Photography-Per-Diem

Turning Night to Day

2009-07-03T12:10:00.004+08:00

Stand By Me

2009-05-10T23:40:00.003+08:00

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

I suddenly realized that the moon was almost so full today. Then I remembered I haven't blogged for a loooooong time, and I mean a long time. This is actually an edited photo, very much edited that it. It is almost like I abused the rules of photo editing. Well the end justifies the means.

Finally!

2009-03-16T10:10:00.006+08:00

Okay, this is not the best shot I have of the skyline, but finally! At least a have a night photo of the skyline (at last) with me in it. I could have taken using an SLR, but it would be very awkward for me to set it up there with a tripod in front of all those tourists. It would probably feel as if I were having a photo shoot. This photo was taken using a point and shoot camera mounted on a tiny pocket-sized tripod. Tweaked the levels a bit, but I think it would pass as a good photo. Oh, how I love technology.

My Favorite Hangout

2009-02-28T14:57:00.004+08:00

I guess now this is officially my favorite hangout on a Friday night. Although I've been here a dozen times and have taken a picture of this skyline countless of times, I never get tired coming here and snapping a few shots or two. I have continuously challenged myself to capture a new perspective even though I always have the same subject, that way I can improve my composition and my night shooting as well. This was cropped a bit.

On a side note, the night really gives the Marina Bay Skyline a whole new glow. Below is a photo of the skyline taken a few hours before, see how bleak and intimidating the concrete jungle is.

Happy Valentine's

2009-02-15T14:45:00.003+08:00

Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, Marina Bay, during a live musical performance.
Happy Valentine's Day from Photography-Per-Diem.

Orchids

2009-02-10T14:43:00.005+08:00

Realizing that I haven't wrote an entry for more than a month, I was really determined to go on a short hike at Singapore Botanic Garden. I walked all the way from the Tanglin Road entrance to the National Orchid Garden and found this common purple orchid. I was actually attempting to do macro shots, but because of my limited equipment and skill, I've only managed to come up with this shot. Nature has always been a relaxing subject.

Sentimental

2009-01-06T11:45:00.004+08:00

Another of my East Coast Parkway shots early in the morning of a new year. This is actually a colored shot. I just rendered it as black and white. I love this photo because it kind of gives me a feeling of wanting to be sentimental when I see it. That is why I love photography so much, it gives me a new way of expressing my thoughts and emotions, all captured in a single, powerful frame.

The Color of Dawn

2009-01-03T13:13:00.003+08:00

This is my new year entry. I didn't sleep and welcomed 2009, just to capture this moment and it was all worth it. Taken in front of Goldkist Resort at East Coast Parkway at 6:34 AM on the 1st of January 2009. Happy new year from Photography-Per-Diem.

Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in HDR

2008-12-21T13:07:00.002+08:00

Esplanade Outdoor Theatre in HDR. Just a little experiment I did yesterday while taking my day off and idling around Marina Bay. Shot the scene with exposure bracketing and used Photoshop to merge into an HDR photo.

Night Portraiture - Group

2008-12-18T17:24:00.006+08:00

As an amateur, wannabe professional photographer, I never appreciated the importance of a good tripod, well at least until now. For the longest time, I loved to shoot night photos hand-held as much as I could (actually I still do). But now I've realized the beauty of having a good portable tripod to carry around every time I will shoot. It allows shooting with a deeper depth of field and longer exposure times, of course, you still need the cooperation of the people you are taking photos of - they need to be still until the end of the shot. I'm also beginning to appreciate the importance of using the flash - but not too much of course. I always disliked having to use the flash as it washes out the color of your subject. However, one shot that I'm really proud of, as of the moment is the photo of my friends jumping in front of a huge Christmas tree at VivoCity, Harbourfront (below). I used to think this wasn't possible with an ordinary kit lens mounted on a D80, the shutter just wouldn't be fast enough. It's really not possible, at least not without the aid of a tripod and flash. Okay it's not the best shot of people jumping but at least I got it on the first try. Can't wait to go out and shoot more night photos. For more photos, visit VEC1.

Attempt on Interiors

2008-12-09T18:41:00.006+08:00

My attempt on shooting interiors using a 50mm prime lens. It was very challenging because the space was limited and I had to shift and adjust my position most of the time to frame the shot properly. I really gave it a warm look to give a summer feel to it.
Location: Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort, Johore Bahru, Malaysia.

Bleeding Love

2008-12-01T17:48:00.004+08:00

The reason for this Christmas season - Jesus. (Above) Photo of our christmas lantern (parol) made out of recycled items. (Below) Bleeding love. This is the cross at the center of our lantern, which sums up why Jesus came to Earth to become human in the first place - to die on the cross, for ME and YOU. Merry Christmas and enjoy the yuletide season rememberting God's great love for us.

Cityside Skyline

2008-11-24T16:16:00.003+08:00

Shot on the 6th level of Avon Park Condominiums, Potong Pasir, Singapore, while having our dinner before making our Christmas lantern (parol).

Esplanade Drive

2008-11-10T17:36:00.003+08:00

Esplanade Drive, Raffles Place, Singapore. Taken about a week before the F1 season in Singapore. Anyway, I may have to change my format of posting. There will be times that I will just post a photo and not include any lengthy descriptions due to time constraints since I'm pretty busy nowadays. I hope you continue to enjoy my photos and I will try my best to post as often as possible.

Kalesa

2008-10-22T19:17:00.004+08:00

This is a horse-drawn carriage or kalesa I shot from my trip to Vigan a few months back (edited with photoshop). This is a common sight in the streets of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Philippines and a common sight as well in the streets of Chinatown in Manila. This post should've been posted a long time ago, but since I'm quite busy nowadays I haven't got the time to shoot some new photos, so I decided to sift through my old ones, which also explains my absence for two weeks. Also, this photo is exactly how I shot it, minus the radial blur. Enjoy!

My East Coast Sunrise

2008-09-30T17:30:00.003+08:00

Shot just before sunrise at East Coast Park, Bedok. We had our VEC2 Caregroup getaway event. Lots of food, drinks, fun and fellowship in the Lord. Lots of fun but little sleep (for me at least). I just to wait for dawn and see the sunrise in this part of the world and it was good. (Below - photo of sunrise by the beach). Both shot with 50mm. The 50mm is a great walk around lens for me, so far, may it be night or day. Just have to adapt to the very shallow depth of field at large apertures.

Light Subdued

2008-09-21T02:56:00.005+08:00

It took only less than two minutes to have an opportunity to capture this shot. The rest of the day was sunny and cloudless, when all of a sudden this huge puff of cloud came into view and seemingly engulfed the sun. A minute later the sun shone brightly again. Good thing I was out practicing shooting with my CPL. I love moments like these.

Side note: I'm actually dressing up a new blog, ShutterMAX. It's still under construction but will be up soon, maybe.

Spanish Village

2008-09-17T16:26:00.006+08:00

I looked out the window and I saw the beautiful blue sky, enticing me, taunting me to go out for a walk with my camera, Dates (haha, just thought of giving it a name). But where would I go? I was undecided. So, I just stayed put and took out Dates and shot from the bedroom. This is the Spanish Village as they call it. This is a low-rise condo just across the street from where I was standing. Took this practice shot using a CPL filter. There aren't much clouds so the sky turned out really blue. I'm still getting the hang of it. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out this shot. My first shot had great contrast but the buildings were quite underexposed. So I adjusted the exposure bias by +0.3EV and got this shot. It is very easy to underexpose a picture with a CPL filter on. Anyway, I'll continue to practice. More photos to come.

