Daily Grind

Error message

2012-01-20T07:54:00.001-08:00

Don't you just love error messages that are direct to the point. LOL!

Pinoy Strobist on Facebook

2011-12-15T18:06:00.001-08:00

Want to learn strobist photography from fellow learners, head on here http://www.facebook.com/groups/169311906490819/

Cdr King TT520 Flash Unit, Optical Slave and Recycle Test, Godox rebrand

2011-09-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

I. Slave mode response

First up i tested the optical slave on the TT520 flash and check how it performs. the TT52o is set to "s1" mode, on this mode it will respond to any quick burst of light. the trigger is a Nikon sb28 unit set on repeating flash.

First on 20 flashes @ 10hz

Then on 20flashes @ 20hz

II. Recycle time

After that I tested the recycle time of the TT520 on full power. the TT52o is set to "s1" mode, on this mode it will respond to any quick burst of light. the trigger is a Nikon sb28 unit set on manual 1/64 power.

So far so good, works flawlessly. I like the response time of the slave (s1) and can keep up with the sb28 repeating flash as well as the 3 second recycle time on full power. I will be testing this flash on the field and see how it performs on an actual shoot.

More to come.

Cdr King TT520 Flash Test, Godox rebrand

2011-09-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

We'll be looking at the new CDR King TT520 flash. First off this is a manual flash without any TTL functions.

*** note the fake rubber flap, There is nothing under that rubber flap. I think it is a provision for some pc sync connection or external power, made for more advanced models.

Stats are as follows

Specifications on paper
Guide Number 33
Flash Modes M, S1, S2
Tilt 0 – 90°
Swivel 0 – 270°
Power Source 4 * AA batteries
Recycle Time 0.5 – 5s
Output Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128
Colour Temperature 5600K +/-200K
Flash Duration 1/800 ~ 1/2000s
Dimensions 190 * 75 * 55mm
Net Weight 286g

Package includes
# 1 x Flash light
# 1 x Protecting bag
# 1 x Mini stand
# 1 x User manual

Test results (Actual)

- Works on camera hotshoe no problem (Canon 7d)

- Works off-camera slave s1 triggered by manual popup flash

- Works off-camera slave s2 ignoring preflash

- Works off-camera mounted on RF 603c wireless tranceivers

- Recycle time is 3 seconds on full power

Power test

Camera : Canon 7d set at f9
All flashes on 1/1 power
Distance 9feet

A quick rough test reveals that the CDR King TT520's power is right in between the YN460 and YN460mkII.

I will be using this flash primarily to test how long it lasts, more to come.

Yongnuo RF-603 flash tranceiver range test

2011-06-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

I tried to compare the new Yongnuo RF-603 tranceiver against a Pocket Wizard Flex on a range shoot out.

Camera : Canon 50D + 70-200 IS f2.8L @ 200mm
Flash : 580exII
Triggers : PW flex / YN RF-603

For this test I will be using the PW tranceiver over the transmitter because it has an antenna for longer range. also I will be setting the PW to manual power, so no TTL.

I was not sure if it is because of the complex signals that the PW use, but the Yongnuo easily outranges the PW. The Yongnuo has been nothing but reliable, great range, but my only complain about it is the lack of lock on the foot, it sometimes drops or will not seat and contact well because of this.

More to come

Total Lunar Eclipse as seen in the Philippines

2011-06-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

Stayed up late last night to document the lunar eclipse. It was clear skies all through out the first part of the eclipse but got covered by thick clouds on the peak of it, i did not get to shoot the ending phase.

i just figured out that you cannot shoot the moon using a slow shutter speed, the sucker moves fast, 1sec exposure is enough to blur it

Infrared Photography with a Canon 7D

2011-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Some photos using a canon 7d with a cheap 720 IR filter. post processed with CS4

Macro photography with a reverse ring 50mm

2011-06-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

I want to try out macro photography but do not have the budget for a dedicated macro lens. I tried out a technique where you reverse mount a 50mm prime lens to take close up shots of small objects.

it is a hard technique because you need to focus your subject by moving your camera back end forth. as well as getting a dark viewfinder image while taking the shot.

here are some photos using this technique

Equipment used is a
-Canon 7d
-50m f1.8 (locked to f11)
-reverse ring
-extension tubes
-YN460 flash
-YN RF603 flash triggers

Churrasco Food Photography

2011-05-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

I was hired by churrasco restaurant to photograph their offerings. Gear used was a canon 7d with a tamron 17-50 f2.8 lighting setup was simple, just an umbrellabox on a lightstand and a bare speedlight pointed up a white ceiling for fill. triggers used were the new yongnuo rf603

slideshow was made using windows movie maker.

