on Sail Boats, Beaches and Panoramas

It has been awhile...

I have been planning to write a blog for weeks now and yet I haven't had the inspiration to actually start writing; until now.

I finished stitching up some panoramas from a recent trip the island of Boracay. These photos were taken during our island hopping trip via sail boat or known locally as Paraw. While the weather during the trip was sketchy, there were times that we had clear blue skies. It was my idea to ride a Paraw instead of the regular boat with an outboard motor. It was fun, sometimes harrowing because of the wind and waves, and a very unique way to explore the island.

Here are the panoramas I took during the trip.

Station 1 Boracay

Station 1 was our jump off point. We were picked up by the boat there. It was around 6Am when I took this photo and in the distance the clouds were looking very ominous.

Magic Island

Magic Island is a small island not far from the main island. The trip to the island was a bit scary because we were facing the huge waves. There were times when one side of the boat would get lifted up to about 10 feet or get swallowed by waves. It was like a roller coaster ride of sorts; one that lasted about 30 minutes.

Puka Beach

The last photo was taken from Puka Beach at the tip of the main island. The scenery made the trip worthwhile. The sand was powder white, the breeze was cool and the waters were crystal clear. I could imagine myself staying in the beach, with a book and a nice milk shake. I promised myself that when I return to Boracay, I will spend a day there.

I only had a short stay in Boracay and only got to shoot a few times mainly because of the weather. I plan on returning probably in a year or so just to explore more of the island. I hope the next time I will be blessed by good weather.

PS: All photos were taken with my  Nikon D7000 and stitches in photoshop CS6.

on Same Day Edits, Collaborations and Portrait #47

I was challenged to post the whole set on the same day by the model; so here I am.

Techinically it is not the same day because it is already almost 2am. But for those who know me, my backlog for posts goes as far back as last year. Well, this shoot took SIX years before it finally happened so I think it merits the early publishing.

I asked Krestle for a shoot when I was still starting out as a portrait photographer. She was in second year college then and starting out in modelling. Now I've shooting "semi-professionally" and shes going to start med school. I think it is a blessing that it took that long for me to finally have the chance to shoot her because now I have enough "skill" to make the shoot worthwhile.

It was also the first time I did a collaboration with Charisse who is my contemporary in shooting portraits. I also cannot explain why it took that long before I could have the chance to work with her. But having them both with me on location made the shoot a walk in the park (both figuratively and literally).

And the output should speak for itself.

 

 

I also have a photo to add to my portrait project. I will add this as #47 but I am yet to publish #45 and #46 since I prefer to have it in chronological order. So here is the photo that will be added to the collection.

Portrait #47: Krestle

This shoot has been a nice experience for me. It has been awhile since I did a portrait shoot with another photographer and I really do miss having someone to talk to and share inputs with. Its always better when you have someone else with you especially when you run out of ideas. I think I will do more collaborations this year.

PS: Special thanks to Charisse Ann Bibera aka Chawie and her boyfriend Henry for working with me on the shoot. We will be shooting again in the coming weeks.

PPS: If she looks familiar to you, then you probably read an article in a popular men's magazine about a week ago about a nurse who volunteers for medical missions that does free circumcision. I wonder if my photos are too wholesome (or even good enough) for the said men's magazine. LOL!

on Fashion Photography, First Time, and Portrait #37

Photography... it is a never ending learning process.

I have never been someone who people would think of for a fashion photography shoot. I am not that comfortable shooting whole body portraits compared to shooting head shots. And I know next to nothing about fashion. You wouldn't really expect a guy who wears the simple t-shirt - jeans - sneakers combo to be much of a fashionista right off the bat. But then again, I went to a very hip and trendy college and do browse magazines from time to time so I do have some sort of idea what I am getting myself into; or at least that was what I thought. And believe me, I never expected it to be a workout.

 

 doing my usual head shots...

I took this fashion shoot as a challenge and told Paulyn, who invited me for this shoot, that I have very little experience shooting fashion stuff. Well, she had faith in me so I got the gig. I did my homework and got some inspiration from popular fashion bloggers in the country; and there is always 500px as reference material.

 testing out if the strobes would look nice...

My usual shooting order is find my models angle, place her in the right location, shoot my keepers and do my experiments later. This is how I shoot when doing headshots as I already have that basic formula from experience. I can get from finding angles to shooting keepers in about a few minutes time. The experimental part takes a lot longer. This is my usual workflow because shooting keepers first makes sure that the effort to do the shoot doesn't go to waste. Only after I know that I have some decent output do I even try to play around with what I have.

 I also tried if monochrome would work...

I went about the shoot in reverse of what I usually do. With this shoot, I first had a location in mind, did a few test shots and then worked for my keepers. I first had to experiment to see what worked and what didn't since I still don't have a formula for shooting fashion stuff. I spent more time experimenting than nailing down keepers since this is a first.

trying out composition I figured would look close to what I usually see in blogs...