Marina Bay Skyline

2008-09-12T01:26:00.003+08:00

Marina Bay Skyline. Shot both photos at the same day. Basically waited until around 8PM before it got dark enough to shoot a night photo. Anyhow, I was blessed with a beautiful day when I went out for a stroll and a photo-op down at Marina Bay. The sun is up and shining. The clouds and the blue sky makes it one fine, perfect day. Actually I decided to shoot to see my circular polarizing filter (CPL) in action. The photo above was captured with a CPL. What I noticed was the beautiful color contrast that it gives compared to a photo shot without CPL (sorry, wasn't able to provide comparison, my observations are based on previous landscape photos shot without CPL). Reflections were also reduced giving the water a clear, mirror-like texture. The night shot of the skyline (below) was taken with the CPL on. I've read from other websites that it is not advisable to shoot at night with CPL on, but I guess I was too lazy to take it off so I just left it on. This night shot was tricky. I had no tripod so I had to find a stable surface to put my camera. Shot this at ISO-400, 24mm, f/8 and a 4-sec. exposure.

Haw Par Villa - Tiger Balm Gardens

2008-09-11T14:41:00.003+08:00

Haw Par Villa. The Tiger Balm Gardens, located along Pasir Panjang Road, is one the "free" sightseeing spots in Singapore. So, if you are on a tight budget and would love shooting in Singapore for SGD 5 (for your bus fare, max.), this is the place to be. It was fun coming here since somehow I got reconnected to my chinese heritage by viewing the different tableau exhibits scattered all over the garden. There was also a special exhibit, the Ten Courts of Hell, which costs SGD 1.00. The exhibit depicts the ten courts of hell that you would need to pass through for the punishment of different sins committed before being reincarnated into another being, but this is for another post, I think. I personally do not believe in that but still it was worthwhile to view it and learn more about the culture. The photo above is the pagoda view near the main entrance of the garden.

Understanding Bokeh

2008-09-06T00:30:00.003+08:00

Bokeh, derived from the Japanese word bokeaji, meaning "blur". Bokeh is the photographic term for the out-of-focus area in the photograph produced by a camera lens rendering a shallow depth of field. Different lens bokeh produces different aesthetic qualities in out-of-focus backgrounds, which are often used to eliminate distractions in the background giving more emphasis on the subject (definition quoted and paraphrased from Wikipedia), usually seen in portraits, macro photos and nature shots, such as the one above. Actually I have only encountered this term while comparing specs for 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8. They say f/1.4 has better bokeh, better blending of colors, and why not, it is far more expensive than the f/1.8 - about 2 to 3 times more expensive. If you're gonna pay more money for that, it must definitely give you better results. Anyway, just wanted to post this to show "bokeh". This photo actually is part of the "50mm - Daylight Series" post.

50mm Edition - Daylight Series

2008-09-05T02:04:00.005+08:00

What a great way to start my September series. Pictures shot purely at 50mm focal length. Well what's so special about it? I have never been forced to shoot at a fixed focal length before, because I got so much comfort in using the zoom lens that instead of moving forward or backward, I just let my lens do the work. By the way, this is entitled daylight series since all my photos (more photos here) were shot before 5pm. This picture is one of my favorites. I shot this flower while strolling down the Heliconia Walk of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. You may notice that I always post pictures taken from this place. It just so happens that I have visited this for several times already since this is one of the few places in Singapore that has free admission. But not to worry I will post pictures from other places in upcoming posts. It is a very tiring but rewarding experience. It trains you to think about your composition really well before shooting. It was tiring because instead of the zoom function, you are doing the zoom manually. Good thing there were not much people around, otherwise they might think I'm weird. More photos to come. Side note, I really love the 50mm f/1.8. The money you pay for it is justified.

My New Toy

2008-08-30T02:01:00.004+08:00

My newest toy - the Nikkor AF 50mm 1.8D armed with a Tokina 52mm UV Filter. I'm very happy with this new acquisition. It is the cheapest fast lens in the Nikkor line-up I think and so far it's serving me well. I actually thought of buying the f1.4 model, but figured it was too expensive, so I settled for this one. I'll just save money for later purchases. Anyway, I can now capture night portrait shots hand-held with more ease and magical night general shots and landscapes as well - although this is not really for landscapes, but I can't afford to buy the 35mm/f2 right now. It is very compact, very lightweight and focuses fast. I also love how soft the images come out. This is going to be great especially for portrait shots. I also get the difference in depth of field which is important in portraits. I feel that I would learn how to be more disciplined when it comes to composing my shots using this lens, since I got so much used to using the zoom lens, I prefer staying in one position and just zoom-in to get closer. I shot a night scene while waiting for a bus to go home (below, shot at ISO-800, 1/25s). Can't wait for future shoots using my new baby. Enjoi.

Orchard @ Night

2008-08-26T17:35:00.007+08:00

Orchard @ Night. This shot was taken during one of our early evening strolls down Orchard Road. Orchard is like the Makati City of the Philippines, minus the congestion. I mean there is still traffic but not like what you see at Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (EDSA) during rush hour. We first went to Tang Plaza first, famous Filipino community hangout at Orchard. During weekends, especially Sundays, the place is really packed. I had my picture taken at Lucky Plaza, adjacent to Tangs, and ate dinner at a small cafeteria-like diner serving 2 Filipino viands + 1 cup of rice + 1 can of drinks for SGD 5.00. After dinner my friend and I decided to take a stroll all the way to Plaza Singapura (below), near Dhoby Ghaut MRT. That is about two MRT stations away from Orchard MRT (yeah, Singapore is that small). But it ain't true that you can see all of Singapore in one day (20 years ago, maybe). There are lots of nice places to see and visit. I'll post more in the days to come. By the way, I wished that the sign on the picture above was ~~Canon~~ Nikon (Thank you Lala for the correction), oh well.

Both shots were taken at ISO 1600, thus, they're a bit grainy, but sometimes grain is good.

Birds

2008-08-25T13:25:00.006+08:00

The Singapore Botanic Garden is really huge. Actually I haven't had the chance to see the whole place really. These are some of the creatures I shot at the garden. Another reason why telephoto lens are fun to use especially in wildlife photography. Good thing I didn't scare this one away. The one on the below was running away when it felt the presence of people around him. Thus, it was blurred because I had to chase it. The swan (white border, below) was so far away but I was glad to shoot it with the sparkling water effect. Anyway, I know I can do better. I will improve on my wildlife photography in the days to come. Cheerio!

Have FUN with Photofunia

2008-08-21T14:10:00.006+08:00

This is a photo I took at our little photo shoot with my best friend at the botanic garden. Now, I discovered something new while surfing the net. It is a website called Photofunia. It uses face detection technology (according to the site) and recognizes the features of the face from your photo and merges it into another photo, creating a stunning new photograph. Face detection is currently used in newer generations of point-and-shoot cameras nowadays. I'm not sure if it is available in DSLRs as well. The above picture is the original shot taken by me and the one below is the photo merge at Photofunia. Just sharing my new discovery. Have fun!

