shadow

been busy lately. photography seminars attended, taking care of my loving wife and baby,commitments here and there.not much of time blogging.

recently been trying to take photos with story behind. like photo journalism.applying ideas learned from the seminars and blogs from fellow photographers across the globe.

"Their HERO"
picture shown adjusted for balance and levels only

got this picture of a laborer working at extended hours sa site namin. capturing his shadow against the sunset and construction behind.after whole day work, still working until evening. exhausted and tired, no food, no harness and safety gears.he bravely perform his duties for his family back in his country. this people are a true hero for their family.

iM goNNa bE a DaD !

Yahoo!!!!!!! im gonna be a dad.

aug 30. i found out that my wife was delayed for 5 days. i told her, and she was still reluctant to consider that shes is really pregnant and wanted to wait for few more days to check if she really is preggy. the next day i told her " labs cgurado ako positive kna nyan, di ka nman na de-delay ng 5 days. i've checked our online monitoring guide (www.mymonthcycle.com) if we missed count or its a false alarm. i told my wife to try a P-test early in the morning just to see.

and it was positive. though she was still not sure dahil di daw visible masyado ung second line. i told her " wala naman second line kung negative ka, pero may second line na lumabas but hinde prominent." im so happy to see the result...meanwhile my wife still not convinced that she is really preggy, i told her "cge i'll buy one of those p-test na pwede mo gamitin anytime of the day and costly" just to make sure tska para mawala ung doubt nya....

second check.POSITIVE. this time kitang-kita na ung second line and tlgang sureness na..yahooo! at last my wife is convinced. late that evening we went for a early pregnancy check. Dra. Sarita Kapoor, one of the best OB in dubai at kilalang-kilala sya d2 kaso mahal nga lang, checked her up and took a blood test. next morning wife is having morning sickness then the result of the blood test was again POSITIVE.


i am so blessed and happy. first baby namin ng wife ko.a true miracle from GOD how it was formed and developed.countless blessings are coming in sa buhay namin..we just cant give back things that we have dahil alam namin na kulang pa yon sa blessings that the LORD are providing..marami pong salamat aming AMA...just continue to use us as your servants and workers. everything is for your Glory and Honor! we give you back all the WORSHIP and PRAISE!

pHoTogRapHy - tATiN oNe LigHt

inspired by David Hobby strobist set up/workshop and Zach Arias One-light workshop...i did some shoot with my wife at home.


PP- skin toning and color balance...vignetting and dark background totally natural...cool isnt it?



shutter 1/50 iso 400 18-200mm SB800 1/8 snooted grid spot on a lightstand


behind the scene , of course you can't see me...hahaha..im shy..= )

pHotoGraphy - sTrObiSt gEaRs

wohooo!!! just got my 43" Wescott umbrella with removable black cover, lumopro 8" A/C light stand and lumopro umbrella swivel. that was a quick delivery by UPS.it only took them 5 days.



and here's the unpacking and quick tests.

unpacked

test shot : umbrella as a reflector with my SB800

test shot :umbrella as a diffuser.nice soft light

another set of toys for my nikki and friends...i hope i can acquire a wescott 28" apollo softbox,1 sb800 and 3 pocket wizards. that would make my strobist gear complete. = ) tnx to mpex.com for the gears.looking forward for the next business deal with you.

pHotoGrapHy - hYrA

another pic from hyra's first set after 2 hrs of post processing...im happy on this pic's outcome..crispy sharp,defined edges, nice skin tone,....played with filters a bit more on the BG,color balance and saturation and used librodo's sharpening technique..believe me it is like magic!...sana may pumansin sakin na advertising agency d2 sa dubai..kahit na part time lng...go ako dyan..

nIke ID - tIempo vs. aIr ForCe oNe

i've been searching the net where to find Nike Airforce One - Philippines Edition. since the main man died -Francis M., nag ka interes ako humanap nito. i first saw this shoe on his blogs. being a long time fan of francis m, i can say na we have a lot of things in common. We love Hip-Hop & Rap, we love Music, we love photography and we love our country.ONE LOVE sir KIKO!




then came the urge to buy this freaking shoes. malakas na din loob ko umorder thru internet since nasubukan ko na b4 using my credit card. the problem is limited pieces lng ung na-release sa market...some of them are for sale or open for bidding but its way too expensive for me. bka batukan ako ng misis ko.hehe. then i told kuya pao about my sentiments. sabi nya "bro., wala kna makukuha nyan.kung meron man napaka-mahal. check mo ung nike-id,ikaw mismo gagawa ng color and design ng kicks mo.hmmm.. magandang idea yan....

sa sobrang kagustuhan ko magaya ung philippine flag color pattern. ang kinalabasan ng customized shoes ko ay superman theme...hahah.it might not be the same color combi, but it looks nice.and the most important of all, my wife likes it too and thats the most important part..approved kay misis...kaya no problem on ordering on-line.

