Hanging Out With Friends

Saturday night with Steve and Rena at Bubba Gump Greenbelt 3.

The past week has been great because we got to hang out with friends that I haven't seen in a long time. Last Monday, it was with former colleagues Ferdie, Bobby, and Wilma. These guys were my first set of friends when I started working. It was supposed to be a short dinner, but these guys are so lively that we had to stay a little longer.

Saturday night was with college buddy Steve and his wife Rena. I haven't seen this guy in a long time due to his busy schedule, hopefully next year they get to visit Manila again (both of them are based in Dumaguete). It was nice remembering our college days, as well as catching up with what's new, as well as picking up some wedding preparation tips from the new couple.

George And Pris

The happy couple.

George and Pris have been together for a long time. I've known George since 2004, and he was already with Pris at that time. I guess this is one of the testaments on how much this couple jives together.

Mass was celebrated at the historic San Agustin Church in Intramuros, followed by a reception at the nearby Villa Immaculada.

And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a link to the pictures. Here are the ones from Gelsen, while here are the ones from my camera (Jayson took some of the shots, thanks bro). We're still waiting for the photo boot pictures, I'll post something about that once the gallery is online.

Again, congratulations George and Pris. May God bless your union.

Weddings And Cameras

Weddings

Congratulations to George and Pris on your wonderful wedding. Pictures coming soon.

Cameras

I finally got my 400D from the service center last Wednesday. Weird thing is that after a month of being checked in, they found nothing wrong with it. I decided to pull it out for the meantime, since I don't have any backup to use.

I'm actually tempted to upgrade early, since there's this three year warranty program for selected units purchased before the year ends. But I'm also trying to save up, since I've spent more this year. We'll see, I hope my 400D "stays in shape" for the meantime.

And as for Canon, I still believe they're one of the best in terms of service quality. Very polite representatives and specialists.

Another Story From Typhoon Ondoy

This weekend's calamity has turned me into a proactive blogger. Wait, did I use the term proactive correctly? Anyway, I realized that this blog is a powerful tool, I can share not only my stories, but those of others as well.

I've been watching the news since yesterday, seeing how grave the situation is for some parts of Metro Manila. Even celebrities are not spared from distress. But until you hear it from someone you know, that's when you realize how close to home the situation is.

My office mate Raphy lives in Marikina, in one of the subdivisions affected by intense floodwater. Water rose to the second level of their home, leaving mud and debris all over, and ruining most of their furniture. He hasn't slept since yesterday, he told me that at night he kept hearing some of their neighbors scream, crying for help. They don't have electricity, and their car was also submerged (not sure how much) in floodwater. He was also bitten by their dog and awaiting treatment. I guess the fact that he was able to talk to me on the phone is proof that he and his family are alright.

But the bright side of the story is that Raphy and his family tried their best to help their neighbors. They tried to rescue some of their neighbors trapped in their own home. He even applied first aid to one of his cousins who accidentally stepped on a fence (water was that high).

These stories give us hope, that after such a tragedy life must go on. Actually, I admire people who went to work today, to help with the continuity of life. To the people at gas stations and garages helping people like me; to taxi drivers and other PUV drivers who help us get home safely; to people in the malls, even though they're shorthanded, they still try their best to serve us; and to all those doing their part in helping: I admire these people. I myself still don't know how to do my part. I just hope in a way sharing this stories can make a difference.

The Joys Of Lighting (Impromptu Shoot)

Once in a while, you have to be in front of the camera, not always behind it.


Yesterday's lunch gathering turned into an impromptu photo shoot, this time with me and Roxanne as the subject. I didn't have my camera, but it didn't seem to matter anyway. We all had fun.

George called this one "free-nup", because it was a sort of pro bono prenup shoot. Actually, it's a practice shoot for all of us. For me and Roxanne, it was a way of seeing how a prenup shoot is done, since Jayson and George had been in one already. For the rest of the guys, it's a practice on lighting techniques.

In the years I've spent in photography, it seems that I'm missing an integral part of it: good lighting techniques. Seeing how yesterday went, proper (or should I say dramatic) lighting isn't an easy thing, but the results can really inspire you. I have always tried natural lighting, seeing this as the way to go, buying fast lenses and not caring about flash units. But natural light doesn't always behave the way you want it to. Of course, flash units are not as useful when shooting landscapes, wildlife, and long exposures. With people though, you can really unleash its power. Same goes for product shots.

This morning, I received an SMS from Canon, my 400D is ready for pickup. Now it's time I consider getting a flash unit, maybe a 430EX II, and some wireless triggers. I have been contemplating on this for a long time now, but seeing how fun it is to shoot with creative lighting, I now want to unleash the strobist in me.

