Sunday travel

last weekend, i went to Quezon to visit my family. to make use of the five hours of bus ride, i took some pictures of the scenery while the bus is running, so sorry for some blurry shots. there should have been more, but just like the first picture, i slept the rest of the way. :D

Running late

i.must.not.be.late.

but i was, one minute to be exact! blame the picture of a leaf-less tree i took while running. i just can't help it, taking the picture, that is, and not being late. of course, i stopped when i took that picture.

2-2!

and it happened!

the Ginebra-Talk n'Text semi-final series is now tied at 2-2, same with the San Miguel-Red Bull pairings. are we now looking for a down-the-wire finish? your guess is as good as mine: yes. the semis has now turned to be unpredictable. the San Miguel-red bull game last night was decided by a triple by Penissi in the dying seconds of the game that might go either way.

again, since they're the first game, i wasn't able to watch the game of the gin kings. shame on the bus driver that doesn't want to change the channel. hehehe. i am bitter. LOL.

the same question still floats in the air: is ginebra missing the services of eric menk? the answer is yes and no. in the two of the last three games, yes (because they lost, they cannot run AND no one can consistently post or grab that rebound) but in their two wins, no (because they run, the baskets are coming in and rudy hatfield is smashing the boards!).

while ginebra maybe missing the services of menk, the phonepals hava ren ren ritualo and mac cardona on the floor but ironically, their presence were not felt. i think that's what the kings should do, silenced and distract ritualo and cardona so they won't find their range, and put someone to stop asi taulava from posting.

and rebound.

and run.

and let the crowds join the war.

game 5 is on friday...

GINEBRA! GINEBRA! GINEBRA!

Laughing Yoga

i chance upon this clip and this one's will give you a good laugh! i don't know how long it has been on youtube but at least i was entertained today. warning: it will be quite annoying if you'll view/listen to it three times in a row.

Photoblogging

being a newbie in the blog world, it is only now that i understand photoblogging and actually joined the photoblog community. from now on, i'll see to it that i'll take and post photographs of life in the philippines, from foods to commuting to malling to electronic cellphone loading or just about anything filipino from the point of view of an ordinary filipino doing what an ordinary filipino do.

i am not really a photographer but i am trying to be one.
i am really not that good but i am learning how to be.

i am curious.

and that's all that matters now.

just shoot.

and now its 1-2, what happened?

oh. i missed the game last night and i have no idea who won until this morning when i went to the pba page.

my energy this morning was higher than the usual and it hit the floor upon learning that the phonepals make it two in a row against the kings. what went wrong? the phonepals played their game the way they want it, they prevented the kings from running and when that happens, you take the life out of the barangay!

no, no, no way (and i'm telling you?? lol) that they'll make it three against the kings, this wednesday's THE game, the turnaround and it will be back to square one, 2-2.

GINEBRA! GINEBRA! GINEBRA!

Ginebra takes the semis game 1

yes!

and who says an almost a month of rest will make them rusty? although Mark Caguioa was last night's best player, i think Johnny Abarrientos, the veteran, provided the much needed energy when the Kings started the run early in the second quarter up to that commanding 29 points lead in the 4th quarter.

later in the 4th quarter, renren ritualo back-to-back-to-back baskets give some scare (they manage to close the gap to only 10) but thanks to caguioa and the baskets made by Raffy Reavis and Jayjay Helterbrand, they doused some cold water on the phonepals before they fire up and overturn the game.

i hope caguioa is doing alright, he had a sprain with one minute to go in the game. i hope its nothing serious, Ginebra cannot afford to lose another key player in caguioa after losing Eric Menk, who'll sit down for the rest of the tournament due to calf injury.

game 2 on friday. GI-NEB-RA! GI-NEB-RA! GI-NEB-RA!

