Photoblog - day 99; Jul 18, 2010

My new comics:

As I said before, I collect comics on a semi-regular time frame... and though they come out weekly, I find myself making the trip to comic shops on a 'twice a month' pace - not surprising, these things tend to accumulate... but at least I get copies when I arrive... guess that happens to be the fringe benefit of having your regular shops recognizing you as their loyal patron... or at least, a regular customer.

Anyway, this particular batch was slightly different... and the keen-eyed individual can easily see why. Aside from my regular pull list, I decided to - with the help of my favorite bookstore having their mid-year sale, get two compilations... the first is the Avengers-Defenders Clash (circa '70s) and the second is the Thrawn Trilogy of Timothy Zahn - a great set of Star Wars novels turned into comics. Those two will give me long hours of reading enjoyment... that is, soon as I go through my other comicbooks. I think I'll make a review of these graphic compilations, once I've read them... and oh yeah, Brandon - never let it be said that I don't listen to requests... your brothers wanted Star Wars... well, the Thrawn Saga is one of the best.

Photoblog - day 98, Jul 17, 2010

Spa time!

As the picture shows, Barbie and I went to Ahavia Spa this evening (our second trip to this spa) and we both got the anti-stress 90-minute massage. How was our massage? Well teh first time around, I asked for a hard massage and showed the bruises the next day. Still, despite its being rough, it was a great feeling to have those muscle pains and joints. That was then...

This evening, we tried something different... not because the first one was not good - rather, we wanted to try another option - get a feel of their different massages, and whereas the first time was more Shiatsu style, this would be more on the Swedish manner, which means that it was more kneading the muscles with oil. After this session, we both felt relaxed - again, any aches and pains we had accumulated were kneaded out, so we definitely felt relaxed. Ahavia Spa... definitely an advantage that it's location is just about a 10-minute drive from our place, a very affordable price for the services - and good service at that... yeah - this may turn out, to me at least, the beginning of a weekly habit.

As for the picture, i opted for a natural lighting shot - no flash, and in the process, get Barbie's silhouette into the picture.

Photoblog - day 97, Jul 16, 2010

Rebuilding or Relocating?

This picture is not taken in the wilds - thus a chance encounter with such a bird as this is both rare and surprising. My jaded side would have said that this bird would have been someone's meal long time ago... so seeing it at a day I did not plan to shoot any wildlife - and seeing it in a very familiar location (Johnson and Johnson gardens just between the office building and the parking lot - all located in Paranaque), hence knowing these types don't usually hang around urban areas, was a definite chance encounter... and one I was not about to let pass me by.

So here I was, about to read a book in the car, as I was waiting for Barbie to get out of her office, when I spotted the bird land in the garden's path - and I was parked right in front of said path. I blinked a few times, registering what I saw, then grabbed my camera from the car's backseat to try and take this rare opportunity.

I could not go too near the bird (and wished that I had a zoom lens for such occasions), so I had to contend with creeping up slowly and taking shots without scaring the bird (and without getting the premise guard's suspicion going too). Like I said, it isn't one I'm familiar with - and it certainly was not your typical maya maya - it was just too large for such a species (then again, I could be mistaken), so I can't figure out what to call it. IT was also hard to shoot the bird, as it was constantly moving around.

I can only surmise that this bird had somehow lived in an untouched part of this city - and that the recent typhoon's killer winds had displaced it of it's home, and now it was moving around - seeking a new home... or looking for materials to make such a new home. Why so small a picture of said bird? For one, I wanted to show the background a bit - present the fact that this was in the city... and two, let everyone else realize that this bird also had a natural camouflage with it's plume = it's located at the right portion of the picture... below the garden chairs (in case you missed it).

Photoblog - day 96, Jul 15, 2010

Ice cream heaven:

Yup we (Barbie, Bernice and I) were in Haagen Dazs enjoying an afternoon of coolness by way of sharing scoops of ice cream - and we had an ulterior motive with our going here... since this was one place that had no one hanging around it in an otherwise crowded mall filled with people who wanted to chill while waiting for the power to return to their homes - and yes, it likewise afforded us the opportunity to chrage our cell phones while taking our sweet time with the ice cream. The parlor was naturally cool - and that was enjoyable too.

From top to bottom, the flavors we tried out were Dulce de leche (roughly translated as sweet and milky), Macadamia Nuts and Dark Choco Valencia (orange bits and flavors - my choice), and we really took our time here - in fact, Barbie and Bernice likewise went shopping around as I stayed to enjoy a book I brought.

