au.was.here.

ok, let's try this again...

as you may have noticed, the last entry on this blog was the 6th of August, 2009. i know. way too freakin' long. this is now officially an obscure blog that no one reads anymore. blame it on Facebook. but like they always say, it's never to late to pick anything up again.

i have lots of stories to tell but the pics i have ready for upload are those from one of the last classes i had at CSB-SDA (College of Saint Benilde-School of Design and Arts where i just completed a one year Diploma in Professional Photography course). i was about to create an FB photo album for it but i thought maybe it's time for a blog entry. so this is where i shall pick up. yes, i need a story with photos. i don't trust myself to be interesting enough with just words. noop, i am not much good as a writer. i just pretend to be one on my blogs.

so... on to Digpho2 - Digital Photography 2. Prof is Sir Dave Caballero, who seems to be decidedly anti-social on the internet. he has no FB account, no blog, no website, according to him, just email. which means this entry is pretty safe from his prying eyes and i can knock him all i want... hehehe... joke lang! Sir Dave is a tall, dashing, handsome hombre who sometimes answers email in Italian, and who we secretly called Sir Babe--until he grew his goatee to about 6 inches long. then, we had secret longings to either pull it off--especially when we have a hard time with our assignments--or cut it off in one swift motion before he can react. hahah! good thing, the last time we saw him, the goatee was shaved off and he is back to his handsome, dashing self again :-D ayan sir ha, inamin ko na so i hope you don't grow the dang goatee again.

on to the projects. Digpho2 project #1 was photo restoration. we were asked to bring one battered photo. the more battered, the better, said Sir Dave. i should have known better. the more battered, the harder it is to restore!


the good thing is that this is a photo my Nanay. so kahit mahirap, it was worth it. but the darn restoration started me on a roll of being late on my next projects. i think restoring this took me about a month. lesson learned: i can get obsessive and i am a very impatient person!... and i hate photo restoration! the finished product is this. i think di na yata kamukha ni Nanay. but when i showed it to her, she seemed very pleased.


we were also asked to do grayscale, duotone, tritone, and quatone.



Digpho2 project #2: HDR or high dynamic range photography. the first 12 photos i submitted where rejected by Sir Dave. dang! pare-pareho daw kami ng photos with my other classmates. uhhh... probably because we were all together on the same trip?... hmmmm... in short, late na naman ako for the next project. 3 weeks later, in frustration, i submitted 2 pics. baka sakali may extra points na lang. one was an old HDR attempt, the other one was new and taken from our trip to Tagaytay and Batangas.





lesson learned: mas magandang mag-submit ng maaga kasi puro minus sa grade ang aabutin mo pag late.

Digpho2 project #3: faux IR (infrared photography). in all honesty, i don't get this one. i don't like 'faux' anything much... especially since i want a real IR camera!!! anyhoo, it's a project i need to submit, so there.



Digpho project #4: put yourself in a movie poster... waaaaaahhhhh! this one was kinda scary-funny because it poked fun at ourselves. it's always sort of uncomfortable for photographers to be on the other side of the lens but this one was specially so because we had to be in a costume. but i have to admit it was fun--in a way--because i never would have thought of doing this to myself, myself. it also forced us to be creative--in a way... This was the original poster. And below is the result.


lesson learned: ang hirap i-please ni Sir Dave! haha! although we initially did the search for possible posters, it needed to be approved by our prof! ayaw ng madaling poster. ang gusto pa yung mahirap gawin! ang pamatay dun, after we submit, he often mounts it on the projector at kukulitin in class... switching eyes or mouth with Angelina Jolie's, in Trix's case, or tries to bring the cheekbones higher which ends up like someone beat Tin up.