My dog

well, it's the closest thing of having a real dog.

being the dog person that i am, i always wanted a dog in my house. eversince i was a child, there's a dog in our house, i practically grow up with dogs and i love being with dogs. the fondest memory of my child-dog days was when i have this yellowish-brown askal whom i called Tiger, he was very smart and he learned some dog-tricks very fast (you know, the catch/fetch thing, sitting, roll-over, hand-shake, the puppy-begging eyes oh how he mastered that!, and a lot more), he always wait for me and when i came home from school, he's very excited to see me and always wanted to play.

we also had a dog who loves sitting on our window, we had a dog who'll pull your pants down if you don't play with him, we also had the jealous type who'll get angry if you'll hug the other dog, there's also the shy type, a naughty one and a lot more other whose personalities are, just like us, different from each other. we also have our share of our dog getting lost and then finding his way back home, and right now, sad to say, all of our dogs are already in dog-heaven (they're all buried in our backyard in Quezon) and what we have right now (in the province) are cats (i am not a fan, they're snobbish), they can't get a puppy right now because he might be killed by my nephews (cats on the other hand, run faster so they're "safe").

oh my nephews, but that's another story. :D

and then just last december while doing the last minute christmas shopping, we chance upon this doggie in the mall, and i didn't hesitate getting this one (actually we got two, the other one is with lyn), it was originally priced at P600 but we got them at half the price because of the P1000 worth of receipt that we have and i am an SM Advantage card holder so in a way it was a bargain.

there, a dog in my house, he stays indoor and always sleeps on my bed, but i can't play with him since he can't run. he can't bite and he doesn't bark.

someday, if i can already attend to the dog's needs, i will get a real one and i hope it will be soon..

The Los Baños wedding

my saturday started out okey, i wake up early, traffic was light, going there was a breeze. and then the waiting period and the wedding..

the wedding was okey, the food was great and the cake was yummy (mer-nels cake house in Los Baños, if i remember it right), i just have this little thing about the barong that i have to wear, it's O-R-A-N-G-E! i dont know, maybe it's just me but i really was not that comfortable, the groomsmen were like, uhm, oranges.

it's actually okey, ako lang yata yung maarte, the color is cool to look at but not that good to wear. maybe i am just used to donning the traditional barong, and i am not into these colored, off-colored barong.

even with all the hassles of commuting just to get to meanne's wedding, and with all the uber-long waiting period for the van/service to come and the lack of transportation in the middle of the night going back to manila and then to cavite where i am residing ( i actually got home past 2 in the morning), be it, it's all for meanne.

Congratulations and best wishes, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshimura!!

Busy weekend ahead

there's a wedding, a badminton game, a garden that needed attention (a must!!), a long delayed luneta/orchidarium photography tour, and oh, don't forget the laundry, the ironing, the house...

the ups and downs of living alone, you can do anything but you also have to do everything.

it's a bit funny that lyn and i will be attending a separate wedding this saturday, i in Los Baños, Laguna while she in Batangas, in two separate provinces. it was originally planned that i'll go with her in Batangas until meanne, a high school friend, called sometime in december that she'll be marrying somebody we don't know and that i'll be one of the groomsmen, and it's the same date with that of the batangas wedding. there, we'll be attending a wedding, but two separate weddings.

even it is really tiring, i want the badminton game to push thru and the luneta photography i wanted since forever to materialize.

since monday will be a holiday in where i am working, i know i can accomplish these things, i just hope i won't get sleepy...

World Pyro Olympics - Jan 13 China & the Philippines

The last day.

Coming from the previous day's thrill in shooting fireworks, i have never been this excited before, like when Ginebra won their last championship or when Manny Pacquiao stunning 3rd round KO of El Terrible or the prospect of joining Game Ka Na ba?, the anticipation is so great that i am seeing fireworks whenever i close my eyes (swear, i really did!).

Lyn will also be coming with me (i've been asking her to see the fireworks since the first day) provided that we'll go first to Divisoria to look for a Barong Tagalog for her father. no problem. i just thought we should go there as soon as we finished our lunch, but we headed to Divi at around 3:00 pm (because it was still not, she said) and got there by 4, though we got the barong easily (i fitted around 5-6 different designs), we only head out at 5 pm (and that's late already if i really want to have a good spot AND considering it's the last day, more people will be trooping there)! to make it worst, the traffic going there (we took the luneta-harrison plaza route) was bad! but i am so cool about it and makes me wonder why, maybe the excitement is overpowering the rage against the traffic.

