HDR Photos: Boat Set

I was scanning the photos of my Facebook accounts when I saw my HDR (high dynamic range) dedicated folder. I then realized that this photos hasn't been posted here in my blog so right now, I am telling you all what's the story behind this photos. I was first amazed by a friend in creating HDR photos. I really liked the outcome when you're processing an HDR. I thought of learning the trick and asked some friends online on how to create a wonderful HDR picture. In this sets of photos here, I know there's a very high demand of improvements. I'll have to practice more in creating HDR pictures. I don't really know why I like taking pictures of a boat but I just like it. There's something in the boat that can really get my attention so I'm sharing you all this boat shots in HDR.

Baby Portrait

This photo was taken outside the Church of Tanauan, Leyte after the burial of my Lola. I already seen this baby for how many times during the wake of my Lola but just I only had a single moment to take a picture of her. She's very cute and maybe it'd be good to share her portrait shot here in my blog. I didn't had a chance of asking for her name but I hope soon, when she'll be old enough to view my blog, she'll appreciate this photo that I took.

Tanauan, Leyte Church

 Last weekend, I was at Tanauan, Leyte to visit the wake of one of my relatives there. On the burial day, we went to the church of Tanauan for the blessing of her body. I went inside the church and sat for awhile until I noticed that the church is old. The details are just like the other old churches that I've seen in Bohol and in Cebu. I never thought that there are old churches made by Spaniards in Leyte too.I went outside the church to check if it has the Philippine Historical Committee sign outside and yes, I ain't no wrong because it does have the information of the church by the Philippine Historical Committee. Actually, you won't notice that its old because the front side is newly painted but if you're gonna check the sides, you'll definitely notice that the church is made up of stones, usually stones from the sea. I then took some photo of the church and asked my Uncle about some information about the church. My Uncle told me that this church is mysterious. There was a priest who took his life at the back of the church, at the convent. I had no chance of getting there at the convent since the gate is locked. My Uncle also told me that the near the church has ghosts roaming around.

The church was made in 1769 and was renovated in 1850. Just check on the photos of the church below.

Pardo Church

I have not gotten any enough information about this church at Pardo except that it is located in Pardo, Cebu City. This church was built around 1860's if I'm not mistaken. I'm really sorry if I am not able to provide you good details about this church because this picture was actually forgotten in my memory card. I was reminded that I still have this picture when I was browsing my camera early this morning. I forgot almost everything about this church. Anyway, this church has been featured at Leylander's blog post "Southern Exposure". If I'd be given a chance to come back to Cebu, I'll visit this place again and gather some facts about it.

P.S. Sorry for the exposure.

Visit to Taboan, Cebu. The Dried Fish Market

Me and Nanay was asked by Tatay to visit Taboan. Taboan as known for dried fish. A famous place to buy "danggit" for pasalubong. Well, we went there because Tatay will be having a trip to Manila tomorrow and he wants to bring dried fish to his colleagues. I never thought that this items are being sold for about Php400-Php500/kilo. A bit expensive but I think its "sulit" because of the fact that its one of Cebu's specialty. I just thought that maybe this food are being sold twice the price in different places. But one thing is for sure, I am drooling for this one. This one is my favorite meal during breakfast. So, to stop my mouth from watering, I asked my Nanay to give me 1/4 kilo of the "danggit" she bought.

Taoist Temple Cebu City

People who visit Cebu do always take time to visit the Philippine Taoist Temple. Taoist Temple is one of the landmark that Cebu is boasting to its visitor. Its a place where you can just sit and relax and enjoy the panoramic view of Cebu City. Yesterday isn't my first visit to the temple. I already visited the place maybe 2004 or 2005 together with my SK family in our barangay in Davao City. When I went to the place, I thought there's no other visitor around and that made me think that I can shoot well since there's no people walking around. Before entering in, the guard told me that taking pictures of the saints inside the temple is strictly prohibited. The stairs caused me muscle pain but ignored it when I reached the top. Then I realize, we didn't pas through this stairs before, we were on the other side where you can see a replica of the Great Wall of China. Well, I continued walking inside the temple when I saw bunch of Koreans and other nationalities inside it. The place was like swarmed by tourist from all over the world. Stayed in low profile while taking pictures. The place is very well maintained except to some part of it. There are statue of dragons and lions in every corner of the place. Chinese are really mysterious based on their belief and culture. But that's the reason why every nationallity is different, because of their belief and culture. Well, just take a look at some of my shots from the Taoist Temple.

Rosary in a Low Light Condition

This rosary shot was actually taken last night when I was taking a break after dinner. I just saw this rosary from my mother's cabinet and tried to take a snap of it in a low light condition. I used a flash light to put a small amount of light on it. Well, flashlight on my left hand and the camera on the right hand, I really had a hard time taking this snapshot. No post processing being done in this picture.

Canon Lens Mug

Tacloban Festival

During our last day in Tacloban, we were caught in the middle of a fiesta celebration. I think its a Sto. Nino Fiesta in Tacloban that they celebrate during the 29th day of June. Our scheduled trip to Naval, Biliran is at 12:30p.m. and we woke up early because my parents will have to go to church and I was left in the hotel room to watch over my brother. When my parents came back from the church, I went out and watched the parade being held on the streets of Tacloban. It was a very colorful fiesta celebration. Participants are dressed in different tribal costumes with complete props. I managed to take some shots of the parade. Taking pictures during this kind of event is one my dream. I really like this kind of scenario because you're not gonna have any problem with light conditions and also, colorful costumes will give your image a very fantastic mood. I can say it is a bit hard when you're gonna take pictures of marching people because everybody is moving. Sometimes you're lucky if the presentor will stop in front of you to pose but it rarely happens. When I started taking pictures I noticed that there are a lot of armed photographers waiting in line too. All of them are equipped with high end lenses and other accessories. I was a bit shy because I was only using a "hybrid" camera, not even close to a dSLR. Well anyway, I didn't really care about it because all I was thinking is to shoot and shoot the parade's participants. It was really fun taking pictures under the heat of the sun, I felt like I'm a pro too! Lol. Anyway, just take a look at some of my shots below.

The Social Network -- Facebook Movie

This morning, my father and I went to Gaisano Country Mall here in Cebu and I was looking at the Coming Soon movies and I was a bit curious about the movie they've posted "The Social Network". I thought it was some kind of a thriller film about people being stalked and killed by stranger online. Just recently, I was blog hopping and saw someone posting about the said movie. I was reading his blog post and there I knew that the movie I saw in the "Coming Soon" on the mall was all about how Mark Zuckerberg founded the social networking site, Facebook. It was mentioned that Justin Timberlake will be in the movie too but not to play as Mark Zuckerberg. It will be at the big screen on October 1, 2010. Just check out the trailer below.