a doubling of his usual dose of thioridazine. Apparently bpTT and the complicit photographers managed to make digital look bad. Like 'duh', we already knew that digital looks bad, but our Digitally Affected One has some possible remedies here.







Fueled by readers who are ambiguous about the difference between 35mm and 8x10 film, and digital photographers who do not know (or who pretend not to know) the limitations of their medium. Our brief comparison is here.







We take some pictures along the Rio Seco Trail. You will find the gallery here.







We present some of the basics of focusing a View camera along with an example of how we went about making one of our Still Life pictures. You will find the article here.







Robert Clarke of 'Gayelle TV' is noted for his fantastic, thought-provoking perspectives about life in Trinidad. This time round, Robert interviews Mark Lyndersay, a professional digital photographer with an impressive portfolio, who divulges some of his thoughts on the rise of digital photography, and the demise of film as a mainstream medium for photography. Trinidad Dreamscape is mentioned in the interview as holing-out in the film camp, and a few of our pictures are featured. Mark Lyndersay has posted a brief write-up about the interview on his blog. He has also kindly posted the interview for download as a mp4 file for interested visitors.

A little Rant.

(We like to rant)
This is a reminder to digital photographers: if you've never seen a print from a large format camera before, much less a large format print next to one from your pip-squeak 8MP digicam, shut up, already. Spare us the diatribe about the wonderfulness of your 11x14 digicam prints, and the 'superior quality' of digital. The fact is, you don't even know what a quality film print looks like; a prerequisite for making a reasoned comparison. We use 8x10 large format film for a reason, and it is not because we are out-of-touch, or misguided. No digital medium can match our film pictures for resolution, period. We also have, and use, Canon DSLRs. We know their output capability. We have seen output from Canon's 1DsMkII, and Phase 1's P45 medium format back. Have you? The digital rise is inexorable, but it still has a way to go. Until the time comes when digital can offer comparable quality for us to capture life's fleeting moments, we'll stick to using the best medium available: film.



Trinidad Dreamscape would like to make our visitors aware of an upcoming photographic book featuring some of the best, and last remaining, large format photographers in the world. 2 Trinidad Dreamscape pictures will be included in the book, and we are humbled to be among such great company. The first draft of the book should be available by October 2007. We will keep you up to date on when the book will be published, and where you can get a copy online.







Pretend photographers talk Canon vs. Nikon, or debate the merits of consumer zooms. Real photographers talk bags! Here's our review of the Lowepro PhotoTrekker AW II camera backpack for the pack mules among us. See here.







We've added a new large format picture of our favourite boat-wreck. It can be found here.








The Seiwdass Sadhu Temple on the Sea was recently broken into and vandalized. In addition, an attempt was apparently made to burn down the temple. How much lower can we sink?







We are now using Apple Aperture to manage our large film scans, some of which weigh in at over 1GB per file. Our opinions can be found here.







We've added 2 new large format pictures, as well as 3 older 35mm pictures, in commemoration of possibly Trinidad's last sugarcane harvesting season. You can find them here.







We've added a new large format picture which forms part of an upcoming light and shadows series. It can be found here.







Some of our 'Viewpoint' articles have been re-introduced after requests by some visitors. This includes our Soca Warriors clippings from 2005, which still remains immensely popular. Our Google tracker reveals that the defunct Soca Warriors link generates, on average, 80 hits per day! So it's back, just for you out there who wish to relive a happier time in our history. Here is our viewpoint.







We've added a zoom-able large format picture so you can get an idea about large format film resolution here.







Please note that all pictures and articles found on both Trinidad Dreamscape and Digital Trinidad are copyrighted. If you would like to borrow, or reproduce part of our works, please ask us first. Please let us know if you see any of our pictures, or articles, reproduced elsewhere.







We have posted a short article on some tips that may be useful for those attempting colour E6 development themselves. You can find the article here. Also included is a 4x5 LF picture that we developed in Tetenal E6 developer. It was taken in the rain, with our camera exposed to the elements for about 1 hour. Try that with your digicam!







Digital Trinidad has posted its support of LIVE EARTH: the concerts for a climate in crisis. Trinidad Dreamscape has added 2 new links to the photographer, John Gioannetti.







Digital Trinidad has just posted an article entitled Working the digital workflow. It describes a general method of how to handle digital files from the camera stage to the output to print or to the web stage.







We are not so pleased to announce the launch of our evil mirror-image website, Digital Trinidad. Transmitting from an 18th Century mental asylum, and espousing the 'virtues' of digital image capture, 'Digital Trinidad's' author is hoping that insanity may be contagious. Judging from those lame pictures he's got, we doubt it.







Back again. After a harrowing couple weeks we've made it back onto the web. We have a new web host, so things should be a bit faster now (we hope). We've scrapped all our 'Viewpoint' articles as there are people out there who can do a much better job at that sort of thing than we can. - ADDENDUM (21/07/07): Well, maybe not. Viewpoint restored. - Our photography articles will remain. Presently, there will be no digital content on the website. We're sorry to have 'blacked out' with no explanation. We promise not to make it too much of a habit.

We would like to thank Mayaro Beach and Ama's PhotoZone for their support, as well as unnamed others (you know who you are!). Thank you everybody!







Large Format picture post here.






Two new photographs added to the Northeast coast gallery. They are presented together for your convenience here.






Two new photographs added to the Shark River gallery. They are presented together for your convenience here.






Three new photographs added. They will find their way to their respective galleries, but for now we have presented them together for your convenience here.






We are happy to announce that 3 of our photographs are featured in FujiFilm's brand new Choose-Film newsletter. We have placed a copy of the newsletter on one of our pages. The Choose Film website was pioneered by Fuji to encourage photo enthusiasts to continue the use of film.







The Editor Incognito has added some of her new pictures to the Maracas gallery.







There aren't many examples of lightning photography in Trinidad. Also, ground to cloud lightning bolts are not as common here as they are in more northern latitudes during summer, though that will change as global warming continues. During a Storm Watch last year we managed to capture sheet lightning over central Trinidad. We have added the picture here.







We have updated our Use Film page in the hope that we can convince at least 1 person to use film.







We have added a Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) page of the common questions we receive on Trinidad Dreamscape. Ya, we get some really weird questions sometimes. The F.A.Q. page will now be accessible on the menu bar by hovering the mouse pointer over 'HOME'.







We're finally done with Trinidad Dreamscape's facelift, with the exception of some minor tweaking still left to do. We hope it hasn't turned out to be a Michael Jackson type facelift! There may be a couple broken links lurking around but we will fix those quickly.

As we mentioned on the 'home page', today we are pleased to announce our newest gallery, Introducing Tobago. We also have a small new Maracas gallery. Our Miscellaneous Moments gallery has been redone with the view to include more pictures of people on the website. Our Relics page has been reorganised.

We hope you enjoy the changes on the new Trinidad Dreamscape!