This is actually Roxanne's new toy, it was either this or the Ixus 120 IS. Personally, I prefer something with a hotshoe like the Panasonic LX3 or the Canon Powershot G11, but the size of this baby is just right for Roxanne, and the features and image quality are great for something this small (like a baby DSLR).
Got this at Watson in Hidalgo for PHP25000, which is sort of a middle price between gray market units (around 17K) and those sold in the malls (around 31K). For the price, it comes with a 4GB SD card, a leather case, and is also entitled to three years warranty and a free Lonely Planet book upon registration online. What a bargain.
We would have taken it for a test drive tonight, but since I'm not feeling well we decided to do that some other time. So no pictures from the S90 for now.
Last night was superb! Nice food, a great view of the metropolis, and an opportunity to take pictures, all these while enjoying the evening with my ever lovely fiancee.
The Sky Lounge at Vivere Suites isn't new to us. In fact, Roxanne and I had one of our most memorable dates here a few years back, when I was still courting her. I say memorable because we got lost going here, thanks to all the detour caused by the widening project of SLEX. Imagine, it took us four hours to get there from Makati (for comparison, it took us 20 minutes to get there last night from Makati).
I highly recommend this place. Sky Lounge and Top of the Citi are the only restaurants I know that offers a stunning view of Metro Manila. In case you're reading this and have ideas on where to dine with a similar ambiance, please let us know.
One thing I have to mention is that it was surprisingly windy last night. It provided a challenge in everything: from keeping our napkins to making sure our hair didn't go astray to taking pictures. Yes, even with a tripod you get some camera shake with all that wind, or maybe I'm just using a cheap tripod. Even my credit card was blown away from the table, thankfully it landed on the floor.
Oh, this post wouldn't be complete without a link to the pictures. You can view them here. Cheers.
At seven in the morning yesterday, Roxanne received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Manila Cathedral. The day before, I tagged along with her during the orientation. I can't believe a lot of things that I've learned in Christian Living back in grade school have escaped me already. It was nice reconnecting with our faith in preparation for our big day in December.
I vaguely remember being confirmed when I was seven years old. I wasn't really aware of what's happening, I was just asked to fall in line and go to the priest. I didn't even know how to respond. I guess that's the reason why these days you have to be twelve years old to be confirmed, to understand it's significance to our being, and to our faith.
Special thanks to Tita Gigi for being Roxanne's sponsor, and to Uncle Rikki for the speedy and timely driving, as well as for the SB-28s (more on that in my next post).
Yesterday, Roxanne and I made it final. We are getting married on December 11, 2010, at half past eleven in the morning. Although the reception is still in the works (but almost there), the church, the Manila Cathedral Basilica, is already a done deal. Well, there's still tons of paperwork, seminars, and the balance to pay, but I think we'll pull this one off. For me, I can't believe that we're getting married, and at a church that was a big part of my childhood, but got lost somewhere when I was growing up.
I'm thankful too that I have friends I can ask for tips about wedding preparations, and parents that are supportive of our cause. This is definitely a great way to start this year.
Would you believe this place is just a short hike from Roxanne's house? Really cool!
Okay, at the expense of sounding like a broken record, here it goes again: my camera went bonkers for the nth time. I was literally at the mercy of my camera during my stay, thankfully it decided to cooperate on moments that mattered, like the photo taken above. It's back at the service center, and I'll write something about it when I hear from the guys at Canon.
So back to the story. I was my first time to visit Roxanne's home town of Ilagan in Isabela, and I was fortunate also to visit some of the adjacent towns, like San Mariano and Echague.
Isabela isn't your typical tourist destination. It's a classic example of the rural scene in the Philippines. If you play the likes of FarmVille on Facebook, then you could probably relate to what I'm saying. And I love this rural feel. The animals, the rice fields, the trees that shape the landscape, and the stars at night, all of these contribute to the serenity of the place. This is simplicity at its best.
I must admit that I'm a total city boy, that what I call home consists of tall buildings, heavy traffic, and accessibility to malls. But once in a while I enjoy the calm that the likes of Isabela has, that quiet aura that enchants you and takes all your worries away.
I really enjoyed the Isabela experience. Mingling with Roxanne's relatives and seeing how she grew up makes me love her even more. And that was just the first of many visits to come.
I'll post the pictures soon, Multiply is down anyway so I'll take my time.
At last I'm done with our Hong Kong pictures. Instead of doing a day by day or place by place gallery, I decided to choose some of the best and just group them all together. All of the pictures here and a lot more are available on my Multiply gallery here, and for our friends, some not in the gallery are posted on our Facebook accounts.
So many cameras, so little pocket money.
