Bucket lists have always been intimidating for me. There is that wild anticipation for things to come and yet there is that uncomfortable nagging feeling that there is a possibility, no matter how remote, that some items on your list will remain nothing but entries.
Such is the case for me in the 3rd installment for my photography blog in MMS 173. I am well aware of my limitations and yet I know that I should give this a shot – the best one I could muster as a mighty proud housewife – and show up in the ePortfolio master list with an entry under my name. Full disclosure: there are some photos that I regrettably missed. I wasn’t able to produce all the required items regardless of the generous time frame we were given and it isn’t really anyone’s fault. But of course, I will still post all that I have taken simply because that is what fighters must and will do.
Without further ado, let me present to you my submission for our class bucket list. It is my sincere hope that you find inspiration in my work as it is a product of my blood, sweat and tears.
Music and Photography
My photos – the very few ones I was able to lovingly curate – and music, 80s music to be precise. Best enjoyed with my sappy Spotify playlist which can be found here. Don’t forget to click on the thumbnail to view its 800×600 counterpart on a new browser tab. Enjoy!
Little Dodong
Portrait
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 |
Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 200 | Exposure Time: 1/10 s
Lahug, Cebu City | March 05, 201
You were better to me than I was to myself/ For me, there’s you and there ain’t nobody else/ I wanna stop and thank you baby/ I just wanna stop and thank you baby, oh yes- How Sweet It Is to be Loved by You by James Taylor
Portraits are meant to portray the stature of the subject, usually depicting only the face or head and shoulders. It may also mean the orientation of the image where the height is longer than the width.
Newborn portraits is a good niche market and like the wedding photography industry, it is also becoming more and more staged.
I wanted to portray our baby as he is, without the fake flowers or carefully arranged toys. Parenting is whole lot of beautiful, un-apologetically chaotic season. This photo’s aim is to share with you a glimpse of my motherhood in the most realistic way – a journalistic approach so to speak.
With a decent light diffused by the curtain coming in from our room’s window from the right, using ISO 200 made sense initially until I had to push a slow shutter speed of 1/10s to get something usable. When I took the shot, I was worried he would have sudden movements or my hands would minutely tremble but thankfully none of my worries happened.
Tiboy
Animal
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 800 | Exposure Time: 1/60 sLocation Lahug, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
It is the night/ My body’s weak/ I’m on the run/ No time to sleep/ I’ve got to ride/ Ride like the wind/ To be free again- Ride Like the Wind by Christopher Cross
This is Steve or Tiboy as we lovingly call him. He is an Aspin (Asong Pinoy) who is with me for 12 years. We have been together in four different cities, 3 different IT jobs. He was with me from singlehood to motherhood and marital bliss. His love and loyalty is nothing short of phenomenal and this is my homage to the senior dog who stuck with me through multiple waves of ups and downs.
Tiboy’s portrait was shot in the evening thus the ISO. He is no longer the jumpy little dog I played a lot with so there was no need for me to adjust my shutter speed. Very minimal post processing was done in this photo – just leveling and cropping.
Ride Like the Wind, this dog will always do. His gait is not the same. His face has whitened in many spots. His energy that bursts out of him has drastically waned. And yet through the years, he remains the Tiboy who changed my life. He always has. He always will be.
When
Height
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 200 | Exposure Time: 1/250 sLocation Lahug, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
I took for granted, all the times/ That I thought would last somehow/ I hear the laughter, I taste the tears/ But I can’t get near you now- Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx
Two ways that we could illustrate or demonstrate height. A worm’s eye view or God’s eye view. Alternative names of the perspective abound but I’ll stick with the two for now.
Walking home I noticed this majestic tree in the neighborhood and I knew I just have to make it part of my project against the subtle hint of its urban roots. You can clearly see the electric or power line adjacent to it.
The foliage is underexposed at ISO 200 but it had to be to ensure the clouds on the right section of the image isn’t overexposed or be without detail.
For some weird reason, this tree reminds me of my teenage years in Manila. Ah, the pimples, stringy hair and thick glasses. What are the things you’d like to tell your younger self?