Difference in Light Modifiers

2011-05-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

Difference in light modifiers, taken from my strobist workshop I taught in Bacolod.

i used a canon 7d and a canon 70-200 f2.8L ISII

flash was an SB600, varying power camera left. background was around 6 feet away. different modifiers have different effect on the subject and background

no post-process, for actual output off the camera

Bare flash head

Reflective silver Umbrella

Shoot thru Umbrella

Grid Spot (black straw)

softbox

Beauty Dish

Canon 7d Videography

2011-05-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

My first video work using a Canon 7d. now I'm wishing I can get hold of some glidecams and sliders, and maybe a fast computer for editing.

I enjoyed shooting it, hope you enjoy watching it too.

Hoshii Japanese Food Shoot

2011-05-18T05:39:00.000-07:00

I really love Japanese food, and when I was contracted to photograph some food of a local Japanese restaurant, wow, who was I to say no. :)

Equipment used was a canon 7d with a Tamron 17-50 f2.8
3 flashes triggered remote by yongnuo rf603.

I am really digging this new triggers, will post a review of these flash tranceivers soon.

Black Card Technique - Landscapes

2011-04-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

This might be useful for people who wants to get into landscape photography but but do not have those expensive graduated neutral density filters.

this is a technique where you use a black opaque card to block and feather the bright parts of the frame on a long exposure shot.

1.first take the exposure of the sky ex : 5sec@f9
2.then the exposure of the foreground ex : 15sec@f9
3.block the the bright parts of the frame with a black card
4. take the shot while moving the black card up and down slightly to "feather" the graduation line for 10seconds.
5. remove the black card an let the sky expose for the remaining 5 seconds.

here are my takes on this technique

My take on this technique.
Shot with no filters, just a black wallet to block the bright areas of the frame
13 sec exposure, 7sec with the black wallet on then removed for the rest of the exposure.
i kinda like it better than using my ND grads looks way sharper.

30sec exposure, 24 sec with the black card, aperture at f9

30sec exposure, 24 sec with the black card, aperture at f6.3

Max's Restaurant, Corner Bakery at Dasmarinas

2011-01-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Max's Dasmarinas Corner Bakery

Here are some mouth watering delights available at Max's Corner Bakery

Brewed Coffee

Cappuccino and Cookies

Caramel Cream Cake

Cheesy Mamon

Choco Crinkles

Choco and Banana Loaf

Choco Cream Fudge

Cinnamon Rolls

Hot Chocolate and Lady Fingers

Lady Fingers

MCB Cold Beverages

Meringue

Ensaimada and Coffee

Banana Cake Slices

Cake Slices

Caramel Bars

The house that fried chicken built. The restaurant to go if you need good food, hold wedding receptions, babtism, birthday celebration, family reunion, debut, office events, corporate events and functions, vow renewal, party or parties, gimmicks in Dasmarinas Cavite.

http://dasmarinas.maxschicken.com/

Max's Dasmarinas Facebook Page

Flickr Set

Facebook Fan Page

Map to Max's Dasmarinas

Max's Restaurant at Dasmarinas

2010-12-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

http://dasmarinas.maxschicken.com/

Max's Dasmarinas Facebook Page

Flickr Set

Map to Max's Dasmarinas

Max's Restaurant currently has over 120 branches in the Philippines. The chain also has branches in the US states of California, Hawaii, and New Jersey. The chain is also opening a branch in Toronto, its first branch in Canada. The chain is opening branch in Jersey City, New Jersey, its first branch on east coast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max's_of_Manila

I had the pleasure of photographing the Dasmarinas branch of Max's Restaurant. It had all the amenities that you'll ever need like large function rooms for Meetings, Weddings, Birthdays or any event.