We reached MoA before 6 and holy cow! where do all these people came from? its like the entire manila population are here! lyn even joked that if all of these people will vote for a certain candidate in the election, sure winner! we went to Kitaro for our dinner (it's the least crowded among those in the ground floor at sus, nag-brown out pa sa loob ng store?!).

while waiting for our dinner, i rushed out to have my friday's pictures developed, good thing no line this time and i can get it after 30 minutes (or after our dinner). the food was just okey, not really outstanding, but just okey (and i thought it was expensive for the tofu meal to be salty). i also got the pictures and i thought i became so proud because some people are asking for a copy of my shots (what?????) and the operator even asked me what camera did i used and he got the shock of his life when i told him that its only my trusty 3 year old sony cybershot!

we went first to starbucks before heading to the general viewing area and just like anywhere in MoA (including the cr's), it was overflowing with people and they run out of tissues. hehehe. we're supposed to meet Melony and Henson but the cellphone signal is also bad we ended up not meeting them. as we go to the viewing area, we encountered a mad rush of people and cars scrambling for that free little place outside. after so many minutes and bumping and even stepping on some feet (excuse me, so sorry, it was dark), we're finally inside and the nearest that we can get to the seawall is where Tapa King is located, that far (i learned later that melony and henson were seated to where i was seated friday, and i was so envious of them).

anyway, China started late, but they made up for it by their spectacular, grand and big, big colorful amazing very graceful fireworks! and people are standing making me continously adjust the tripod for a good view but i am lucky for only a few shots. and here's some..

i did not get a really decent shot because some people are sometimes blocking the view but nevertheless, the China experience was awesome, it sets the level higher for the next participant, a non-competitor, the Philippines.

if China started late, the Philippines was much, much later, i think they started 11 pm and to pass the time, we chat, look around, made fun of others, joke about the fireworks the philippines will set off (boga, piccolo, watusi) and took pictures of ourselves.

the long wait was worth it! the Philippines fireworks was the grandest, longest, the most spectacular i've seen in this event. i believed we could have won this thing had we competed. it was so good that even the finale hanging lanterns light up the sky for so long, and yes, there was standing ovation, lots of it.

we stayed a little while before heading home, but that didn't help as thousands of people are also waiting for the crowd to subside, we decided to head out, bring lyn to her apartment and then i was home by 4 in the morning. the entire day was both enjoyable and tiring and i still have a 4-hour badminton game at 10 in the morning and a birthday party/house blessing to attend to in the afternoon.

tired? who, me? nah (then collapses)

World Pyro Olympics - Jan 12 (and the tips really worked!)

it was fun doing it, photographing fireworks, that is.

as stated in my previous post, i tried the tips written there. in the beginning i was a bit anxious and don't really have a good grip on what i was doing. hee.

last friday, i was already in the Esplanade at around 5:30 pm, i thought i was early until i saw that the good spots in the breakwater are already taken! so after taking my dinner out, i walk and walk and walk to look for even just a little space to settle myself in, and luckily, i saw some "opening" and i just asked the nice ladies if i can sit behind them even on the edge and they were gracious enough to tell me its okey. there. a nice smile can really help LOL. while waiting for time to pass, i ate dinner with them (instant friends, but they don't want their pictures taken) and scout for a better location at the same time. and i found one. just in front of the seawall where we are seated, there are stones used to break the waves and that's where i set my tripod and my butt! a few minutes later, i saw people doing the same and settling themselves in. hah! i think they just waited for somebody to do that.

it was a very good spot because i am facing the barge directly and can see the fireworks blasting their way up! and i am so pleased with the results, my 3 year old sony cybershot camera made me proud, i love you DSC-32!! i think we still have a lot of fireworks to shoot together hehehe.


i had a grand time shooting and i think it helped that the fireworks set off by Canada and Denmark were both "standard" fireworks, not as grand as China/the Philippines (more of them later) or UK or the US, that's why they're easier to shoot.



these are just a few of the more than 100 shots i've taken, i'll post some more later. the uploading of pictures is taking forever to finish.

more to come.