Love of my Life
Landscape
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 50 | Exposure Time: 1/3000 sLocation Cebu Tops, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
I love you in a place/ Where there’s no space or time/ I love you for my life/ You’re a friend of mine/ And when my life is over/ Remember when we were together- Song for You by The Carpenters
In my previous assignment, I illustrated landscape as the orientation of an image where the width is longer than the height. I have to try harder this time, and try hard I did near the last minute. A motorcycle ride to the Cebu’s tourist destination had to be made.
Image shot at around 5 in the afternoon on the same day the image detail shows. Facing east and the sunset is behind me, the sky and cityscape is well lit. My Aurora has a fixed aperture of f/1.7, there’s no way the photo could be underexposed other than sheer setting stupidity or intent at play. With that in mind I had to crank down the sensor’s sensitivity (ISO) to its lowest and shoot at the fastest shutter speed possible to ensure the clouds doesn’t go overexposed.
Quick Note: In the image is the Mactan Channel. In my other project, I took a video of the Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) Para-Dragonboat team with a good river view of the Mactan-Cebu bridge, the PADS team practice daily on that strait.
Are You Mine
Night
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 200 | Exposure Time: 1/20 sLocation Cebu IT Park, Cebu City | February 18, 2019
Can’t we stay the way we are/ The angel and the dreamer/ Who sometimes plays a fool/ Don’t give up on us, I know/ We can still come through- Don’t Give Up on Us by David Soul
For the night scene, the idea is to find an area where there is usually people and at the same time cars are passing through. Lo, the bus stop!
The bus stop night scene became tricky to shot when all of the ads display which were delineating the bus stop from the sidewalk was all lit.
Avoiding a High ISO to not overexpose the ad signs, I settled with ISO 200 and to get the transportation’s motion blur, I had to shoot with a slower shutter speed.
The resulting straight-out-of-camera jpeg yielded an overexposed ad signs but knowing I shot RAW, I can still develop a better jpeg by working directly with the RAW (DNG) image.
Using Snapseed, I pulled down highlights to bring back some details on those signs and thankfully it’s not too awful of a setting that I was still able to recover some detail.
Walking to You
Silhouette
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 50 | Exposure Time: 1/6000 sLocation Lahug, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
It’s drivin’ me crazy/ Because it grows and grows/ But I won’t let it stop/ No I’m not givin’ up/ Lovin’ you, lovin you/ Just a bit too much- Loving You by Ric Segreto
In between taking the landscape image and the pattern image, I had plenty of light.
Cranking up the shutter speed to the fastest setting did most of the part. After that, I loaded the image unto Snapseed and developed a JPEG image with shadow pulled up to darken the dark areas and also boost a little of the contrast to add definition to the object’s edges in silhouette.
This scene reminded me of lovers being hopeful and maybe sometimes people get too hopeful. Too hopeful that we set unrealistic expectations and give our all. It is never wrong to feel hopeful as long as you always leave something for yourself. But of course, one must ask where is the thrill in that.
Quo Vadis
Pattern
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 50 | Exposure Time: 1/90 sLocation Cebu Tops, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man/ I’m just a living legacy to the leader of the band- Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg
Pattern is easy to find in our every day lives.
What struck me the most about this one is how we often neglect the busy worker bee pollinating plants and completing its cycle of life. Proof that life is short to sweat the small stuff.
Shot several shots, pardon the pun, then after taking the landscape image, all I needed to do to capture a well exposed and detail rich image is to adjust the composition and adjust the shutter speed.
On a different but probably heavier and more personal note, if your father is still alive, can you give him a call or better yet a hug? Life is too short to miss such moments.
Pumping Hearts
Red
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 250 | Exposure Time: 1/180 sLocation Sugbo Mercado, Cebu City | February 18, 201
Baby come back, you can blame it all on me/ I was wrong, and I just can’t live without you- Baby Come Back by Player
Cebu is known for what? Well aside for our ladies (ahem, ahem), we are also known for our lechon. That red, crispy and oh so sinful lechon in this photo was shot at night. However it was a night market with ample lighting and there was no need for much adjustments other than pushing a color temperature a little to the warmer side to bring the crispy crackling skin to a crisp natural red as I saw it with my own two eyes.
Living in Manila for the most part of my life, I’m used to lechon with sarsa or liver sauce going together with it. In Cebu, once you taste our lechon sans the sarsa, you will never see lechon the same way again. Lami kaayo!