The main dining hall is spacious with lots of very attentive crew to cater to you every need.

food is fast, service is great, highly recommended! So when ever in Dasmarinas Cavite, whether you need a place to host your functions or just hungry and need delicious food think Max's Dasmarinas.

From Nikon to Canon

2010-12-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

I started photography May 2009, having a blast since then. My first DSLR was a Nikon d60, a bad newbie choice, I quickly outgrew it one month after using it. I needed something that could use affordable lenses and with a wireless commander. So i sold my d60 and bought a second hand d80, I was a happy camper, it had a pentaprism VF , more AF points and a CLS commander, of joy. I have been using it till October 2010, then i decided to try out videography.

There are a lot of cameras that i wanted to try out, Nikon 300s, Canon 7d, Sony SLT. but the Canon 7d was the clear winner so i got one, and boy it did not disappoint.

(photo taken by my 5year old, 3.2mp trusty point and shoot, Canon a510)

i will be attending some videography workshops to improve my skills as a videographer. it's gonna be a long and fun journey ahead.

Michael Cruz's review on David Tong's Blog on the Canon 7D

Specs on the Canon 7D

18.0 Megapixel CMOS Sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors for high image quality and speed.

ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 12,800) for shooting from bright to dim light.

8.0 fps continuous shooting up to 126 Large/JPEGs with UDMA CF card and 15 RAW.

Advanced movie mode with manual exposure control and selectable frame rates: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 1280 x 720 (HD): 60p (59.94) / 50p, 640 x 480 (SD): 60p (59.94) / 50p.

Intelligent Viewfinder with 100% field of view, wide viewing angle of 29.4°, high magnification of 1.0, intelligent viewfinder with glass pentaprism and an overlaid

LCD display in viewfinder supports various shooting styles.

New 19-point, all cross-type AF system equipped with dual diagonal cross-type sensors in center at f/2.8 and f/5.6 and AF area selection modes to match various shooting situations.

iFCL Metering with 63 zone dual-layer metering sensor that utilizes AF and color information for optimizing exposure and image quality.

Magnesium body with shutter durability up to 150,000 cycles and exclusive dust and weather resistance.

My Latte Art

2010-12-20T05:19:00.001-08:00

Testing out my Gaggia Espresso Pure, try my hand on microfoam and pouring latte art. Managed to make a heart, not rosetta yet, maybe soon.

Strobist information
Camera: Canon 7d + 50mm f1.8
f2 : 1/160 : iso 100
sb24 : 1/4 power : cam left : bounced ceiling
white reflector below camera

On camera flash for a fashion shoot?

2010-12-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, i just saw Australia's next top model cycle 5 "London Calling" episode. I was laughing out loud when i saw that the photographer was using a single speedlight mounted on-cam. Well it was not a surprise that the output was shit and so unprofessional!

Oh gawd, can't they at least hire a better photographer for it? can you say deer in the headlights?

My new toy

2010-12-14T02:51:00.000-08:00

I just got me a Gaggia Espresso Pure to replace my aging Krups steam espresso machine. I'm just glad that GE monogram distributes Gaggia products, I have been looking for a long time to get a hold of a decent espresso machine.

Still getting the hang of it, testing beans from different coffee outlets and diffrent grinds thru my Starbucks Barista burr grinder. Looking for that perfect Grind, Tamp and Pull. I'll get it eventually, and steaming milk is another challenge because the panarallo wand that came with it is no good for making microfoam latte, cappuccino yes, cafe latte nope.

