Waterfalls are probably the most common subject in water falls, however, it can be surprisily hard to photograph well. I wasn’t sure how to do this but I wanted to appear the water as blurry but at the same time be the brightest part of the image. The problem with this is the lighting, the chance lies in composition & exposure.

Composition of waterfalls seems to be pretty much the same as composition in photography in general. Exposure was my challenge. Depending on my location & how far or close I was, how fast the water is moving/flowing, the general exposure was played on .5 to .4 seconds. Good thing it wasn’t over-exposed as I considered the brightness of the surrounding, brought out by the natural light of the sun.

No, this entry would not be in Spanish, but merely an inspired one. Another hidden treasure in the souther part of the Philippines is Jardin de Antonio. Together with my family, Ea & my bestfriend, Louie, we drove to Batangas for another getaway.

The following images will speak enough of this dwelling isolated from the usual buzz, a total haven at its best.

It’s been a long time since I took the time to fly to my father’s province. Going back to my childhood trips made me realize that there is more to life than in the metropolis. It was indeed a fulfilling trip. Together with my family & Ea, we travelled for 8 days as we all toured & had fun in Samar.

Connecting from Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge, Samar is a province in the Eastern Visayas region. Knowing it is a province, the thought of natural riches, flora & trees gave me the idea of another photographic entry. It also made me discover the extra-ordinary chill of Kinabut-an Spring that I have forgotten the maddening crowd of the urban life.

It was good seeing these hidden reserves of the Philippines. It seems to me that there is definitely more to learn in our country & I’m glad I live here.

Creating beautiful photographs has always been an inspiration for me to continue my passion. Body paint is another art form I had a chance to do.

It has been awhile since I had my last photo shoot so when this came up, I didn’t pass it up. The photo shoot was by-invite only & knowing such, I knew it was a good opportunity for me. We only had 1 model that had body paint on her upper half. Wearing red plaid skirt, Alex, as she is called, gracefully posed for the camera. I wasn’t really sure of what her theme was but it seems to be a sexy & modernized Japanese school girl.

The sun & clouds wasn’t really cooperating much as it was hard for me to even control the settings for the flash. I wasn’t making any much progress as there wasn’t any good location to direct her but once I got comfortable with her & with the rest of the photographers, I had myself going non-stop.

Alex was really expressive. Her eyes showed fierceness. She was also intense in her emotions, expressing body formations & actions. The outcome turned out to be a very positive even if the paint in her body caused rashes all over her. I enjoyed it as much as everybody did.

I would definitely take another shot in doing body art photography. Who knows what the next theme will be?

Many people think that to photograph aquatic animals like dolphins, you have to use boats or go to forbidden places to see these animals in captivity. Not so, in the Philippines, a place called Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Freeport Zone made me see everything in astonishment.

Last March 9, I went to celebrate with Ea on the day after her birthday by going on a road trip to Ocean Adventure. At the same time, I also invited my best bud, Louie & his family, since it will be their first time as well. We all arrived at Ocean Adventure around 1:30 in the afternoon. It is the only open-water marine park in Southeast Asia, situated along the shores of Ilanin Bay. We all rushed for a late lunch before heading off to the sea lion show. Ea, on the other hand, headed off for her briefing for her swim encounter with the dolphins.

Both shows provided world-class entertainment & a very informative experience for me. It also gave me the chance to take pictures of these water animals. First up are the seals & sea lions, which come in variety of shapes & sizes. I used my skills to get the best dynamic shots of these creatures, as they performed for all ages.

The 2nd main attraction & probably the better of the 2 was the dolphin & friends show. It was fascinating to see the bottlenose dolphins & false killer whale execute graceful aquatic tricks as I got thrilled by their energy, agility, intelligence & power. Using my D80 at 55-200mm lense, I have set the camera at maximum frames per second to make sure I catch the dolphins breaching out of the water as it all will be over in a matter of second. It gave me the best chance of getting 2-3 frames with the dolphin in focus.

Timing is really important as how light is. Water can be a difficult subject as well to expose depending on the weather condition. I normally use + 1/3rd EV for dull state & normal EV on a sunny day. I was at a normal EV range as the sun was all high & mighty that day. There were some slight out of focus shots but as I conclude that these are challenging animals to photograph but still worth an experience to go back to.

I met Grenellie Anne or fondly called as Gren, the cousin of Ea. She came home to our tropical country for a visit. Together with her boyfriend, she toured around the metro. Of course, knowing Ea’s passion for photography, I didn’t pass up the chance of joining her when she said that she’d be doing a photoshoot of Gren.

Gren is an epitome of classic beauty & brains. She gladly dolled up in 3 different dresses & unwittingly posed for our camera. The camera loves every angle of her. With those cute dimples seen on each image, she captured the lenses perfectly.

