A kiss in black and white.
First off, congratulations to my dear friend Kim for finally tying the knot with the man of her life! :D
And now, the ranting.
Admittedly, I suck at shooting events and portraits. And it’s frustrating to suck at events and portraits because in a photography career, these are where the money’s at.
This black and white photo of Kim and her hubby’s moment at the altar is my only shot out of a hundred that I find acceptable. Everything else went to the bin.
Back at the streets.
The following photos were taken at Binondo, Manila (a.k.a. China Town) last Monday during the Chinese New Year. My 50mm prime lens is not wide enough to cover the celebration so I concentrated on getting some street captures instead.
More photos after the jump. ^_^ (more…)
Infrared in black and white.
Shot with a kitlens and post-processed using a Lightroom infrared preset. Just an experiment. :)
Here’s the original:
Shutter speed and some.
Last Saturday, i had the pleasure to introduce John Maurus to the basics of photography and post-processing in Lightroom 3—five hours over coffee, talking, asking and answering. And since i had nothing to do during the afternoon, i went with him for a quick shoot at Trinoma.
Below are some of my shots, with EXIF data:
All photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D40, 18-55mm non-VR kitlens, in ISO-200.
Merry-go-round. 3 seconds on f/22, focal length of 38mm.
Waterfall on stone ladder. LEFT: 2 seconds at f/36, focal length of 55mm. RIGHT: 1/25 seconds at f/8, focal length of 55mm
Some flower. 1/160 seconds at f/5.6, focal length of 55mm
Traces of eruption.
Pampanga is one of the places which was greatly affected when Mt. Pinatubo, an active volcano in the country, erupted on 1991. Today, it still bears the sign of that destructive event.
The photo above is a bed of lahar, or volcanic mudflow, which covered the once green rice fields of Pampanga during the eruption.
Mt. Pinatubo stands calmly in the background, its peak covered in green trees as if it’s just one of the many harmless mountains in the region. But the people who live to tell the tale knows better than to trust its feigning innocence.
First beach 2011.
Last summer, my life was a beach—Boracay in March, Anawangin Cove and Stilts Batangas in April, and Puerto Galera in May. This year, i experienced the sand and sea a little too late.
May 8th was our company beach outing at White Corals Resort in Morong, Bataan. The place is huge, ideal for a big group getaway. I don’t usually count company outings in my list of “places i spent my summer”, but this year i don’t have any choice. It’s the only beach i went to.
Tropical storm “Aere” was forecasted to hit the country on the same day, so no blue skies here. I was not in the mood to swim, so i just took a photo of things while sitting on the sun and hearing the mixed sounds of sea waves splashing on the shore. 
The Pacquiao-Mosley bout was scheduled that day and our management said that there would be a live streaming. I think i expected too much; i thought they’re gonna put up a projector and we’ll be watching the fight while sitting on the sand (that’d be cool!). To my dismay, there was no projector, just an LCD screen set up on a billiard table. The result? We all had to crane our necks to see it.
OK, i’ll just go back to the beach. :)
I know all about the Rule of Thirds, and i know that i just broke it in the photo above. Oh well, that’s fine!^_^
Food trip at Texas Roadhouse Grill.
This is where i’m at last Saturday. :)
My friend Jo treated us to Texas Roadhouse Grill in celebration of her birthday. It’s my first time to eat at the place so i just let the others take their pick, since all foods are for sharing anyway.
Everything we chose on the menu tastes good, but the best would be their roasted beef. It’s tender and really tasty! We didn’t order a steak but we had it off their chicken and beef fajita sizzling plate. I didn’t bother with the wraps, though.
The seafood pasta is also good. It’s topped with cheese, some green stuff, mussels and shrimp.
I was excited to see Baked Mussels on the menu so i suggested that we order it. When the plate arrived, i was surprised and a bit disappointed to see that it only contained seven pieces, whereas the same item in Dampa has plenty. But what Texas Roadhouse lacked in quantity, it made up for the taste. Yummy.
We also ordered an appetizer sampler consisting of mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and two others (i forgot what they are). 
When everything we ordered were finally on the table, i took a bit of everything on my plate: one mussel, one mozzarella stick, a couple of beef and chicken strips from the fajita thingy, and pasta. :)
Next in line’s the dessert. Oops, sorry, we didn’t order any. Hee hee hee! I wonder what’s their “most wanted”?
And that ends last weekend’s eat out! Like portraits, food photography is also not one of my best fields, but that’s OK. I shoot for fun. Bon appétit! :)
By the way, thank you Jo for the treat… congratulations on your life achievements and belated Happy Birthday, friend!!! ^_^
I’m sleepy and it’s raining.
Quick blabbing: i just got home from a very tiring 4-hour trip, there’s a storm in the country and it’s raging outside, i’m already sleepy, Manny Pacquiao won his title defense against Mosley, today’s my first time to watch his fight on live streaming, this post is a day late.
Good night, guys… i’d have something for you tomorrow. (-_-) Zzzz….
Desaturated.
Sometimes, a photo originally shot in color looks better in black and white (especially in street photography). Sometimes, it is the other way around.
Today’s photo looks better in either, i couldn’t choose… so in the spirit of fairness, i applied both. :)
Happy Friday everyone! XD
Marketplace in full color.
I’ve been shooting the streets for almost a month now, but i realized that i’ve never really brought my camera to interesting places other than the highway. Hence, today, i tried bringing it to our local market to capture people going about their business of buying stuff.
I don’t think i’ve succeeded, but i still wanna show y’all the results of my labor. BTW, these photos were all shot from the hip. :)
PHOTO #1: Woman in plastic bags. It is a normal sight for people here to carry plenty of plastic bags whenever they go to the market. I like that this photo shows a tricycle and a jeepney, two of the three major modes of transportation in our town (the other one’s Toyota Kijang).
PHOTO #2: Apples and Oranges. The vendor had no idea that i took a photo of him and his merchandise. As you can see, it isn’t entirely a fruit section based on the items in the background which consist of shirts and stuff.
PHOTO #3: Some experiment. OK, this photo may not have any sense. It’s blurry and i can’t really tell what’s the subject. I’ll do better next time! ^_^
Do you have any tips in mind on how to take better marketplace photos? If yes, please share!^_^
GUEST PHOTOS: Revisiting Starbucks.
I treated my younger brother Nathan to Starbucks today because it’s been a while since we had coffee together. But more than the new taste(-lessness) of my favorite White Mocha Frappe, i was surprised to see the shots Nathan took on our little round table, knowing that he isn’t even into photography at all.
Nathan seems to have taken a liking on arbitrary shooting every time the nifty-fifty (Nikkor 50mm f/1.8) is at its place on my camera’s lens mount. He likes playing with the manual focus; i think the depth-of-field fascinates him.
I have to admit—he’s got better angles than i do. :)
A fellow blogger told me that Starbuck’s frappes are heading on a new road. My taste buds said that their new coffee-making formula requires at least one packet of sugar.
It’s me on a frappe cup-grabbing pose. By the way, i don’t like the new Starbucks logo.
Well, he wants to take a photo of his sunglasses… and why not? :)
Way to go, little brother! :D
Old and young.
The old, afraid to rust in the dusk of their lives, defy age by putting their bodies to work.
The young, too busy basking in their youth, spend piles of moments in unproductiveness and dreams.
Well, obviously, i’m not talking about all the youngs, but some youngs out there… and there are olds who compile heaps of unproductiveness, too.
The end. (I can’t think of a nicer ending, sorry!)
Today’s Exercise: Street Three.
It’s been a while since i did some black and white street shooting, mainly because i’ve been distracted by portraits and other things. Today is a reunion of myself and the streets, and i’m bringing home four shots from the exercise.
PHOTO #1: Tilted Bridge. I stood in the middle of this footbridge and took a shot emphasizing lines and balance. But i think it was kinda boring, so i did a tilted crop in Lightroom, thus the result.
PHOTO #2: Barkers’ Meeting. When a hotcake vendor wants to sell more hotcakes, they go around yelling “Hotcakes! Hotcakes!” When a bus or jeepney driver wants to get more passengers, they hire a “barker” to yell their destination (e.g. “Cubao! Cubao!”). Male barkers can be as young as 10 years old, while female barkers are less common and much older.
I dunno if barkers are present in other countries, though. Probably not.
PHOTO #3: Barkers Up Close. Two barkers heading to business while the other two were left discussing at the back.
PHOTO #4: To The Highway. This, er, “very short tunnel” links the parking space of Manhattan Garden City (a project still under construction) to the main road of Cubao, Quezon City. I like the balance and the presence of those pedestrian lines in this photo.
Most of my street shots were taken within Cubao (a major business district in Quezon City) and Cogeo (my hometown). My dream location for street photography is actually Quiapo, but its notorious reputation of housing expert pickpockets always give me second thoughts to whip out my camera in that place. Maybe someday, i will. :)
Coffee break.
I’m not bragging or anything, but i don’t drink coffee unless it’s from Starbucks. One, i don’t really drink coffee. I was already a senior in college when i had my first cup, a Nescafe 3-in-1 with tons of creamer (to mask the “coffee taste”). Two, ever since i tasted Starbucks’ White Chocolate Mocha, i’ve fallen in love with it, i never even think about trying other flavors. Add a Ham and Cheese Croissant on the tray and my breakfast is perfect.
Below’s the cup i ordered just last week. Oh, and pardon the last photo, but as you can see, it was not me who said that—it’s them. *wink*
And this is what a Starbucks interior looks like here in the Philippines… is it any different from yours?
Enjoy your mornings! ^_^
Some ancient night photography.
Whew, the last post was quite some discussion.