Digpho project #5: this one is one of my most favorite projects... ever! i love it because i finally got around to trying something i have always wanted to do--conceptual photography. it is probably still amateurish but it's a start. i totally had fun with this one and if not for the time pressure, it would be even more of a pleasure!





i like it in both versions, colored and grayscale. lesson learned: i love doing this digital art/conceptual photography/surreal thingy... and i shall do it again... kaya THANK YOU ever so much for helping, in part, uncover my photographer self, Sir Babe... errrr... Sir Dave, kahit pa siguro mababa ang grade ko dahil sa late projects. ;-D

long time no kwento! after a reaaaally long while off blogging, i am resolving to come back to it. let's hope i can keep this promise to myself. ok, i'm not very good at keeping promises to myself. case in point-: my project 365. i always fall off! i'm starting to doubt that i can never pull the darned thing off. if not for friends who are with me on it, hihinto na talaga ako. (as an aside: i RE-started for the 3rd time [or 4th?] project 365 which entails taking one photo per day. this time, just to have added motivation not to stop, i made a bet with 6 other friends--actual money involved--and i still fail!)

what i'd really like to blog about first is about this photography seminar i recently took at PCCI. i don't do too many seminars, mostly due to financial reasons. if i have extra dough lying around, i would probably blow it first on camera accessories or save it for some new glass. see, i like things that are tangible. when i feel the need for some photography education, i would rather buy books.

my second reason for holding back on seminars is: i choose mentors and classes carefully. i understand now that in photography, or any other artform--there are plenty of 'styles'. since i don't have the luxury of spending too much, i try to choose carefully the mentor's style that would match what i would like to emulate.

however, there is something about the 3rd and latest workshop i took which was called Inner Vision. the mentor is a person i admire a lot because i see his work in I-Mag, Mr. Tilak Hettige. I had always been curious at how his name is pronounced, and learned then that it is just as it is spelled. He hails from Sri Lanka. He also authored a couple of beautiful books: Saffron Robes --a beautiful photographic essay on Buddhist monks which of course impressed me immediately being buddhist myself--and Tilaka. another photo essay about the spiritual third eye from which is own name was derived.

he met us first for a short intro on June 25 but the real first class was the whole day of a Saturday, June 27. the first exercise was at Greenbelt. he asked us to find letters and numbers in the environment. my first reaction was whaaa...?! and then 3 seconds later, i thought, cool challenge! he gave me this to find: MARK LBN98. i think he shuffled the participants names and added a few more random letters which made it look like a plate number. he told us not to worry too much about the exposure, just set the cam on auto and concentrate on finding the letters instead. we had 1 hour complete it. this was my take:

it's Facebook's fault... those little status messages i can so easily churn out at any time is killing my desire to blog and tell stories. but i'm thinking, that should change soon... maybe even right now.

i should learn to tell more concise stories more often if i am to keep it up. sayang naman... this blog has been around for a few years already. maybe, i, my kids and my friends will enjoy it too years from now, looking back at the stories. it's probably not a good idea to just let it go static.

i guess my other blog at Vox might just have to retire if i am to maintain even just a couple of blogs. perhaps i'll just put that project 365 here instead...

i feel a redesign is in order. those new blogger templates are looking good... let's see...

In the market for a practical Hyundai Genesis ? Need to find reviews for that SUV you are eyeing like that cool GMC Sierra hybrid ? Or just generally daydreaming for the spanking new big-boy/girl-toy-on-four-wheels 2009 Audi A6 that you are promising yourself once you get that fat annual bonus? Whether you want a vehicle that is green and practical or one that is big, bad and rugged, here's a connection for you: thecarconnection.com

Personally, I need a new vehicle myself right about now. My daughter has been carting my ride away which often leaves me homebound and carless. But before I even step out of the house and on to a car dealership, I find it more convenient to check out what's on the net first. I would look for car reviews, recommendations for my needs, scour forums and generally spend time on online classifieds because it's a lot more economical and faster which makes it smarter. See, I like being smart, or at least seeming to be. :-)

This great website I stumbled on is perfect for this because not only does it have great reviews for practically any car make and model I want--which, just by itself is a great feature--but it also has classifieds (not that its much use to me being not in the same country… but it could be useful to you), information on insurance, financing and even forum style tips. Amazing how everything is just right there. All the know-how you need when you want to get yourself a new car. In my case, even without being in the same continent, the information is just fantastic and definitely useful. Just check it out for yourself.

I like shopping on the net. I don't have to get in the car, go to the mall, browse through shop windows and eventually end up going home buying more than what I really need. In today's economic and environmental scenario, it makes sense to save not just money but time and energy as well. Being earth-conscious, I would also like to think online shopping has less carbon-footprint than riding a vehicle to the store.

