Savior

have a meaningful Holy week everyone. Be safe and God Bless. :)

On aperture and shutter speed (and a pre-nup shoot)

I was asked by a friend to do a pre-nuptial shoot for her college friend. I excitedly said yes right away. Moments later when it sunk in, I panicked! hehehe.

Last year, when I did my brother's pre-nup shoot, I wasn't that high on the outcome (some pictures came out dark!!!), and I need to do a lot of post processing (in Picasa, I am yet to try my hand on photoshop) to brighten up my day, uhm, the pictures. Although they came out fine, I would have preferred less post processing (read: i am lazy).

As the day draws nearer, that feeling of not being able to deliver pressured me to no end, and that pressure is slowly overtaking the excitement i initially had.

Until I realized my mistakes (or stupidity if you'll allow me hehe)

The problem with "dark" pictures is in the setting!!! I've been on manual focus since day 1 with Zeus but instead of figuring out my problem, I always let frustrations reigned over me when faced with low light scenario, I just patched it by going into Aperture mode or by using the pop-up flash, which in both cases, add more frustrations whenever i see blurs and/or a washed out picture. Maybe I am just too excited to take pictures that I let some important technicalities of photography to the side. Or maybe I am just plain lazy.

Punish me for not putting into heart that a combination of large aperture and a slow shutter speed lets more light in, and if the scene is too bright, doing the opposite (or with the help of a filter) will do the trick. There. Not rocket science, just a simple turn on the dial saved my bleeding brain! Poor me for being one s*@#$%@#@$!

I admit that yours truly is not technically proficient, that whenever I read some photography stuffs, the mere mention of exposure value intimidates me. I should have faced the technical aspect early on. I should shoot more to know my camera more. And I should listen to photographers' experiences to learn more and be better on the craft.

The road is still long for me to be even called a mediocre shooter, more so as a mediocre photographer, but that road can be traversed, and while on that road, I need to absorb all lessons and take each mistake as an opportunity to learn. I expect them to be a lot, just like the buttons on the camera and the menu on the lcd screen. :)

Back on the pre nup shoot, for now, let me just share you this.


more to come, happy weekend... :)

Baby

and he's not mine, taga-shoot lang po. :)

Solo flight

Last Monday was a holiday, it was a long weekend (for all schools) and long weekends in the past were spent mostly on travels. Since i am the only one that has no office (i work in a school), no travel this time.

And I have nothing to do.

But I do not want an entire day to just go by and do absolutely nothing, so, since I have not used Zeus for quite a while, I thought of doing a photowalk with Me, Myself and I, without any clear plan of where to and/or how to.

I give Manila a try. I picture in my head a Quiapo-Sta. Cruz-Intramuros-Luneta-UP Diliman whole day affair. I rode the LRT, take a jeep and walk under the blazing sun. With no sunblock, no hat, and a small umbrella. Initially, my backpack only has Zeus in, but after the Quiapo trip (and a very dissapointing no shots taken!), it was also loaded with lanzones, oranges, pears, longans, grapes and a pair of slipper worth P35.00! (Nag-photowalk pa ako no? mamimili lang pala ng prutas at tsinelas hehe.)

I was tempted to do Sta. Cruz-Binondo via that street behind the BPI building but I already did that in the past and maybe there's a better time in the future to be back there.

I walk towards the Post Office, turn in a corner, saw an old, abandoned building, took some shots and then I am lost. hehehe. Not that I am lost, as in lost, I am just not familiar with the place. I walk some more and found myself in the Bureau of Immigration area. whew.

I took some long walk inside the Intramuros, and told myself to look for Fort Santiago. You're right, i cannot find it. I am not even sure where is Fort Santiago hehehe. Damned myself for not being prepared, sayang ang pawis ko! I rode a jeep going to Luneta, went to National Museum for a visit, but it's a Monday and it's closed. In Luneta, I want to go inside the Japanese Garden, the Chinese Garden, but since it's a Monday, they're all closed!! waaah.

It's almost noon, and I am sweating like hell. With disappointments left and right, with gates closed and the penetrating heat, I licked my wounded guts inside a fastfood and ordered a nice looking breaded shrimp only to be disappointed more with its breaded taste. HAY!!!

You may be wondering where are the pictures? (The above were from a different photowalk hehe) Well, I told you I wasn't that prepared, so halfway through my Luneta rendezvous, a red thingy appeared on the lcd which means that my battery is now low, and nearing empty. wehehehe. But i was able to take some, and i'll post them later.

