Saturday at Sonya's

"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside." 

- Mark Twain

Not your usual "kikay" kit

What is a "kikay" kit?

"The kikay kit - generally regarded as a woman's secret weapon, her little bag of mojo. The variety it contains is much like her closet: full to the brim with what she'll usually wear everyday, but it  also has options to transform her into a woman much more mysterious and rare."

http://reluctantstylista.com/article/assembling-a-starter-kikay-kit

In this post, I will show you my version of "kikay" kit. As a newbie to the digital photography world, I consider this as a beginner's kit, which includes everything I use when I take photos. 

This Minolta Dynax7000i is my first SLR camera. 
It was a gift from a cousin and I first used it during a photography class in college.

 1. THE CAM



Photography is impossible without a camera. One thing you should consider before buying a camera is BUDGET. For beginners, entry-level digital SLRs are highly recommended. As soon as you feel confident going pro, then you may need to upgrade your equipment.

 2. Tripods, lenses, filters, external flash, flash diffusers....

The list goes on and on but I think the number of accessories you need depends on the project you are working on. 



Filters

In my case, I take photos using different kinds of filters. Therefore, I buy more filters than needed. This could be overwhelming so watch out or you might end up with empty pockets. I suggest you invest in a polarizing filter. It is great for outdoor photography and if you know how to use it well then there is no need for photo editing softwares.

Tripods

Here is a guide on what features to look for when buying a tripod. 

Lenses

The lens that comes with some camera kits is good and flexible enough. However, there is a variety of lenses available. You just need to understand what those lenses could do. For example, prime or fast lenses are great for portraiture and indoor shooting. You would surely get sharp images with enhanced depth of field with these lenses. If you are into landscape photography just like me then go for wide-angle lenses. If you want to get a close-up shot of your subject but does not want to be noticed then get a zoom lens. Branded lenses such as Nikon and Canon may be too expensive so as alternatives you could go for third-party lenses like Tokina, Sigma, etc. 

External Flash


This part could be bloody so I will leave it up to you to study an article I found online. 


Flash Diffusers

Flash diffusers simply soften the harsh light coming from the camera flash. I often use a pop-up flash diffuser for my DSLR.



As a rule, always look for options when you go shopping for photographic accessories and be resourceful. The web is rich in information about everything you need to know so make use of it. Enjoy shooting!

Paham and Jamie (09/24/2011)

Sonnet 116


Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved. 


-William Shakespeare 

Get Instant Photos

Classic photo booth images come alive with the help of Photoshop CS5. For a step-by-step guide on how to do photo strips with your digital images, click here.

Carl and Jamie (09/11/2011)

Pre-wedding photo of Carl and Jamie in infrared. 

To capture "LOVE" in a photo is not easy especially if you do it in infrared. Thanks to Carl and Jamie for making this shoot a very memorable one. 

It brought me such great pressure when Sinag asked me to take photos of the couple. My mind was telling me not to but my heart said otherwise. I did not want to ruin one of Carl and Jamie's precious moments together but Sinag's encouraging words pulled me out of my misery. 

Kahit maputi....

Para sa walang humpay na suporta mula sa isang natatanging kaibigan, si Tessa. Maraming salamat.

Infrared Photography (Sample Shoot)

My first take on infrared (IR) photography was a disaster and so I took a handful of sample shots again this morning using the same subject. To start with, you must need an IR filter for this particular shoot. You must take note, however, that IR filters may not work well with other cameras especially modern digital SLRs. Higher megapixels make your camera less sensitive to IR light. I suggest you check first whether your camera is up for this adventure. You could find some articles about this online.

Let's get started!

• Set your camera to its lowest ISO setting;
• Mount your camera on a tripod, very important tool you must use in IR photography since you will be using slow shutter speeds here;
• Attach the IR filter on your lens. I know, you cannot see a thing but do not fret. Remove the filter and compose your subject. Try adjusting your aperture to reduce depth of field;
• Now, try taking a photo and then check it to see what needs to be adjusted. 
• You could try different shutter speeds to determine if your shot is under or overexposed;
• If you are not satisfied with the results, it's alright. It will really take you and I some time to fully understand the idea of composing and capturing with IR photography. Take your time and keep on shooting.

Here are some sample shots. Very basic and obviously needs improvement. :)

 ISO 200      38 mm      f/5.0     6.0 sec

 Edited version. Colors modified.

Sample Photos

Just recently got the filters I ordered. This is the first step to completing my new project. Check allaboutfilters.wordpress.com for details. 

Photos were taken using a combination of circular close-up +10 and polarizing filters. One thing I discovered during this shoot was that photo tweaking is useless when you know how to use photographic filters. Practice is a must. It is vital that most digital photographers must not purely rely on Photoshop. Life has been easier with the birth of technology but this is not a reason for us to be dependent on what it could do to make things bearable. It is a challenge but a fun one. That is for sure. This practice shoot is something you could start doing at home. If you want to add new photos in your portfolio, set a date and choose a good location. A good location will definitely make your photos stand out.

Taken with a close-up + 10 filter.

(Enhanced depth of field. Manual focusing used for these photos.)