And with all my friends using Nikon, I'm also contemplating on shifting systems. But that's another story.

The guys at work.

Credits to George for the pictures above (more from his gallery here), with lighting help from Jayson and Gelsen.

Bon Voyage Reena

L-R: Me, Reena, Gelsen, Jayson, Myra, Pris, and George. Taken during her despedida last August 5. More photos from Jayson and Myra here.

Gelsen already confirmed that his girlfriend Reena is leaving tomorrow for Maldives to work for the new Shangri-La Hotel there. So from all of us, have a safe and pleasant journey ahead, and goodluck on your new job.

Maleldo 2009

Jayson along with the spectators.

Penitents.

Live crucifixion (partly covered).

Maleldo, the Kapampangan word for "Holy Week".

In San Pedro Cutud, a village in San Fernando, Pampanga, people (especially foreigners) flock here during Good Friday to witness Lenten sacrifice at its extreme. Some are whipped, while others are crucified.

Jayson and George convinced us (me and Roaxnne) to join them in witnessing this event last Friday, only to realize that we were not prepared. No, it's not the blood nor the gore, but the suffering that entails the trip. Walking under the scorching sun for more than a mile, being duped by the pedicab driver, and all the dust and people were some of the factors that caught us by surprise. It was dubbed as our "penitenshoot", taking pictures and at the same time, making a sacrifice.

I guess a return trip next year to San Pedro Cutud is improbable, but in case I (or we) do return, here are some things that I learned from this trip:

- Brings lots of hankies or small towels, Good Friday always falls on a summer, so expect lots of sweat. It's also helpful against dust in the air.

- It is dusty, really dusty. Make sure your gear (e.g. camera) is protected, and always take caution if you have nasal allergies.

- Parking is expensive, so always bring extra cash.

- In case you have to ride a pedicab, be wary of where they will drop you off. Always tell them to bring you to the crucifixion site, no excuses.

- Drinks are available at the site, but if you must bring your own, it's best to have it frozen. Believe me, it gets really hot, and a warm bottle of Gatorade is not fun to drink.

- The show usually starts past noon, so don't hurry, unless you're a photographer and you want a good vantage point.

- There are lots of people, so on the way back, be prepared to walk (around 1.5 kilometers).

I guess that's about it. Oh, and more pictures at the following links:

Mine
George's
Jayson's
Myra's

Planet Dive

The rocky shoreline of Anilao.

Me and Roxanne.

Our diver friends.

Gelsen checking out the gear.

The best part of the day, an awesome sunset.

I am never an early bird. But even with only four hours of sleep, the magnificent view of the ocean as we approach Planet Dive in Anilao, Batangas became an indication that it was going to be a great day. That big blue body of water almost made me cry (just kidding).

Since Roxanne and I are not divers (nor are we good swimmers), we decided to just wander around before lunch time as most of our friends went to dive. Being there was just so relaxing, how I wish I'd see the ocean whenever I look out my window.

After lunch, we tried out snorkeling. It was my first time, and I never really got any good underwater shots. Unfortunately, Roxanne got injured, her knee struck some jagged rock and it caused a big wound, which we attended to immediately. With this development, I had to postpone my plans of taking introductory scuba diving lessons.

After all that commosion, the day ended well with a beautiful sunset, much better than that of Manila Bay. We all went home tired (with some injured), but fulfilled.

Anyway, before I say where the rest of the pictures are, here's a litte rollcall:

To Jayson and Myra - thanks for the ride home, and for letting me try your IR camera.
To George - thanks for lending me your Aquapack.I guess underwater photography is not that easy.
To Pris - you're the best nurse in the world. Thank you so much for treating Roxanne's injury.
To Gelsen - thank you for the ride to Planet Dive. Nice time lapse video.
To Jayson H. - nice meeting you bro.
And to Roxanne - I hope you get well soon honey. I love you so much.

And now, the photo galleries:
Mine
Jayson's
Myra's
George's
Gelsens' (with his famous time lapse video)

Cheers!!!

Night Shots At Harbour View

I love night shots. I think I've said this too many times already. And now that I have a tripod (I'll write something about that soon), it's even more fun.

So thanks to George, Jayson, Myra, and Roxanne for this photo opportunity. Please check out the rest of the pictures here. Oh, and please click here for a related post.

On Cats And Jorel

Another cat related post (see my first one here). Last Saturday, I just realized that our garage has been empty for weeks (dad sold his car last year), so it was the perfect chance for me to take pictures of our cats again. Apparently, it's down to just five felines. Not sure if that figure will change in the near future, only time will tell (the most we had was around 14).

You can check some more pictures here. I used my telephoto lens for all of my shots.

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Me, Beth, Ferdie, Jeannee, and Jorel. Circa 2003.