I'm off to the local Starbucks for some beans, wish we had Illy or Lavazza here :(

April 27-31

2010-07-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

April 23 - 26

2010-07-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

April 17 - 22

2010-07-19T00:20:00.001-07:00

April 12 - 16 Project 365

2010-06-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

107/365 -Siblings

106/365 - Unplayed Grounds

105/365 - Golden Peek

104/365 - Felicia's

using off-cam flash with an old 3.2MP Canon a510

103/365 - Ordination

Strobist Workshop by Jomi Garrucho

2010-04-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2010
Escas, Aurora Subd. Iloilo city

1. Off-camera flash, light modifiers and equipment
-Snoots
-Gobos
-Grids
-Umbrellas
-Lightstands
-Trigger Methods

2. Off-camera lighting techniques indoor portraits
-Camera settings & Flash Sync speed
-Hard vs Soft Light
-Lighting positions and Techniques

3. Portrait Retouch and Post-process
-Layers
-Clean up
-Sharpening
-Enhancing details

4. Off-camera lighting techniques outdoor portraits
-Balancing Ambient vs Flash
-Gels, Correcting light and Color Shifting

April 7 - 11 Project 365

2010-04-14T01:11:00.001-07:00

April 11 2010 - Spin the bottle

April 10 2010 - Soniel

April 9 2010 - Ride with Me

April 8 2010 - Footprints

April 7 2010 - Chrome Domes

April 2 - 6 Project 365

2010-04-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

April 6 2010 - Roses

April 5 2010 - Ocean's Bounty

April 4 2010 - Untitled

April 3 2010 - Smile

April 2 2010 - Untitled

March 28 - April 1 Project 365

2010-04-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

April 1 2010 - Temple

March 31 2010 - Borders

March 30 2010 -Christian

March 29 2010 - Jazmine

March 28 2010 - Soniel

March 23-27 Project 365

2010-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

March 27 2010 - Adrian

March 26 2010 - Ever After

March 25 2010 - Gaib

March 24 2010 - Kakashi

March 23 2010 - Tifa

March 18-22 Project 365

2010-04-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

March 22, 2010 - Mother and Child

March 21 2010 - Hector

March 20 2010 - Off the wall

March 19 2010 - Hector+Lindy

March 18, 2010 - Dexter

March 14-17 Project 365

2010-03-22T19:19:00.001-07:00

March 17 - M&M

March 16 - Ring of fire

March 15- Juno

March 14 - Master S

March 9-13 Project 365

2010-03-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

March 13 2010
72/365 - Alone

March 12 , 2010
71/365 - Elliana

March 11, 2010
70/365 - Light Wings

March 10, 2010
69/365 - Line

March 9, 2010
68/365 - Max

Pocket Wizard Flex for Nikon

2010-03-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Way cool, now you can do TTL and High Speed Sync. You and on the fly use TTL mode with RF signals and longer range than the Nikon's CLS/AWL which uses light to send information.

March 4 - 8 Project 365

2010-03-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

67/365 - Teddy

66/365 - Lynneth

65 /365 - Spaghetti Puttanesca

64/365 - Mrs.

63 / 365 - Inuman across the Miles

Feb 27- March 3 Project 365

2010-03-05T08:19:00.000-08:00

62/365 - Spaghetti Marinara
Nikon D80
Yn460 1/4 power camera top

61/365 - Solar Flared
Nikon d80 + 35-80mm

promaster ftm7000 full power camera right

60/365 - Looking Ahead
Nikon d80 + 35-80mm

promaster ftm7000 full power camera right

59/365 - Kingpin
Nikon d80 + tokina 11-16 f2.8
2 X sb900 1/4 power left and right (side)
2 X YN460 1/4 power left and right (rear)
1 X SB800 w/ stofen 1/128 power voice activated boom stand

58/365 - surrounded
nikon D80 50mm 1.8
All 4 flashes at the lowest power settings

Feb 22-26 Project 365

2010-03-01T01:24:00.000-08:00

Feb 18-21 Project 365

2010-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

52/365 - San Mig Like

51/365 - Hellboy

Strobist Info:
YN460 1/4 power camera left bare 1/4 window green+1/4 cto

YN460 1/8 power low camera right bare 1/4 window green

f/8 iso100 1/30 shutter WB flourecent color shift test to turn the sky magenta

50/365 - Alex

Shot using a Canon A510 3.2MP Point and Shoot

49/365 - Home

Feb 17 Project 365

2010-02-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

48/365 - Teddy

Camera Nikon : D80 + 50mm f1.8
iso 100 ; 1/20 ; f2.8
Strobist info:
SB800 ; 1/4 power + shoot thru umbrella @ camera right
triggered by Nikon D80's CLS commander

Feb 15-16 Project 365

2010-02-15T17:45:00.001-08:00

Camera D80; 18-135mm
iso400;1/20 speed;f5.6
YN460 1/4 power camera left
YN460 1/8 power camera right

Camera D80; 18-135mm
iso800;1/20 speed;f5.6
YN460 1/8 power camera left

Feb 14 Project 365

2010-02-13T20:44:00.001-08:00

Camera D80 18-135
f 5.6 iso400 1/160
YN460 1/4 power high camera right
SB800 1/8 power low camera left + stofen
YN460 1/4 power high camera left 10'clock behind subject
triggered by CTR301p

Feb 12 - 13 Project 365

2010-02-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

A510 Canon
Yn460 handheld triggered as slave 1/64 power camera left

Nikon D80
Yn460 handheld 1/64 power camera left
triggered by crt301p

Feb 11 Project 365

2010-02-11T01:23:00.000-08:00

42/365 - Indigo

1 yn460 cam left 1/32 power
1 yn460 cam right 1/32 power
1 suntax DIY ring flash on cam fixed power around 1/64 compared to the YN460

Feb 10 Project 365

2010-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

41/365 - My Addiction
Camera : D80 + 50mm f1.8
iso 100 f4 1/160 shutter
Strobist Info:
YN460 1/16 power + grid @ camera left
YN460 1/8 power + grid + Straw yellow @ camera left pointed at the wall
triggered by Yongnuo ctr301p

Additional Photo using the same setup

Vinz at the Bizz Inn (Shot and Strobist Info)

2010-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Camera : d80 / 50mm f1.8
iso 400 f2.8 1/160 Shutter Speed
4 YN460 flashes
- red gel 1/4 inside bathroom pointed at the wall
- full CTB 1/8 low camera left
- 1/64 low camera right bounced off a green wall
- 1/64 gridded high camera right pointed at subject's face
White balance set to cloudy to punch up the reds

A lot of people have been asking me on how I made this shot, a lot of them thought it was photoshopped... geeze man, I'm too lazy to add all those colors in CS4, it is always best to do everything on cam, less work on the post-process.

Feb 09 Project 365

2010-02-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

40/365 - Elliana
Nikon d80 - 50mm f1.8
iso4001/20 secf1.8
Strobist info:
Yn460 1/64 power camera left via V.A.L.

Feb 08 Project 365

2010-02-07T17:16:00.001-08:00

39/365 - Danika
Nikon d80 - 50mm f1.8
iso4001/20 secf1.8
Strobist info:
Yn460 1/64 power camera left via V.A.L.

Feb 06 - Feb 07 Project 365

2010-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

38/365 - Capoeira

Camera D80 ; lens tokina 11-16 2.8

Promaster 1/4 power camera left behind subject

Yn460 1/2 power camera right behind subject

SB800 1/16 power camera right

SB900 1/16 power camera left

Trigger: yongnuo ctr301p

37/365 - Killing Moon

Feb 05 Project 365

2010-02-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

36/365 - Shocked
Camera : nikon d80
Lens : 50mm f1.8
Strobist info:
1 YN460 1/4 power + shoot thru umbrella camera right
1 YN460 1/8 power camera left

Feb 04 Project 365

2010-02-03T18:55:00.001-08:00

35/365 - Bright Side
Goofing around with my friend Rachel
Strobist Info
Camera : Nikon D80
Yn 460 1/4 power camera left
Yn 460 1/2 power camera right
triggered by YongNuo CTR-301p
f11 : iso100 : 1/200 shutter

played around with black points on Capture NX

Feb 03 Project 365

2010-02-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

34/365 - "H" for Hector
Portrait I made for a friend and fellow photographer
Strobist information
YN460 camera right 1/4 power
YN460 camera left behind subject 1/16 power

