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.)

Colors of Summer 2011

I just noticed that this is my 95th post. This is pressuring. I must have the best 100th post. Will leave it to fate.


It's summer here in the Philippines and I cannot wait to show you some of the photos I took during my last trip. It was altogether fun and exhausting. Exhausting because I was part of the core group who planned the whole thing. FUN because, once again, I did it with some of the amazing people I know. But there was one thing I never expected. I learned something which was life-altering.


It started with a breathtaking jump at the underground cave. It was fun at first. I didn't jump though. Not that I was scared or didn't want to try it. It was a girl thing. Almost everybody dove into the cold and clear water except for one. She was too scared that she was shaking on the edge of the cliff while looking down to the ones who jumped ahead of her. Hours passed and she left us on the edge of our seats. She was obviously in need of support from us, from the people waiting in line, especially me who was waiting to capture that final jump.  I tried to be patient and comforting but the summer heat got the best of me. I impatiently screamed at her to jump.


After a few minutes, she did it. It was an amazing feat for someone who has acrophobia. I left the cave, together with another friend and complained about how long I had to stay just to take photos of them. We left the island as if nothing happened. We rode the boat and I sat beside her. When we reached the next island, I asked her if she was mad. She said, "Ganun ka, ganito ako. Kailangan lang nating intindihin yun." 


I felt guilty for what I have done. It took me two days to finally get over it. I was too weak to personally apologize and so I wrote a letter for her instead.


I have learned that I am not yet the good friend she deserves and that I will make it up to her to gain back the trust she gave me. I allowed myself to be dominated by the extreme heat and impatience. It was very human yet ungrateful of me. I wished I could turn back time. I wished I remained calm.


Nevertheless, the day went smoothly for others and absolutely one of the best summer experiences I've ever had.