And forget about the UP-Diliman, hanggang Luneta lang ako hehe.

Happy weekend!!!

Paranormal Activity

i will be watching the movie this weekend on dvd. will i be scared? hopefully.



that's just the preview and i am already scared!!!

happy weekend everyone, kanpai!

Pay it forward

Remember the movie with the same title? You know, the movie about a child who conjures the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward--repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people?

Well, not exactly done to three new people, but doing the same good deed to a couple or even a single person is still good, tama ba? Lyn and I did that recently.

When a couple is getting married, they need all the help in the world, not in the pakikialaman-manner, but at least on the psychological AND financial way. The wedding preparation can be very much overwhelming, and in our case for us to be sane, we have our budget to keep us grounded and our families and friends on our back. Our families take care of the invitations and give aways, and our closest friends take care of the reception venue, the bridal shoes, my barong and Lyn's wedding gown.

And with those advance gifts that we got from our unofficial ninongs and ninangs, where a large chunk of expenses have been taken cared of, we were not just thankful but we also made a promise to do the same to others. Trust me, those kind of help are what a marrying couple needs (and not three sets of rice cooker, or three dozens of fork and spoon, or six more sets of tumblers!) as they of really huge help to the couple.

When my brother told me he's also getting married (actually, they just waited for us to go first hehe), Lyn and I immediately told them not to worry about the wedding gown and barong as those are for us to take care of, regalo na namin, they just need to decide on a design/style and off we go to our supplier.

And this is the little fruit of that labor:

That's one, two more to go maybe? :)

undecided

the last time i was in this situation was months before i got married, or almost two years ago.

i felt that if i am going to push for it, i'll regret it later, or if i decide against it, then, i might regret it, too. i weighed the pros and cons (not that there were a lot), thought about it a lot of times, I even saw it in my dreams, and i stared at my reflection more than a hundred times.

i tried it before and actually liked it. i was on it for about a year and i thought i'm not going to stop! months before the wedding got me thinking, do i have to continue this or not? apparently i returned to my good, old reliable self. and was on it for the rest of the way.

but not until now.

not until when the mercury started to rise, not until when my sweat glands started to feel the galloping heat of the sun, not until the early onset of summer.

but i am still undecided.

though i am yet to see it on my dreams, i am now starting to stare at my own reflection, and imagining the first time i had it.

undecided? i think i'll give myself a few more moments, then i'll give in.

bokalbs. :)

1,344

ganyan ang mga oras na lumipas na wala akong post.

o 80,640 na mga minuto, o mahigit apat na milyong segundo.

ayoko nang paabutin pa ng 1,345 na oras

o papatakin pa sa 81,000 na minuto

o umabot sa kulang-kulang na limang milyong segundo.

ayaw na, kaya nandito ako.

namiss ko ito

kaya nagbabalik.

(picture taken in zambales, two years ago)

first

alas-singko pa lang ng umaga, dumadagundong na ang pakiramdam ko. dumaan ang alas-sais, ang almusal, hindi pa rin nagbabago. madilim sa kwarto ko at di makakapasok ang araw, pero parang nagliliwanag ang lahat kapag napapatingin ako sa salamin at naiisip kung bakit ako nandito.

masarap ang almusal, mainit at solb sa kwentuhan, relaks-relaks daw dapat at wag magpapanic pero sa bawat sulyap sa relos at nakikita ko ang pag-ikot ng bawat segundo, hindi siguro ako masisisi ng kahit sino kung me nagka-karera sa loob ng dibdib ko.

alas-syete.
alas-otso.
alas-nuwebe.

buti hindi nagrereklamo ang telepono ko sa maya't mayang tawag at text, buti hindi pa nagtatampo ang wallet ko sa maya't mayang pagdukot, pagbukas at pagtatago ulit.

alas-nuwebe y medya. kailangan ko nang maligo bago ko pa malimutang gawin ito, nakakahiya naman kung haharap akong di nalapatan ng shampoo at sabon ang katawan.