Water Lily and a Man-made Stream

2008-08-19T21:35:00.006+08:00

Water Lily (Nympheae sp.) Still taken at Singapore Botanic Gardens, with a little tweaking to make it look more artistic. Lovely place, good for nature shots. Some fast facts about water lily. It is a water plant with leaves that float on the surface. It is the national flower of Bangladesh. It is the birth flower of July. In Singapore, these are commonly cultivated in parks. It is a water plant with leaves that float on the surface.

Since I haven't been regularly, I've decided to add this photo also. It's a man-made stream found at the botanic garden. Took this at ISO-100, 1s exposure, f/22, 95mm. It was hard doing it without a tripod. I had to put my camera on top of a bench, but to no avail, it is still quite blurred though.

Swan Lake

2008-08-14T21:32:00.003+08:00

Swan Lake, Singapore Botanic Gardens. I was strolling around the botanic garden, one fine day, when I saw two happy kids with their mom feeding some swans on the man-made lake. Somehow this photo made my day. After I shot this picture, I said to myself: "Ah, now I can go home." I love the seldom times I use my 70-300mm. It really gives me great photos while shooting at a distance without bothering my subjects, allowing them to perform normally as if nobody is watching them. I usually carry my kits lens around since I'm more of a landscape shooter. But when it comes to these kinds of environment, I find it best to carry a telephoto for nature shots. Enjoi!

Photoshoot Anyone?

2008-07-28T12:14:00.005+08:00

The photo above is a shot I took at the Photography Living Gallery Exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore. This is the kind of studio camera they use to photograph people back in the 19th century (Thank God for compact DSLRs nowadays). The second photo (below) is a picture of the device they use to manually retouch the photos, somewhat like the darkroom processing of films. Talk about manual photoshop. Basically, these were some of the more pertinent equipment that a photographer needs to produce a sound photograph. Anyway, it's just amazing how these things are preserved so that younger generations such as ours will be able to appreciate and see the creations of the past. My visit to that museum was particularly extraordinary. It was very modern, hi-tech, creative and educational at the same time.

* More photos and stories from Singapore soon.

Cig Lighter

2008-07-14T04:51:00.003+08:00

This is my dad's cigarette lighter, although he already quit smoking for years. It's nice to have one of these things around for display or for still life subjects. I was practicing with the flash mode of my camera. I'm trying to utilize the flash effectively without making the picture look "washed-out" or too white because of the built-in flash. One thing I've realized in this exercise is the importance of the use of white balance. In Manual mode shooting, it is best to adjust the WB according to your shooting environment to have the best results, in this case I used the flash white balance option. I still have to work out on the glare seen when shooting shiny, metal surfaces --- the natural way, meaning no photoshop.

Paoay Church

2008-07-06T20:03:00.005+08:00

St. Augustine Church, more commonly known as Paoay Church, was built in 1964 by Augustinian friars led by Fr. Antonio Estavillo. Completed in 1710, the church was built of baked bricks, coral rocks, tree sap and lumber. Local materials used inlcuded mixing sand, lime sugarcane juice. These were boiled with mangeao leaves, leather and rice straw for two nights. Considered as the most outstanding variant of the Earthquake Baroque, this site is now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The belltower of the Paoay Church was once used by Katipuneros in 1896 as an outpost and was used again by Filipino soldiers during the World War II. This was one of the first churches that I have visited in Ilocos. The massive structure of the church was just breath-taking. We only spent a couple of minutes here and took some pictures. It just great that we were able to preserve such structures which is just awesome. Below is a shot of the interior of the church.

Paoay Lake

2008-07-03T21:32:00.008+08:00

Paoay Lake (panoramic view). Well, sort of. I've been bitten by the blogging bug. After a month of only a couple of posts, here I am with my third post for July. I've been bonding with my CS3 lately and I compiled three shots of Paoay Lake to form this one single panoramic shot, which shows a portion of the lake. Malacanang of the North overlooks Paoay Lake, which is said to be shaped like a horse, although, you can't see it from this angle. As I've read, in 1969, Pres. Marcos declared it a national park. Anyway, there has been a lot of fuss about an emerging photoshop artform, which is an HDR (high dynamic range) image, which is a blending of photos shot at different, bracketed exposure values. I have not yet produced a genuine HDR photo, however, I've tried experiementing to create an HDR-like photo by follwing the procedure I've read on Adobe Photoshop User and tweaked it to my own liking. Here is the HDR-like version of the panorama above. Feel free to C&C.

Malacanang of the North

2008-07-03T03:32:00.000+08:00

Malacanang of the North. Last May, I went to Laoag City, Ilocos Norte and stayed there for several days. It was my first time going there and I was extremely excited. We stayed at a budget hotel just a 5- to 10-minute tricycle ride outside Laoag City proper and took a budget Cebu Pacific flight. Though it is cheap, we waited for more than 3 hours just to pay, book, get confirmation and print the ticket for the flight. I would've tried driving from Manila to Laoag if only the gasoline prices weren't soooo high --- now, that would've been a great road adventure. Anyway, this was one of the first famous tourist spots we went to, the White House of the North. Overlooking Paoay Lake, Malacanang of the North is one of the 29 summer residences that former President Marcos built during his term. It's a great feeling visiting such places where once famous and important people have been to. Anyway, I'd be posting more photos of the other places I've visited. 'Til next entry.

Bread and Fish

2008-07-02T04:52:00.001+08:00

"They all ate and they were satisfied..." Mark 6:42.

Five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish. This is my still life attempt on fish, given as a photo assignment last May. It took me more than two days to figure out how to interpret the topic. Finally, I decided it would be interesting if I can tell share the story of Jesus feeding 5000 people with just 2 pieces of fish and 5 loaves of bread in just one picture. I had to find a nice basket to place the bread and fish. The bread is actually spanish bread and the fish are little "galunggong tinapas" I found at the supermarket. I arranged them and after employing the painting with light technique, I shot about 100+ shots to get the perfect one. When we were taught how to shoot still life with nothing but a flashlight, I was fascinated by it. Couldn't wait to try it at home. And once I tried it, I realized it wasn't as easy as it looked. It took a lot of trial and error to get a really good shot. That's why it took me more than a hundred shots. At first, most of my shots were way underexposed. Eventually, I got the hang of it after about a dozen shots. Anyway, when the time came for judges to critique our work, I received some interesting comments on my picture (which was fun by the way). There were some who appreciated it. Some even suggested ways for me to improve it. Some of course didn't like it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but it was all good. Great learning experience, especially from the experts. There's just one comment I would certainly never forget. I remember one judge saying the the fish doesn't go well with bread, it should have been shot with garlic rice on the side (famous Filipino breakfast). I tried containing my laughter, but perfectly understood where he is coming from. We all have different perspectives and interpretations on what we see. He just happened to be an advertising photographer (forgot the name though), thus, he wanted to see a material more inclined to advertising or promoting a product, I guess. Anyway, I'd be definitely doing more still lifes shot this way. It's totally cool, fun and at least something new to me.

Xier

2008-06-29T21:53:00.000+08:00

Xier P. My very cute nephew --- first nephew actually. Isn't he adorable? Born December of last year, Xier is six months old, yet he is still very tiny. He is our miracle baby, born just barely 27 weeks. The odds of surviving was a 50-50% chance. He has a twin, Xavier, but unfortunately he didn't make it. Just survived around 2 weeks I think. He had pneumonia and wasn't strong enough to fight it. They were so little when they were born and they weighed around one kilogram each. Thank God Xier made it and is now a growing healthy baby boy. I took shots of him at my friend's house. Sorry if the pictures are a bit grainy. The room was dimly lit at the time and I had to boost the ISO to 800. I didn't want to use flash because he gets startled easily. It's quite difficult to shoot babies without proper lighting. They move around a lot, thus some blur in my pictures. It's good practice though, keeping yourself as steady as possible. Tweaked it with photoshop to enhance the color and the tone.

