shooting the shooter

I almost always prefer being behind the camera

than in front of it. Except when Mike is taking the shot.

taking travel portraits

Packing for travel is a never-ending thing for me until the last minute that I get on the car and drive to the airport. Make that almost an impossible task this time when I have to discuss and argue and cajole with my husband who will share one luggage with me because we plan to travel light. We are bound for the Batanes Islands tomorrow.

We planned to make this vacation just to shoot the place. So add to the packing nightmare the equally scary 11th hour lessons on how to use the Canon 40D, since we just decided that I must outgrow the Canon 1000D for this trip.

I have tucked my camera bag in the dusty part of our room for more than four months already. And I was amazed how the mind forgets. I couldn't set the proper ISO. I even forgot how to view and move from one image to the other!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Getting off from my online games, I brought to the table all the magazines and photography books from the shelves for a quick scan.

At the end, I decided on settle on a few notes from Manny Librodo on taking travel portraits:

1. interact with the subject

2. get close with the subject

3. set the stage, then be spontaneous

4. look for a face with character

5. watch out for light and shadow

6. train your eyes to see colors

7. tell a story

I haven't even started on how to shoot landscapes!

Yes, the single luggage will be crammed. The photography tips are in a jumble in my head. But the heart beats with anticipation. Vacation and photography with the best man in the world - I am a lucky woman!

photo: it's about the hat

photo warrior of the week

When did you start with photography?
I was already interested since I was in university. But my husband bought me a camera last September 2008 and it has been 392 Flickr shots ago.

Is photography your hobby or employment?
It’s a hobby. Nobody ever paid me yet for my photos!

Your equipment?
Canon EOS 1000D Canon 100mm
Canon EFS 17-85mm Canon 70-300mm
Canon 50mm Canon 10-22mm

Have you ever used a film camera?
Yes a Nikon film camera way back in university – capturing school snapshots for the yearbook.

What do you prefer – film or digital – why?
Most have gone digital already so I think I would prefer that. Easier, faster and more economical. And with photo editing available, shooting with digital gives you a full range of opportunities.

What do you usally make with your photos when uploaded to your computer?
My photos start as raw files. So the best one gets picked. Processed. Then uploaded to Flickr.

Are you making a lot of reprints of your photos?
No. But I did a black and white series in Flickr and out of that collection, I printed some and placed them in frames and displayed them in my area in the family corporation’s office. You would not think it’s the space of the Finance Manager!

What is your favorite object of photography?
Nothing in particular. But if I have my way, my daughters, Annika and Angela. I could just be taking photos of them. But they’re real impatient.

What does inspire you?
A sunrise or a sunset. The music or the poem I hear when I see a photo I make. And most of all, my husband Mike. He does terrific work with his photographs!

Do you have another artistic hobby?
I keep a blog in case I want to write. But I have skipped it for the past months. I've already used my Flickr photo stream to express what I feel.

What would you like to show or say with your photography?
That the ordinary can be beautiful. I promised my mother I won’t take ugly pictures. I can let others do that.

Some tricks and tips?
Sometimes the photo speaks to you. Sometimes you first have to breathe life into it before it gets to talk. So do whatever you want to do. There are no rules. And don’t go around copying other people’s styles. I've made it a point to avoid it. It will just scare - discourage - anger - drag you down and dry you up.

Your photography dream that has not been fulfilled yet?
Doing a bit of photo journalism. Or getting commissioned to do a thematic coffee table book.

Is there something more you would like to tell us?
I do not shoot a photograph. I make it. And I think all photographers, in a way, are artists. So I hate it if people ask me if I use photo enhancement softwares or not. This is the product I want you to see. So you are most welcome to enjoy this work. No questions.

click here to go to the feature and to leave your comments:
Photo Warrior of the Week

landing on front page

Mike said that my photo will be included in Flickr Explore. I didn't believe him then - but it really did. And I only learned about it being in Explore when I got informed that it landed on the Explore Front Page too. What a very pleasing thing to happen to one's work!



What is Explore Front Page?
Explore is a Flickr feature which discovers and showcases some of the most awesome photos on Flickr. Explore Front Page is a common phrase used by Flickr users to indicate the home page of Explore.