Day By Day UAE 6th AnNivErSAry

Happy 6th Anniversary DAY BY DAY Christrian Ministries Dubai U.A.E.

how time pass by so fast.ang bilis, i can still remember last year's celebration where i was part of the Kaloob Dance ministry.it was the same celebration with new faces and friends. now this year, same people and more new faces and more friends. God is really good for giving me the talent and time to be part of this event.

and i think dito din nag start ang aming munting love story ng aking kabiyak.hehehe..sama-sama sa practice, punta sa center para mag rehearse tapos sabay umuwi, hayy..sarap ng pakiramdam...mag-reminisce daw ba..

there is one thing that is clear for me.HE guided me into the ministry and gave me my wife.Thank you so much dear GOD..

us before..

us after the P&W celebration Prayformance

kaloob ministry with Pstr. Ed lapiz

us now

bonggang peechure...hehe

guys after the Praise and Worship Pray-formance

have you noticed something?im wearing the same yellow costume..ala kasi iba kasya sakin kaya yan pa din ung pinasuot for this year..hahaha...sana next year blue naman. *wink

pHotoGrAphY - hYrA

ayown,nabuhay nnman blog ko...

last friday was the 6th anniversary celebration of our church here..Day by Day Ministries U.A.E.

it was a fun friday morning, though tiring, but we had a great time.i'll post about the anniversary later...after the celebration i ask ate hyra to pose for me for a quick fun shoot at the hotel lobby...

here are the pics
its a one quick pictorial around 2pm, dahil antok na antok na kame coming from 2 straight weeks of practice sa P&W ministry.plus having only 3 hrs of sleep. the rest of the gang went to see transformer 2..kame ng misis ko.derecho uwi at natulog..pag gising umaga na..hahah

pRodUCt ShooT

my first product shoot...

a friend,church-mate and a co-ministry worker is working for a research company. she approached me and ask if i can do a product photograph..."certainly..i'd loved to" thats my answer..without any idea on how am i gonna do that product shot.then "prepare some samples, send it to me by email so that my boss can see it.ask your friends how much it will cost us for two products.." was the next lines i got from her...waaaahhhh.. i dont have any sample, i dont know how much is the rate(they will pay me??)...next thing, i found myself lurking into the internet to do some research..omg...pressured on my first assignment...and here are the results....

sample products i did.


The Products shots result...used some white drawing paper from our site office, formboard for fill, a borrowed SB800 from bro. jezreel(tnx bro!)

pOrtRaITS

i've been doing DIY gadgets and lighting mod's for my flash (SB800)...i found this website www.diyphotography.net...you can find lots of photography tips, tricks and DIY illustration how to do a home made version of photography gadgets and gizmos at a very less cost...sometimes no cost at all.all you need to have is time,patience and be a handyman.

well, at first parang ayoko gawin kasi bka di umipek...sayang lang ang oras ko...but i still decided to give it a go...i made a DIY beauty dish..made from a palangana, empty CD case (100pcs cap.), spray paint(white and black), screws,tin can sheet and concave mirror...i'll make a separate posting for the DIY beauty dish...for now, im interested to share the portraits after some PP ehancement....


im happy with the results, its kindahard to find the right angle since the beauty dish diameter is relatively small...i think im gonna make a bigger beauty dish....please do comment..for improvement..

vAcaTion 2009

march 2009- we had our vacation sa pinas since we (I & Cathy) are gonna get married and our friends (Birds and Leyz) are going to have their church wedding too.

eto na..baskayon na...wala kami ginawa kundi mag shopping at kumain...anu ba nman ung 3 times kami bumisita sa DAMPA (p'que and macapagal) in our 3 week stay sa pilipinas....hahaha..food trip tlga...i missed pinoy food a lot..though nakakapag luto kami here in dubai, iba pa din if sa pinas niluto,tpos fresh pa..panalo..i even ask the waitress to give me their secret recipe for sweet and spicy buttered crab(she gave after ilang beses na pangungulit kaso mahal ang crab dito sa dubai)...