Cloud 9

2008-06-07T00:49:00.001+08:00

Cloud 9. It's been a while since my last post. I have been quite busy with stuff lately. I got back from a trip barely 2 weeks ago and I haven't finished arranging my pictures yet. Anyway, I also can't remember the last time I posted nature pictures so here's one. I went through my Batangas photos and I found this shot focusing mostly on clouds. I remember playing with the aperture on this one to get the desired effect on the clouds. I used 18mm, ISO-400, f/22, 1/320s. I used a smaller aperture to be able to get detail from the clouds. I've been trying to shoot with a wider aperture but sometimes all I get is plain white background. This has been my problem especially when shooting during cloudy days. When it's cloudy, my shots tend to have clear white background (bald sky) even if there are distinct clouds in the sky. Still working on it though. Tips and comments are very much appreciated.

Bridal Portrait

2008-05-27T16:11:00.002+08:00

Bridal Portrait (for more photos). This is my first collection of bridal portraits, as a matter of fact my only collection, so far. These photos were taken during our bridal portrait photo session in our advanced class. Everyone was pumped, excited to shoot. The moment we arrived on location, people just started shooting away. I thought it was a lot of fun and challenging, especially getting the proper exposure for each shot. We shot both indoors (studio) and outdoors. Outdoor shots were more tricky. Aside from minding how the model poses, you also need to constantly mind your exposure settings, since the light source is variable. Indoors, lights were controlled, the environment is controlled, thus, you don't have to always vary your settings and you can focs more on the pose of the bride. According to our lecturers, bridal shoots are a lot more harder than they seem. In the actual event, it's a lot faster since you only have minutes to shoot the bride before walkng down the aisle. It is also very tiring and intense at the same time, but financially rewarding, that is if you do it properly.

Mickey

2008-05-25T10:57:00.000+08:00

Mickey. Yet another one of my attempts at shooting a still life - more of like a product shot actually. I shot this in my room with nothing but a flashlight. I think I haven't got it quite right yet. I need more practice - I have failed to properly illuminate Mickey's ears. Anyway, I have to give credit to Mr. Victor Sison, a reknowned paintographer (painter/photographer) here in the Philippines, for teaching us this technique in shooting still life with nothing more than a completely dark room, a tripod and a flashlight as light source. I love this method of shooting. It gives you more freedom to choose the kind of lighting you wish to use and artistically create lighting effects in shooting a subject. It gives you the chance to express yourself in a whole new way.

Night Portrait

2008-05-15T01:51:00.000+08:00

Night Portrait. Last night I was out looking for scenes that I may use for my photo essay assignment for the last day of my advanced photography class. Instead, I ended up shooting night scenes and portraits. This is a portrait of my best friend shot at the Bay Area of SM Mall of Asia, one of the few people, so far who willingly poses for me in any situation, without hesitation (hehe). We were supposed to shoot nearer to the bay but to our disappointment it was raining. After a few shots we left and went to buy some stuff for my still life assignment on fish. I'm still working on that, but as soon as I get a good shot I'll be posting it here.

Aliwan Festival 2008

2008-05-09T13:12:00.001+08:00

Aliwan Festival 2008 (for more photos). The country's largest gathering of different festivals from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Held last May 1-3, starting from the Quirino Grandstand and culminating in front of the Aliw Theater. Sorry for the late post. Anyway after almost 2 weeks of not posting, I'm aching to kick of this month with some of my shots during the festival. This is actually my first time to watch an event as huge as this. More or less 22 different contingents gathered to fight for the 1M pesos grand prize for the best street dance performance and for bragging rights. The mood was very festive. I was there as early as 930AM. Because after reading other blogs, I figured that there would be thousands who will also watch the show, so I thought, in order for me to shoot good pictures I ought to find a good vantage point early. As early as 2PM, me, including several other photographers were already all lined up just below the judges stand. There was some tension though when some of the organizers said that only media personnel and official photographers were allowed in that area. I approached this very nice lady, I think the head organizer, too bad I didn't get her name and asked if we could at least occupy a small area so that we could shoot for their photo contest. She asked me to show her my camera so that she could confirm I was legit and not some spectator just wanting to get a good view. After doing so, she agreed. Otherwise I would've stood there for more than 5 hours, only to find out I won't have a good view of the festival. So at around 3PM we were all settled. Cameras already brought out, anticipating the big event. But to everyone's disappointment, at around 4PM, it started to rain really hard for more than an hour or so. Everybody scrambled for cover. This delayed the festival by 3 to 4 hours. I was hoping to start shooting at around 6PM where at least there is still enough light to get me good action shots. But to my disappointment, the street dance started around 9PM I think. As any problem with a standard telephoto lens - not enough light causes blurring due to low speeds. Which reminds me, I really need to save up to either get a better lens or a Speedlight. Anyway, through patience and sheer luck maybe, thankfully I have managed to produce shots without motion blurring. Another added problem was when after the rain, the area that was supposed to be occupied by photographers were already occupied by all sorts of people. And as you can imagine, there was a lot of pushing around which made it even more difficult to shoot at night. I took about more than 250 shots and saved about only half of them. Anyway, it was one heck of an experience. Good experience. Next year I know better. Not unless I have a better set of lens. I won't wait for them to reach the end of the parade. I'd go to the starting point and shoot away.

Silhouette

2008-04-28T01:47:00.004+08:00

What's life without a li'l drama? Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but rest assured I haven't gone cold on my photography. Took this picture last weekend on our little trip to Lian, Batangas. I asked my best friend to pose for me, facing the sun, so that I could make her a great silhouette and, thus the result. As I have said before, I love shooting sunrises and sunsets. Some people even call it the magic hours of the day. The color and mood is really great. This was taken a few minutes after sunrise. I woke up pretty early waiting for the sunrise. I had several shot, but alas, my friends are all still asleep, so I had no subject whom I can ask to pose. I had to improvise, nonetheless I got the shot I wanted. I'll be blog hoppin' and posting more of my shots during the trip in the following days. Thanks to all who dropped by and left their comments. :D

Black and White

2008-04-21T20:46:00.000+08:00

Black and White. Ahh, it's been a week since my last post, so I felt like posting two pictures today. Yesterday, we had the privilege of joining the company of Mr. Ed Santiago, a reknowned black and white photographer and photojournalist. He shared with us his collection of photos which are of course mostly black and white. He also shared his experiences in photojournalism and his insights in creating a photoessay. He didn't really teach us the technical side of photography but rather his 50+ years of experience in the profession. By the way, he is one of the more rare photographers nowadays, who prefer film over digital cameras. Moreover, he values the B&W prints more since according to him, it can be preserved in its original state much longer. I was inspired by his stories and I have to admit, after seeing his portfolio, I had a deeper appreciation for black and white photographs. So, I tried practicing on shooting B&Ws.