Jan 31 - Feb 2 Project 365

2010-02-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

Jan 26 - 30 Project 365

2010-02-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

Jan 19 - 25 Project 365

2010-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

25/365 - Up and Away

24/365 - Fuse

23/365 - Fullframe

22/365 - Absolutely

21/365 - Offshore

20/365 - Hang UP

19/365 - Black Russian

365 Project Jan 14 - 18 2010

2010-01-18T01:15:00.000-08:00

14 - Link

15 - Process

16 - Destination

17 - Element

18 - Age of Wonder

365 Project Jan 13

2010-01-12T17:19:00.001-08:00

13/365 - Swingers

Tried some lomo cross-process thing on this one, might as well give it a try.

Skin Retouching Technique

2010-01-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

Tried a lot of online tutorials on how to smoothen skin but ended up with plastic looking skin with little or no detail, much like the images you see on badly retouched magazine covers.

Did some experiments on Adobe Photoshop CS4 and finally got the look I was aiming for, nice smoothe skin with the details still intact (hairs, pores and all)

I probably got too carried away with the second image but you get the idea. details on the face can still be recovered or boosted to your own liking.

If you need the tutorial on how to go about this, give me a message. Aiyt!

365 Project Jan 12

2010-01-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

January 12 2010 - Lady

My first attempt at smoke photography. Used incense, a gridded flash and a black background.
post-processed and colored in PS

365 Project Jan 11

2010-01-11T02:50:00.000-08:00

January 11 2010 - Meet Rachel

Havin a great time boozin at a local resto, then a friend of a friend "Rachel" dropped by. Our drinkin spree turned into an impromptu photo shoot. deployed my shoot thru umbrella behind me and placed a bare yn460 behind Rachel.

Other photos from that night

365 Project Jan 6 - Jan 10

2010-01-11T02:37:00.000-08:00

January 6 2010 - Nested Loops

January 7 2010 -End of the Day

January 8 2010 - Bowl n' Balls

January 9 2010 - Happiness is warm lechon manok... Shared

January 10 2010 - x10 for 10

All photos shot with a Nikon D80 + Yongnuo Yn460 + CTR 301P triggers

My 365 Project

2010-01-11T02:15:00.000-08:00

January 1 2010 - Hall

January 2 2010 - Waves

January 3 2010 - Crack of Dawn

January 4 2010 - Johnah

January 5 2010 - RJ

Photos taken using a Nikon D80 and Yongnuo YN460 Flash units and CTR-301p Triggers

Mudpack Festival

2009-06-25T19:36:00.001-07:00

Attended the annual Mudpack Festival at Mambukal resort, Murcia, Negros Occ. Philippines. Locals cover their bodies with naturally colored clay. Had a blast covering the event.

Even some Korean Friends joined in.

More Here Mudpack Flickr SET

Bredco Sunset

2009-06-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

Went to a local port with the wife. took some photos of the sunset. there were lots of other people enjoying the sunset too.

Escabeche

2009-06-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Went to an Art Exhibit by artist and good friend of mine Manny Montelibano, had lots of fun, enjoyed the exhibit. As they say artists inspire other artists, being there got my creative juices flowing. Managed to get some shots, good ones, although i reached the limit of the light gathering capabilities of my nikon 18-55 kit lens.

I'm not pretty good with words, but i hope my images can show you my experience.

Thank You!

Philippine Independence Day

2009-06-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah, feeling patriotic this week, pulled out my Nikon D60 with a 18-55 kit lens and shot some photos on the new Bacolod Government Center while waiting for the wifey. Had some really nice shots. too bad I got sunburned from the heat.

i do love this country, it's those damn corrupt politicians running this country to the ground i hate so much, as well as those uto-uto crowd that could easily be manipulated by money, showbiz characters or some other means of distraction.

Airsoft Photoshoot

2009-05-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

Photos here
Well it was a gloomy day, wished it wouldn't rain but the shoot must go on. Checked my gear and packed up for today's shoot, stuffed a borrowed 55-200mm lens and my D60 in my Maxpedition Colossus.

