fotogra and memories

Mimi and Karl Blog

2008-05-25T21:10:00.001+08:00

We're already blogging at Mimi and Karl blog.

When animals attack!

2006-05-29T10:21:00.000+08:00

We're blogging now at Mimi and Karl. Check out my newest post about Attack of the Doves LOL!

UP in the summer

2006-05-11T11:16:00.000+08:00

You'll know that graduation time in UP is near when you see the sunflowers in bloom along University Ave. and you'll know that summer is about to end when the sunflowers start to die. This summer we shot 3 prenup pictorials in UP and during the shoots I got pretty nostalgic about spending summer in Diliman. During college, I usually took really lame classes during summer so that I would have reason to leave the house everyday. I'd attend one class and just spend the afternoon (getting drunk) at the ZS tambayan or play pickup tennis at the SC courts or watch a movie at SM City. I think I took hum2 and PE classes except for my first summer where I took Math 55 (I was still a diligent student back then hahaha!)

Anyway, we already shot a prenup with the sunflowers as background last year. So when we came back I had pretty much had a vision in mind of what I wanted.

Robin and Mabs

This was taken a week before graduation so the sunflowers were at their peak bloom. I passed by UP yesterday and most of the sunflowers have wilted.

Val and Arlene

The couple scheduled their prenup during graduation day, so we told them we could probably shoot in UP in the morning. The good thing was the ampitheater was being made up for the afternoon graduation. When we saw these rows and rows of empty white chairs we knew we just had to take this shot :)

Where's Superman?

2006-04-21T01:19:00.000+08:00

Mimi's been teasing me that this blog is turning out to be a Rizal Province blog. So let's go back to our regualr wedding photographs.

The groom's suit. Shot at Fernwood Gardens.

Jala-Jala, Rizal's Wildlife

2006-04-17T19:57:00.000+08:00

Last Black Saturday, I accompanied my Uncle to his farm in Jala-Jala, Rizal. I've always wanted to go there but haven't had the time to visit. He says I'm always welcome to do a shoot just as long as the models are nude. Hahaha. Anyway, I've been through the Rizal-Laguna route plenty of times but it was my first time to pass through Jala-Jala. The scenery can be a really nice background for a prenup pictorial. Anybody interested? Hehe

On his farm, I chanced upon a book entitled "A Frenchman in the Philippines". It basically is about the true adventures of a French physician as he colonized Jala-Jala around the 1820's. I scanned the more fascinating parts of the book and found interest in the modes of transporation back then. To reach Jala-Jala they basically set sail from Manila via the Pasig River and cross the Laguna Bay. It makes me wonder if this is faster than taking a car from Manila to Jala-Jala nowadays with the terrible traffic and all.

I also found interesting the stories about the wildlife around the area. You see the perks of being the only European in the area was all the game he could shoot. Animals range from wild pigeons, wild boar, deer, eagles, monitor lizards and giant bats. The more dangerous animals include man-eating crocodiles and the wild buffalos. He recounts an incident wherein he accompanied a European guest to go hunting for wild buffalos. He adviced the fellow to climb a tree when they spot a wild buffalo as they attack. Apparently his guest didn't heed his warning, the guest fired two shots to the charging buffalo, missed both and was gored to death by the animal.

Sadly, I don't think much of the wildlife he described in the book can still be found in the vicinity. The good news is the paragraphs above are just a segueway to the photographs I did manage to shoot at the farm. Jala-Jala's wildlife, the macro kind that is. Hehe.

This is the first time I've used my new macro lens for insect work and boy it won't be the last. This area of photography can really be addicting!

Good Friday at Taytay, Rizal

2006-04-16T00:39:00.000+08:00

We usually spend our Good Friday evenings at the house were my father grew up to watch the Catholic procession. The highlight of which is the image of the dead Christ being pulled by hundreds of men in barefoot. Their devotion is much like that of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo.

An April Fool's Wedding

2006-04-14T21:49:00.000+08:00

The groom at the St. James Alabang Church. On a previous wedding, I saw the reflection of the groom on the same glass door and was a tad bit late in getting my eye on the viewfinder. This time I waited hehe.

Dra. Belo sharing a laugh with another ninang. I love this shot because I'm so showbiz.

Smoking!

Hello blog, I'm back

2006-04-14T21:43:00.000+08:00

I've tons of photos I want to share. Just haven't had time to post. Here's my favorite from Mike and Nette's wedding.

UP Pep Squad

2006-02-04T00:22:00.000+08:00

Mimi's brother who is a UP Pep drummer asked us to shoot the portraits of the UP Pep Squad for the souvenir program of the upcoming Elevate concert. We had this crude studio set up at the UP gym, 2 strobes w/ umbrellas and the wall for the backdrop. Since they needed black and white photos, we decided to use built in b&w function of the 20D (the first time I used it actually hehe..) Below are some of the in between takes.

