An Angry Little Bugger

It’s really amazing when you get to see the world of the very small. These are the things we tend to take for granted. There are so many interesting things to see when you zoom in for a really close look.

This was my realization after just one macro session. My friend lent me his extension tube and I tried it out on a boring Saturday. And then I got hooked. Seeing the output made me want to take more and more shots. And I really haven't gotten myself bored with the countless times that I zoomed in on my shots. And it's also very challenging since the extension tube makes the viewfinder go dark and there is no Auto Focus (AF); it makes shooting more fun.

This particular insect, which I am not really sure if it’s a beetle or a bronze version of the lady bug, has got to be one of my favorite things to shoot on macro. I usually find this critter on the purple sweet potato (kamote) leaves. It probably is good camouflage because the colors kind of make it look darker and less visible. Its actual size is about half of a 5 cent coin. And if not for the movement, it can remain virtually hidden in plain sight.

It becomes much more visible when it moves into the outer edges of the leaves.

Set against lighter green foliage and darker background, you can see clearly the profile of this angry little bugger.

I wish I had more time to shoot macro. It’s been raining lately and I'm having a hard time getting up early to shoot; and besides, there is nothing to shoot when it rains. I am also hoping that I'd find the budget for a proper macro lens so I'd have sharper photos to share.

PS: if anyone knows what the name of this bug is please inform me. I wish for all my insect macros to have proper labels.

The 100 Portraits Project: 3, 4 & 5

Every photoshoot invite is an opportunity for me to add to my 100 portraits project. A simple SMS on a weekend afternoon to shoot a new face gets me out of my hibernation to go out and shoot.

Most of those organized shoots have themes or concepts. I just come to the shoot with my camera and other gear. And most of the time, all I really have to do is shoot as there are already people who direct and do the styling. What I do is shoot first for my project and then shoot for a set with the theme. As my project is evolving, so are the concepts that we are doing.

Portrait #3: Lara Kim (Fairy in the City)

This is different from the one I uploaded in Facebook.

Portrait #4: Aysen (Tifa Lockheart of Final Fantasy VII)

Portrait #5: Yuri (The Two Sides of Yuri)

I'm glad I don't have to think of concepts or whatever for these particular shoots. And honestly, my creative mind took an extended vacation and hasn't returned yet; I do hope it returns soon as I need it for the prenup shoot I'll be doing next weekend. Wish me luck!

The Flooded Streets

Climate change has certainly been in the spotlight for the past weeks with those monster storms in Australia. Floods, at least, flooding of city streets during heavy rains is very common in Davao City. As far back as in my childhood days, flooding has been a problem in this city. And in recent years, it has gotten a whole lot worse.

A couple of Saturdays ago, I was stuck in Victoria Plaza, a local mall, with Anna. We met up there to go to another mall to watch a movie. But it was called off on the account of rain. The flooding was so severe that we decided just to eat and hang out at a coffee shop on the mall grounds. Before proceeding to the coffee shop, I got curious and took a closer look at how bad the flooding was. With camera in hand, and inspired by the Bad Weather Photos by Danny Santos, I took a few clicks. Then realized I had the perfect vantage point for panning shots.

On the first set of clicks, I got my first keeper.

Then, I waited patiently and got another one.

The pair of photos I got were the ones that I liked the most. It was hard to get panning shots but I had fun. I know composition is key to a good photo, but when your subject is moving, it’s a different thing all together. What matters is that I had fun taking these shots. And I do hope to take some more bad / extreme weather shots and perhaps make a portraiture set out of it in the near future. For now, panning shots keep the boredom away.

The 100 Portraits Project: #1 & #2

2011 is here and this year I am dreaming big!

Ever since I had my hands on a camera, I have wanted to create a compilation of the photos I have taken. I have long dreamed of creating coffee table books with all my shots for the world to see. And this year I am starting a project that will hopefully be the precursor to my very first coffee table book.

The project I am doing is to take 100 portraits of different people. My inspiration for this project came from Danny Santos, whom I look up to as a photographer because of his unique style of street portraiture. I have long been amazed by his output and fascinated by his style. He has done the "100 Strangers" project, a street portraiture project where the photographer shoots portraits of random people out on the streets. Well, he is based in Singapore which is a melting pot of cultures so he has plenty of subjects to choose from.

Another inspiration came from Chris Owens, a photographer based in Texas, USA. He is currently at #73 of his "100 Portraits in 100 Days" project. His project entails him to shoot everyday of the week or at least produce an output for 100 days straight. Its fairly hard to do even if he is based in America; and if you see his output, every shoot is totally different.

Since it would be hard to shoot beautiful strangers here in Davao City and I have a busy weekday schedule, I decided just to do 100 Portraits for the year 2011 and then compile them in a book. Parts of it will be studio shoots, outdoor shoots and candid stuff. In this project, I'll start using tools like Photoshop and the other photo editing software that I usually do not use because I am just too lazy to edit photos. I'm hoping to enhance both my skills in portraiture as well as my post processing with this project.

And as a start to the project, here are the first two portraits for my project. I have 98 more to go... so wish me luck!

Portrait #1: Keyt

Portrait #2: Anne

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.

Lightning: Nature's Awesome Fury

The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn't there the second time. -- Willie Tyler

Standing in the middle of a field during a lightning storm is totally wrong. Standing there with a metal tripod, your feet wet and an electronic gear in hand is just plain stupid. So I decided to relocate to the covered court nearby since I preferred a safer spot to shoot lighting; I'm not that lucky but I still didn't want to get hit by lightning.

I thought shooting lightning was long exposures and narrow aperture but it was the opposite. I did this shot wide open (f3.5 was as far as my lens would go) and used bulb mode. So, I pressed the shutter and waited for the magic. As soon as the lightning spread, I closed the shutter. It took me more than thirty raw shots to get this one shot. It’s not perfect but then again for me it’s awesome. Nature's fury captured by my tiny DX sensor.

Sadly, I got just one shot. Perhaps it is true that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice.