BPCC Basic Photography Workshop - the Repeat

Another run of Photography 101 was supposed to be held sometime this November as originally planned.  However, due to requests of new members and a lot of other enthusiasts, we were obliged to hold it the earliest date possible.  So, just about 3 weeks or so from the 1st run, we held the workshop on Oct. 2.

Again, another opportunity for me to share what I learned.

BPCC Basic Photography Workshop

It feels good when you are able to share!

I felt honored to have been considered by our club to facilitate one of our activities - the Basic Photography Workshop for our new members and any enthusiast who wanted to learn the basics in this field.  But as I was preparing my module, I started to feel the pressure.  And it grew more when the invitation was posted, and then when I saw the fee that each participant would be paying.  And I even wanted to hold back and just let the other able members of the club do the job, when someone asked for my profile (as speaker).  But I decided to take on the challenge.

I had a different idea in mind, actually.  I thought it was just one our club activities where new members will be gathered and be taught of some photography 101.

I am so glad the workshop turned out fine and we received good feedback from participants.  In fact, a repeat will be conducted sooner than I thought, due to a lot of  inquiries.

And so all the more that I really need to update this as a possible support system for those whom I may be able to help or share my knowledge with.

Watch out for my upcoming posts!

WPPP Goes Back to Batangas City

It's really nice to have known masters in wedding and portrait photography who are very much willing to share their expertise. And am proud to belong to Batangas Camera Club.

Long Exposure Technique

I saw a photo posted by the late Francis M in his site using this technique long before I fell in love with photography for the 2nd time. And that kept me wondering how he made it. When I learned the capabilities of my camera, I started experimenting with their use. I remembered Francis M’s photo and thought maybe this was how he did it. . . So one night I set up to try the technique and asked my sons, Bradley and Brendel to be my models. Here, I am posting Brendel’s photo only. Here’s how I did this:

• I instructed my model/s of what they’d do I set up my camera on a tripod, about 5 meters away from my subject/s

• Set the lens on Manual Focus (this is the M/A and M switch on the lens)

• Manual shooting mode, set to Bulb (this one is a 90-sec exposure)

• ISO 200 (lowest on my camera)

• f/8 No Flash, instead, I used a small led flashlight (I have this all the time) to strike some light on the face/s of my model/s during exposure

• When everything was ready, I used the remote control to click or open the shutter, directed my model/s to do as I instructed them. And when they stood still at the last position, I closed the shutter again using the remote control. (you can also manually click the shutter, but you have to hold it down until you get what you desired. Just be careful not to cause your camera a slight move or you’ll get very blurry photos.)

Go, grab your camera and try the same! Enjoy and share your discoveries!

"Circles" - My 1st Photo Contest

This is my 1^st photo contest I sent an entry to join. The theme was “Circles”. My lone entry was chosen 3^rd from about 106. Published in I-Mag Photography Magazine Volume II, No. 12.

How did I come up with this? I listed some ideas which I can draw a good photo as an entry, always having in mind the reminders from the contest mechanics, “things which are just around you but often ignore”. This was not in my list. I was then performing a cash count of our petty cash at the office and got the idea of making the 5 centavo coins as my subject. I often see and pick up 10 or 5 centavo coins in the streets, pavements, everywhere. And I thought, may be nobody bothers to bend their backs to pick em up because of their worth or worthlessness. Well, I bother to pick up every penny I find so I’d have exact payments when I shop and the prices are P99.75, 19.55, etc. Else, I’ll be short-changed again if I have no exact amount with me.

Our petty cash custodian keeps em as well for audit purposes. We have to keep our funds intact and exact to the last centavo at all times. Else, we’d have overage or shortage as audit findings.

So I set up these coins, added the calculator, pencil and the bills beneath to convey a story. Everybody knows what’s going on when these things are kept together in a scene. I also followed some elements of composition; use of triangles (calculator’s position, pencil’s and arrangement of the coins).

Shooting Mode: Manual f/11, 1/40, ISO 1000, Spot Metering/ No flash, White Balance: Auto

Why f/11? For deeper depth of field (DOF), or to keep more part of the photo in sharp focus. Had I used f/3.5, the DOF would have been shallow, or some area in the picture would be in soft focus. Shallow DOF is generally good for portraits.

Try one, and you’ll find 101 ways to come up with one you will like best!

SILOY: A Tribute to Humanity!

Tanghalang Dal’wa Singko (TDS) pays tribute to humanity with the rerun of their iconic, first ever stage play, “Siloy”. The theatrical group of the University of Batangas 1st staged the play in 1979, when TDS was founded. Over the years, the group continues the tradition of honing students’ talents in writing and acting and to keep the Filipino values and culture alive through stage plays. Now, 30 years after, their 30th Anniversary celebration is highlighted with the return of “Siloy”, an original score of one of TDS founders, Magtanggol “Boy” Bawal. “Siloy” is Marcelo Bermejo, whose life from birth to its end revolves around the drama of an abnormal-character–struggling-to-live-normal and happy life amidst intricacies. Equally worth noting is that, the actor who portrayed "Siloy" 30 years back is also the same Siloy in the rerun – Architect Edwin Barrion, our Batangas Camera Club’s current president.

I was not part of the cast of characters, like I used to when I was in high school. Oh I would love to act ( I got a medal for Best Supporting Actor back in college), but I was always given a different task – production designer. Going back, I was lucky enough to have been a part of “Siloy” as well, even just behind the scene. I was tasked to photo shoot one of their dressed rehearsals for characters posterity, marketing collaterals and documentation. I felt good seeing the tarpaulins, the posters and the invitations with the photos I took.

CORY AQIUNO: The Leader, The Mother, The Woman

Everybody knows Corazon C. Aquino, the 1^st woman President of the Philippines, the mother of Kris Aquino, the woman in yellow. I do! I also guarded her votes in Caloocan and Makati back at the 1986 Snap Election. I was part of several activities during the Edsa Revolution, including getting in the way of military vehicles, not really mindful of the threat to my life. Well, at first. I took pictures of her in several occasions. It felt good back then because we had access to shoot nearer her as we were wearing Press IDs.

I was just starting with photography then, after a friend taught me and got me as assistant photographer for our college department. I used a lent Yashica film SLR. But it was also during that same time that I gave up photography in so short a time. I gave up handling a camera or using a camera in public after a traumatic experience which almost cost our lives while we were on our way to one of the TV stations which the rebel soldiers took hold of.

Twenty one years after, I was taken by surprise that I’d fall in love with photography for the second time. But I could not take pictures of Pres. Cory anymore. I wish I still could. I wished and prayed she’d have a longer shot at life after her ordeal with the threatening “C’s” of her life. The opportunity to take another picture of her is gone now. She’s joined our Creator and her beloved husband Ninoy at about 3:18am today.

Goodbye President Cory, “Mom”, Tita Cory! Your memories will live forever.