However, when I shop on the net, I end up with too many tabs in my browser window. That's because I have to study my choices well so I browse through many, many websites, both for the shops and the reviews. IIt can get very confusing, not to mention just as time consuming as actually going out shopping in real life. But I discovered one site that makes my shopping life even easier--ShopWiki. Unlike browsing through different websites, you only need to deal with one. That's because ShopWiki crawls the web then searches and indexes all info about a particular product much like Google. Simply enter a brand, article or item you would like to find anywhere in the world and it turns up results with matching photos to make your search experience even better.

As a concrete example, here's one on a laptop search. Not only does it turn up a variety of computer laptops classification to help organize your search but clicking each segment educates you as well to actually help you make your choice! Truly informed shopping. I think it beats going out an talking to salepeople who will only try to convince you to buy only their product and potentially mislead you. I suggest you go and try it right now and see if its not shopping-truth I'm telling you! :-D

I'm a bit shy to admit it but yes, I am a travel virgin. It took me almost 43 years before I even stepped out of the boundaries of my cushy little world--not that I had any real complaints about that. I am actually afraid of riding anything that takes my feet off solid land. I don't like airplanes and most especially not boats. Of course, being a mother of 3 very early in life doesn't give me much choice anyway and with 2 more kids later, it doesn't leave much cash for expensive trips either. But luck sometimes just falls in one's lap and an opportunity showed itself for a 6-day Macau-China-HK girl trip: me, MIL, SIL, and my elder daughters Gabey, 18 and Kara, 14.


From the time SIL told me to fix the kids' passport for this journey, I psyched myself to overcome my phobias and planned which of my stuff to pack. I have to say the opportunity to take my camera to strange lands that promise magnificent photo ops helped a lot appease my fears. So here goes the story of my first journey away from the islands I call home:


March 22- Macau

We left Manila at around lunchtime and arrived at Macau shortly after 2pm. It was a barely 2-hour plane ride which was cool with me. The shorter, the better! I kept the fear at bay by taking photos. So now I know of another panacea that makes everything alright for me besides chocolates: my Nikon.




I knew we were staying at The Venetian for a day. I heard it was a really nice hotel but goodness, I didn't know it was not just nice but GRAND! Even our room was totally FA-BU-LOUS. It had 2 queen-sized beds (that really looked like they were made for queens) not just one but two TV sets and a living room area. The view wasn't as grand though because all I can see out the window were new hotels under construction. This side of Macau is still young and developing.






We spent the rest of the day just strolling around the hotel since we have no plans of doing the casino anyway. I am not very lucky with games of chance. Besides, it doesn't interest me much where I'm not allowed to take my camera. With 2 teenagers in tow, we weren't even allowed to cross the casino as a shorter route to our room-- and they were really strict. Even Gabey who was just 3 days shy of being 18 wasn't allowed. The guard told her she can come back in 3 days. Too bad for Gab who was so disappointed she wasn't even able to peek in a casino.





Taking the long route to the room was not a bad deal anyway. We had to pass through Level 3 where all the shops were. There were so many things to see. There was an indoor Venice-style 'canal' with gondolas and gondoliers who sing, some of whom were Pinoys.

This mime looks Pinoy to me. I couldn't ask him though because he wasn't allowed to smile, much less talk.

It seems this other mime was too beguiled with a joking Gabey that he wasn't able to resist a bit of a smile.

We then explored the outside of the hotel until almost sundown and we were feeling the pangs of hunger. We went back to the hotel to plan our next day and then retired for the day. As usual, I couldn't immediately fall asleep in strange places so I did some journaling. I was sorely missing my 2 babies who still sleeps with me and hubby. Being in such a romantic place only made me miss him badly as well. I cried myself to sleep that night and for the next 3 or 4 nights after that.







to be continued with more photos and stories...

Day 2 - Macau to HK
Day 3 - Shenzhen, China
Day 4 - HK - Camera shop-hopping and the Night Market
Day 5 - HK - More shopping
Day 6 - 'Can't-wait-to-go-home' day..

i love macro. i'm usually homebound (hello mom of 5 kids :-P) and seldom travel so this is one arena i can play with. it also appeals to my inner geek, since it mostly feels like peering into a microscope. therefore, among the lenses on the top of my wishlist is the Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8VR. if i were to push it, i'd also love to have the Micro Nikkor 200mm f4. thing is, i can't afford them yet. here is my next best thing: el cheapo extension tubes. they make me have the ability to focus closer to the subject, hence magnification, but i lose the ability to focus at objects that are further away.


so my next solution is to get me real macro glass. since i don't have moolah to score my dream lenses, i opted to get one of the Nikon (really) old "legend" lenses: the Micro Nikkor 55mm f3.5 AI. i won it for a good price on Ebay. if i attach it to the extension tubes, i get even more magnification.


but i wanted MORE and so i went for a teleconverter next: the Nikon TC-201. this is another old model glass but since i have an old micro glass anyway it makes sense to me. i hunted yet again on Ebay and got this just around Christmas last year :-D this one i love for giving me the magnification without having too come close to the subject so it is less likely that i'll scare a bug away. i am also able to focus at a far away object. the teleconverter effectively doubles my focal length. the downside is losing light-- 2 aperture stops--and (they say) some image degradation. being inexperienced, i hardly notice the second point... or maybe, i'm just too happy to get the extra magnification.

if i combine them all together, i get pretty cool results, too. this shoestring macro combo suits me just fine... at least for now. i don't mind them being totally manual focusing since i prefer to do macro on manual anyway. here are some sample shots.

sundays are often seafood days for us simply because i do marketing on sundays and seafood are always best cooked fresh. i'm sharing here a couple of recipes that often find it's way on our sunday lunch table. if you like spicy, Thai-inspired flavors, you will certainly love this one. it's a modified version of something i tasted at a friend's party quite some time ago. i couldn't forget how delicious it was so i tried reproducing it. this is the result. the broth is warming and yummy while the tahong meat is tasty. it's a real pleaser for spicy seafood lovers.


ingredients:

2 kilos fresh tahong (mussels)
2-3 tbsps. Lee Kum Kee black bean garlic sauce
10 or so cloves crushed garlic
about a thumb-size of ginger, sliced
2 or 3 Thai bird chilis (siling labuyo)
about 1/4 c rough chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cube chicken bouillon (Knorr cubes)
1/2 a stick of butter (about 1/4 of a block of anchor)
2 tbsp. veg. oil for sauteing
soy sauce (if needed) to taste
2-3 cups water or chicken broth
about 5 calamansi (Philippine lime or kaffir lime)

steps:
1. clean out the mussels, removing the "beard" from the meat but leaving the meat in the shell. set aside.
2. heat oil in wok. throw in sliced ginger. cook till slightly golden. add chopped garlic and also allow to turn slightly golden.
3. add black bean garlic sauce and chicken cube. then add the chili and half of the chopped basil. cook quickly. make sure the pan is not too hot because the chili heat will sting your eyes and nose.
4. quickly add the mussels and stir them around.
5. add water or broth, whichever is available to you. let the water heat up to cook the mussels. add the rest of the chopped basil.
6. lastly, add the butter. this makes the broth yummy. let simmer a short while so the butter melts and blends with the broth.
7. just before serving, squeeze in calamansi. serve hot.


here's another recipe that's oh so easy but oh so satisfying for those looking for strong flavors: Oyster Ceviche. ang sosyal no? in Tagalog, Kinilaw na Talaba... heheh...


ingredients:
10-12 FRESH oysters (talaba), shucked and removed from the shell
1 red onion, diced
2 long green chili (the sili used for sinigang), chopped into round shape
a thumb-size piece of ginger, sliced
a dash (or two) of salt and sugar to taste
1/4 c white vinegar (sometimes i add apple cider vinegar to this)
1 cup hot water

steps:
1. put the shucked oysters in colander and blanch with hot water. drain a bit and set aside.
2. in a small bowl, put in all the rest of the ingredients and add the white vinegar, stir.
3. put the blanched oysters in this mix and stir it around to blend flavors.
4. put in your serving dish and refrigerate for a short while--maybe 10 mins. serve cool.

TIP: never eat this kilawin on an empty stomach. it could get disastrous... :-D