Manila Sunrise

2006-01-28T19:31:00.000+08:00

... and we breathe that air everyday!

Bridal ATV

2006-01-27T01:48:00.000+08:00

The perfect ride for a Boracay Wedding.

Wuthering Heights

2006-01-27T01:03:00.000+08:00

Photo taken at Fuego Point last December. I don't really know why this photo reminds me of a scene from Wuthering Heights which I last read in highschool. Hehe. On a related note, a few days ago we were asked to provide a few photos for an upcoming Punta Fuego Weddings Exhibit. Sweet! Make-up: Xeng Zulueta, Bouquet: Robert Blancaflor, Gown: Cecilio Abad?!(Not sure!)

2006-01-16T01:07:00.000+08:00

Love Rail Transit

Dreaming of a White Christmas.

2006-01-01T04:26:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year folks! Hell week part 1 is finally over. I hope we still have the strength to survive the coming week :D. The past month has really been awesome for us in terms of the amount of beautiful images we've captured. Here's one of them :D Photo by Mimi Abesamis, lighting by yours truly hahaha. During that time we were a bit down because it started to rain, forcing us to cut the pictorial short. But I guess it was a blessing in disguise as the rain made it look like it was snowing in Caleruega.

Alias Bistek

2005-12-01T13:16:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to shoot something like this... the wedding party bursting into a group dance. Mala-Jennifer Gardner dancing the Thriller at the "13 going on 30" movie or mala-Herbert Bautista sa "Puto" the movie.

W@W Top 5

2005-11-30T13:01:00.000+08:00

Lots of thanks to people who voted for us in the W@W awards! We never really expected to land in the Top 10 much more the Top 5. Aww natouch naman kami hehe. To all our clients you guys rock and we promise to give you the best wedding photography in the planet!

Jenee walking down the aisle - Caleruega

2005-11-29T23:23:00.000+08:00

Close Encounters of the 3rd kind

2005-11-29T23:02:00.000+08:00

Meet me in outerspace... Dax and Rose yesterday at the UP Sunken Garden

Pro na ba ko?

2005-11-25T02:23:00.001+08:00

A photographer friend once told me that one should consider himself a professional photographer if he can consistently deliver images even if he was not in the mood or out of his element. He likened it as being able to turn it on like a switch.

Yesterday wasn't a good day for me. The day before I had extreme diarrhea and a high fever. Mimi's mom's diagnosis was that it was probably amobeasis. It's a good thing Mimi took good care of me :) She brought me my medicines and bananas to eat. Anyway, what made things worse was that the venue for our engangement portrait that day, Enchanted Kingdom was packed with students on their field trip. Since we planned on shooting our couple on the rides, we had to queue 45 minutes to an hour per ride.

Anyway, here's a funny pic Mimi took of me in one of the rides. As you can see I had to block everything that was happening around me and just focus on shooting. Hehe

Here's one of my favorites from that ride.

2005-11-17T01:43:00.001+08:00

Another day at the office 2

2005-11-17T01:43:00.000+08:00

Another day at the office 1

Manila's famous sunset

2005-10-27T01:53:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, Mimi and I attended the dedication (baptism) of my cousin's first born son in Antipolo. I kidded Mimi if we should bring our cameras since it was the first time in a couple of weeks that the weather was gorgeous. Well, we decided not to, mainly because we dreaded hauling all that gear and from my recollection about the venue... there wasn't much of a view. :P

Boy, was I wrong. What I didn't know was that the venue had a new building with a great view of the cityscape. The sunset was absolutely beautiful! (a by product of our polluted air, hehe) I had to borrow my cousin's point and shoot just to be able to snap this photo. Oh well. Mimi and I promised ourselves that we'll come back.

First Dance Rocks

2005-10-19T18:31:00.000+08:00

Four different weddings four first dances :)

Irvin-Faye

Ian-Cathy

Irene-Dicky

Riah-Nats

Wee!

2005-09-06T16:36:00.000+08:00

When I saw the carousel at the park where we were shooting, I just wanted to have this shot. Background motion blur without photoshop! Nevermind that I was panting like crazy after pushing the carousel while Mimi pressed the trigger. Hehe

Having a blast!

2005-08-12T03:55:00.000+08:00

The better you get at something, the better it feels. - swiped from a marketing blog. Well it's true, I think our photography has improved tremendously from last year and it really feels good that we've been nailing the shots that we want. The funny thing is the more we improve the more things we want to improve as well. I mean we're changing our albums, perfecting our post-production technique, redesigning our website, etc. But don't get me wrong, I'm loving the journey and glad that we're working together.

