Pictures from Nagsasa Cove, Zambales

Photos have been taken during a recent (April 2010) trip to Nagsasa Cove in San Antonio, Zambales -- a place reachable by a one-hour boat ride from Barangay Pundaquit. Compared to Anawangin, which you will pass by on your way to Nagsasa, the place is just more beautiful, more relaxing, more serene, less crowded and has a lot more to offer in terms of swimming, snorkelling and exploration. You will also get a chance to interact with the natives should you decide to visit the other side where a small Aeta community lives. The restroom facilities are also much better in Nagsasa, thanks to the very accomodating and friendly Mang Ador who is the keeper and architect of the place. The place is truly breath-taking and worth adding to your list of places to go to before you're too old to go anywhere else.

I have nothing bad to say about my visit there. I even got to experience the following during my two-day stay at Nagsasa:

• Sit by a bonfire (c/o Mang Ador)
• Witness a fire dance (thanks to a fellow camper who was practicing his fire dancing skills)
• Enjoy halo-halo and pinipig crunch by the beach (thanks to manong vendor for his unbelievable tenacity in selling ice creams!)

Because I am a learning (more of struggling) landscape photograher, I took panoramic shots of the place using my old and worn out Olympus E-500, my also worn out kit lens and my NEW Benro ball head tripod (which the master landscape photographer Mr. Edwin Martinez himself use and recommended). First time to take panoramic shots and had immense fun doing it. One photo composition would take around 14 to 24 shots and would have a width of at most 32 inches in Photoshop CS3 (via the Automate > Photomerge tool) but disappointingly, a height of less than 5 inches only! Now I understand why they say panoramic shots have to be taken in portrait orientation instead of landscape. Must abide by this rule next time.

Anyway, bigger versions of these panoramas can be found in my Flickr account. Comments are most welcome. Hope you would visit. Thanks and God bless!

Olympus Camera Repair Center

Axis Global Technologies
Manila, Philippines
Phone: (+632) 724-3340
Fax: (+632) 724-3353

This is where you call when something goes wrong with your Olympus camera and to inquire about availability of new models and accessories. You may also visit their website at http://www.axisglobal.com/ for a listing of the products they sell, although prices aren't available.

I'll be calling them soon to inquire about the replacement for my e-500's rubber hand grip. It came off last weekend during the Hot Air Balloon Festival here in Clark, Pampanga. I was too busy running, trying to fly a kite and didn't notice that the hand grip, which started to peal-off last year, had completely fallen-off.

I miss it so much. My e-500 feels (and looks!) so different without it.

Hidalgo Stores + More

Here's a listing of the telephone numbers of photography shops in Hildalgo, of the JT Photo World in Pasong Tamo and other photography stores in Metro Manila. Hoping to call in one of these days and inquire about pricing for a Canon 500D :)

Avenue (Hidalgo) 733-5474
Watson (Hidalgo) - 733-7697
Henrys (Hidalgo) - 733-7723 / 7357989 / 7345099
Mayer (Hidalgo) - 733-7722
JT Photoworld (Pasong Tamo) - 899-5018 / 09228995018
Aperture (Banawe) - 732-8991 / 4158454
Shutter Master (Don Bosco, Makati) - 893-3656
Definition Electronics (Makati Cinema Square) - 986-8610
Pixel Pro (Virramall) - 726-9387 / 572-5744
Tay Hua Trading (Binondo) - 242-3152 / 382-5211

Source: Digital Pinoy

FPPF's 4-Day Wedding Photography Workshop

The schedule for FPPF's 4-Day Wedding Photography Workshop 2010 classes have been posted and registration is now open. Workshop fee is at P7,500 -- a small price to pay for all the knowledge they are willing to share not just in the realm of taking wedding photos but in the business of wedding photography as well. Topics like contract making, fee guidelines and bridal fairs are included.

Wishing I can go, but since the dates fall on weekdays, it does not seem possible for me to attend. Sayang. This is a workshop that is really at the top of my list.

Recent Favorites

Amateur Snapper - easy to absorb articles about composition rules, tips on photographing different subjects (such as sculptures, spider webs, water drops).

Presets Heaven - for those who use Adobe Lightroom in editing photos. I just love their "fashion shoot" preset.

OlyclubPH.com - a forum for all those who own an Olympus camera in the Philippines. I'm still trying to get valid login credentials, howerver.

Big Huge Labs - add captions to your photos, create vintage photo booth strips, photo calendars, Flickr DNA, etc. Check it out and have fun with your photos!

entrance to the wharf

entrance to the wharf
Originally uploaded by gezelle

a photo i submitted to the dpp #29 issue (theme: HDR) which did not stand a chance to the works of the master photographers :)

i still think my work is decent enough and at least worth blogging about. this was taken hand-held around 2pm in the afternoon. the fisherman's wharf, which is just around 200 meters away from the ferry terminal, was the first of the many tourist destinations we visited in macau. this was during day 2 of our 3-day trip to HK.

my camera was already automatically set to produce bracketed shots because i was taking landscape images of the wharf. i realized i needed that in order to capture enough details on both the sky and subject. in the end, i forgot to remove bracketing and ended up shooting the door with three varying exposures as well. buti na lang kasi that gave me the flexibility to create this HDR image.

im not too happy with the framing and im somewhat bothered by the tilt. however, i love the golden colors produced. and in my mind, im imagining that these are doorways that will lead to a place that is truly grand and divine.

the one where the great buddha says hello

the one where the great buddha says hi
Originally uploaded by gezelle

since 2001, i have wanted to visit the island of lantau and have my photo taken with the big buddha. after 8 years, my wish was granted.

among the many shots i have taken of the sitting buddha, this one came out a favorite because of the unusually friendly expression of the buddha's face. from other angles, it seems to me that the buddha looks too dignified, too formal and impersonal. from this angle however, he looks as if he smiles and waves "hello," as if he knows my name.

i took three shots from this angle, bracketing with a difference of 2/3 overall exposure. i thought this was a good idea especially since the subject was backlit and i had little time to figure out how to expose my subject correctly. i used photomatix in order to generate the HDR image and photoshop to adjust the hue and sharpen the image.

the visit to lantau was during the third day of our 3-day trip. so although i had to catch my breath in each of the 268 steps and sweat profusely during the ascend to the "altar of heaven", i can happily say that it was worth it. i have saved the best for last indeed.

burst of colors

plastic no. 2
Originally uploaded by gezelle

saw several plastic bags hanging by the back of a chair in the kitchen earlier today. the colors immediately attracted me and reminded me of an abstract photo which i saw from a magazine. i thought it may be interesting to create something like it.

i took my camera and chose a setting of 1/8 for the shutter speed. i shot the photo and tried zooming the lens out during exposure. after reviewing the output, i realized that i needed more time during exposure to exaggerate movement and create a more abstract pattern. i switched to manual mode and adjusted both shutter and aperture. the final setting for the photo is: 1/5, f5.6, iso 100.

i dont really do a lot of zooming in or out when taking photos, so that was the most challenging part for me. perhaps from the photo, you can see that my hands were a little shaky. thats my left hand trying to adjust the focal length, hehe. may pagka-pasmado kasi.

Blue

Blue
Originally uploaded by gezelle

one of the many photos taken while i was on my home from work. this one is along edsa, somewhere in the QC area perhaps. i had the window of the cab opened and my SLR in Shutter Priority mode (fixed at 1.3 seconds and the lowest ISO). i pointed the camera at anything that was illuminated such as commercial establishments, buses, taxi cabs, motorcycles and waiting sheds. that night, i thought that the quality and the amount of light is important, but not as important as your willingness to just let things happen.

once i saw that my settings were enough to capture interesting patterns and record streaks of light, i switched to point-and-shoot mode and had fun. i had so much fun that i kept shooting even while crossing the street. right there in the middle, hehe.

please feel free to visit the "abstract" set in my flickr for other photos taken that evening.