The first photo was taken at a Starbucks store. We bought some coffee and hanged out for a while. I remeber the first time a Starbucks coffee shop opened near my school in Makati. People rushed in the store buying coffee like crazy. Maybe it was for the love of coffee - frappuccino, latte, espresso - you name it. Maybe it was for the whole new coffee experience - students drinking expensive coffee while reading the newpaper comfortably sitting on the couch, chatting, or maybe it's just the rush of everybody wanting to try a newly opened store. As time passed by, as expected, the number of people dwindled. Sure there were still customers, but not as much as it first opened. Then came the rise of San Francisco coffee, Seattle's Best, not as strong as Starbucks though, but competition emerged - the nature of things. I don't know with the others, but compared to the other coffee shops, I still would love the Starbucks experience. I am not an endorser of Starbucks coffee. In fact I hate their iced tea and iced fruit juices, but I have to admit, I love their iced mocha frappuccino. That's my favorite.

Coffee and cars. This second photo was taken inside the car parked near a gas station. I was waiting for my friend, who was buying something. I got bored and took out my camera and began shooting. It was almost night time when I took this picture, so I had to use flash to illuminate the interior of the car.

Gawad Kalinga Fun Run 2008

2008-04-14T22:38:00.001+08:00

GK Fun Run '08. Yesterday, I woke up early to witness a small yet unforgettable event, 2008 Gawad Kalinga run for a cause. My very good friend, Faye was of course ever present in the 5K marathon together with her mom, Tita Anna. I arrived there around 6:10 AM, just in time to see the runners take off from the starting position (left). The event took place at SM Mall of Asia near the SMX Convention Center. There were all kinds of people who joined, I saw kids, old people, foreigners, airforce personnel, etc. I got a chance to photograph the largest group who joined, a contingent from the Philippine Airforce (right).

But of course, I went there to give support to my friend and her mom. Faye's dad, Tito Jun and I were waiting for them at the finish line. We counted and counted and almost lost hope after about fifty or more runners already crossed the finish line. But to our amazement, surprise, shock and joy, Faye won second place in the 5K women's division. Tita Anna finished 11th (so close), because they were giving gift packs to people who finished up to the 10th place. Anyway, we had a great time, considering this is the first major race that Faye won. Congratz my friend! 'Til the next one!

As a side note, there's one thing I've learned from this. It is quite difficult to shoot sporting events. You have to be at the right place at the right time and since everybody's moving around, you have to have anticipation on what might possibly happen, so that you can be there to shoot it when something extraordinary does happen. Also, I find that using a telephoto lens is more reliable than a standard kit lens (personal preference). Having a telephoto gives you more time to anticipate movement and capture specific events even at some distance. It also gives a great depth of field especially for candid portrait shots.

(Left to right) Faye at the starting line (she wasn't aware that I took her picture, whew! At least I got there just in time.). Tita Anna jogging to the finish line. Faye showing off her 2nd place win. Awarding of the winners for 5km. race. [Some photos have been edited - cropped, etc].

Faye receiving the award (left). Bautista family after the race (right).

Still Life

2008-04-08T09:57:00.000+08:00

Still Life. This is my first real attempt in shooting a still life photograph. Still life photography is the art of putting inanimate objects together in an artificial setting or purposefully arranging related objects together, or at least that is how I understood it. I admit, this one was difficult. Lighting was important to create a good effect and I had a really hard time. I wish I had a studio (wishful thinking). It took me more than an hour to shoot this one (Whew!). I shot this in a very dark room and used only one light source. I tried backlighting it to minimize the glare, but apparently was quite unsuccessful. I think I shall practice shooting some more.

Flips

2008-04-03T12:02:00.000+08:00

Flips. Last Monday, we went to 9 Waves at Rizal, a cheaper counterpart of the 8 Waves resort in Bulacan, I think. It was my friend's company outing and I decided to tag along. I didn't swim. I went there to actually shoot some photos, beautiful scenes probably. But it turned out that the place was inside a subdivision, so there were no beautiful landscapes and such, so I decided to take portraits of people instead and luckily also because I needed them for my photo assignment. I got a couple of good ones including this. I found some teenagers doing somersaults and flips. It was kind of difficult to shoot them using telephoto lens. I had to stay very still to avoid motion blur and I had to capture my subjects at the right time. Since most of them didn't really know that I was taking their picture, so I had to time it perfectly otherwise I would've missed the action. Also, I shot this using aperture priority(A) mode. I set it to f/5.6 and let the light meter decide the proper shutter speed. That way, I could shoot faster without having to adjust the shutter all the time.

Contrast

2008-03-28T09:51:00.003+08:00

Contrast. This is a photo I took at Fort Santiago, Intramuros. Our photo assignment was to for our photos to manifest the proper way of arranging the composition in our photo, such as following the rule of thirds, etc. I don't know if this photo will pass for a good composition, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow when we show our photos to our teachers. Anyway, what caught my eye actually is the contrast that the plant makes with the red door and red bricks.

Frozen in Time

2008-03-24T22:12:00.000+08:00

Frozen in Time. Ahh! I'm back at last. I get to post again, after a week. Turns out the battery for my laptop is not available, thus, I decided not to buy first. So, I'm using another computer. I won't be able to post daily, but at least maybe I'll try every other day. Anyway, this is a fountain in Fort Santiago. One of the photo assignments given to us was to shoot a picture with a very fast shutter speed. This fountain, of course, was one of the more famous objects photographed by people which represents a fast shutter. This is my version. Took this by: 50mm, f/5.6, 1/200s. This was quite challenging actually. It was almost 5:30pm and it was cloudy, hence there wasn't enough light. I wanted to shoot it at 1/800s to put emphasis on the droplets but it was too underexposed. I didn't want to use flash, so I had to settle with 1/200s. By the way, I entitled this "frozen in time" since the droplets of water were like "frozen" in the air. Our lecturers said that when you talk about shutter speed, you always talk about two words, freeze (fast) or blur (slow).

Leaf

2008-03-18T13:02:00.003+08:00

Leaf. Last Saturday, I went to my first day of Basic Photography Seminar-Workshop conducted by the Federation of Philippine Photographers' Foundation held at Fort Santiago at Intramuros, Manila. The introduction was held by Mr. Lito Beltran and the lectures were facilitated by a reknowned photographer Mr. Ador Pamintuan. This is one of my shots when they asked as for a field work. They asked as to shoot photos showing the use of shutter and aperture. Instead of shooting the usual scenes in Fort Santiago, I tried shooting at the less noticeable objects there. I had a lot of fun, especially for the field part. Wow, my first actual seminar. Shot this by: 50mm, f/5.6, 1/125s, ISO-500. I feel its a little bit underexposed though, I could've slowed the shutter more. Anyway, although, it's a holiday, I'm looking forward to this Saturday's class. Can't wait what else they're gonna teach me.

Flowers in the Sky

2008-03-14T00:51:00.000+08:00

Flowers in the Sky. I'm back to photoblogging, for today at least. My computer's having some trouble. It's been automatically shutting down after prolonged used, especially when I'm connected to the internet. Then, after I turn it on, I will find out that there is only 3% battery power remaining and even if I use the AC adaptor, it doesn't increase. Hmm, I think it's time to buy a new battery since it's almost 3 years old. Anyway, since I wasn't able to post for the last 5 days, I'll make it up today with 2 shots of fireworks. Both photos were shot on the same day. I took these shots at the pyromusical display at the Bay Area of SM Mall of Asia. They have this during Friday's and Saturday's at 7pm. Good oppurtunity to practice shooting fireworks and for free too.