Again
Flower
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 50 | Exposure Time: 1/180 sLocation Lahug, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
I will never be free from your embrace/ Sweet baby/ Only hopin’ it’s not too late to try again- Sweet Baby by George Duke
This flower was shot in our neighbor’s front yard. It caught mine and my daughter’s eye. As this was taken around afternoon, there was enough light thus the ISO and exposure used. I used the rule of third to focus on the small flowers clumped together. This is straight out of the camera. I placed manual focus on the flower during the shot but no further post processing done afterwards.
The song I chose for this photo has a deeper meaning for me. It was a song my nanay and I used to sing together while doing our weekend chores. I still play the song every now and then and somehow it makes my missing her a little more bearable.
I See You
Radial
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 250 | Exposure Time: 1/180 sLocation Cebu Tops, Cebu City | March 09, 201
For a chance at loving you/ I’d take it all the way/ Right down to the wire/ Even through the fire- Through the Fire by Chaka Khan
I hid behind a pillar so I could capture the rows of concave in this photo without the tourists. This is a popular spot for lovers and tourists in Cebu City. Shot in broad daylight thus the settings I used. I also consciously thought about the Golden Ratio to come up with this view.
For the non technical part, all I can say is sometimes you have to give it a go. Take that risk and jump in. This place always has lovers being all sweet and bordering annoying. Teeming with that pheromone that makes couples stare at each other with gooey looks. I have to give them credit for making themselves vulnerable to being hurt. In a world where everyone needs to be sure of something, people falling in love and letting themselves go is a welcome distraction.
Quit Playing Games
Toy
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 400 | Exposure Time: 1/10 sLocation Lahug, Cebu City | March 09, 2019
To show I love you, thinking of you/ Write your name across the sky/ Anything you ask I´ll try, `cause/ Betcha by golly, wow- Betcha by Golly, Wow by Stylistics
I took this an hour before the deadline. It was obviously night time and my kids have just fallen asleep. I pulled up the ISO because the light wasn’t really that good even if it was right above me. Leveling and cropping was done for this photo. I also intentionally placed the joycon to where it can still be noticed even if it is in the background.
Night time is a good time to reminisce of the old days. When you were young, carefree and admittedly, also naive.
I used my daughter’s and husband’s toys to show that playfulness knows no age. We only grow old but there are things we never grew up on.
Sizzle for Me
Food
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 320 | Exposure Time: 1/60 sLocation Sugbo Mercado, Cebu City | February 18, 2019
Tonight oh I was thinking that you might/Be the one who breathes life in this heart of mine- Next Time I Fall in Love by Peter Cetera
This was taken at a popular food market here in Cebu City. Among the myriad of booths lined up, I chose this sisig booth because of their sisig’s lovely color. This was shot at night but the place was so well lit that the ISO need not be pulled up too high. I did leveling and cropping for this photo. Also made the color orange pop through Snapseed.
My memories of Manila pepper this blog post. Sisig is a Kapampangan dish that I used to love when I was still residing in Manila. And like the song, if lechon wasn’t my first food love, sisig will most likely be it. That crispy ear, savory sauce, gooey raw egg, sizzle that go on for minutes and that smell, oh that beautiful smell! I might grab one of these tonight (sorry my dear lechon).
Meet Me at Main Street
Lines
Camera: Samsung SM-G955F | Aperture: F1.7 | Focal Length: 4.20 mmISO 500 | Exposure Time: 1/15 sLocation Sugbo Mercado, Cebu City | February 17, 2019
But you don’t know what happiness means/ I was dancing in the dark with strangers/ No love around me/ When suddenly you found me, oh- Every Woman in the World by Air Supply
The Pyramid is a popular restaurant for millenials here in Cebu. Sadly though, not for its food but for its ambiance. I chose to showcase the lines on the exterior of the building. The ISO was a bit hiked up because, although there were a lot of small lights scattered in their perimeter, overall the place was still rather dark.
During post processing, I made the shadows darker so that dark areas do not turn gray – read: black stays black. I didn’t do any cropping or leveling for this photo. I waited for the right moment when there will be no passersby to obstruct the shot.
I have visited this place only once and am amused by the number of people that flock here regardless of the mediocre food. It must be the romantic vibe – that gentle music, slight chill (if dining alfresco) and warm soft lights which makes you want to pull your date closer and, if your bold enough, maybe give her a little kiss.