Although I wasn't feeling too good last Saturday, the day ended well when I had the chance to hang out with my good friend Jorel. He was one of my first friends in Unionbank, as well as the other guys in the picture above. He left for Dubai around two (or is it three) years ago, and is here on vacation (he leaves again tomorrow).

Thanks to Bobby for tagging me along on this one. It's these guys that made my stay at the branch fun, even with the ridiculous work load.

By the way, Jorel has a cat similar to Mimo (which I think is a Siamese cat). Just want to mention that one.

Babies (And Other Stuff)

Okay, one post (again, condensed) before another week of work. This time, it's full of "baby talk".

My niece Debbie has grown so much over the past year. Here's a picture of her taken barely a month after her birth.


And here she is now, taken just this afternoon.


And like other growing kids, she's really hyper and all. It's becoming harder for me to take pictures of her, thank God video is always there to the rescue. Here's a video taken this afternoon in our garage, she really likes playing with our cats.



And here's a picture from not so long ago, again playing with our cat.


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And speaking of babies, this is Xantino (I hope I got that right).


Xantino is Roxanne's newest nephew, born just a few days before the new year started. Another cute being introduced to the world.

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This time, no babies involved.

I just received ten email messages from Mac, all containing pictures from our Avilon Zoo escapade (100MB worth of pictures). They're mostly group shots, as Mac was sort of designated to take them (he had the tripod and the wide angle lens to do the job). I'm looking for the rest of Mac's takes in his Multiply account.


And Burn has also posted his takes here. And in case you haven't seen my shots, just click here.

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And yesterday, Roxanne and I celebrated our fourteenth month as a couple. Something we're happy about.

So that's about it for now. Have a happy week ahead.

Finally!!!

I can't seem to sleep right now. Maybe it's the coffee I had with these guys at Starbucks. Whatever the reason is, I'm just glad that our planned get together with George and Jayson finally became a reality. And hopefully, this would be the first of many.

We all met around lunchtime at Mall of Asia, and then proceeded to Hooters for lunch. And like my previous visit, I almost did the chicken dance once again. And this time, it was tougher figuring my way out of it.

After lunch we spent a few more hours at the bay side and the mall, and we even went to the new Cyberzone. Gelsen had to leave early, but the rest of us stayed until past seven, enough for us to chat and see the fireworks.

It was really nice chatting once again with these guys, especially about work, photography, and practical jokes. I missed how these guys make me laugh, even though a lot of times the joke is on me. But that's fine with me, these are a great bunch of people.

So to Gelsen, Jayson, Myra, George (sorry if I still call you Greg sometimes), and Pris, thank you for this get together. Looking forward to the next one (hopefully I can tag Roxanne with me next time).

Oh, I almost forgot, you can check the rest of the pictures here.

Avilon Zoo Gallery

Happy New Year!!! How was 2009's entrance for you? For me, it was better than previous years. Even with all the smoke and noise from all those firecrackers, I'm thankful that there were no lost projectiles on New Year's eve, and that my car is still up and running (cross fingers). I'm also thankful that I got to spend the New Year with Roxanne, and for the extra days we have to rest and relax. So I'll try to post some more before heading back to the real world come Monday.

As promised, my takes on our Avilon Zoo adventure are already posted here. I'm still waiting for Burn and Mac's galleries to show up, so for now you can enjoy some of their other stuff from the links below.

Burn's Multiply Photos Page
Mac's Multiply Photos Page

And, please enjoy some of my previous work as well.

My Multiply Photos Page

Again, may the next 365 days be filled with joy and blessings for us all. Maligayang Bagong Taon!!!

Avilon Zoo

These are just some of my shots from yesterday's Avilon Zoo escapade. It was so tiring walking under the sun for hours, but it was fun taking all these pictures and bonding with the JETS and Roxanne.

It wasn't my first time there, but it was for the rest of the gang. Thankfully, we were able to maximize our visit. But sadly for me, since we left an hour before closing time, I wasn't able to see the Avilon sunset that wowed me during my last visit.

I'll provide an update when the full gallery is posted in my Multiply account, as well as those from Burn and Mac. It seems like most of my shots yesterday were from the long end, so expect to see a lot of head shots. Mac has most of our group shots, so I look forward to seeing them soon.

Happy New Year!!!

Saturday

Yesterday was a Saturday filled with reunions of all sorts.

Surprise Visit

Christian's friend, Christian, Auntie Lily, Auntie Ching, Kuya Eric

I was actually expecting Debbie and her babysitter when I heard knocks on the door. To my surprise, it was Kuya Eric and Christian, together with Auntie Ching.