Photoblog - day 95, Jul 14, 2010

Lighted Pagoda:

What does one do when his world is literally filled with darkness? Seek sources of illumination, of course - in our case, a strong typhoon supposedly headed north of Manila still hit us hard enough to cause a metro-wide blackout. So we literally had now power for close to 24-hours (lights out happened at 1 A.M. - and only returned around 10:30 P.M., and in between, we were adjusting to a world without power (kids had no school because of this, and Barbie reconsidered going to work; since many places were still reeling from the storm's passing).

So again, what does one do? well, I definitely looked around the illuminated areas and spotted a glass pagoda that I got a few months back and saw how it was reflecting some ambient light from the candles - my mind played around with the light and reflections idea with said pagoda, and I grabbed my still-well charged DSLR. Was it kismet that I was reading some articles on lighting the past few days? Maybe... but here was a good opportunity presented to me in an otherwise dragging hour.

I wanted to capture the pagoda, glowing with light... to do that, I placed a small candle behind it and tried capturing the picture. It was a bit hard to do so, and maybe in hindsight, I better appreciate the help a tall tripod or a mono-pod would do to help me capture the picture better... maybe with a large enough space to manipulate and more with, experiment even... with aperture, light source locations and the works.

The pagoda is a symbol of intelligence and wisdom - and there is a belief that should you have one in your house - preferably the study area, if will help you with your concentration. Well this particular dark morning, it certaily helped me focus on it as a photo subject worthy of my daily blog.

Photoblog - day 94, Jul 13, 2010

Nougats:

These little pieces came from a relatively medium-sized plastic bag - one of two, that Barbie brought home from her Singapore trip. Used to be that she'd always come home from wherever she went having chocolates with her... but Singapore really doesn't have unique chocolates to begin with - at least, not unique in the sense that they aren't accessible here in Manila too. So one day, she just asked a lady manning the souvenir items what was their usual best-seller when it came to visitors buying stuff before traveling back to their point of origin... and the lady pointed her to these little items. Taking her word for it, Barbie got a few bags - and the rest is nougat-loving history.

By nougat-loving, of course, I mean me in particular... I mean, let's face it, my exposure to the stuff was limited to those tiny things in Toblerones (told you we normally had chocolates as 'pasalubong' (small treats or souvenirs given by a person coming from a trip to their loved-ones and friends), and so I just enjoyed them when they accumulated from m allowing the chocolate portion to first melt in my mouth - leaving the nougat portions to be chewed.

Well these GB (I know not what GB stands for) Nougats are now a new fave of mine, and I kid not when I say I can finish these things (both packages) in one sitting if I wanted to - luckily for me, I have some EQ... he he he. They are, after all, flavored nougats - so each tiny bar (for lack of a better description) offers a different chewy experience. My favorites among the bunch? The Green Tea and the mint flavored ones... oh yeah, they also come in two types - the chewy ones and the hard candy types. I'm impartial to both (meaning I enjoy them regardless of chewiness).

Alas, good things don't last - or in this case, eventually get consumed... so here's to my next batch... hopefully in the very near future. I wonder if they're available here somewhere - and if not, why the not? Then again, I guess if they were easily available here, would they still be as enticing to me?

Photoblog - day 93, Jul 12, 2010

Monday Rush:

The image invokes movement... of rushing - and since I took this Monday morning, then it was just natural to refer to it as a Monday rush.

This is a picture I have always wanted to take... ever since I've seen a couple of similar themed pictures, I marveled at how I could come up with a similar frozen moment in time.

You see, the intent was to capture a moving target, and show that it was indeed moving by way of making the background look like it's being rushed. Now the rush look part is easy... a low ISO setting should do the trick - after all, with said low ISO setting, anyone moving becomes a blur, that said, I used my lowest ISO setting (100)... the challenge then, was to focus on one subject - and make the rest of the picture become a blur.

This would mean that my picture capture had to be fast, despite the ISO setting - and really just try to capture one subject - meaning I move my camera to match my subject's movement. The lighting should be abundant, so my camera focus would capture images really fast - naturally, morning had to be the logical time frame (though having said that, I'm now thinking how such a capture could be possible at night) - oh yeah, I used my UV filter for this shot - so as not to make the picture too bright.

The results speak for themselves... this is what I tried - and it's still a work in progress. Now to see how I can improve on this come my next attempt to capture such a shot. After all, should I find myself pacing the Tour of the Philippines racers, I would like to be ready.

Photoblog - day 92, Jul 11, 2010

Nature's beauty:

Once in a while, as I pass Greenhills' small garden, I can't help but marvel at some of the flowers I see... I mean, I bring my camera just to capture such beautiful natural wonders - after all, these things remind me of how great an architect God is in helping develop all these - though, some can be fleeting.