Taken with a close-up + 10 filter and a polarizing filter. (RAW file)

Near Infrared (NIR)

I am in a very inexplicable state now. Yesterday, I felt like I was close enough to having a nervous breakdown and today I am starting to feel the same but in a very good way. So how did this happen? 


INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY. Photography in which an infrared optical system projects an image directly on infrared film, to provide a record of point-to-point variations in temperature of a scene. (www.answers.com)

To get a glimpse of my concept of heaven, go here.

Hoping to buy an infrared filter the soonest. Can't wait to do insanely beautiful stuff with infrared photography. 

Cokin Filters: Working in Pairs

Too much excitement has led me to finish my supposed to be weekend demo shoot earlier than expected. I must admit that this experience has brought me so much joy and I could just sense that I'm back to my old self. Previously, I posted a demo shoot I did using Cokin filters. This time I did the same demo shoot but I paired different color filters hoping for cooler images. It was fun and I stayed up late just to upload them all in my computer and finish the collages.

(Stand by for more photos.)

Working with Clay

Stress is inevitable. However, there are many things one could do to relieve stress. Let me ask you. What do you normally do when things at work get crazy? You look away from the computer, rest your eyes and brain for a minute or two? Or you're the artistic one who does something crafty and display your work on your desk?

AJ and Chris are the best examples on how getting stressed at work could be fun and artsy after all. I admire how these two could do amazing things at work. Just like these clay models they recently finished. I think they have already ran out of clay so no new addition to the display yet but I would like to share their work with you. This might give you inspiration on how you could keep your professional life a little more interesting. I also thought of converting the images into black and white to hide the dusty surface where the clay models rest. :)

Pahiyas 2011

Words are useless for colorful photos such as these:

Greatest Love Found

That is photography. For everything I have done, there's nothing more fulfilling but to see my photos improve from the day I got Laura (my Nikon D40) until today. I often get embarrassed when I see how terrible my old photos looked and how shameless I was for posting them online. But despite those disappointments, I still feel grateful looking back to the things I learned especially the skills I gained in the process.


I have been doing photography with Laura for three years and although I have not given her her dream lenses, she still loves me and has decided to stick longer with me. She has been my best friend. Someone who has helped me see when I was blinded with hate, pain, love and joy. Someone who has taken my creative juices out of my system and straight to the viewfinder. Someone who has tolerated my shaky and sweaty hands. She is definitely the perfect nominee for someone I could spend the rest of my life with. Many do not and may never understand this but the connection we have for each other is indestructible and absolutely unfathomable. 


Laura and I traveled to different provinces and even flew to Cambodia and Vietnam. We both experienced different cultures, unraveled the mysteries of history, met people along the way, and satisfied our mouthwatering cravings. From these, we have grown. We have grown to be better and wiser. We have touched lives through our works and that kept us grounded and hungry to learn more. Whenever we feel unstable, we seek for Fido's (the tripod) assistance. The same with Gideon (IR shutter remote) who proved us to be someone we could always depend on whenever we feel alone. And cheers to Spencer (Gorillapod), who could go to the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. To them, I owe the life I never thought I could have.  


With our watchful eyes, we will continue to stand up for what we believe is true and reveal what remains hidden from our naked eyes. Together, we will make and live art.

 

Laura at 3

Multiple Exposure

 

Fig. 1

 For this, I used two images I took for our book club, Bookbound. (Check out our Tumblr account.)

 

Fig. 2

This is my latest work. These are five images combined to create the illusion of a moving car. As much as I want to reveal my latest project, I can't. It's a surprise. Sort of a gift for very special people and it has something to do with this photo.

 

Fig. 3

It has been months since I last worked on a new profile photo. Well, this isn't new at all. I just combined three old profile photos of mine to achieve this multiple exposure effect. I had to fill the entire frame by choosing images where the subjects were not on the same position so the result won't look as if I just piled them up.

I have recently discovered the multiple exposure effect on Picasa. I wanted to buy a toy camera and explore lomography but I was reluctant to do so since I have an SLR which works with film and to buy a new one wouldn't be so practical at all.


As I was making collages for a new project, I saw the multiple exposure option on the collage presets available in Picasa 3. I was so intrigued that I had to get my hard drive to get photos to experiment on. The first try was messy and so I thought of looking for photos which will fill the entire frame from left to right. The photos above are the finish products of this mini experiment.

If you can't go natural, go Cokin

Time to post something photography-related. Been struggling to translate my thoughts into words so I decided to continue a delayed project. A friend of mine suggested that I do a sample shoot using my Cokin filters. I instantly thought it was a good idea and so a week after here I am uploading some of my sample shots. All photos were unedited for you to see the real colors rendered by the filters. I also used different focal length, aperture and shutter settings with some of the photos. Exposure may vary depending on your desired effect. While doing this project, I tried to increase my shutter settings one to two stops higher to achieve different effects on the photos and I just liked the overexposed ones. Whether they were overexposed, they just stood out. Who cares anyways?




So if you have color filters at home, I suggest you give your camera a go and have fun! (Note: Click photo to enlarge.)