Comic Book Adventures #1: Cebu Weekend

After a friend told me how he very much liked how I did the editing for the Chinatown Adventure Series, I knew that I wanted to and had to do more of those. (OMG. Takes SO MUCH EFFORT. Why am I doing this again??? HAHAHA) Anyways, I thought it would be fun to modify it and do it in a comic book style instead to make it more story telling like. And thus, the birth of another new project thingy on my blog, The COMIC BOOK ADVENTURES. Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you the first of many CBA's to come.

Ok, so maybe this first one isn't so comic book like in the sense that there isn't really a concrete story. It's sort of just a collection of pictures of my trip to Cebu earlier this month arranged in a comic book format. Took a long time to get it looking like this but it was worth it. The pictures look so much more fun now. Don't you think? :) 

Got home, freshened up then straight to Red Kimono. Yum-O!!! What a way to start my stay in Cebu. Delicious FREE food!!! (c/o parents). I just love their maki's! <3


Next day, I hung out with some friends and ate at Bigby's. The place where we usually end up eating. And by usually I mean always. Day after that was the Pacquiao VS. Cotto fight. (Not in the pictures) My uncle prepared a little gathering at his place. Food + Drinks + Payperview + All for free + Pacquiao Won! = YEY :D This happened in the morning, my flight was not 'til afternoon so I was able to enjoy all these. When I got to the airport they were playing the replay with LOTSA commercial breaks. I didn't watch anymore.

And that wraps up my 1st Comic Book Adventure!

Tell me what you guy's think of this new blog project of mine.
Comments & Suggestions will be glady appreciated.

:)

Photo Project #1: DIY Strip Light

Aside from my "Movies I've Seen List" thing, this is another new thing I will be having in the blog, my Photo Projects (e.g. DIY Light Projects). Yesterday, I was going through some photography related sites and got really inspired to do a DIY. I had lots of time to kill and well, what do you know, I surprisingly had materials to do one of the DIY projects. I decided to make a Strip light since I wanted one and because that's what I had materials for. I based my strip light on this site. Such a helpful, informative, inspiring site. I'm thankful I found it. For without it... I would be bankcrupt by now because I would have never known DIY's could do the trick just as well at less than half the cost! Wait... I would have never even thought of doing DIY's!!! So to the creators and contributors of the site, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!! :D

Here's the strip light I made:

Note: I haven't attached barn doors to the strip light and my speed light was low on battery when I took this. That explains why the picture isn't very bright. And you can't really see the full effect of the strip light because I just covered the built in flash of my camera with an index card because I don't own a remote trigger as of now but I will get one real soon (maybe next week). So this isn't really accurate.

Here's my attempt at an artistic photograph using the new strip light I made + lots of Photoshop:
 (Ok, that's just an excuse, this was just a crappy test shot that I really wanted to salvage coz I loved the lighting. Hehehe ^_^)

"Always do what you are afraid to do." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What ya guys think?

:)

Toffee NUTTT

Few days ago, I had my 2nd cup of Toffee Nut Frap this season. Remember my previous post about it having something missing? Well, as it turns out nothing is missing. While waiting for my drink I just stood by near the counter and to my surprise, I saw the barista putting the magic sprinkle thing on top of the whip of my drink, probably the very thing why I love Toffe Nut Frap. I just wish they placed more though. It's so good, I love it! So Ladies and Gentlemen, that solves the Toffee Nut Mystery.

:)

Super Emo Friends

Saw this over at yayeveryday
 Designed by J Salvador http://jsalvadordesign.com/

Too cute not to share :)

 

Movies I've Seen List: New Moon

I don't have the best memory in the world. In fact, I have one of the worst. One of the many reasons for me for starting this blog is help me remember what I've done with my life so far. It serves to remind me of the things I've done, places I've been to, people I've met and etc. One of the things that I do want to remember are the movies I have seen. So starting with this entry marks the start of my official "Movies I've seen list".

