on Black Saturday Hunchback Fly Sighting

I had nothing to do today because it is Black Saturday and decided to go look for macro subjects again. I was disappointed to see that the neighbor flattened my usual macro hunting grounds to have a parking lot. Technically the land doesn't belong to them but they decided to use it anyways. My macro search area shrunk by a couple of square meters.

Anyways, I found some aphids and beetles but I got drawn into shooting another hunchback fly. It is only the second time I found this sort of fly. It maybe slow moving but it is definitely hard to spot as it doesn't really move much. What I learned is to go look for unusual black spots in flowers as this fly feeds on nectar and is a pollinator. I got two photos before sunset.

Front Profile

Side Profile

Technical Notes: Shot with Tamron 90mm F2.5 Macro 1:2 plus 55mm extension tube.

on Simplicity, Monochrome and Portrait #29

I process my portraits depending on how I see my model's personality. And most often, I end up having simple black and white portraits.

I have said it often that I really work best in monochrome and with simple portraits rather than elaborate sets and a plethora of colors. And this matches Marfegen, my newest addition to my 100 portraits project quite well. She is both simple and stunning at the same time. Though she is a professional model, she sure does retain a lot of her simple girl charms when you meet her.

I really enjoyed this shoot because I really didn't need to direct Marfe. She knows her angles and what looks good. And I have been wanting to do a shoot with her since I first saw her. I'm glad that I finally get to add her to my ever growing project.

Portrait #29: Marfegen

PS: Special thanks to Karina Asetre for the makeup and styling. And to the crew (usual suspects) for the shoot.


PPS: This is a super late post. I have been kinda busy lately. I'll shoot another blog when I have the time.

on Prom and Portrait #28

Seriously, what are they feeding teens these days?

My friend asked me to do a shoot for her sister about a month ago because it was her highschool prom and she wanted to have a souvenir of sorts for that special occasion. I didn't hesitate to say yes because I have always wanted to take a portrait of Adreane for my project. I saw her on facebook and I knew I wanted to add her to take a portrait of her.

And then I was surprised to see a tall lady instead of a blooming teen.

She is still sixteen and in highschool and I was thinking I would be shooting something that was more on the teen(y) side. And so my plans went out the window when I saw how matured she looked. It was a good thing that I quickly found out her angles and got to the business of doing her photoshoot. It is her first time but she got the hang of posing and how to project in front of the camera. I am glad she was comfortable during the shoot.

While reviewing the shots I took, I realized how different it was from what I originally envisioned. And I am glad I still pulled it off. Like what I always say to my models, I only need one shot to make my day. And after post processing only a handful of shots, I can say I had two (or more) keepers on that day. I will go back for a second look at this shoot when I find some time.

Here is the portrait I will add to my project. I had a hard time choosing between the B&W photo and the one I chose because I think both are good enough to be in my portrait project. I decided to take this closeup as it is a bit more unique. Plus I love the reflection in her eyes.

Portrait #28: Adreane

PS: Special thanks to Amylae for inviting me to do the shoot.

PPS: This is a late post because I have been swamped with projects this past month. I wish I can shoot and post process more often in the coming days.

on Rain Drops and Lens Flares (Portraits #26 and #27)

I will shoot portraits at any given time as long as I have strobes; and in any weather condition as long as my models can stand it.

This particular shoot happened three weeks ago in the middle of a rubber plantation and while it was rainy. One good thing was that the overcast wasn't as bad so we still had lots of ambient light. And I had this idea of using the strobes as rim light so that the rain drops would be illuminated. Thankfully it worked.

Instant bokeh raindrops!

 

Too bad the rain didn't last the entire first set of Aubrey. When the second model, Angela, came out, there wasn't a single drop of rain; and so I settled for lens flares. Having flares is easy when you have large aperture lenses. Just place the strobes in the frame and you get flares.

 

And just to note, this isn't the first time I had a shoot with either Aubrey or Angela. But this is the first time I had output. The other shoots are buried somewhere in my archives. I'll visit those soon. It was a pleasure doing a shoot with them as they were really professional during shoots. I hope to publish some more shots from this shoot because there are other keepers that I need to look at.

Before I forget, I also have their portraits for my project.

Portrait #26: Aubrey

 

Portrait #27: Angela

 

PS: As always, thank you Kaye Garino for the MUA and the Photobombers for the shoot.

on Damsels and Valentines

Since it is Valentine's Day... I'll be blogging about damsels. Well, its not girls but the gentle insect called a Damselfly.

I used to find these creatures in our front yard but they have been really scarce this past few years. These insects are predators and eat smaller insects they pluck out of leaves or in the surface of a pond. We used to pit them against each other to see who would yank off the head head of the other first. But even though they are predators, they are quite fragile. If you hold on to the wings too long, they be crumpled and would leave the damselfly grounded. I miss seeing all the different colors and sizes of these insects which really reminds me a lot about my childhood days playing near swamps.

 

Oh, and I have to mention that damselflies belong to the same family as dragonflies. Like their bigger cousins, they are born as in an aquatic environment and only become terrestrial when in adult form. That is why the are most often found near bodies of water. I wish next time I can find a damselfly couple mating.

Anyhow, I'll blog more next time about this. Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

on Comebacks and B&W

It's been awhile since I've done portraits... well, portraits for my portfolio that is. I've been shooting for clients lately. And with clients, you don't really get to do much experimenting; it's always about the tried and tested formula when you are paid.

So, here is my comeback shoot.

I've done a whole lot of black and whites in my portraits. I can't recall the last time I went for the overexposed film look. Well, it fits the concept quite well in my opinion. We were shooting in a plantation and I really hate it when there is too much greens and not a whole lot of other things. I was tempted to do muted (desaturated) or cross processed output but I decided to go overboard and killed all the colors. I experimented with the infrared preset in Lightroom and changed the values a bit on this set. Reminds me of the overexposed shots I had when I was still learning.

Well, I still like how it turned out. Oh, and there’s more to come as I am not yet done with the portrait that I will add to my project. And I'll tell you about the model in my next blog.

PS: thank you to Miss Kaye Garino for the makeup and the photobomber crew for the shoot.