I am happy I did this shoot. I learned a lot and gained valuable shooting experience which I could apply. There are things I need to learn like shooting details and knowing how to match my subject to my location. And I do have to overcome that mentality that I have to highlight the model's face; I need to learn how to balance my shots so I can show her beauty as well as her outfit. Overall, I did good considering it is a first time. I am still in the process of mastering the popular way of doing this fashion shoots for blogs. Sooner or later, I will find my own way of shooting fashion.

 I still have to learn how to shoot the whole outfit...

And before I forget, my model Paulyn is a fashion blogger, stylist, and makeup artist rolled into one. She is easy to work with and really comes prepared for a shoot. I can't wait to do the next shoot with her. We will start planning it soon.

Portrait #37: Paulyn

 

PS: Uber thanks to Paulyn for being very game model and for the confidence that I could deliver output, to Alfe for recommending me as a photographer and Francis for being the instant support crew for her sister. Until next time! :D

 PPS: do visit Paulyn's blog at http://dypaulyn.blogspot.com

on 2012 Year End Blog and a Simple AVP

A few weeks ago people were bickering about photography; I was included in the melee. There was the side that defended photography as being an art and those who just didn't care as long as they can shoot and call themselves photographers. For me personally, photography is an art and I will not stand by and watch others bring it down to a level that is demeaning for those who worked hard and tried to make it better.

But I had a realization just before Xmas. During the debut celebration of my student, I realized something while covering the event and while I presented the simple AVP I did for her. I realized my photography, especially doing portraits, is not only meant to express creativity; it is meant to bring smiles to people. It is the greatest feeling when strangers come up to you and say how much they admire your work and enjoy looking at your photos. Its good when a friend or a peer acknowledges you, but when a stranger takes time to leave a comment or tells you how much he/she likes your work; that will surely make your day.

The greatest realization I have had this year is that my photography is not only meant to make me happy but to make people who see my work smile.

And probably the greatest joy in my projects this year is when I finished and presented the AVP. It was too bad my PC could not handle the rendering requirements of a flashy AVP done in After Effects. I had to settle for a simple AVP that presented the photos in a straight-forward manner. The funny thing is, I think the simple presentation suit me best since I have this very basic minimalistic approach to shooting portraits. Simplicity is beauty.

I'd like to that Lalai for trusting me with this shoot and avp. And to all those who supported me and gave critique to my work through out the year. To all the models and photographers who were involved in helping me improve my skills. To the Photobomber Crew for all the shoots and learnings I had this year. And also a very big thank you to every one who visited my blog.

Happy New Year to you all! May 2013 bring us all prosperity and happiness!

on Opportunities and Portraits #32 & #33

Always shoot like it's your last day...

I was asked to do a class picture for the graduating accountancy class of a university here. I knew two girls from that class so I decided to go for it. And it has been a tradition of sorts for me to shoot a graduating class each year. Sadly, the shoot didn't go well. The location of choice was cramped so it ended with a not so nice group shot.

But it wasn't a total loss though. I made sure to take portraits of my friends. I've been asking them to model for me for a very long time and I final got the opportunity to do so. It was a quick shoot. I took just about ten frames each since I was seriously low on memory card space. Good thing I got keepers out of those few frames.

I'm sad that I didn't do well with the class photo but at the same time I am still glad that I took the gig so I could shoot the portraits. I learned that making the most out of every opportunity is very important. If you think about it, it's like I broke even on this shoot; failed group shoot but good portrait shoot. It's a learning experience and I hope to do better next time.

Here are the latest additions to my portrait project.

Portrait #32: Alfe

Portrait #33: Chesca

on A Jumper's Story

It's been my mantra that one photo will make my day. But I have always been asked how long it takes me to get that one photo. I don't really know how long it takes me. There are times I get it in the first few clicks or on the last out takes.

For macro photography, I usually spend an hour or more shooting. There are times I shoot over five hundred frames to get around ten keepers; and ten keepers is already a very good haul. Sometimes I shoot until it gets dark, my batteries run out or my memory cards are full.

And there are times when I just sit in the shade observing as insects go about there daily lives. Sometimes I forget that I have to shoot these insects. And there are times that I focus on one subject for hours that I get to construct stories with my shots; that is when I'm lucky that they'd cooperate and I'd get my shots in focus.

Here is one of those times when I got to see a Jumping Spider decide when it would jump to another leaf. This three shot sequence was taken from about 50 consecutive shots (with more than half out of focus because the leaf was swaying with the wind) where the Jumping Spider measures its jump and decides when to go for it. It jumped a distance of probably a foot with a another foot of drop.

You think I should go for it?

It looks so high from here... but what the heck... I have a bungee cord.

I'm ALIVE!!!

Shooting macro stories like these make me appreciate this field a little more. Being there and observing how these little critters go about their business makes me think a lot about my life and how even briefest of moments can make an impact. I think I'll shoot more of this kind of photo stories in the coming months.