I was taking pictures using the continuous shooting mode of my D80, handheld. Forgot to bring a tripod. My, was I having so much fun, especially with the fact that wheI was viewing my photos, I realized that they are not "wormy" anymore as compared to when shot with a point-and-shoot camera. I particularly love the light trails on this one they looked like threads. Anyway, that's it for now. I'll go have my computer check to see if I need new batteries, or this could be a virus screwing with my batteries (I hope not). Enjoi! Til next entry!

Pinay In Action

2008-03-09T11:43:00.004+08:00

Pinay In Action. I haven't posted in a while. My computer's having some trouble. I just took this picture a while ago at the start of the 5 km. "fun run" in an event entitled "Pinay in Action". This event was headed by Sen. Pia Cayetano in celebration of the Women's Month at NBC Tent, Bonifacio Global City. My very good friend Faye and her mom joined the event. They didn't win first place but hey, it's running for a cause. So, it's all good. For more pictures, check this out! Anyway, some of my pictures are not that good, since it's my first time shooting an outdoor sporting event. I also went to try my telephoto lens. I'd say it worked well for me, but I need to have more practice. Enjoy!

P.S. Added one more pic. I edited this one. But I used the continuous shooting mode, thus I was able to capture this sequence of shots.

Cables

2008-03-05T16:23:00.002+08:00

I found some CAT-5 cables lying around the house and decided to photograph them. I laid them behind a blue board and just threw them there, forming into whatever shape it can form. I liked how this shot turned out. There's a sense of abstraction in it. I think photography is a very good medium for people who can't draw very well to express their visions of art; and, I am one of them.

Trees

2008-03-04T22:47:00.001+08:00

Trees (under Baguio's blue skies). Shot this at Baguio Botanical Garden. I love the shadows, the light and most of all the color of the sky. Very relaxing scene actually. I wish I could go back there soon. I wasn't able to go to their Panagbenga Festival. Figured there were probably too many people. Maybe next year. Anyway, just a little story of our experience at the garden. We went there on our last day in Baguio, just a few hours before leaving. Outside the garden, there was a sign saying Baguio Botanical Gardens. Naturally, we wanted our picture taken with the sign, for remembrance. But to our surprise, some old Ifugao natives quickly ran to where we wanted to take our picture. They said they will be charging us 10 pesos for every native who stood there with our picture. There were probably 8 or 9 of them. They just wouldn't go away. We tried moving but they kept on following us. I was like, hey, I just want my picture taken with the sign and nobody else. Besides, why would I pay 80 or 90 pesos taking my own picture and with my own camera? But, alas, we wanted to have a shot so bad that we were just forced to take one shot with two of the natives and paid them 10 pesos each. That's just wicked. One of the weirdest experiences in Baguio.

Comb

2008-03-03T12:32:00.000+08:00

Comb. I was looking for objects around the house to photograph, for practice and I found my friend's comb. This was taken using ISO 1000, f/5.6, 1/13s and 50mm. It turned out more blue than I would like, probably because the background I used was blue. There wasn't much light in the room and my curtains are blue; thus, the result.

March Madness

2008-03-02T11:29:00.001+08:00

March Madness. Summer is approaching, well at least here in the Philippines. A time for me and my family to go the beach, sun bathe, relax and just have a vacation away from the city and stress. I chose this picture, because, flowers blooming is usually a symbol for spring, but since we don't have spring, we usually associate it with summer instead. Anyway, by this time, it's supposed to be hot and sunny here; but, the funny thing is the whole month of February has been rainy up until now. The weather is even colder than usual. It's just the most unusual thing. It never rains in February and March, except for this year; well, at least as far as I can remember. Meteorologists explain that there is a La Nina phenomenon affecting the country; bringing more rain and flash floods expecially in the provinces. I say it's climate change. Global warming is showing its effects and bringing unusual weather conditions. I wouldn't say I'm not happy with a cold weather. I love cool places. I would pick La Nina over El Nino anyday. But who would want to be going to the beach when it's raining, right?

Once Every 4 Years

2008-02-29T23:29:00.000+08:00

Leap Year. It's not every year we have a February 29. Since, this is my first leap year in photoblogging, this is my photo tribute to Feb 29. By the way, ever wonder how children born on this day celebrate their birthday? It's an age long question. And if you're wondering why the playing cards? Actually, I was looking for something unique or a unique representation of the number 29 and I couldn't find anything to photograph, thus, I ended up with playing cards. Enjoy!

Cubiertos

2008-02-28T11:19:00.000+08:00

Cubiertos. Silverware in English. This is the aftermath of my boneless chicken barbeque with java rice dinner at a famed native Filipino restaurant, Aristocrat. They are known for this specialty, which goes well with their homemade Java sauce.I remember when I was young my family would always eat at the original branch during weekends located along Roxas Blvd., Manila after a nice little jog or badminton game near the Cultural Center of the Philippines. We would always order the same thing and even followed it up with a famous Filipino dessert, halo-halo with a scoop of Ube ice cream on top. Their halo-halo is equally tasty. Next time I'll take a photo of it.

Palms

2008-02-26T13:10:00.002+08:00

Palms. I haven't got out much with my D80. So, I'm posting my other pictures taken earlier by my G6. Anyway, this is a "tree" line at the back of SM Mall of Asia. We were waiting for the pyro-musical display that happens every weekend night, so I got the oppurtunity to shoot some photos. The funny thing is, I forgot to charge my batteries. By the time, the fireworks display was on, my batteries were already running low and I couldn't get a decent shot. Tough luck.

Water Tank

2008-02-25T11:28:00.002+08:00

Water Tank. I finally got my first (D)SLR camera at last. I bought a second hand Nikon D80 with 70-300mm telephoto lens and I went into a shooting frenzy. I am planning to buy a standard and wide angle lens for this. I scouted for prices, and, my, they are not cheap. I've got to save for it first. But for now, I love my telephoto, and I guess my Canon G6 will suffice for landscapes, for now. I haven't got the hang of using the D80 yet, but I'm practicing. This is the very first nature shot that I took. Tell me what you think?

Wedding Giveaway

2008-02-22T12:42:00.001+08:00

"Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate."
--- Mark 10:9

This is the common verse that priests and pastors say during wedding ceremonies. Weddings are supposed to be a once in a lifetime, magical experience of finally being with the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. No, I'm not thinking about getting married in the near future. But, what prompted me to take a picture of this just now, is the story that I read while browsing some headlines. Amidst the controversies of corruption in the Philippine government and word wars between politicians and diverse individuals alike, a sad story emerged out of nowhere. Check this out! It's a story of a runaway groom from Cebu. If what the bride-to-be claims is true, then this is a sad, sad ending for her.

By the way, the photo above is a wedding giveaway of the best couple I know, who had almost 18 years of a happy and wonderful marriage. A stark contrast to the story above.

"Chasing" Cable Cars

2008-02-21T09:12:00.007+08:00

Cable Cars. This is a shot I took during my cable car ride at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. I was going down to the lower portion of the park and the fastest way to get there is riding this cable car. I read that there is an ocean park built here in Manila near Quirino Grandstand if I'm not mistaken and is yet to open or has recently opened (I'm not really sure). Apparently they also have dolphin shows I think, but I haven't had the chance to visit it yet.