Take this orchid for example; in a few days flowers like these may wither... their beauty relegated to memory. But if captured in a picture, the beauty - though artificial, is preserved. My only regret in capturing it? This was done at a spur of the moment - my making the shot without taking the time to adjust all the necessary items. Apparently, I got the focus right on the petals - but for some strange reason, the middle was not focused on too much. What gives? I thought I had adjusted my focus depth?

The things is... moments like these are rare indeed - and I may, or may not get a second chance in taking the same kind of shot. Oh well... lesson learned. Quick takes may come out good - others... acceptable. I guess, this one falls in the latter category - but it's not a winner... at least, by your typical Nat Geo standards.

Photoblog - day 91, Jul 10, 2010

The IMAX experience:

Our very first experience in a 3D theater was in Hong Kong Disneyland where we saw the wonders and magic of Disney come alive. Since then, that became the standard for me when comparing other 3D movies I've watched... though I will be the first to admit that maybe the barometer is slightly skewed to Disney films... specially since live action films may have a more difficult time showing the 3D experience all the way (Clash of the Titans comes to mind).

Now as for IMAX - well, it promises a bigger (on that it delivers) and better (not when compared to Disney's theater though) 3D experience - but for it's price; which is more than double your typical movie ticket cost... and likewise costlier than your 3D movie experience costs too (when comparing it to the 3D ticket price in Greenhills or Shangri La), it comes across as well... just bigger - not necessarily better.

In this picture, we were all pumped to watch Toy Story 3 - a Disney film, and though the movie was touching, funny and definitely filled with some 3D effects - it was not spectacularly 3D-laden (by this of course, I mean it seemed that I would enjoy it even if I did not watch it in 3D) - which, sort of, made the whole IMAX experience kinda moot. I also have this slight aversion to staying too close to the screen - which would be the mid-row section of the movie - I mean, this is supposed to be the best locations for the ultimate IMAX experience - and it would have been, had Toy Story 3D been more dynamically 3D.

Ah well... despite everything I've said, I will not take away the fact that this movie was still fun, entertaining and, at least for me, a worthy sequel and ending to the Toys' adventures with Andy. I wept right close to the ending portion, seeing at how perfect the situation got resolved. Yeah... if there is never going to be a Toy Story 4, I wouldn't mind it at all. I mean, for me... this is the perfect end. Of course, if Pixar will prove me wrong, then I'll happily admit to being wrong, but for now, I'll willingly take a boxed set of all three movies DVDs and proudly display them apart form my collection - an honor I normally bestow only to my Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Ahem... this picture was taken by Barbie, using Bernice's new and definitely more compact camera - you see, I was not sure they would allow me to bring my Canon inside the theater, so I left it at home. But hey... this Photoblog isn't just about about my camera - even if I try to make it a point to do so, but also more about how I spent my year 'in photos', so this just had to be my photo of the day.

Photoblog - day 90, Jul 9, 2010

Altar of Eden:

This the book I'm currently reading. This I borrowed from Fiel, and is the newest book by author James Rollins. It's relatively fast-paced, belonging to the adventure category. Hence the type of book I would like to read - though I do read a lot of different books, these types are less of a struggle to read.

I had this book with me when I went for the car maintenance as well as my annual physical, so it helped me patiently wait through long lines of people (and cars) being processed before it got to be my turn. I normally carry a book around wherever I go - just in case there are such lull times.

This was taken in a training room - the computer and candies are mine, of course... and the book I got to read while in-between conducts.

Photoblog - day 89, Jul 8, 2010

Lightroom by Photoshop:

This is the new photo-editing tool that I'm getting used to, and will hopefully use in enhancing the pictures I take. I mean, most photographers use a lot of gadgets and tools to capture and create that perfect picture - well, at the suggestion of Jojo Buenaventura - an old classmate of mine who's into professional photography, Lightroom is a tool he uses to do photo-enhancing and cleaning.

Naturally, I opted to check it out via a cd-based tutorial, side-by-side with me tweaking the software. As of now, I'm still trying things out - but at least I get to view my raw files... something I have no way of doing with your typical Microsoft photo editor... and since I've started capturing images in aw format, I needed to find a more versatile application to help me with my pictures. Hence my giving Lightroom a try.

Oh yeah... that cat is Neco, of course.

My next progression in this hobby? Choose those really great pictures and print them out, get them framed and displayed around my place.

Photoblog - day 88, Jul 7, 2010

My New Stash...