Picked up Sam on the way to the gamesite and grabbed some burgers while we were at it. We were at the site at around 12:30, ate the burgers while waiting for the Jonah to arrive. Jonah and Sam geared up and we went to the part of the site where the ruins were, then began the photoshoot.

All went well, pleased with the results but I had some over exposed shots, even when the exposure meter was at "0". I could just hear my uncle's words "always take 1 OE, 1 Normal and 1 Under" drat, I should have done that... oh well lesson learned.

Photos here

Deadliest Warrior Sucks!!!

2009-05-06T21:25:00.001-07:00

Well it is official I will be ditching that idiotic show, it really sucks. I just saw the Mafia vs Yakuza episode and it was stupid. Based on the past episodes they tend to favor slow brute strength over fast repeated accurate hits, and as far as i know speed and accuracy always wins a fight.

LOL, a mafioso doing martial arts moves, puhleeassse i never seen anything more retarded than that. They should measure POWER+SPEED+ACCURACY. brute power is nothing if you can't get accurate hits and follow up hits. They should measure muti-hits on multiple targets, time and score them.

That's it I'm never watching that show, such waste of time.

Deadliest Warrior (Ninja vs Spartan)

2009-05-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Spartan Wins? that is stupid. I just saw an episode of Deadliest warriors which featured a simulated fight between a ninja and a spartan. based on the weapon stats and skills, the computer calculated over 1000 fight simulations and the results favored the spartan.

wow don't they even factor in tactics? there is a reason why Asian matial arts are alive and well today, because the were efficient and deadly, you would not see those deadly spartan killing arts being taught in a self defense class anytime soon.

Powdered glass in the eyes not counted as a kill? oh come on, a blind warrior is a dead warrior.

Please if add stealth, accuracy, muti-hit accuracy, speed, deception and tactics to the calculation.

That episode was pretty flawed, not to mention that indian looking ninja guy who does not even know how to swing a sword.

...And why not a Ninja vs Pirate match... STOOOPID

Photoshop post processing

2009-05-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

tried my hand on post processing my photos. pretty tricky working with PS, i do need to read books the subject.

here's the result of one of my photos of a homeless person. wanted to get more dramatic contrast to the overall image with emphasis on the subject. i really like how this came out.

Have to learn how to make borders on my images to give it more oomph.

Pasalamat Festival 2009

2009-05-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Went to my friend Doc Rane's house over at La Carlota for some fiesta action, brought along my Nikon d60 and borrowed a 55-200 Vr lens from my sis. Too bad it was raining, i really wanted to take pictures without having to lug around an umbrella.

I was surprised that the set came out very well.

Full images and more here on my facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120856&id=731007393

Can't wait for the next event to come along.

Nikon D60

2009-05-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

Soooo, i got my hands on my first ever DSLR. great upgrade from my usual but ever so trusty Canon A510. Ever so grateful to my good friend Edison Tan over at Merchant Prince at 888 mall. He has the cheapest DSLR kits in Bacolod as well as memory cards and recordable discs.

Ok, lets get on to some test shots i made with the D60.

it came out pretty well, coming from a P&S camera i was amazed of what i can do with a DSLR.

Oh well another boring life of a geek

2009-05-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

So what does someone like me look forward for? well nothing much... Just a brand spanking new laptop and a Gaggia espresso machine! too bad shipping to the Philippines takes a long time and expensive. I just can't wait to get my hands on those new fast laptops and get to brew espresso to perfection every morning.

YM! Skype AIM Online presence icons

2008-09-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Got tired of searching for all of these. Here are the solutions to having an online presence icon on your website.

Yahoo
<img alt="your_id" src="http://mail.opi.yahoo.com/online?u=your_id" />

AIM
<img alt="your_id" src="http://api.oscar.aol.com/SOA/key=pc1F8MAwNRGOEoyN/presence/your_id" />

SKYPE <img alt="your_id" src="http://mystatus.skype.com/smallicon/your_id" />

MSN
<img src="http://messenger.services.live.com/users/user_id@msn.com/presenceimage/" alt="status" />