buttered crab

shrimps

fish morgue

crab jail


judgement day


left overs - ehehe

whew!! kakagutom tuloy..hehe..after our wedding, cathy's family and my family went for a short trip to batangas..forgot the name of the place,since my mind was set for a diving trip to bohol or palawan,but i kinda liked it din afterwards.being with our family and spend some quality time with them are priceless. to think that we will be staying for a couple of weeks lng kaya make the most of it na..mejo kaka ngarag lang din.almost every other day we have to travel from my moms place to her place..las pinas to binan..commuting, the pila, the traffic, the init...haha! nakakaloka! pero masaya kasi kasama ko ung wife ko...

anwyay back to the trip to batangas..i did a sunset pictorial with my sister..astig dalaga na sya..di ko akalain na ganun kabilis ang panahon...thanks to my assistant (my wife) for this photoshoot..



cant believed that i actually photograph my kid sister..kahit na nung nag PP ako nung mga shots ko..parang di ako makapaniwala..dati karga karga ko lng sya pag namamasyal sa southmall..ngaun nagtu-two piece na...

i did some random shots din around the place...

pHoTogRaPhy - LonG eXpoSurE - dUbAI CreeK

here's the more of the pix...no further enhancement / post processing made...tinatamad kasi ako eh....

photos are taken using nikki (d300) 10-20mm UWA, 18-200mm iso L1.0 shutter 30secs f22 WB tungsten remote shutter tripod(toto) with mount

fISh bONE!!

what an experience, i had lunch yesterday.sarap ng ulam na baon ko.fried fish alumahan...naubos ko ung food ko until the last fish meat...kaso, natinik ako! anak ng kulugo, kung kelan wala na akong kanin tska naman ako natinik..

i tried all possible ways to safely remove that freakin' fish bone out of my throat..i swallowed big pieces of banana, rice, even fruits just to take it out..im hopeless and cant do anything to take it out...natapos ang maghapon, napunta at nakabalik ako ng dubai from abu dhabi habang may nakatusok sa lalamunan ko..

di na ako makali, dahil sa sobrang iritable na and swollen na ung part ng tonsils ko with a bit of bleeding, we decided to go sa emergency ng Al Rashid Hospital..ayaw ako entertainin kasi daw wala sila specialist..we were then referred to Dubai Hospital dahil meron daw ENT dun...sa makatuwid pinuntahan namin dis oras ng gabi..i think past 12 mid night na kami nakarating sa Dubai hospital..

pag dating dun..nakakatawa...sa emergency din ako pumunta..lahat halos ng kasabay ko malubha ang karamdaman..and ako patawa-tawa lang dahil meron lng akong tinik sa lalamunan..hehe..pag initial check ng attendant "Fish Bone" ang case ko...nung naprocess na ako antay nnman until 1:30am bago ako tinawag..all doctors are busy..walang available for me..or should i say walang gustong tumingin sa case kong " Fish Bone"...the nurse were holding my file and told us to follow him while he checks all the treament rooms for an available doctor while saying ":Fish Bone!!"..as if inilalako at...itinitinda ako..."Fish Bone case here doctor yuhoo!!"grrr..kainis..sarap batukan...

at last may duktor na at nakuha na ung tinik...sabi nug arabo "What kind of fish did you ate, Hamour?(lapu-lapu)" sabay pinakita kay cathy ung tinik " Do you want it for souvenir?"..nakuha pang mang asar,....patawa tawa lng ako kahit na antok na antok at asar dahil sa tagal ng pagaantay...nakauwi kami 2am na..kaya eto ako ngaun...inaantok sa trabaho...naisip mag blog pra mawala antok ko...

lesson learned : check ng mabuti ang kinakain...hinde nga deadly pero abala ka naman pag nagkataon...

Thank you LORD dahil ung emergency case ko fish bone lng at hinde mas malubhang karamdaman...yebah!!!

pHoTogRaPhy - LonG eXpoSurE - dUbAI CreeK

few days before christmas, nagddrama ako...bakit nman kasi lagi lng malamig ang pasko ko...umuwi ng pinas si cathy for her vacation and to celebrate Christmas with her fam. sa sobrang emote ko..i went for a brisk walk along dubai creek.kahit na super freezing cold pa.brought nikki(d300),toto(tripod) tska 10-20mm UWA, 18-200mm nikkor lens ko,..i took shots several times,changing my settings everytime, tpos may kausap pa akong kasmot na mega chikka and emote = ),mejo natagalan ako sa pag set ng maayus na pic...dami kasi dumadaan na boat and dhow sa creek...here's the final output.

National Bank of Dubai
f22 iso L1.0 30secs remote release
set to iso long exposure

National Bank of Dubai

f22 iso L1.0 30secs remote release

i'll post more of the shots...