As you probably noticed with my previous posts, whether directly or indirectly being part of the topic - I do read and collect comic books... or as the more sophisticated crowd would insist... graphic novels. This is a hobby I've had introduced to me by my grandmother way back in my early childhood days. I remember her bringing stashes of these home from work - maybe she bought it from a newsstand nearby, and would allow me to read them. Of course, I would more often gravitate to the drawings... but early on, I did recognize Batman and Robin... thanks to Adam West and Burt Ward - but the others were a bit strange - but interesting, none the less.

I would read them after my grandmother and step-grandfather would finish with them - and at times, would wonder how stories went since the continuity of one issue to the next was rather suspect back then. I was not sure what happened - but at least I got to read and appreciate them.

Flash-forward nearly five decades later and here I am now... continuing the legacy she subconsciously awakened in me. I get my comics at least once a month from my regular retail shop, timing it with when I grab my paycheck - or at times, when I find myself close to a comic shop and I can't help but peek in to see what has arrived.

This batch I did get from my regular... as I have an understanding with them regarding what titles I want to buy - thus they do me the favor of setting aside copies of said titles for me when they arrive... awaiting my picking them up. Why do I like this hobby? Aside from the fact that I grew up with these characters, I like reading and imagining... I like the concept of good triumphant over evil, and all the other corny aspects. Most of all, I guess, I like the connection it gives me to a more innocent me all those decades past. Oh... and this particular batch was a sort of reward I gave myself for being able to have the car go through it's usual 5K maintenance check-up as I likewise had my annual physical check-up.

Photoblog - day 87, Jul 6, 2010

Bubbles New Bed:

Okay... as of this writing, and contrary to the picture's presentation,Bubbles has still got to find ways and means to enjoy sleeping on her 'bed' before - but that's okay. She'll (hopefully) familiarize herself with the pink 'place mat - looking like a bed'.

I just hope she gets to use it sooner - rather than later.

Meanwhile, I've noticed that Neco is trying to squeeze her way into using said bed - and it's funny that Bubbles in seemingly giving in - letting Neco have her way with the bed. Strange pets I've got here.

Photoblog - day 86, Jul 5, 2010

Contrasts:

This is a picture of the Legend Hotel's side edifice glwing in the light it has in place - and amidst it's glowing backdrop... observable far beyond, standing silently... yet seemingly majestic in the night, happens to be the Mandaluyong/Pasig/Ortigas buildings.

I took this picture with a low ISO setting and allowed for a longer exposure (hence the brightness of the hotel) to maximize the low lights of the buildings in the background - but at the same time, to allow myself the experiment of capturing (if at all possible) vehicles on the move with a blurry effect.

Still... I called it contrasts because of the obvious discrepancy with lighting as presented by the Legend hotel - and the rest of the Ortigas skyline. You might also say that this was my first successful night shot, with a clear indicator of how I was able to use the long exposure to have a clearer picture.

Photoblog - day 85, Jul 4, 2010

Jude Brent:

Meet the newest member of the Buenaobra clan - his name is Jude Brent, and he'll soon have his baptism, if all goes well. It's still too early to say what kind of child he will grow up to be - but if his support system (i.e. the Buenaobra clan) can be of some measure, I;m sure he'll turn out quite right.

This picture shows Barbie trying to get Jude Brent to smile and apparently - as shown by this picture, she's successful in letting him smile for the camera - how'd she do it? Well... let's just say that mom knows best - mom, of course, being Bea - Barnie's youngest sister, and second youngest in the family.

Any special reason for this picture... well, simply put - anything I take after the Rotary induction happens to be in the Raw file format, which takes up more memory - but can lead to better editable pictures. Of course, posting these pictures just became an additional step - but if quality is to be had, well... I obviously won't mind said added step. Oh yeah... the purpose of our visit to Cavite was to visit Barbie's dad - post-operation. Seeing him a lot thinner was a sobering thought - so a situation (and picture) like this is a welcome balance to the possible gloominess we could have easily encountered.

Photoblog - day 83, Jul 2, 2010

Testing the Waters:

No, the testing said waters does not refer to Roselle Nava, the singer, whom I've captured in this photo... rather it refers to me trying out the role of Professional Photographer. In this case - ans the reason why I chose this picture, it was an induction ceremony and I joined a classmate of mine - Jojo Buenaventura, and his team, in covering the ceremony.

Being a tyro, naturally covered the less critical aspects of the ceremonies and the evening - so focused on the role of capturing events and people as said events were happening... how I felt like Peter Parker in that regard (and if you don't know Peter Parker, then you have not been in touch with pop culture).

I'm not exactly new to Induction ceremonies myself - having been in many; both by way of the Jaycees and Toastmasters. But what I can say is that this was the first time I covered one as photographer. Naturally, I knew what to take, by way of covering an event - and I worked seamlessly with the team (by way of being aware of who was where - and not needing to duplicate any effort), so I guess that showed my natural propensity to work with teams.