masarap ang tubig, mainit at solb na sabayan ng kanta... pero napunit ang pagkanta ng malalakas na katok sa pinto. nagulat syempre ako, at nakatapis ng tuwalya, tinakbo ko ang pinto, naramdaman ng balat ko ang lamig ng aircon at bumakat ang basa kong mga paa sa carpet, pagbukas ko ng pinto, sari-saring ingay ang bumalaga sa akin: "bakit ang tagal mo?" "ano bang ginagawa mo?" "kanina pa kami dito" "di mo sinasagot ang cellphone" "kinabahan tuloy kami" at kung ano-ano pa. naliligo po ako. pumasok at tumahimik na sila.

dumating na ang pamilya ko, isang batalyon! kasama ng mga kuwentuhan nila ang pagpasok ng maraming kaldero, mga pagkain (dito tayo magtatanghalian) at mga abubot pa. bumalik ako sa banyo at muli ring bumalik ang ingay, sila yata yung nate-tense hehe.

alas-diyes.

alas-onse. kailangang kumain ng maaga at baka makalimutan ko pa itong gawin.

alas-dose. buti hindi pa nagrereklamo ang kuwarto ko sa samu't saring ingay sa loob, buti kaya pa ng aircon ang dami ng tao, buti nakakapag-relaks ako sa gitna ng kaabalahan ng mga tao.

ala-una.

alas-dos. kailangan kong lumabas ng kwarto, kailangan kong maging presentable. at nakita ko sya, parang me kakaibang liwanag ang kanyang mukha, parang me mapang-aliping hatak ang kanyang ngiti. dun pa lang gusto ko nang mag-"I do..."

si lyn, napakaganda sa kanyang simpleng ayos, napakagaling ni Princess Misa na nag-make up sa kanya, lutang na lutang ang ganda nya at kumikinang ang kanyang mga mata. nahimasmasan lang ako ng me tumapik sa balikat ko, wag ko raw masyadong titigan at baka matunaw, mamaya pa ang kasal. :)

alas-dos y medya.

alas-tres. naramdaman ko ang init ng mga ilaw, me naramdaman akong ilang sa pagbibihis sa harap ng kamera pero awtomatiko ang paglabas ng ngiti at kalauna'y nasanay na rin ako. napigil ko pa ang luha ko nung kami ni mommy ang kuhanan ng litrato, pero sya naluha na, naalala namin si daddy.

alas-tres y medya. andaming tao sa Paco Park, lahat nakangiti, lahat bumabati, lahat kakilala ko.

alas-kwatro. marahil hindi lang dagundong ang nararamdaman ko, marahil hindi lang karera ang meron sa loob ng dibdib ko pero mas higit ang saya na bumabalot sa katawan ko, sa isip ko, sa dibdib ko.

hindi ko na nabilang kung ilang hakbang ang patungong altar, hindi ko na maisa-isa ang mga nadaanan kong nakangiti, hindi ko na rin nalaman kung gano kabilis o kabagal ang bawat ikot ng mga segundo dahil tumigil ang mundo ng makita ko si lyn na nakatayo na sa may pinto, sumisigaw ang ligaya na di kayang takpan ng kanyang puting belo.

sa pagyakap ko sa aking ina, di na nagpapigil ang mga luha.

sa paghalik ko sa mga kamay nina nanay at tatay, naging emosyonal ang paligid.

sa paghawak ko sa kamay ni lyn, doon na nagsimula ang aming pagiging isa.

December 8, 2009: first year anniversary namin. napakaraming dapat ipagpasalamat, at napakaraming dapat pasalamatan: ang Diyos, ang aming mga pamilya, ang aming mga kaibigan.

Maraming salamat at samahan nyo kami sa marami pang mga taong magkahawak ang kamay.

Patience

it's really a virtue, and it took me a lot of those to wait and take this shot.

Focal length: 142 mm
Exposure: 1/400
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 200
Manual Focus, Flash not used
Cropped, Contrast adjusted using Picasa 3

waiting

shy type

happy weekend everyone, Kanpai!!!

green (but not with envy)

walang saplot

Da Istudyo shoot

huli man daw at magaling, huli pa rin. (pasensya na po...)

eto yung first studio shoot ko, syempre namangha na naman ako tulad nung first time. syempre kinabahan na naman ako, syempre pinagpawisan na naman ang lolo nyo.

isa sa mga tip na nakuha namin para maghanda sa mga ganitong shoot ay magbasa/tumingin sa mga fashion magazine, at kung me nakitang gustong posing ng model, aba ay kopyahin at ilagay sa kodigo. namemorize ko yata yung mga posing na gusto ko pero nalimutan ko rin, memory gap! me ilan sa amin me dalang magazine, me dalang picture, at me kodigo talaga. ako? nakitingin-tingin, nakiusyoso, nataranta hehehe.