Although Auntie Ching is a regular here in our house, I haven't seen the other two for quite a long time. Kuya Eric is my cousin from the US, he was our tour guide when we were there several years ago. He's here on vacation with his wife, and we had fun chatting about photography (really enjoyed playing with his Pentax DSLR), going around the Philippines, and his work in the US (which, like the Philippines, is full of politics).

Christian, on the other hand, is actually my nephew. But since I'm only two years older than him, I consider him as a cousin as well. We practically grew up together, but as we approached adulthood we sort of lost track of one another. We talked about IT stuff, particularly the IT industry. He's now a director in one of the IT companies in Makati (he's been a real computer whiz since high school).

Bilog

Debbie, also known as Bilog

Debbie has a new nickname. It seems like Auntie Lily cannot recall her name, so she calls her Bilog, because of her cute round body. Bilog has really grown so much in just a year.

Oh, yesterday was her dad's birthday as well. Belated happy birthday little brother.

Balikbayans

Dennis, Mac, Burn, Jane, Cess, Shari, Jayson

Cess

Shari

My Saturday was capped off by a reunion with high school friends, with special emphasis on our balikbayans Cess and Shari. They treated us to pizza and pasta, and we had coffee afterwards. If I'm not mistaken, they even had a drinking spree afterwards (I decided to sit this one out).

Shari now lives in Australia and works as a banker, while Cess works in China as an interior designer. It was really nice to see them once again. My attendance was actually a surprise, since I didn't inform them that I'd be coming ahead of time (sorry).

Please check the rest of the pictures here. I'm also looking forward to Burn's photos, hopefully he'll post them here.

E-Banking Christmas Party

Lonely me enjoying the view.

Our host Gina.

Carlo enjoying his new Starbucks tumbler.

PSP addicts.

Last Friday we celebrated our Christmas party at Gina's place in Antipolo. It was different from the previous years because this time our celebration was exclusive to our department, Electronic Banking (also known as E-Banking). We did have some guests, like Mikey, Carlo's girlfriend, and of course, Gina's kids.

It was a night of food, booze (none for me, though), basketball, PSP, and gifts (thanks to Raphy for the laptop cooler). I guess in some instances an intimate party is better than one with a large crowd (and some sort of production). But that's just me.

Only a few days to go until Christmas. Happy holidays!

Oh, and before I forget, you can see that rest of the pictures here. Again, happy holidays!

Raymond And Magic Cards

It was nice seeing my old friend Raymond once again. I've known this guy since grade school, and in high school he was my closest friend outside the JETS. He was also my band mate and partner in crime back then.

And although we're full blown adults now, we still enjoyed playing Magic: The Gathering, something that preoccupied me and drained my wallet back in college. I can't believe that I still know how to play this game, and that I'd enjoy it more than I expected. Heck, I really missed the artwork on these cards, and became fascinated once again by the rules to this game.

It was also fun trading stories with him. Now, I'll actually think twice before dining outside, but that's another story.

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And by the way, happy birthday to my friend Tim. May you have many more blessings to come.


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Again, congratulations to Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao for making the Filipino people proud. And thanks to my brother for providing us streaming video while having lunch.

Don And Jhen

To my friend Jhen:

Instead of writing some sort of article on what transpired on your wedding day, I'll just say my message to you in the simplest way possible.

We haven't really spoken for quite a while, I know you have been busy preparing for this special day, and I also have been preoccupied with work and other things. Seeing you on your wedding day made me happy, knowing that part of your dreams had already come to life, and there's a lot more to look forward to in the future. I wish you and Don all the happiness and blessings, I know the two of you are really lucky to have each other.

I remember almost two years ago, you were telling me that you guys intended to marry each other this year. Now that the wedding is over, it seems that everything went according to plan. And I'm thankful that I became a part of it in some way.

I know I promised you a lot of pictures on your wedding day, and I'm deeply sorry if I didn't deliver as expected. For sure, you will have a lot of wonderful wedding pictures, and I look forward to seeing them.

And lastly, thank you for being a good friend to me. I still owe you coffee, and if I recon, you still owe me dinner. Hopefully one day we'll find time for that.

God bless!

Hooters

This happened a week ago, but I never had the chance to post it since I got preoccupied with sorting out our pictures from Baguio (and of course, work).

Me and the JETS went to Hooters near SM Mall of Asia last Saturday. It was an impromptu "boys night out" sort of gig, and we really had fun. I enjoyed the food, while my friends enjoyed the "view". And I almost did a "chicken dance", just don't ask why, it's a long story.

I'm not going to create a photo gallery for this one. Instead, you can visit Burn's gallery here. Most, if not all, of the shots there came straight out of my camera anyway. You may also want to read Burn's own account of our Hooters experience here.

One last thing, I really like these shots from our Hooters gig, so I'm posting them here. They were taken before leaving for home.