But how does covering events feel? It was great... tiring - my back and arms slightly ache, but that was fine as I was going around pleasing the shutter bug inside me. It felt a bit long and drawn out at times, as I was literally feeling the weight of the equipment - but to capture moments worth reminiscing was really nice to do... and I learned - or relearned a few things too... so the over-all experience was great. Now I've set my eyes on a few add-ons or upgrades with what I have to better cover like events... and I even have at least two new coaches in bettering my skills. What else can anyone ask for?

Will I do this full time? Not yet... but I'm one step closer to fulfilling one dream.

Photoblog - day 84, Jul 3, 2010

My picture July 2010:

Project 365 asks us to place an image of ourselves at least once a month - so we would have images of ourselves in the photoblog and in so doing, allow us to remember how we looked like (garish haircut or fashion senses aside)- if not what we were doing, for that month. Once the project is completed, there would be at least 12 pictures of ourselves within the 300+ pictures of said project.

So this is me with an unintentional intense look - circa July 2010, as the title suggests. I'm wearing my black barong - the one with the Philippines map proudly displayed on one side (there are actually several of said maps distributed - but only on, the left side of my barong), and in the background, you can see my laptop plus a few old CRT monitors being used in trainings. BTW - those CRTs are on their way out, as said monitors are finally being replaced by flat-screen LCDs. This place happens to be one of five (or six) training rooms in the Cyber3's 14th floor.

Photoblog - day 82, Jul 1, 2010

Lights and shadows:

One of the more recent magazines I decided to purchase is that of a photography related issue - and the main topic for most articles in said magazine was how photographers use lighting to bring out different effects with their pictures. That may be a natural growth direction for me... meaning making use of lighting to a wider degree - and what better time to start than now.

A colleague once said that I somehow had an eye to make the mundane seem interesting - now, not to make that statement a mantra or anything, but here is a rather mundane part of the office I go to - a makeshift reading/eating/meeting area - and it really has just shades of black, white and grays to make matters more... well, mundane - but suddenly contrast that will a very simple fire extinguisher, and we have a reminder that this is not a black and white picture. Add to the fact that the window where the sunlight filters into casts a shadow on most of the items here, and I'm left with a play with shades and shadows.

Yeah... it's pretty obvious I came in real early to work too - but that was just a side-benefit of having Barbie in a different country, thus not having to bring her to work - but at the same time... my being a creature of habit, and still waking up real early and getting ready for work at such an early hour - even if I did not have to. Ah well... at least I get good parking.

Photoblog - day 81, Jun 30, 2010

Light breaking free:

I got this picture as I was about to exit the Greenhills Shopping Center's car park - coming from having a haircut and a little grocery stop-over. You see, this 30th represented the formal turn-over of one president to another, thus the day was declared a non-work holiday to allow majority of the Filipinos who wished to watch said turn-over the time and chance to do so. Obviously, I used the day to play catch-up to things I needed to do - and did nto have enough of a weekend to do it.

The sun is a subject I would like to capture in at least two other occasions. You see, like a lot of photographers who would like to capture nature's beauty, I hope to some day capture the perfect sunrise... and an equally perfect sunset.

Anyway... this was a straight-forward shot and it came close to one of my 'must have a shot of' subjects - but the sun as it is partially hidden behind (thus being filtered by) clouds may not be the most dramatic panormic shots - but it will do for now. By the way... I also got for myself a UV CFL Infrared filter in Greehnills this day - slowly preparing for such a time when I can focus my attention on said sunrise and sunset picture capture.

Photoblog - day 80, Jun 29, 2010

Our TAs:

TA of course meaning Training Assistants - the people who are responsible for setting up the training facilities- or at least making sure that the facilities, including equipment and materials, are ready before our training starts. At times, I see how tough it can be for them to set ensure this - specially since they do not have control in all the necessary areas - for example, with regard to room reservations, set-up and equipment, they will need to coordinate with other teams, and sometimes this is where the service level agreements fall... not always will these SNAFUs be their fault... but more often, they will receive flak form us and others. That is the problem with being a point person... when problems arise, they get pointed to.

Despite that, they have survived these challenges with their dignity and humor intact. They remain the real heroes behind a training going smoothly and without any hitch and though we thank them for this, I sometimes feel that they don't get enough recognition for their efforts. Well, here's to you... guys and gals (including those not in the picture)! Keep up the good work (and work on those hitches too - he he he). Our work would definitely be a whole lot harder if you aren't around, so pat yourselves on the back, and Cheers!