Diggin up some pics

Been looking through my old files to upload some of my shots from the past

Here's a set from when I went all around Mindanao

formspring.me

jumping on the spring wagon Ask me anything http://formspring.me/ssshortzzz

PhotoJourn

I took a seminar this morning at STI at Fort, Taguig.

This was sponsored by Globe Tattoo, STI and OneYouth

First up was Jim Paredes with Basic Photography and Appreciation

It was okay. He did say upfront that although he's been shooting since film days, he wasn't very technical.

Like, he doesn't remember all the exposure settings of some of his shots and said he's been using Auto for the longest time. But that's okay, coz I've been like that also.

He then showed us some of his shots, then that's where I got really impressed.

This guy is an artist! He knows how to tell a story. He knows how to stir up emotions and make the viewers "feel".

It's this "photographer's eye" that takes the most effort to develop. I think it's easy for Jim as he's a real artist.
I'm still working and developing my eye.




some shots i took




Then next up was Jerry Carual, The Presidential Photographer.

Jerry is also an active officer of various professional organizations such as:
Press Photographers of the Philippines - Ppp.org.ph
Government Photographers Association of the Philippines
Presidential Photojournalists Association


So his topic was Photojournalism


He said it's telling a story, carrying the scene to the reader.
he took this definition from Henri Cartier-Bressnon, who once said,
"There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oops! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

So he explained the ins and outs.
the risks, being pointed a gun at, and having multiple death threats..
how he had 2 colleagues in the Maguindanao massacre
and the some other dangers abroad. 
He had this one friend just taking a shot of the sunset somewhere in the Middle-East, then he was shot in the head with a .38 calibre. dang man...


He explained:
How to hold the cam
Having two cameras with different focal lengths
How to walk backwards while looking where the pillbox and flying water bottles are coming from.


Then he started showing some shots and how to tell a story.
This was cool. You really have to squeeze those creative juices especially since if you are on assignment, you will be there with a dozen other photographers and you will most likely have the same shot.


I've never really been a high fashion photog, macro, and nature landscapes are just okay for me. What I really I like is capturing the moment and telling stories. That is why this short and FREE workshop was really cool.


These two photogs gave their story and you can see that their experience is what really helped them develop this skill. They showed how to dictate the image, how to place the viewer's eye. 
Alamin mo kung saan babagsak ang mata

#uppereastfail

Trends come and go like snap of a finger, especially now in the internet age where everything is Tweeted and everything is a posted on Facebook, there's SOOO much information it's like everyone has ADD. 
But when something is hot, people hammer it on!


One example is the hashtag #UpperEastFail
from this original post,
http://twitter.com/divasoria/status/6228241732

all of a sudden it became a trending topic. Just click on this to see the different twitter posts or read the comments in OurAwesomePlanet which led to further tweeting
This poor restaurant Upper East is a victim of TRENDSTOMPING 
The collective mocking of a target through social networks, a groundswell of ridicule via Twitter or Facebook.

People can be so heartless, but just reading the write-up on their website, some people just can't help it.


Comments criticizing every word, then more comments that are eventually unbiased just to add to the pile. The fact that these short messages are passed so fast, a spark can turn into a flame and the flame into a fire, and into a blazing inferno! It's uncontrollable!

but then again.. people have ADD..
and as some one just posted,

So what's next?


p.s.

i'll try this place nga, it's near the office anyways.
Upper East
Ground Floor, NDC Building
116 Tordesillas Street
Salcedo Village, Makati City Upper East is open Nov 11 to Dec 12, 2009 
Tues to Sat, 11:30 AM to 2PM for lunch service
Fri and Sat, 6PM to 9:30PM for dinner service
Closed on Mondays
December 12 onwards will be open for private functions

Uncovered: Waterlily

Uncovered Series: I'll just be posting some old photos I took before to beef up this site.
It could be photos I posted in my Multiply (which is sadly dying, damn FB), or actual photographs that I found and will scan and upload here.


For the first Uncovered photo, it will be the shot I took that made me realize that I was ColorBlind

Waterlily:



I shot this back in 1999.
I was taking my first photography workshop at the Mowelfund Film Institute.
Our teacher then, was the father of Gary "Mr Pure Energy" Valenciano, Vicente Valenciano.
One weekend, we went on a field trip and went to Fort Santiago, Intramuros. I took shots of cobblestone, the footsteps of Rizal, the towers and buildings. Fun day! I don't know why but a lot of people go here when they start out Photography for their first few photowalks. (See Ira's and Ellyn's Photowalk, Walled City Photowalk, Flickr)


Walking around in the walled city, I came to a patch of waterlilies. I snapped my shot then went on taking more pictures of walls and cobblestone. I had a LOT of cobblestone pictures.
Anyways, after developing my own film (yes, I developed it on my own, I printed it as well using an Enlarger), I showed the class my photo, they commented on how the colors were really pretty and how the red "popped".


I was surprised and it made me look at the picture again. Indeed there were red flowers in the picture.
And all of that time, I thought I was just shooting the green floating leaves.


A few weeks later, I went to the doctor and had my eyes checked and confirmed that I'm color-blind.
The Red-Green kind. This means, if theres a wall of green and specks of red (like the pic above) I won't be able to see the Red, and vice-versa.
Please note that this only happens at first glance. I can see the Red as long as I take a real good look at it.


Check if you are colorblind here
What colorblind people see here  (though I can't really differentiate)


How does it feel being colorblind?

I feel normal and it's nothing really detrimental to my life.

- Except for that test I took in highschool using a Maroon pen. The teacher made me re-do the test and write all 5 pages of essays in black ballpen.
- And when people have me look for that green "thing" (their bag, their shirt, or other stuff)
- And when my clothes don't match
- And during Christmas time with all the Red and Green!!
- and when I edit pictures.. dang!


hahaha oh well,  c'est la vie 
I'm the ColorBlind Photog