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 Sunrise and Landscapes

"Any idiot can complicate things, but you need a genius to simplify them..." -- Albert Einstein

I had a chance, over the weekend to visit the Panabo Mariculture park. It has been two years since I first went there. Back then, I knew very little about landscape photography. Well, not much has change apparently because I still don't know squat about shooting landscapes. And I have had very little practice over the time skip.

And since I had little practice and do not even own a wide angle lens (I had to borrow a kit lens for this shoot), I spent a lot of time figuring out how to properly frame my shot and get just the right amount of light into my shots. This is one thing I do not like about landscapes since I have only a short period of time in which I can shoot a scene during sunrise or sunset. And I forgot that I could extend my tripod to eye level so I was shooting really low and got a lot of mud in the foreground since the tide was coming in slowly. I got a few (subjectively) "good" frames from the sunrise shoot.

Shooting landscapes for me are a taxing endeavor. I have to wake up really early (or not sleep at all) and shoot only for a limited amount of time. And timing is everything since overcasts and rain can ruin a trip. Well, I am admittedly still learning; it’s a process. And after the shoot, I told my fellow shooters that I'd be tagging along more often to the landscape shoots so I can learn. I do hope that I will learn more the next time I shoot.

PS: Many thanks to the Ange Bersabal and the Photobombers for organizing this landscape shoot.

The Last of Summer: Portraits #12 and #13

It's the rainy season again which means summer is officially over and schools have opened once again. There is a heavy downpour outside I can't go home so I’ll just write another blog. I think it’s time to buy one of those rain covers for my camera and try shooting bad weather photos again.

And speaking of seasons, I have been shooting with the PhotoBombers in a remote part of the city where I have seen the seasons changed. First it was parched, and then burnt (naturally or via human intervention), then green shoots started appearing and lastly, a spectacular sea of green. It is a very versatile location and that’s why it is my favorite spot; plus the fact that its secluded.

And our last shoot with the waist high grass sporting those fluffy cotton like things on top was for me the most memorable.

We had Dexia and Michelle for models the last time out. Dexia is an image model for a local clothing line and Michelle is a first time model. They were classmates since kindergarten and are practically inseparable; not to mention they mirror or complement each other in looks and behavior. I enjoyed the shoot but I was having a hard time controlling aperture priority mode while being against the light. It was too late when I figured out how to work through it. Lesson learned, next time use the Manual mode. One other thing I failed to do is bring out my zoom lens as I wanted to have lens blur of a different sort. Anyway, I'll get my chance soon.

Here are a couple of shots from the set. I used only plugins for Adobe Photoshop in this set. Nik Software can really make life easier when you know what to do. Since I don't, I spent a week experimenting on what effects to use.

Dexia (Indian Summer)

Michelle (B&W Film effect)

And here are the portaits I will be adding to my project.

Portrait #12: Dexia

Portrait #13: Michelle

Xmas Eve Sunrise Shoot

It’s been quite a long time since I've blogged about anything. Even though a lot has been going on in my photography hobby, I just simply haven’t found time to blog. In the past few months, I haven't even had the time to sort out all the backlogs.

In the early morning hours of Xmas Eve, my friend Arthur had the brilliant idea of shooting the sunrise since the sky was clear. He insisted that there would be a spectacularly orange sunrise. So I went along with the idea. And there we were, at five in the morning, at the very edge of Seawall (a local "park") to capture the sunrise. There were people jogging, doing group aerobics and taking a stroll after the last of the Simbang Gabi.

There were quite a few curious folks there that wanted to know what two guys with cameras and tripods were doing so early in the morning. Some even asked us to talk pictures of them. Of course, Arthur obliged and got some of his amazing jumping silhouettes. While he was so engrossed with shooting the perfect sunrise, I just wanted long exposures. I love how the water seems so calm when you expose the shot for more than five seconds. Then, there were the reflections / shadows.

It's amazing really, that I cannot comprehend how I got to be creative at such an unholy hour. Perhaps, I need to shoot more in the early morning hours. I'll get lucky one of these days and capture that perfect sunrise. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Life's a Beach

We are at summer’s end. One more beach outing before school opens again and the last flights of the tourists depart. There is my last beach set for the summer of 2010. Perhaps the next time I will be in the beach, it won’t be as crowded and hot. I’ll try to explore new beaches; those hidden from the public’s eye.
And I need to go back to street photography because in two and a half months time it will be Kadayawan. Also I am enjoying the Urban HDR genre right now; I’ll practice landscape later.