ewan ko kung ano ang nangyari pero nung ako na ang nakasalang, parang me sapi yata ako at nakapag-isip ng ilang posing, mga simple lang pero nagustuhan ko ang kinalabasan!!!

sya si Jem, ang model na natapat sa akin, sya talaga yung tinatarget kong pikturan dahil bukod sa kakatapos lang nyang lagyan ng make-up, napakaamo ng mukha nya, at ang ganda pa ng bone structures (me bone structures pa akong nalalaman hehe). for a face like that, parang gusto ko ng medyo edgy, so nosebleed na naman!

buti na lang, napaupo ako at naisip ko ito:

ay, putol ang bumbunan at siko! take two:

ayos?


eto, group shot ng apat na model (tapos na yung grupo namin dito pero nakisingit pa rin ako hehe):

Models: Jem, Kim, Hannah and Jon

Location: Imagesmith Studios

Make-up artist: Charlie Rivera

Stylist: Archie

gusto ko pang umulit! me magpapa-picture sa inyo? libre! :)

Praying

:)

Basic lighting

I am yet to get a basic photography course or be enrolled in one, pero ako itong malakas ang loob dumiretso agad sa basic lighting na kung tutuusin ay isang advance course. Hindi naman ito sa isang photography school kundi initiative ng aming grupo sa Flickr, ang Flickristasindios. Hindi rin isang professor ang resource person namin, pero si Ten Paras ay master na sa pagtitimpla ng ilaw.

Pinasadahan nya ang basic terminilogies sa lighting (primary light, fill-in light, etc.) tapos nilatag naman ang practical applications ng mga ito base na rin sa mga experience nya. Of course, he still encouraged us to enroll in a photography lighting course as what he had shared with us in 2-3 hours normally take about 2-3 days of discussion. Ayos, hindi naman kami nagmamadali nyan hehehe.

Seriously, para malaman kung me natutunan ba kami syempre kailangan me application, kailangan me shoot using a one-light set-up, tapos two-lights, tapos studio shoot TAPOS ME MODEL!!! ako kinabahan dun sa huli kasi mahiyain ako di ba, pano ko kakausapin yung model? ahihihihi.

When it was already my turn to shoot, despite the intimidation and nervousness factor, i get to instruct Christine and Kaya (oo, dalawa pa yung model!!!!!!) on what I want them to do and it also helps that they are very professional and won't hesitate to do a pose that we told them to do. Tawanan nga kami kasi pagkatapos ng lighting kailangan naman namin ng seminar on how to deal with models and how to be a supermodel (kailangan naming i-pose kapag malabo sa model).

Tingnan nyo na lang kung papasa na ba sa panlasa nyo ang ilang kuha ko, one-light set up lang ang ginamit ko sa mga yan.

Halata bang hindi ako nakapagpa-pose ng marami? hehehe

Next: Model shoot in a professional studio with complete lighting accessories (nag-overheat ang brain ko kakaisip ng poses sa mga model hehe)

Sharing

or if one lurks on the dark side, it can also be titled as "grabbing"

how do you see it?

Bulaklak

Siyempre, dapat merong bulaklak kasi me dahon na sa ibaba. ahihihi.

seriously, ilan lang ang mga ito sa pinagpa-praktisan ko, kaliit-liit ng bakuran ng bahay pero andami namang pwedeng i-shoot or at least, enough na para maging kumportable ako sa focusing (half-press and full press).

ang ganda ng bokeh no? o yung blurred-blurred sa likuran/paligid ng subject.

hindi macro lens ang ginamit ko dyan (wala pa ako nun) kundi 40-150mm telephoto lens, pumuwesto lang ako sa pinakamalapit na distansya kung saan clear pa yung subject tapos cropping na lang para makuha ko yung gusto kong composition.

astig!!!

andami ko pang dapat malaman kay pareng zeus pero ang manual nya parang math book!!! kaya maraming-maraming good luck sa akin (uy, ayos naman sya to be fair).

Dahon

meron akong kwento tungkol sa dahon... ay wag na lang, masyado syang GREEN!

nye!

nagpa-practice lang ng pag-focus... di pa masyadong trigger happy pero i'm happy :)