Photos from last week.

Sheela and Vlad prenups

Sheela dancing with her father at the wedding. Can you feel what's she's feeling?

PLDT BOO!

2005-08-09T01:53:00.000+08:00

PLDT sucks. We have no dial tone for over a week now which means no DSL for me too. According to our building maintenance, the line went dead around the time some PLDT men were fixing another unit's line. Siraniko ampucha!

You can't even talk to someone on their service repair line. You get a recorded message that trouble has already been reported. There's an option to talk to a service rep but all service reps are busy 'daw' and I can wait for one to be available. So I waited for 30 minutes and all I get is their damn jingle.

Mimi and I were finishing an album layout due last week and having no DSL meant we couldn't critique each other's layout online. I have to burn my files and bring it over to her house etc. Anyway, it's already finished just a few minor changes from the couple :)

This is my favorite spread, of course props goes to Mimi for the wonderful layout :)

Piso

2005-07-12T02:25:00.000+08:00

Wasn't able to cover the UP-UST game last Saturday because my press credentials came in late, sayang... So, I just covered the Ateneo La Salle game hehe. Sports photography doesn't excite me anymore, my passion is now wedding photography ;)

False Advertising 2

2005-07-12T02:19:00.000+08:00

The flying car at last Saturday's Ateneo-La Salle game este "product launch". The car is actually a large balloon with rotors on the sides controlled by remote control. Ok sana kung malagyan mo siya ng camera no?

Little Red Riding Hood

2005-07-05T23:06:00.000+08:00

San nga to? Hint

False Advertising

2005-07-05T20:00:00.000+08:00

I haven't shot a gig for a while but I don't think I've lost my touch. If you view the photos of the event I posted over at Philmusic.com, it would seem like the event was a Blast. Hahaha. I just like to thank the friends who were there. You guys rock!

Six Cycle Mind - Kumanta sila pero di naman ata umulan

13 Needles - ang pogi ng vocalist kamukha ni Bamboo!

2005-05-28T20:40:00.000+08:00

Dawson and Joey or Rovic and Ponyang? Hehe. Doing some post processing work for our samples.

2005-05-24T14:11:00.000+08:00

Underground River, Palawan - Find Jesus' face.

Yey!

2005-05-19T23:48:00.000+08:00

Just came back from our camera club meeting. Mimi and I haven't been joining the monthly contests for the past few months because we've been very busy. Anyway, there are two categories this month, one bridal related which is Bridal Bouquet and the other is Men at Work in celebration of May 1. I'm so happy that Mimi took the first place for the Bridal Bouquet category and I won the first place for the Men at Work category :D I'm hoping we could win a few more contests as it was announced today that our club's Photographer of the Year will win a 2 strobe lighting kit from Aperture Trading.

Mimi's winning entry, wedding preps at Sonya's Garden

My photo of Men at Work shot in Snake Island, Palawan. Shot taken while my companions were already waiting on the boat for me. O diba Ate Des winner naman! Haha

2005-05-18T21:01:00.000+08:00

Going home

2005-05-18T20:56:00.000+08:00

Let the Love Begin

2005-05-18T20:55:00.000+08:00

Nerdy banca

2005-05-18T20:41:00.001+08:00

Old Ones

2005-05-18T20:41:00.000+08:00

New Friends

2005-05-18T12:13:00.000+08:00

Sunset - El Nido, Palawan

2005-05-18T12:01:00.000+08:00

Noon - Honda Bay, Palawan

2005-05-18T11:56:00.000+08:00

Sunrise - Coron, Palawan

2005-05-03T17:05:00.000+08:00

Ring Shot

2005-04-04T14:50:00.000+08:00

Parang atin ang gabi. Para bang wala tayong katabi. At tayo'y sumayaw na parang di na tayo bibitaw. I just finished some photos that we will have printed for the WE magazine. Here's one of them. Bakit ba "Prom" ng Sugarfree ang nasa isip ko e kasal to. (Nakadancing dress na pala dyan yung bride) Hehe

2005-03-24T14:49:00.000+08:00

Just found out that they've released a new version of the lensbaby which now has a better glass element. Anyway, I still love my lensbaby. This photo was taken in the mosh pit of the UP fair using the lensbaby. The orcs were covering their faces because of the dust cloud created by all the moshing. Only stayed in the pit during the Kjwan set. Brings back memories of me as a scrawny kid moshing to Advent Call and Razorback (yung Wolfgang nag cocover pa ng Pearl Jam songs nun). Hahaha!

