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.

Mr. X: The Big, Fat, Ugly Spider in the Garden

I am back! After being busy for a whole month, I finally found some time to blog again. And my comeback blog isn't about the nice creatures you find in your garden either.

For some time now, I have been looking for this spider. The name of this spider is the Black and Yellow Garden Spider or Mr. X as we fondly call it because it forms an X with its legs. I grew up knowing that this is the sort of spider you'd stay away from because of its bright yellow markings which often indicate that it’s poisonous. Whenever the neighborhood kids decide to venture into the grassy fields, we always kept an eye out for this spider and stayed clear of it. But after some research, I found out that a bite from this spider is actually harmless.

And for me, it was quite fun to take shots of this creature. It sort of got me scared a bit because since I was a kid, we feared this spider. Who wouldn't cringe at the sight of a six inch spider? If that doesn't get you scared, then try looking at it from the viewfinder of a camera with a 300mm macro lens attached; that will surely make your hair stand on end. But I do wish to take more shots of the not-so-nice creatures of the garden; there is something interesting about these creatures that strike fear into the hearts of little kids.

Where Butterflies Hang Out

I am at home out in the grassy areas as I am in the street. Yes, wildlife and nature photography is a passion that is second only to street photography for me. I find it fun to shoot insects, birds and whatever wildlife I come across; even in the urban jungle. But my favorite spot to look for creatures is just across the street from our house. You’d find a host of insects like butterflies, beetles and dragonflies there as well as spiders and bugs. I really enjoy shooting these critters.

But this set is about a place for butterfly lovers, Davao City’s Butterfly Sanctuary. I know for the wildlife photography purists this is tantamount to cheating. But trust me, it isn’t that easy to capture great shots of butterflies when there are is a horde of people scaring them away. And just a sneak peak, my next butterfly set will come again from that patch of greenery in front of our house.

Current Events: Independence Day and School Opening

I haven’t had the time to shoot this past week since I had obligations (and a ton of pictures to screen and edit). But the shutter bug in me wanted to squeeze some shots into my busy schedule.

Last June 12th the country celebrated the 112th Independence Day. Yesterday was the holiday because there is a law that states that National Holidays are moved to the nearest Monday. And I took this shot because I thought about our independence. Are we really enjoying independence or are we still being manipulated by foreign powers? And as this man sells replicas of the Philippine Flag, is the government capable of selling our independence?

Today is the first day of classes for all public schools in the country. I saw this kid walking home at noon and it made me wonder about the quality of education they are getting now. Or perhaps this kid just got bored and went home early.