What does it mean to have photo(s) on the Front Page?
A score of people use Explore to find new photos on Flickr everyday. When a photo is on the Front Page, it is exposed to a huge audience of photo enthusiasts around the world. So, being on Explore Front Page is like being featured on the front page of a popular newspaper - your work gets noticed, people add you as their contact etc. You become famous overnight :)

What is FP?
FP is an alias for Explore Front Page. It's commonly used in photo descriptions, comments and tags by Flickr users.

What is Archivr?
Archivr is a third party application that tracks the photos displayed on Front Page. Using Archivr's search feature, users can find out if or how many of their photos have been on Front Page.


To view the photo here: The Life I Know

featuring a day's life

Just a few preliminary attempts of the photographers of OPS.

photos in explore

Flickr labs have been hard at work creating a way to show some of the most awesome content on Flickr. It is called interestingness.

Besides being a five syllable word suitable for tongue twisters, it is also an amazing new Flickr Feature.

There are lots of elements that make something 'interesting' (or not) on Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic content and stories are added to Flickr.

Interestingness is what Flickr calls the criteria used for selecting which photos are shown in Explore. All photos are given an Interestingness "score" that can also be used to sort any image search on Flickr. The top 500 photos ranked by Interestingness are shown in Explore. Interestingness rankings are calculated automatically by a secret computer algorithm. The algorithm is often referred to by name as the Interestingness algorithm.

Although the algorithm is secret, Flickr has stated that many factors go into calculating Interestingness including: a photo's tags, how many groups the photo is in, views, favorites, where click-throughs are coming from, who comments on a photo and when, and more. The velocity of any of those components is a key factor. For example, getting 20 comments in an hour counts much higher than getting 20 comments in a week.

Here are my 21 photos that made it to Explore so far.

1. kiss me in the rain 2. when seeds fall to the ground 3. get well soon mama fely 4. reach for the light 5. mas azul que esto 6. this knotted preview 7. on my way to you 8. yellow for this valentine 9. day 12: limited prospects 10. day 05: banished light 11. alphabetic collection - W 12. alphabetic collection - U 13. alphabetic collection - I 14. all is said and done 15. alphabetic collection - C 16. colors of the season 17. happy birthday annika 18. the heart is resilient 19. one day i'll fly away 20. ablazed this way 21. or so it seems

theater by the harbor

Oh what a delight it is to know that one of my photos has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of the Schmap Sydney Guide! Taken during my Australian trip last 2006, I never had any indication that a few years after, that shot will return to that country continent to grace one of its city guides.


Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre

Seating 1,547, this is home of the renowned Opera Australia and Australian Ballet. With an outstanding repertoire of both new and old, both companies stage several productions, running on consecutive night, around four times per year. The theater has a wooden ceiling, which enhances the acoustics. It has a proscenium stage and a screen above it onto which English subtitles can be projected for performances sung in their original language.


Here is that page:

www.schmap.com/sydney/entertainment_opera/p=38556/i=38556_21.jpg


This shot was taken during a walk with the city mayor of Cagayan de Oro and other local officials and business leaders when we went to Australia and New Zealand for a trade mission. It was one of those days when the sun was kind to tourists like us.

I entitled this photo "It Stands There."


Flickr Photo by This Girl

landing on the moon

I admit that I have been remiss of my blogging for a while. I was even afraid that like the past year, my zeal for doing this online journal has died too. But I think I am ready now to start 2009 with a little bit of good news.

A story came out in PC World online and one of my photos was featured.


Fantastic Flickr Photographers

Millions of photographs are posted on the photography site Flickr, but a small subset of them demonstrate a leap of technique and imagination. We showcase some of these interesting artists.

by Kathleen Cullen, PC World


The page where my photo above is featured is here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/155808-12/fantastic_flickr_photographers.html

The photo, "Wish Someone Could", is my shot of a morning moon and a bird flying by, camera settings with the help of Mike. And for its post-processing, I used some of the free textures available in the Internet to create the picture I have imagined. As taking photos and processing them is a pleasure in itself, this opportunity to be noticed and invited into articles like this is indeed a feather in the cap.


Flickr Photo by This Girl

these precious moments

Fifth photo walk with Mike today.

Destination: Camp Phillips, Bukidnon
Time start: 05.30am
Time end: 09.30am

cold relaxed drive
flower-lined lanes
proud pine trees
smell of a new day
dew on the grasses
shy sun through the trees
quaint houses in a line
people slowly walking to church
men jogging in the soccer field
a grandpa leading a young boy
pausing to take photos
confirmation in a touch
the search for breakfast
a sweet weekend morning

wonderful moments to make beautiful memories

Photo by Mike Mendoza
My 5th photo walk photos here

those photographs

Since getting the Canon EOS 1000D camera, I've had some good times clicking away, capturing the photos in raw format and processing them in Photoshop. Usually I chose one good shot out of the dozen I would usually take.