Last Sunday, the day I/we got back to Manila from Subic, my friends and I decided to watch New Moon. Even though I'm not really a fan, I thought, what the heck, I want to see what everyone's been dying to see. I thought surely with the success of it's prequel this one has a bigger budget, better effects, and better story. But unsurprisingly enough, like its prequel Twilight, I still didn't like this one. I will not go into further detail.

SUPER Weekend!

I went to Subic over the weekend with friends. Had such a good time. It was a blast! That's why I wasn't able to blog until today. Hehe :) Laughing, Singing, Screaming, Talking, Bonding, Drinking, Doing crazy things, ... all in a weekend's fun. Can't wait to have more roadtrip adventures with my buddies!

:)

Not the Sexually Transmitted Kind!

STD --> Spot the Dog
was the name of the business me and my group mates ran for one of our subjects during high school (senior year). We sold pouches and slippers. Why STD? Well, it seemed like a fun/funny idea at that time... but now looking back, I think it was a mistake. But, oh well, lesson learned, don't name your business after something people never want to get.

A part of running any business is to have some marketing plan or Ads. So naturally we made a few ourselves. I took charge of this and conceptualized and photographed what would become our Ads. It was probably only the 2nd photo shoot I've ever done. And oh, the cam I used for this was a Canon DSLR that belonged to my classmate's uncle. Funny thing is, I didn't even know how to use one then, so I don't know how I was able to produce these images. Just got lucky I guess. Thankfully the images came out just the way I wanted them to.

Here they are untouched and raw:

Light set up breakdown:
- Lamp
- Yellow garden light behind
- Flashlight on products

And yes, those are crumpled newspapers on the wall.

:)

Words of the Wise

“Solitude is impractical and yet society is fatal.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

>> so true. We know that no man is an island... yet other men can destroy us. So how are we supposed to resolve this dilemma?

About the photo:
I was testing out the DIY ringflash I made so I took a self-portrait using a remote with the camera on a tripod. Focusing was off though, but this is just one of those accidental things that turn out to be great (which I happen to be very good at. LOL. How can someone be good at something when it's accidental?).

Fame Monster

Lady Gaga interview with VIBE.com



"I'm struggling with all sorts of things, but that's the nature of being an artist... I think when you stop struggling, that's when your music starts to suck, so... I'm sorta holding onto my solitude and wrestling with all of my thoughts." —Lady GaGa

I think this is one of her best interviews to date (at least that I've seen)! Very insightful, very honest and very real. It's like a different side of her. We get to understand her more and how she is. She's wearing her heart on her sleeve on this one, baring her soul to us. But of course a very little part of it. Watch the video to see what I mean. And I love how she looks here, very Scarlett Johansson-ish. Suits her.

DRUG

Fashion can be an addiction.
Fashion can be a drug.

Is it your drug?
Are you... an addict?

Oh, Andy!

I want this book and I hope it's available here in Manila. If it's not... :(
WAAAAAH! Wish me luck!

WOW, just WOW

I was looking through some editorials online the other day and came across this photo:


I was speechless. *Jaw dropped to the floor*Amazed*

Model: Anna Friel
Photographed by: Kai Z. Feng
Magazine: UK Vanity Fair, August 2009
Editorial: Pearls on Film

Click HERE to see the rest of the editorial

I know the picture looks very simple, especially that it's in black & white. I bet to you it looks like any other picture you've seen in a magazine. But I don't know, for me, this picture is simply amazing. The lighting is just perfect/brilliant. Stunning in its simplicity. I don't think I've ever seen lighting like this for a profile. The lighting on this profile is just something you don't normally see or expect. I'm just amazed by the technical genius of it. Look how the shadow forms on her face and how the light falls so softly on her chest. And not to forget the hair light on top. Who would've thought of doing a lighting set up like that for a profile. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to, at least not anytime soon. I think I'm going to try to replicate this in my upcoming shoot real soon. Keep posted!

