Against The Light? Break The Law.

Common issues when taking photos is when our subject is against the light. Sometimes, breaking the law is cool and I think this photo I took at SRP Cebu City is an example. I know that I was facing the direct sunset when I was about to take a photo but I gamble and tried to take multiple shots. Flares are present and I think that's normal. Those flares added drama to my photo. If you're a photography enthusiast, I think sometimes it would be better for you to break the law and innovate what are there behind the lens.

Bar Hopping at Ormoc City

Me and my colleagues decided to go bar hopping one night at Ormoc City. Our team was augmented there for about 2 months. Before we go back to our home base, we went to some bars of Ormoc and tried to relax and had some beer. One bar was Vivo KTV Bar somewhere in downtown. They have private rooms for you and your friends to hang out and sing the Karaoke. I manage to take some snapshots inside of the private room and at the hallway. I forgot the names of the other bars where we entered but yeah, its just there somewhere at the downtown Ormoc.

Bokeh of a lamp inside the private room of Vivo KTV Bar

Colleagues

The hallway. Those lights both sides are the door for their private rooms

The Philippine Flag

I am a proud Pinoy and I want the world to know! Share this picture if you're a proud Filipino! Sharing will not cost you P1.

Copter

Took this photo somewhere in Boyscout near McArthur Park Palo, Leyte. Of all the photos I took during the activity, I think this one is my favorite.

Waterfalls of Almeria, Biliran

I never really thought of posting this picture here before but when I saw that it was actually nice and good looking, I decided to blog about it. This was my first time visiting this tremendous falls in Almeria, Biliran Province. Going to the place is not an easy task, you'll have to pass through some steepy cliff. There is actually four waterfalls on this side of Biliran. You can pass through them one by one until you reach the fourth waterfalls called "Kinaraha". First waterfalls is Sampaw if I'm not mistaken next is the Ulan-ulan and then Recoletos then lastly the Kinaraha Falls. We went there last May 2010 when some Cebuano friends of my cousin had a vacation at Naval. The Sampaw falls is not very accessible though you can see it while walking going to Ulan-ulan. Kinaraha is a bit far and locals said its a bit dangerous going there. So our party decided to just stay at Ulan-ulan then visit Recoletos.

Jumping from the side of Recoletos

In Recoletos, you can be like Tarzan because there's this rope hanging from a tree that you can ride on then jump off on the water. You can also go near its top and jump from there. Me and my cousins had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Biliran's waterfalls. I'm pretty sure our visitor enjoyed their visit too.

That's me! Catching the waters of Ulan-ulan Falls!

Happy Kids

At first I thought this kids were really hard to get when taking a picture of them but when I approached them, they were all very happy and excited. I never had a hard time capturing their smiles because they were all cooperative during the shoot. Thanks to this kids, they are very wonderful! ☺

Rocks and Trees

Rocks and Trees at Baybay, San Jose, Tacloban's shoreline

I was walking along the beach of Baybay, San Jose, Tacloban and saw this huge collection of cut coconut trees. Got interested on their different formations so I took a snapshots of them. Too bad I haven't noticed the uneven horizon at the background because I was totally focused on the trees and rocks.

Police Operational Tactics Training

Camouflaging after crossing a river

Yesterday, I had a chance of watching police trainees of Region 8 in action doing their quasi-tactical operations inside the PPSC-RTS 8 camp at San Jose, Tacloban City. There are different stations that the trainees will have to pass through like the rope course, ambush and the night navigation. Its very awesome how this young men and women were able survived the hardships and all the challenges just to become a public servant.

On the way to the ambush site

Future police officers trying to cross a river

When I was watching them, I realized that police officers are not really as bad as what people believe. They have been very accommodating and very patient to the people watching them. Though there have been a lot of anomalies that involved policemen but let us not forget that they are the people that we call when there are criminal activities happening in our area. They are the one who protects us from evil minds at night when we are asleep.

Mommy, Mommy

I took this shot at a farm owned by the family. I really had a hard time taking this shot because both of them were moving. I think this one is the best shot on this set. ☺

Anchor

I was really wondering when was this shot taken but yeah, I was the one who took this shot. Its somewhere near the Redstone Ville. That anchor was attached to our floating kubo.

Pineapple-like plant

I hope I'm doing better and better with HDR. What do you think? You'll be the judge. ☺

Redstone Ville Sunset Shot

Here's another sunset shot from the Redstone Ville. I was browsing my laptop and checked some of my old photos when I saw this. I wonder why I haven't posted this shot earlier. Anyway, I hope you guys will like it. ☺

Higatangan Island

The Rock Formation at the Higatangan Island

I arrived early in the morning at Naval from Cebu when I heard that my Uncle and his basketball team will be going to Higatangan Island. Higatangan Island is one of the tourist destinations in the province of Biliran. It is located in Naval Municipality. Higatangan Island boasts the finest white sand in the province. Since I haven’t visited the island, I decided to go with my Uncle. It was fun during the first time. We arrived at the island noon time and ate our packed foods. We chose to stay at the back part of the island because it is a bit “virgin” yet to tourists. Only locals know this part of the island. Another part of the island that I liked so much is the Shifting Sandbar. I’ll be posting some picture of it some other time because I don’t have a photo of it yet. My camera went lowbat when we arrived there.