It's hard to choose a favorite destination in Hong Kong. I really love the feel of the island. I love Victoria Peak and the view of the island from above, Ocean Park and it's many attractions, and my first time at Lantau was a blast.
The famous red taxi cabs of Hong Kong.
My camera started to act up as we headed for Lantau on our third day, and on our last night it went totally kaput. But I'm thankful I was able to shoot everything that I came for: the view of the city, the Buddha, the cute pandas, and of course pictures of us on our second anniversary. It's also great that Roxanne's camera didn't fail us, we also have lots of shots there.
The Buddha at Lantau Island.
The view inside the cable car at Ocean Park.
Jellyfish rocks!!!
And one last thing. I didn't have too many pictures from Disneyland since my camera was on the verge of failure, but I was able to get the best shot from our stay. At exactly six in the evening on the tenth of November, I proposed to Roxanne. And the rest is history.
The best photo of the bunch. Priceless.
So there you have it. We really miss Hong Kong, and we hope we could go back there soon. Please visit my Hong Kong gallery for more pictures. Happy weekend.
Not exactly the way I wanted to shoot it, but at least I still got the shot.
Oh boy, back home again. Roxanne and I really miss Hong Kong, seeing those bright lights for the last time on our way to the airport made us realize that reality is just around the corner.
So far, nothing much has changed in Hong Kong. Taxi cabs are still red, and neon lights are still, well, neon. But there are also some changes. The MTR seems to have more lines and stations now, including one exclusive for Disney. And prices aren't as cheap as I imagined. Or maybe I'm not really after anything that's why I say so.
Now for the bad news. My camera acted up again, thankfully I was still able to use it during our trip. Today, it has gone kaput and is back at the service center. It is really time for me to upgrade. I also realized how handy a small camera can be when traveling, so I'm also thinking of getting a small "prosumer" camera in the near future.
And now for the good news. They say a picture paints a thousand words. I'll let the photo below do the talking.
That's about it for now. I'll post more about Hong Kong soon, including the pictures from our trip.
View from Victoria Peak, circa 2005. I want to do this shot again, only wider.
It's November again. Every tenth of November Roxanne and I celebrate our anniversary, this year it's our second. So on Saturday, off we go to our country's nearby neighbor, Hong Kong.
I have been to Hong Kong twice already, but this one will be special since I will be with Roxanne all the way. It's also special because this is the first year I'll be out of the country more than once. Yahoo!
I'm excited to return to Victoria Peak, and probably do a redo of the photo above, well, maybe wider. I'm also excited to visit Lantau Island to see the giant Buddha, and if we're lucky, we may get to visit Macau.
So now I'm starting to pack my clothes, and use the remaining days before our departure to fix stuff at work.
And to Roxanne, happy anniversary honey. I love you so much.
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 bonoprenup 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.
I rarely get sick. Wait, let me rephrase that. I rarely get sick and miss work. With the threat of A(H1N1) looming, our office building has tightened its measures by deploying nurses with thermometers and thermal scanners (seriously). Although I’m feeling much better now compared to yesterday, I decided to sit out the rest of the week just to be sure.
With thermometers sold out in most stores, all I can trust is my gut feel. So far, I feel okay now. Yesterday, I experienced some chills and body aches. No coughs and colds, just body weakness. I guess I got fatigued, lately I haven’t had enough sleep, and the weird climate here in Manila didn’t help either.
It’s hard missing work. I get calls all the time (just got one while writing this) and it pains me that I can’t attend to most of them. And even with amenities present, sometimes boredom just strikes. Worse is today is our 20th month as a couple, but I’m so thankful that Roxanne is so caring and understanding.
Asides from that, I’m also thankful because finally I got to have all the sleep I needed, and watch a lot of shows from my collection. But nothing beats having a healthy body, so I hope I get well soon.
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I’ve been using Globe’s 3G connection as my ISP today, and I think it’s okay, but they could still do better. It’s fast, but I often get timeouts, especially when someone is calling.
I use my Nokia E51 as my modem, with Windows machines you need Nokia PC Suite to do this, while on Macs all you need is a Bluetooth connection.
It’s best to inquire first at Globe’s customer service before trying this. By default, they charge per kilobyte, which is costly. If I’m not mistaken, you text time to 1111 to switch from per kilobyte to per minute charges (which usually amounts to PHP5.00 for every fifteen minutes). Also, set your access point to internet.globe.com.ph if you’re a postpaid subscriber or else you won’t be able to connect. It’s weird because it seems prepaid subscribers don’t have to use this access point, just connect and surf.
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As much as I’m loving my MacBook, I have to admit I still have dependence on PCs due to work. I still need Visual Basic for our projects, and I’m not sure if most of my Excel and Word files would open properly in NeoOffice (I’m still saving up for either iWork or MS Office for Mac).