Most of these picks end up in my Flickr photostream. But sometimes, a photo doesn't make it. Maybe because Mike doesn't like it when I show it to him. Maybe because the photo lacks something. I don't know what, but it just comes up lacking.

Into the Water

I guess we go through lives making pictures out of the moments of our every day. Some come in dazzling colors, others better if just in simple black and white. Some we highlight with a frame, others are just there to fill a space or add to the numbers in the whole collection.

But as the photographer, like in our lives, we make sure that we click away. And we give everything to the shots we take. And though there will be photos we will never be able to capture, it's a big beautiful thought that we always gave our best to the ones we took.

tutorial on lens flare

The Oro Photographic Society will embark on a photo walk Saturday evening for the weekend Night Cafe of the city at Divisoria. That means I must prepare.. and I must study on how to avoid lens flare in my night shots.

Here are the notes I've gathered:

What is Lens Flare: Lens flare is created when non-image forming light enters the lens and subsequently hits the camera's film or digital sensor. This often appears as a characteristic polygonal shape, with sides which depend on the shape of the lens diaphragm. It can lower the overall contrast of a photograph significantly and is often an undesired artifact, however some types of flare may actually enhance the artistic meaning of a photo. Understanding lens flare can help you use it - or avoid it - in a way which best suits how you wish to portray the final image.

Minimizing Flare Through a Lens Hood: A good lens hood can nearly eliminate flare caused by stray light from outside the angle of view. Ensure that this hood has a completely non-reflective inner surface, such as felt, and that there are no regions which have rubbed off. Although using a lens hood may appear to be a simple solution, in reality most lens hoods do not extend far enough to block all stray light. This is particularly problematic when using 35 mm lenses on a digital SLR camera with a "crop factor," because these lens hoods were made for the greater angle of view. In addition, hoods for zoom lenses can only be designed to block all stray light at the widest focal length.



Minimizing Flare Through Composition: Flare is thus ultimately under the control of the photographer, based on where the lens is pointed and what is included within the frame. Although photographers never like to compromise their artistic flexibility for technical reasons, certain compositions can be very effective at minimizing flare. The best solutions are those where both artistic intent and technical quality coexist.

One effective technique is to place objects within your image such that they partially or completely obstruct any flare-inducing light sources. Even if the problematic light source is not located within the image, photographing from a position where that source is obstructed can also reduce flare. The best approach is to of course shoot with the problematic light source to your back, although this is usually either too limiting to the composition or not possible. Even changing the angle of the lens slightly can still at least change the appearance and position of the flare.

The basics from Understanding Camera Lens Flare

Photo by Marcelo Alves

my canon 1000d project #1

Clouds, At All

One Sunday Sunrise

Early Morning Dig

Project #1: Sunrise
Site: Villa Ernesto Phase II Beach Line
Date and Time: September 14 2008 5:30am-6:30am

Photos by This Girl

beauty of the night

By five thirty in the afternoon today, which was quite dark because of the clouds and the rain, I already knew it was going to be one of those nights.

When I cannot get a decent reply from my spouse, when the anger I'm storing is hitting its high level mark, when it's a great effort to make small talk in the dinner table with my daughters.

So I take two glassfuls of wine from one of those Bordeaux glasses, hole myself up in the guest room with my best pillow, do not take phone calls nor heed the knocks on the door.

But after my tipsy feeling is gone, when embraces were made with my daughters as I put them to their beds, and the object of my antagonism and fury is spread-eagled on the master bed, sleeping and oblivious to my rage - I turn to the darkness and the silence of the room. The best time as any to work on some photography!

I took down the flower hanging by my bathroom mirror and used it as my object. With the combination of darkness, light and color - here is my companion:


Photo by This Girl

a jog down by the bay

Yes I know that I'm not keeping a photo blog and I am a woman of words rather than of action haha. But on the second morning of the seminar in Bay View Hotel I woke up early for a jog along the bay. And so between the push from Vic and the agreed run-walk-run rhythm, I took in the sights and captured them.

Specks in the Distance


Sentinels to Your Thoughts


Marine Palette