The 10 Commandments in Photography

by Gezelle Rivera
1. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's camera. Thou shall improve thy photography skills and match or exceed the performance of the camera before thinking of buying a new one. Though shall take good care of thy camera.
2. Thou shall not take the camera manual for granted.
3. Thou shall master the exposure triangle and respect the histogram.
4. Thou shall learn and follow good composition techniques but have the guts to break them once in a while.
5. Thou shall learn how to critique thy own work, be willing to have thy work critiqued by others and discover and develop thy own style in time. Thou shall avoid copying the work of others.
6. Thou shall learn how to lock the exposure, adjust the metering mode, the white balance, aperture, ISO and shutter speed of thy own camera by heart.
7. Thou shall not ignore the tripod, the various filters, the built-in flash, the off-camera flash, the reflectors and the diffusers and use them when necessary. Thou shall not rely on image processing software as much as possible.
8. Thou shall learn how to “salvage” a photo when the seventh commandment has been broken, using any chosen image processing software. Thou shall shoot in RAW on difficult lighting situations. Thou shall also learn how to enhance a photo (crop a photo, straighten a photo, adjust the contrast and brightness, sharpen a photo) and convert a photo to B&W.
9. Thou shall learn how to build a portfolio and learn how to protect thyself with copyrights.
10. Thou shall always charge the batteries prior to a shoot and bring enough CF/SD cards during the shoot. Thou shall bring the camera, the right lenses and thyself to the shoot. Thou shall have fun while shooting :)

ma mon luk

ma mon luk v1
Originally uploaded by gezelle

sometime early this year, mavic and i made our way to hidalgo in quiapo to get a few essential photography resources. i bought an RF trigger and a lens pen and at that time, mavic went looking for a circular polarizer for one of her lenses. it was a worthwhile trip, i thought but mavic had another agenda: to eat mami at ma mon luk.

we both ordered siopao which ma mon luk is *famous* for and mami, of course. she had beef mami and i had chicken. the food was not as enjoyable as i had hoped, but i would prefer them over chowking's version of siopao and mami for sure.

i could not resist taking photos of the place because it looks something like what you would see in the old movies, when FPJ or Dolphy were still dominating the local silver screens. it was like being transported back in time! very nostalgic :)

furry fellow

furry fellow
Originally uploaded by gezelle

photo taken quite a while ago also. from the DPP Fort EB last april. mavic and i were on our way back from shooting construction workers at the serendra area, when we saw this cute little furry fellow with his human. we went closer to touch him and take photos of him. i had to go lower to the ground in order to take this portrait. the dog had other plans however and the next thing i knew, his two front legs were on top of my now bent knees and his nose was touching my lens. that surprised me a lot because i thought he wouldnt be able to move from his current position, seeing that his human had him on a leash. buti na lang he was small and really friendly kasi if he were bigger, i would have been really frightened. lesson learned here i guess is to change into a longer lens when shooting animals, especially when they are not caged or when they are not yours :)

happy day

happy day
Originally uploaded by gezelle

i decided to take a break from editing numerous photos from a wedding event and thought id edit one of my own, that which is taken simply for my own pleasure. i recently installed nik software color effects pro and looked for a photo with which i can play around with. i chose this one, from a set taken last february and applied the "film effect" filter, among others. i also had to apply "cross balance" to modify coloring.

since i have not used a film camera before for serious photography work, i cannot really comment about the quality produced by the software. the film effect i chose supposedly emulates the result of a "fuji superia 100" film. im not familiar with that kind of film and im not really sure if it is a good one. from what i saw, it gave out vibrant tones which i dont think saturation adjustments in photoshop could have produced.