Plus I also realized that there are issues with flash based memory (e.g. USB thumb drives) greater than 4GB when used with both systems. I had to reformat my 8GB PQI flash disk twice just to get it seamlessly working with both operating systems.
Thankfully, there are ways to run Windows on a Mac, but not the other way around. Now I’m just waiting for the release of Windows 7 (as well as save up for it) and try it out on my MacBook.
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Tomorrow is La Salle's first game, against the University of the East. Good luck to the Green Archers. Animo!
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And to Roxanne, thank you for the twenty months (and counting) that we have been together. I love you so much honey.
I haven't been in a picnic since high school. Thanks to Roxanne and her clan for inviting me for some good old chow by the grassy lot, and an opportunity for me to take pictures. It's also one of those rare opportunities that I get to borrow my mom's Fortuner. I just love driving that car.
I didn't know that there's already a cable car and a zip line in the area. I guess it's worth a try when the place is less crowded.
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:
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 litterollcall:
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.
I'm two days behind from greeting you guys, but it's better late than never. Ours was simple (just a dinner at Fish & Co.) yet both of us had fun that day.
So to everyone, Happy Valentine's Day. Have a great week ahead.
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.
Time flies so fast. It's been a year already since I started this blog. It all began with this post, and during that time I never really knew if I could sustain this blog.
Well, I guess the more than a hundred posts from the past year is already a personal milestone. Now all I need to do is promote this blog more.
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Last Sunday was a good day for me and Roxanne. It was our first time to have mass at Santuariode San Antonio in Makati, and it was Roxanne's first visit to the American War Memorial.
You can see the rest of the pictures here. For the first time, I enjoyed using flash in taking photos, and now I'm more convinced that I should invest in a dedicated flash gun.
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.
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.
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.
It's another one of those weeks where I'm too lazy to update my blog. However, yesterday was one special day that deserves a spot in this online journal. I was supposed to write this last night, but I got home pretty late and my creative juices were just low. Thankfully I was able to post some pictures on Multiply, and I have some time today to write, even though I'm stuck at work.
Yesterday was Roxanne's birthday, it's actually my second time to be with her on her special day. Last year's celebration was pretty simple, just a short prayer at Greenbelt Chapel and a Timex watch as my present.
This year, we were practically together the whole day. We spent the morning wrapping Christmas gifts (I'm not done yet with mine), and we passed by the bank to get some documents, and chat with friends. Fortunately, we were also able to meet up with Jorel, an old friend of mine from my early days with the bank.
Then came the best part of the evening. My birthday gift to her was a dinner at Top of the Citi. No, I didn't misspell the last word, it's really named that way since it's located at the top of Citibank Tower in Makati. It's a bit expensive, but the food and the view is worth it. Ample servings and great taste combined.
And for our final stop, a short prayer at Don Bosco before calling it a day. And it made me happy that Roxanne enjoyed her special day.
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Now for a little side story:
Personally, I have always wanted to dine at Top of the Citi. I have known of this place for quite some time now, having researched it since I really enjoyed dining at Skyline at the top of Vivere Suites in Alabang, another great restaurant overlooking the city.
There are actually two things that inspired me to plan this special date. One is that two weeks ago, I was able to attend a party with Roxanne at the penthouse of Antel Platinum Tower, a building just across Citibank Tower. The view was just magnificent, Makati at night is really breathtaking. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera that day. Now I always bring my camera (G5) wherever I go. For some reason, the view from Antel is a little better from that of Citibank.
The second thing is that on that same day, the rest of the JETS attended a party at Top of the Citi. Having seen Burn's pictures, I knew I needed to visit that place.
I highly recommend Top of the Citi, the view is just awesome, and the food is superb. Yes it's a bit pricey, but the experience is definitely worth it.
Prior to yesterday, I checked out some links to help me decide if it was all worth it. Here they are:
I think I will hold off my plans to buy a new camera body for the meantime. I just realized that I still have a lot to explore, and many things to improve on. So, here's my photography wishlist, hopefully i can buy them one by one soon, or some kind heart would actually give me one as a gift:
Tripod - a lot of my long exposures last night turned out blurry, and my camera almost fell from the 34th floor of Citibank Tower. I think I'll buy one of those inexpensive tripods, since I only plan to use it with my ultra wide.
Flash - it's about time that I learn more about lighting. The onboard flash is really limiting (although I'm still trying to make the most out of it), at the same time I've seen how much a flash can improve one's photos. But if I purchase one, I also have to buy a vertical grip to balance the weight.
Terabyte storage - I'm running out of space, and I really want to experiment with RAW.
So there you go, no new lens or body for now, just save up for these three first.