Update (05012011): As promised, I'll be posting a picture of the Shifting Sandbar. Last week, my family and I went to the Island to spend the the last days of Holy Week there. For the Shifting Sandbar, you can't expect too much from it because when we went there, its high tide so we weren't able to enjoy the Sandbar that much. Check on this link to view my story of how I saved a doctor's life in that Sandbar.

The Shifting Sandbar during high tide.

Playing With Lights At Naval

I was busy watching TV one evening at Naval when the electricity went off. Another night of boring brown out. I was all alone at our old house so I decided to just go out and check if there are common friends outside. I was watching all the vehicles lighting up the street and that's when I realize to play with the vehicle lights that night. Took my camera and the tripod my sister lend me and went to our terrace and try to check a perfect spot for my subject. I've seen a lot of photos before about streets with lights flashing on it from the vehicles passing. I was so amazed about it so I decided to create my own version of this shot. After making sure that my camera is safe from falling to the ground, I then set the camera's aperture and shutter speed. I am a very big fan of "Auto Mode" in my camera but there are times that I use "Manual Mode" in photo shoot. I set the camera to f6 / 60sec. and then waited. After a few tries, I have now my finished product.

HDR Photo Using Dave Hill Effect

HDR is one of the coolest arts in Photography. I have posted HDR photos before but not really satisfied with the results but was just trying to show you all my work. Anyway, when it comes to HDR, Dave Hill is the name. He’s been doing well in HDR and still creating great results in his post processing technique. I tried Googling some articles and tutorials about the Dave Hill effect and learned a few tricks on how to do it in Lightroom. So, for those who are trying to develop their HDR using Lightroom, here are the settings I found that can make your HDR a Dave Hill Effect type.

* Recovery = 100

* Fill = 100

* Contrast = 100

* Clarity = 100

* Vibrance = 100

* Saturation = -75

* Adjust the black/exposure

* Add a lens vignette

Portrait: Luc

Let’s just say, I really like this photo of my girlfriend. One of my quality portraits shot, I think. But yeah, no bias at all, I really like this photo. I did a bit of an edit here specially with the light condition and all in all, this photo is perfect. Took this photo at the seashore at the back of their house.

Fisherkids

Four fishes for dinner

Poverty is one of the great problems our country needs to overcome. In Biliran province alone, major population is in the poverty level. I have an Aunt who's a nutritionist in Region 8 and said that Biliran Province is at the top 5 that has the most number of malnourished children.

When I had a week vacation in Naval,    I went to Red Stone Ville to have some lunch. It’s almost Sunset when I saw some kids fishing on the stony part of the sea shore. I approach them and asked if how was the catch. They said that they were already there since 10AM and hasn’t caught any promising fish for their meal. They only got few small fishes probably not enough for most of us but enough to complete their meal for the day. While talking to them, I never thought that they would be very enthusiastic in sharing their stories to me. One kid told me that this day is not a very lucky day for them but still they will strive for more catch.


Life is really hard for them and but still they are eager and willing to survive. At a young age, they already started to work for their food. One good thing is that they don’t lose hope and they have the courage to stand in their own feet.

A Matter Of How You See It

This photo here is inspired by the Photoblog of Kala, AMatterOfHowYouSeeIt.com. I wasn't really expecting a good feedback on this photo but I just like the composition. I was actually challenged by Kala's blog. I really liked her photos and those photos inspired me when I took this shot. There are a lot of very nice subjects that you can see around its just the matter of how we see it.

Naval Central Elementary School Celebrating Buwan ng Wika

Buwan ng Wika was celebrated by the students of Naval Central Elementary School last Friday, August 27, 2010. My cousin is a student from that institution and is in Grade 3 now. She and her classmates will be dancing a Batangueño Cultural Dance that afternoon. Prior to the program, I took a chance of taking pictures of the kids at the school. Some are wearing tribal costumes like that in Ifugao. That afternoon was full of fun for the kids who's celebrating the Buwan ng Wika. Some groups are dancing, there are kids modeling the different costumes of localities in the Philippines and some are singing Original Pinoy Music (OPM). Almost all of the kids there are in their colorful costumes and I thought that it might be a great chance for me to practice capturing pictures of people. The picture on the left is a photo of two kids trying to fix their Barong Tagalog, the National Dress of the Philippines for men. The picture below is my cousin performing her dance moves on stage partnered by my other cousin.

Hiding Sunset

I went to this mall in Pasay City because I was craving for a sunset shot. I waited for an hour but nothing showed up. So I was like really frustrated of getting a quality shot but no sun really showed up. So I just took this photo and voila! Due to frustrations, I got this simple photo that really satisfies me during this time. Anyway, this photo was taken February last year. Just posted this picture here from my other blog, The Maniniyot.