Fireworks dilemma

i didn't know that photographing fireworks will be this technical but not so rocket science technical. yesterday, i went thru all the possible tips i can get and they all have these common tips and observations:
1. use a tripod.
2. set your camera to manual mode
3. set the ISO to 100 and the focus to infinity
4. if your camera has a Bulb or "B" mode, set it to it (unfortunately, mine is a point and shoot, so i dont have it, but according to my cam's manual, the nearest i can get to "B" mode is by setting it in Daylight mode)
5. fix your aperture to f8 or f11 (again, i cannot do this since the aperture of my camera is fixed, as in fixed fixed to f2.6 the maximum and f5 the minimum)
6. if you can have a remote shutter cable, use it to avoid camera vibration
7. putting the lens' cap or a black cardboard on the lens before opening the shutter will minimize the noise and the overexposure.
8. have a mental calculation as to when the rocket will explode, good timing is the name of the game.
9. on the first minutes of fireworks display, don't overshoot. as the display progresses, bigger and better fireworks will be up on the air as build up for that grand finale. again, timing.
10. experiment, add some interesting background such as statues, monuments, buildings to your fireworks picture, it's more awesome to look at. as for me, i am planning to get the fireworks' reflection on the water. cool.
11. shoot vertically.

i am just a bit frustrated with the aperture setting of my camera, because according to the tips that i read, the f8-f11 setting is the most ideal as it really captures the "trail" of the rocket, which is what i really, really wanted. but i can't do anything now, i just have to make do with i have, and besides, the fun in taking pictures is not to expect anything, just surprise yourself.

i am really excited with things that i learned yesterday (and i am now wishing for a superior camera, maybe a DSLR?) and i hope to apply them later tonight.

one more thing, getting to the location earlier than anyone is another good tip so you can scout for the best location possible where you can set your tripod without anyone or anything blocking your view or anyone accidentally kicking your tripod in the middle of a shooting spree.

i will be off early today and good luck to myself.

Fireworks pictures dump

i know there's still a lot more to learn in shooting fireworks pics but here's how a first timer fared in his futile attempt at this daunting task using a 3-year old sony digicam hehehe (i missed the free fireworks photography lesson by anton, talking about being there at the right time but at the wrong place!).

so here goes..









at least we went home happy, the P100.00 entrance fee is worth it (some even pay at least a thousand bucks for a good seat/view plus some foodies)


this coming saturday's closing show with China and the Philippines is being hyped as the biggest because all the 9 competitors plus the host will be joining hands in lighting the dark skies of the famed Manila Bay, they tagged themselves as the Fellowship of the fire. cool!

i think i'll bring my trusty tripod for better control. i'll have more later.

Pyro Olympics

getting a perfect fireworks picture is quite a hard job considering that i dont have an SLR camera, the next logical thing to do is to record it on a video which i did (and its shown below). but i do have some "decent" shots, i am just excited that finally my links to youtube is now working.

World Pyro Olympics

wow, new post for the new year. and there's no better way of posting than doing it with a bang!

last friday, me and my friends went to the opening night of the World Pyro Olympics at the Esplanade of the Mall of Asia, it was also some sort of a despedida for marlon as he will be on board again for the next 8-10 months so rhea, his gf, is quite sad (or is she? hehehe).

anyway, the event will have its final two days this coming friday and saturday and we'll definitely not going to miss it especially the saturday as it will be the scheduled exhibition of the much talked-about (and last year's runner up next to Australia, who, by the way, is not as spectacular as last year, so they say) China and the host Philippines. The Philippines is not part of the competition, just playing a generous host.
We like what we saw last friday and it was just unfortunate that i missed the US and Spain show the next day.
I'll post more pictures later..