Of course, a woman like her will always have a spicy side. Yup, she agreed to pose in her 2-piece bathing suit. What could be sexier than wet nude? Or should I say semi-nude? Regardless, a small drop of shower water falling down the skin and all that is captured within the image is total reality – no staged posing, no nothing, just a pretty girl in her bathing suit, taking a shower. Or could be more..

This is something new for me. For millions of years, the sun rises & the sun sets. Still, I am touched every single time. The sunset doesn’t end when the great disk goes down in the sky as I kept on shooting until the last of the twilight is gone into the night.

My experience in sunset photography was definitely tough to its core. I had a difficult time trying to capture that “perfect” view of Boracay’s sun, oftentimes, getting too much exposure on my images. At this point, even if I adjusted the other elements, after seeing Ea’s images, I knew I needed help so she offered to tweak my settings.

In an instant, my pictures drifted from simpleton to fantasyland. When I checked on what was altered in my settings, I noticed a change on ISO, focal length & light metering. The sun was a great emphasis in the picture, which created a romantic look.

Another interesting to note was the weather. When these images were taken, I was taken aback by the light clouds & hazes that the sky formed. It was very dramatic. The sunlight coming thru the clouds created a deep reds & purples, which produced a very strong scene.

Overall, it turns out that sunset photography can be trickier than I initially thought. It is still something I should master. Framing & changing perspective definitely brought out the beauty in the photograph, just like the memories our Boracay trip – something that will last forever.

Building a collection of cloud photographs can be a great & rewarding subject. I started to ask myself on how they form, why they form & why they form the way they do. This is one subject that wasn’t difficult but it takes time & care to make a good looking cloud image.

Using my 55-200mm VR lense, I knew I would be getting quality pictures of it. Everything looks beautiful in the sky despite the constant change in the weather.

Clouds don’t wait so I knew I had to immediately & act on it. I was able to make an ordinary view of the sky an instant phenomenon.

They say paradise is hard to reach but I got to one of Philippines’ haven. As of press time, I’m in Boracay, celebrating a long weekend, away from the metropolis, stress and rush of the big city.

Ea and I arrived here last Thursday. I must admit that on our 2nd day, I was lucky enough to spot several sail boats of various colors. What amazed me more was the liberty & calmness it exudes as it glided in the waters of Boracay. Regardless of its size, I saw the smooth flow of its magnificence.

As expected, I rushed to set my photography gear & its settings, then carefully captured these sailboats. I had a hard time at first adjusting to the sunlight surrounding the area. Using my 55-200mm VR lens, I was able to focus on its beauty & physique. With the scenic view of the sea, the colors of the its sail vividly stood out against the countless shades of blue.

I never thought I’d get to experience happiness & contentment in this trip. With 3 more days remaining & a companionship that is incomparable, not to mention, the panoramic view of one of Philippines’ finest, this is one memorable trip that will last a lifetime. It could’ve been better ‘though if we were sailing ourselves. Well, maybe next year. ‘Til next post..

Signing out, from Boracay.

Last Saturday, I was invited to attend to the 18th birthday celebration of Ea’s cousin, Cielo. I first met her a few weeks back when I did her pre-debut photo shoot so she could use it on her invitation. It was fortunate enough that 2 or more of my images were used on her invitation as well as on her AVP, which was presented to the people who came that evening.

I was initially told to bring my camera so I could capture pictures at my pace. Thinking that this wasn’t exactly a camera work but more of a freelance picture-taking, I didn’t bother to charge my battery checking at 3 bars. Little did I know that the event would be so great that it was inevitable for me not to take photos at all. i was immediately approached by Tita Baby, the debutante’s mom & was asked to take pictures of Cielo from the holding area.

Cielo is very pretty & charming at first sight. She wore a maroon gown complete with pearl & diamonds as her accessories. She also has a crown which made her a real princess that night.

As the night went on, I kept on praying that my battery won’t die on me as I knew I could not possibly embarrass myself with the thought that I came unprepared & all as a photographer, aside from the fact that I was almost 24-hours awake since I had no sleep at all prior to the event. Still, I knew I had to catch every memorable moment that took place that night. From the dancing of waltz during the 18 roses to the 18 gifts & the subsequent parts of the affair, my timing was perfect that I was able to capture some wonderful shots of Cielo & her guests.

Towards the closing stages of the party, I was again, personally asked by Tita Baby to take pictures of Cielo & her friends, classmates & relatives, for compilation. At this point, my gear was close to silence seeing my battery at its last strength. Yet, I still feel very blessed that I was given the task to do so as I wasn’t even the official photographer that night. I never thought that she would entrust her daughter’s memoirs with me playing a very big part on it.

To close, I’m glad I came as this was my semi-first event coverage but it was tiring but definitely worth the experience. At least I now know what to do & what to expect on gatherings such as that.