I didn’t mean to lash out on somebody else’s opinion; that was a post driven by emotion and i hope it’ll be the last time i’m gonna be a zealot for defending something. No more excuses… I’m sorry.:-(
(I hope you guys are still with me!)
Moving on, i’ve been too busy getting my sleep back in the morning, so my camera’s collecting dust for a few days now. Hence, i decided to dig into my drive for unpublished photos and found these: night shots that are taken at around 3:00 AM. I recall shooting them more than two weeks ago when i was not in the mood to eat during my shift’s 30-minute break.
Please forgive me if they make no sense. :)
Below’s the link for my first night photography. It’s one of my favorite posts here at Shutter Slacker.:)
http://shutterslacker.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/five-am-snapshooting/
Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife (Part Three): Miscellaneous.
It is the last installment of this three-part series. I couldn’t find a category for the following photos so they simply fell under Misc. :)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
My first outdoor portrait shoot will not be a success without you guys… thanks!!!
Shiel Gonzaga
(Manager/Model)
Aisha Apuhin
(Director/Model)
Hazel Carino, Jhessy Cordero
(Models)
Meg Dela Paz
(Makeup Artist)
Kath Inocencio
(2nd Photographer/Apprentice)
‘til our next photoshoot! :-)
Drivers in sunrise.
I still owe you the last part of my Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife “trilogy”, but allow me to delay that for a bit to make way for a trivia: half of my street photos were taken while i’m inside a passenger Toyota Kijang (locally known as Tamaraw FX).
Thus, i wanna make this post a small tribute to Tamaraw FX drivers who don’t mind me taking pictures so early in the morning (i work in the graveyard shift so i go home usually at 7 AM).
Thank you to all FX drivers i had the pleasure to meet. :)
(And to this one driver who threatened and stopped me from taking a photo of a super-smoke-belcher jeepney, count yourself lucky that i didn’t take a picture of you! LOL)
Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife (Part Two): Official Photos.
Here are the official photos from my first ever outdoor portrait shoot. Thanks to my very pretty work teammates who acted as models: Shiel, Jhessy, Hazel and Aisha! It’s a pleasure to work with you guys. I’m honored to capture your beautiful faces on camera.
I’m sorry for not properly directing this shoot or having more creative ideas on poses… i dunno how:(
And i’m sorry if i haven’t been able to capture the shots you had in mind…
I hope there would be another photoshoot for us. Thank you guys for giving me a chance!^_^
Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife (Part One): Prepping Up.
Mind you, this photoshoot (as suggested by my work buddy and teammate Aisha) is just for fun. It is unofficial and informal, nevertheless, it is my first official outdoor portrait shoot since i got hooked in photography. I’ve said it over and over: i suck at photographing people. But that doesn’t mean i won’t give it a try. :)
And so, last Friday morning, seven of us went to Wildlife to try our hand into modeling (no, not me) and photography (now that’s me!). Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife is divided into three parts: Prepping Up (preparation for the shoot), Official Photos (photos during the shoot), and Miscellaneous (the rest of the photos that were not included in the first two parts).
OK, Prepping Up, here we go…
On Wednesday: Outdoor Portrait Shoot @ Wildlife (Part Two): Official Photos.
Today’s Exercise: Street Two.
OK, the last post was delayed for a day, but this one is completely on-time ‘cause it’s my Saturday post! :D I just finished post-processing my photos, even the unpublished ones, and i feel that i can get back on track again.
[BTW, i prefer the term “post-processing” to “editing”. The latter sounds kinda extreme to me, as if i manipulate photos to the hilt. I used to be a purist, hee hee! But hey, no offense though on people who do---to each his own.^_^)
Another street exercise, brought to you by Odee. :)
1. A cigarette and rags vendor.
2. Man with a cart. My theory is that he’s a bottle and newspaper collector (for the junk shops).
3. Conversations on the street.
4. Taho or soya milk vendor.
The last one’s my favorite. :)
Men in bikes.
I’m a day late for my recent post, mainly because i’ve been more than 24 hours awake yesterday because of work, photoshoot, food tripping, and catching a mall sale. By 9 PM last night i was too tired to even eat dinner.
I hope i can make it up to you with the following three photos of MIBs: Men in Bikes. :)
An apple a day.
That’s not my apple. I dunno whose apple that is. Seriously!
Someone left this lone apple at the table outside of Krispy Kreme. I thought it’s a nice subject, so i sat two tables away and framed my shot amidst curious stares from diners and passers-by. When i finally had the photo, i walked away and left the apple behind as if nothing happened.
Red, tasty-looking apple. Goodbye! ;)
Photos and painting. (Part 2)
Well, lookee here! I never thought i’d be doing another Photos and Painting post. But i had these shots which, i think, suited the look. So here they go… ^_^ 
For the first Photos and Painting post, here’s the link: http://shutterslacker.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/photos-and-painting/