:)

Philippine Fashion Week S/S 2010

(another late post)
See my photo coverage of a few shows during PFW S/S 2010 in the links below:


Sassa Jimenez S/S 2010
Facebook Link
Multiply Link



Chris Diaz & Michelle Lim S/S 2010
Facebook Link
Multiply Link


(L) - Me in action, (R) - My outfit

BREAK

(Super duper late post)
One of the things I was busy with last term was creating a mock magazine for one of my major subjects. It was a group project which served as our finals. I was the managing editor. My task was to design the magazine, make sure people submitted their articles on time, edit their articles, and etc. We called our magazine BREAK. Break in every sense of the word. Taking a BREAK, BREAK away, BREAK free, BREAK time, BREAKfast, you get the point. That's the message we wanted to convey with our magazine, what we wanted our magazine to represent.

The making of the magazine:
Top 3 (EIC, Managing Editor - not in pic, taking the photo, Associate Editor) Meeting

Associate Editor, Marika Callangan oF Projectrika.blogspot.com

EIC, Pilar Almario of thepilarness.blogspot.com and I

To Do List

Group Meeting

In Class


Below are some of the pages I designed for the magazine. I designed about half of the magazine while another groupmate designed the other half. This is the first time I designed a magazine and I'd have to say, I think I did a pretty good job. Don't you think so?

Mock ads (photo and design by me)


To view the whole magazine, click HERE

Quick Post - Now you know

Congratulations, Mr. Manny "PACMAN" Pacquiao!


For those of you who don't know, Pacquiao won his 7th title in yet another weight division yesterday. Thats 7 titles in 7 different weight divisions! The fight was stopped 55 seconds into the 12th round with Miguel Cotto (the defending champ) looking really beat up. Now you know! Hehe :)

And oh, I'm back in MANILA.
Can't wait for Christmas break!

Love Without Talking

Time check: 11:40AM
[ ] packed
[ ] showered
[x] waste time

Found this really nice short film in Karen Pimantuan's blog and thought I'd share it with you guys. After watching this, it's making me think of doing a short film for thesis. Hmmm... I'm inspired to consider doing one now, but we'll see. Just a few days ago, we watched a couple of short films made by previous batches for their thesis during one of our major subjects. The short films we watched were awarded best thesis. After watching them I was definitely set on doing photo essay for my thesis. Making a short film just seems like A LOT of work. As in, A LOT. But the video you're about to watch made me realize otherwise. It doesn't have to be all that complicated. I can make one that's simple but very witty. The short film below is simple in every sense. Minimal/no speaking parts, few locations, minimal/simple acting. How can something so simple be this good? Anyways, go watch it for yourselves and see what I'm talking about.

:)

Cebu in a few

So I'm off to Cebu for the weekend. I haven't been back there since mid-September. I miss Cebu and I'm glad to be going home even if it's just for the weekend. My flight is later this afternoon. I haven't packed and I should seriously be sleeping. And I will, right after this post. I'm not sure I'll be able to update when I'm there so... Just wait for updates next week. Have a great weekend, guys!

:)

Ms. Portman

Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we? Remember back in the day when Natalie Portman used to endorse Kamiseta? If not, let me refresh your memory.
Now you remember? This was her then.
But look at her now!

On the cover of V Magazine's Dec 2009 issue
Looking fiercer than ever and shot by none other than Mario Testino. I envy you Mr. Testino!!! Can I have your job pretty please???
I'm really loving what he did with Ms. Portman in this editorial. As always, he delivers great photos time and time again. I hope I can be as great as him one day.


Doesn't she just look amazing? I just love her. Don't you, too? What's not to love about her? Not only is she really beautiful AND gorgeous. But she's also smart! Did you know she completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at Harvard College? If that's not smart. I don't know what is.

to see the rest of the photos head over to vmagazine.com