Colorful Bird

2008-02-20T06:54:00.007+08:00

Colorful Bird. This is a photo of a colorful bird in captivity at the Animal Farm at Island Cove Resort in Cavite. I think the bird is a certain type of parrot. I wasn't able to get the exact name. Anyway, I remembered the bird wasn't too lively, unlike other talkative parrots. It only moved when I tried to move closer for a better shot; otherwise it just stood there. Well, at least I got to take a clear picture of it. Ain't it beautiful? However, at first, I had an impression that the bird was a bit 'dusty'.

Dyorge

2008-02-18T09:36:00.005+08:00

Kenneth Jorge. Last friday, a very good friend of ours joined the first ever Slimmer's World Mr. and Ms. Bootylicious '08 modelling contest at Adriatico, Manila. Faye, Mika, Cel and I were there to witness the event and of course to give our support (GO Ken!) Too bad he didn't win, but hey, it's good experience. Took this with an N95. There is a colored version, but I think this one's a better portrait. The colored one was a bit noisy, since everything was happening so fast and I had to click fast not giving the camera enough time to focus.

Signs

2008-02-17T14:44:00.002+08:00

Signs. Was sifting through some old photos again, reminiscing my trip to Baguio last year, and i was able to dig this. This is a sign post of the Baguio Arts Guild inside Baguio Botanical Garden, where you can get a portrait of yourself drawn in a matter of I think 30 minutes tops. You can purchase local paintings, henna tattoos and other artwork. At the time I wasn't planning on putting up a photoblog yet, but was glad I took the picture anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T23:34:00.003+08:00

I know it's probably a little late for this, but heck, better late than never. Right? I just want to greet all of you a happy valentine's day. I hope you guys had a wonderful time. I should've posted this earlier, but my computer got screwy so I had to re-format it and also I think something was wrong with blogger a while ago. Because it took me a while to re-arrange the layout of my blog. Anyway, I was planning to have a shot of a rose, heart or chocolates (traditional) to symbolize st. valentine's day, but alas, I couldn't find any. Fortunately, while I was re-installing some programs into my computer I saw this. It's the outer cover of my CD case, and I said to myself: "Perfect!" I grabbed my camera and... *click* Voila!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

Pool Slide

2008-02-12T22:00:00.000+08:00

Pool slide. Following up on my previous post, this is a photo of the pool slide at the resort I stayed in last weekend. I am refraining myself from mentioning the place since it might be conceived as an advertisement. I took this picture after having breakfast before actually diving into the pool.

Anyway, I discovered something interesting during my stay here. I mean I've visited this place about more than 5 or 6 times already, I think and it was only last weekend that I found out who the owner or one of the owners of the resort is. All the while I assumed this resort was owned by a rich private businessman but was actually surprised to find out that a very prominent and public figure (politician actually) owned this place. The circumstance in which I was able to find out who owned it was actually quite funny.

My friend and I were having dinner at the hotel cafe the night before, and there was a huge flat screen television at the cafe. It was tuned in to a particular news channel, which I found very boring since it was playing a replay of a prior show. Seeing that no one else other than me and my friend was dining at the cafe, I asked the waiter if we could change the channel. I mean in all the resorts and hotels that I've been too, so far, even restaurants, customers were allowed to change the channel as they please. But to my surprise, the waiter said that it was not possible, since it's the owner's instruction that it be tuned in only to this particular channel. Seeing the puzzled look in my face, he added that the owner was a former employee of that particular channel and instructed them that the channel shouldn't be changed. Then when he told me who the owner was, I was like: "Really?! I mean he just walked pass by us a couple of minutes ago!" So, then I understood why the channel couldn't be changed, but then again, I thought this was quite absurd. Even if you worked for that particular station you can't force your guests to watch only that specific channel. I think that they should accommodate and accede to the comfort of their guests, after all customers are always right. Right? But then, I didn't object, after all it was his resort and maybe he was just being loyal. So I guess he can do whatever he wished with his tv (haha!).

Spot Light

2008-02-11T13:36:00.000+08:00

Spot light. This photo was taken 2 nights ago at Island Cove at Kawit, Cavite. I stayed there for two days to celebrate the Chinese new year, relax and clear my head. Moreover, it is a perfect oppurtunity to take pictures. Anyway, there was this huge spot light that reminded me of the "bat signal". It also looked like a Star Wars light saber. There was actually a valentine concert by David Pomeranz that night, reason for the festive, party mood probably.

Chinese Lanterns

2008-02-06T19:33:00.000+08:00

Kung Hei Fat Choi! This is my chinese new year entry as we welcome the Year of the Earth Rat tomorrow. I remember the good ol' days when I used to stay at my mom's office in Chinatown, Manila. Every chinese new year they hang two red chinese envelopes with money (ang pao) and a piece of cabbage on their office ceiling and they would wait for the longest dragon dance group that would pass by and invite them in to dance for luck and take the ang pao. I remember the loud tune and sound of drums as the dragon would dance and act as if they are ready to prance on anyone. When I was 3 years old, I remember being frightened at those dragons because they seem very intimidating, but now I kind of miss seeing a dragon dance performance. It's been almost 5 or 6 years since I've seen one originating from Chinatown. The mood is just festive and their are fireworks, like January 1st all over again.

Faye

2008-02-05T17:30:00.000+08:00

Faye. An exercise and gym maniac, a hi-lo expert, a Landbank building co-searcher, a thesis partner, a laughtrip buddy, a food trip consultant, a cam-whoring partner and most of all a best friend. A tribute to my good friend Faye Bautista. It's your day today, happy birthday!

Remember this shot? You used to hate this (you know why). But now I think you'll love it. (Wink*_*) Took this shot at UPLB, Laguna during our undergraduate thesis.

Bottlebrush (Red Inflorescence)

2008-02-04T20:06:00.000+08:00

A macro image of a red inflorescence that I happen to notice while strolling at Camp John Hay, Baguio. I'm guessing its a spike or a catkin type of inflorescence. An inflorescence is a group of flowers arranged on a stem composed of a main branch. Technically its part of the stem where the flowers grow, simply think of it as modified form of a flower.

UPDATE! Thanks to a very smart friend of mine (jraymags), he was able to identify the flower. It's called a bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.), which prompted me to also update the entry title.

Sunset Lovers

2008-02-01T08:14:00.000+08:00

I am very fond of taking sunsets. This is another shot of the Manila Bay sunset including a couple enjoying the scene. This time of the day really has great light, producing striking images. This is similar to my previous shot only this has a different theme.

Jungle Trail

2008-01-31T08:06:00.000+08:00

This is a photo I took way back last May 2007, again at the beautiful island of Palawan. We took a hike at a forest in an island before going to Sabang River. It's a little off-beat since it was at an awkward angle. I guess I was trying to make it more abstract with emphasis on the winding trail. Don't know if I accomplished it fully though, but I guess it turned out well.

Lamps in Black and White

2008-01-30T08:48:00.000+08:00

Hanging lamps (below) in black and white. I was thinking about it and decided to post the black and white version as well. I found the shapes interesting, so I leave it up to you to decide whether the colored or the black and white photo is much better.

Lamps

2008-01-29T17:37:00.000+08:00

Hanging lamps. The lighted lamps are only reflections as seen on the glass separating the lighted lamps from the closed, unlighted ones. I was having dinner at an all-American Restaurant (Burgoo) when I noticed this. I thought it was cool. Glad to have my camera with me at that time. I actually brought along my camera with me to look for good stills to capture and bingo! There it was and then called it a night. I also took a black and white photo of this exact scene.