im loving the film effects and the nik software so far. its giving me a great many options in terms of editing photos.

swimmer version 2

swimmer v2
Originally uploaded by gezelle

photo taken from punta fuego. ive asked the avanade folks to swim in a circle and they happilly obliged.

ramiro-hannah wedding pictures

i havent finished the post-processing of all photos and haven't uploaded everything yet. but i'd like to share some which are my favorite from the ramiro-hannah wedding. these are mostly taken after the wedding ceremony and we were completely dependent on our external flashes. good thing my "lights men" were always around to assist.

more photos can be found in the following albums:
+ Happy Days Flickr
+ Gezelle's Flickr

north bound

north bound
Originally uploaded by gezelle

photo taken at the boni mrt station, around noon time. i had my camera with me that week, because i had planned on taking photos around the city. we were asked to show the more urban side of the philippines for our club's first coffee table book. the idea back then was to come up with something that will show the country as being progressive and innovative. i immediately thought about construction sites and the mrt. we have a different format for the coffee table book now, but i hope to continue taking more urban landscapes when i can. hopefully i can take one or two today while i have my camera with me.

full moon

i want you to be gentle because the world is wild -susan musgrave

i have always preferred sunsets over moon shots but that night, something about the moon and the sky begs me to bring out my camera and take pictures. starting at f/11, ISO 100 and 1/100, i took shots. of the many frames taken, around 30 or so, this one was most decent.

i did not know at first whether to write about this photo or not. but this morning, while browsing through a magazine, i was reminded of this photo when i saw pictures taken by red ognita. his moon was bigger (but in a quarter) and his clouds were still. my moon was full although my clouds are drifting. i dont know yet which i prefer, but i vow to take another moon shot when im once again in a tall building or an elevated place.

wedding layout for hannah

hannah
Originally uploaded by gezelle

this is the first wedding layout i came up with after finding photoshop brushes and actions in deviantart. i cant believe so many gifted artists are kind enough to share what they have created for everyone else to use while asking so little in return.

thanks to nightfate for the photoshop coloring actions and to hawksmont for the floral brush. thanks also to LadyVictoire for the script brushes which provided texture for the layout.

without these add-ons, my wedding layout would not have been possible.

kuya

kuya
Originally uploaded by gezelle

while shooting for a prenup sometime last march (nakisingit lang), i saw these kids walking down the stairs of the manila theater. im not sure where they are going and why they were in a bit of a hurry, but i cant help but take photos of them. it was noontime and i was in landscape preset mode, which was a good thing kasi the shutter calculated was pretty fast. however, i was not in a burst mode kaya there were a lot of good shots i was not able to take. at least i had my 150mm lens on. these kids were pretty far away from where i was standing.

for me, this was an endearing moment. something i hope my kuya and i had when we were kids. sana rin we had a picture similar to this, pero wala. hehe. we had a few pictures taken together, mostly wacky actually, we loved the camera even when we were young. but there were very few candid ones and none which shows he was taking care of me as my older brother. sayang. im sure that he did in his own way :)

this goes without saying i guess... but im saying it just the same: im dedicating the photo to my one and only kuya :) thanks so much for all the help especially during our recent wedding shoots together. salamat not just for lending me your precious canon 40D but also for making it easy for me to take photos as you worry about where the light should come from and how intense it should be. that way, i was able to concentrate on art direction and composition. i thought the collaboration was pretty successful based on how happy our clients were with our work.

bro, thanks uli! :)

anawangin pictures

recently, im seeing a lot of people being redirected to this photo blog from google search results page. based on the URL, it seems they are mostly interested to see photos of anawangin cove in zambales. as such, i have decided to post three photos (most viewed in flickr) taken from anawangin when i went there last january. hoping i can make a few people happy with this.

enjoy!

...this is what you'll see if you walk a little further to the back of the cove...

...during sunset...

...on our way back to the beach front...