Car Wheel

2008-01-28T10:02:00.000+08:00

Took this picture at Los Banos, Laguna while waiting for my thesis partner. I was quite bored so I decided to take out my camera and took a shot. This wheel is about three years old, when finally two months ago it gave out and I had the flat tire. Turns out that there a was 5-inch nail bore into it. It was the second time I change a flat tire on my own (wow, achievement). Had to buy a new tire though. The wheel was "unsaveable".

Jar of Oil

2008-01-25T14:11:00.000+08:00

It's been three days since my last post and it feels like ages. Anyway, this is a shot that I took I think last week at a New Orleans restaurant at the SM Mall of Asia, named Gumbo. They have good food there, pasta, pizza and lots of seafood. Ambiance was also great. This is an attempt to shoot a semi-macro photo of the jar.

Afternoon by the River

2008-01-22T08:32:00.000+08:00

A shot I took while I was relaxing at a hut (like the one in the picture) along Balsahan River in Palawan. We were supposed to study the organisms that can be found in the river as part of our field work for my field biology subject, but I couldn't resist the urge to just stop, sit back, relax, enjoying the view and just commune with nature.

Sky Fair

2008-01-20T13:08:00.000+08:00

Was sifting through some of my old photos and I found this. I realized that I have several photos from last year that are worth sharing. So, here's one of them. This is the Sky Fair hot air balloon ride at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. Just loved the colors of the balloon matching the almost clear blue skies.

Picnic Table

2008-01-18T00:01:00.000+08:00

Picnic table. Took this picture at the picnic area of Camp John Hay in Baguio. The park was beautiful, almost like a remnant of what Baguio was --- a little America (that's what most people used to call Baguio). That's what they used to call it since the city center is more of like a little Quiapo or little Recto these days. I am not saying Baguio is ugly over-all, but from what I've heard from the people who went there in the 90s, Baguio was really something back then, clean, unpolluted and less crowded. But hey, I didn't mind, 'coz I loved the weather.

Fork in the Road

2008-01-16T23:26:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken outside Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan. We were actually on a jeepney ride going back to the city when I took this shot. To the right is the way going into the penal colony and to the left, well I can only surmise (I have no idea). I remember I took at least 6 shots to get this right. It was quite difficult taking this, since the road was so bumpy and I couldn't stabilize myself inside the jeepney, but at least I manage to take a good one out of it.

Sea Lions

2008-01-15T10:24:00.000+08:00

The sea lions of Ocean Park, in Hong Kong. Took this shot at the viewing area of the Pacific Pier aquarium inside Ocean Park. The sea lions are so huge and quite playful too. They're fun to watch. I'd love to go back there soon.

Catherine

2008-01-14T23:00:00.001+08:00

This is a photo of my best friend's cousin enjoying the sea and the sunset. Actually took this picture the same day I took the picture of the Manila Bay sunset.

Sometimes its refreshing to just stare and look out at the horizon, thinking of nothing else. Your mind blank, oblivious to the sound of the world, hearing nothing but the waves crashing onto the rocks. It's relaxing to be one with nature --- as soothing as taking a simple, yet breath-taking photograph.

Street Photography: Junk for Cash

2008-01-13T14:47:00.000+08:00

Man, it's been ages since I last posted. I had a problem with by internet connection. Apparently, my wireless antenna allegedly had a virus infection, so, I wasn't able to connect to the net for 5 days now. Anyway, had my antenna replaced (hope they don't charge me for that), so now here I am photoblogging again.

I was driving around Manila when I came across this huge tricycle "pedicab" (almost 1/3 the length of my car) filled with recyclable, "re-sellable", materials. Took this again with my N95. This time I tried taking a black and white photo. I think this is my first attempt in street photography. It's quite exciting. You just never know what kind of emotions, scenes you can capture on the street.

Glass of Cold Water

2008-01-08T08:42:00.000+08:00

Nothing is more refereshing than a glass of icy, cold water. I love cold drinks. Anyway, took this photo with a Nokia N95. It's almost as good as a digital camera shot, although, to get the desired light, color and texture you really have to adjust the setting manually and cannot rely on the auto-focus function of its camera. I edited this photo a bit though, just to correct the sharpness of the picture. Softened it a bit.

Tiger Encounter

2008-01-06T12:47:00.000+08:00

No, I did not just take this photo right in front of that tiger, without any protective gear that would prevent that tiger to just rip my head off. This photo was taken at the Zoobic Safari Tiger Encounter @ Subic, wherein you ride a jeepney surrounded with metal grills and you will drive thru a trail where tigers are free to roam around. Tigers are adorable, but definitely not something you would want to keep as a pet at home.

Old, Worn-Out Shoes

2008-01-05T15:06:00.000+08:00

This is a photo of my friend's old pair of shoes. It's a little bit worn out though. I experimented in using the flash. Took this with 1/1000s, f-2.5, e-2, with flash.

Sea Port

2008-01-04T17:54:00.000+08:00

This shot was taken at a sea port in Palawan before we went to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Sabang Underground River). If I can remember it right, this was taken at around 11am last May 2007. Palawan is really a Philippine paradise, even a simple shore can be so beautiful.

Juicy Ham

2008-01-02T19:25:00.000+08:00

I love food. I am still experimenting on how to take good pictures of it though. This is a "pinapple" holiday ham. We ate this during our media noche (New Year's Eve meal) celebration. Yummy, so juicy..

Coron Sunrise

2008-01-01T01:39:00.000+08:00

I took this picture when our ship made a stopover at the Port of Coron in Palawan. Since, its the start of a brand new year, I thought I'd post a picture of a sunrise. A sunrise may symbolize hope of a brand new day or a start of a new beginning maybe. A Happy New Year to All!!!

Fountains

2007-12-31T14:11:00.000+08:00

I love taking night shots. I love how the colors dance behind a black, dark background. Although, it's pretty hard to capture good images without a tripod. This is part of a fountain found at San Miguel By The Bay, behind the SM Mall of Asia.

Fireworks

2007-12-30T15:24:00.000+08:00

One thing I've learned when taking photos of fireworks display is that you really need a tripod to stabilize your photos. Otherwise your photos will look "wormy", lots of different worm-like colorful lines. I took this picture at the World Pyrolympics last Jan. 2007. I didn't use a tripod so, this is one of the shots that manage to get through without much wormy lines. I figured its almost New Year so, I posted this.

Snake Island

2007-12-30T00:27:00.000+08:00

Palawan indeed is such a remarkable island filled with so much potential. This is an image of Snake Island (an island shaped like a snake, with a long stretch of fine white sand) at Honda Bay, Palawan.

Balsahan River, Palawan

2007-12-29T01:38:00.000+08:00

I was sifting through some old photos that I took this year and I found this. This is a photograph was taken last May 2007. This is a photo of the upstream portion of the Balsahan River inside the Iwahig Penal Farm in Palawan.

A December Sunset

2007-12-28T23:53:00.000+08:00

I took this picture a while ago at around 5:20pm. Watched the sunset at an area along Manila Bay. The Manila sunset never seizes to amaze me, so I took a shot at it.

Mines View Park, Baguio City

2007-12-28T11:29:00.000+08:00

This is a picture I took from Mines View Park at Baguio City, Philippines. It was my first time there and I loved the weather and the scenery.

Purple Flower

2007-12-27T21:43:00.000+08:00

I was in Baguio City, Philippines last November and I took a picture of this flower at the Baguio Botanical Garden.