No signal

2005-03-20T23:33:00.000+08:00

I lost my phone today. I left it in a taxi. I was able to call it 5 times before the taxi driver probably turned it off. So yun ala na si 0917-904-PAPA. Ok lang mawala yung phoneset which is an old 6210 with a defective lcd, hard to press key pad and with no more power button. What I'll miss would be the sim card which I've had since 1998. SVI-GIRC days ko pa yun. Sigh.

Sigh natalo si Pac-man.

And triple sigh... I feel for the UP student who was killed in a failed robbery attempt at the Beta Way last Thursday. Just learned from Jepoi na Pisay'00 yung guy while his girlfriend was Pisay'03. Bad trip no? According rin kay Jepoi, the guy was stabbed on the chest, the gf was trying to flag down cars in the AS area pero walang tumitigil. Buti na lang yung mga guards ng AS rumosponde at nahuli yung mga holdaper.

2005-03-15T23:51:00.000+08:00

Had a shoot with a model last Saturday for her zed cards. The photos turned out great! Here's one of them.

Stella

2005-03-14T22:06:00.000+08:00

My high school (college also) friend who got married in Daraga, Albay last January emailed me from Michigan... seems like his co-residents love the photos that Mimi and I took of their wedding. This is his favorite photo of his wife and was asking me if I can send him a larger file to print. You see I was only able to give him the CD of the raw photos. The original file had people standing in the background, so I had to 'remove them' also their official photographer was directly behind the bride so I had to remove him too hehe. I converted to black and white and did some tonal adjusments to set the mood.

Huling hirit...

2005-03-04T12:00:00.000+08:00

A few hours before we left for Cebu, Karl & I were still at Starbucks Libis sorting out prenup photos we've taken the day before. Since we'd be gone for almost a week and their wedding's this weekend, we had to turnover the proofs asap.

Velvet & Gleo, at the La Mesa Ecopark

2005-02-15T13:20:00.000+08:00

Photo from the hot air ballon fiesta at Clark last friday. It wasn't really the perfect photo opp... the sky was overcast, there were photographers everywhere and Mimi and I kinda thought that if we stayed inside our photos would probably look like everybody else. So we decided to look for a different angle outside the fiesta grounds. We ended up driving up and down the road, chasing the balloons. Hehe.

Ehh??!?

2005-01-27T01:33:00.000+08:00

Thought of the Week posted on our condo elevator. You need to think about it for a week to get the meaning. Hehe.

Overheard at a computer store yesterday.

"Miss, ilang chikabytes yang computer na yan?"

Hehe I guess they'll use it for showbiz stuff. Anyway, when the lady left the store clerks burst out laughing. One of the clerks shared that earlier someone asked him if their store sold "gigabytes".

Lensbaby

2005-01-25T01:21:00.000+08:00

So we finally got the lensbaby I ordered online. It was supposed to be a surprise Christmas gift for Mimi. I ordered it a few days before Christmas and had it shipped supposedly overnight to my friend Cookie who was flying to Manila last Dec. 27. I ordered it Dec. 22 and should've reached her on the 23rd but as luck would have it, a severe snowstorm paralyzed the UPS hub... and my package got stuck and was resched to be delivered on the 28th. Obviously, Cookie already left. Anyway, I had the package sent to Johnny Air instead, and I got it from Johnny Air last Monday. The fee wasn't that bad also, around $12. Ordering online and having the package sent to Johnny Air is kinda addictive. I bought a flash attachment last week and I just checked that it has arrived in the Johnny Air office.

Now back to the lensbaby. It's actually more of a toy lens rather than a serious photography equipment. It has no electronic parts. Focus is done manually by squeezing the tube. Aperture is set by replacing the washer rings. It's a 100$ lens that turns your $1000+ camera into a $50 toy camera... and I love it! Below are samples of the shots... you can see the effect. Can't wait to use it during a wedding.

MMDA compound along Macapagal Ave. <

Again along Macapagal Ave. just across the Libertad pumping station

2005-01-18T16:26:00.000+08:00

Sun setting on my birthday. Photo taken in Corregidor, Dec. 10, 2004.

Oblation Run

2004-12-22T17:55:00.001+08:00

Una kong narinig ang Oblation Run noong high school pa ako. Minsan kong narinig na mag-usap ang dalawa kong kaklase. Tuwang-tuwang sinabi nung isa sa isa na “Uy, Oblation Run ngayon! Nood tayo!” Hindi ko maisip kung bakit niya gustong manood noon eh di ba parang marathon lang naman sa UP yun? Toink! :P Kakahiya no? Kala ko talaga ganun yung Oble Run dati :P

Kaya nung pagtungtong ko ng kolehiyo, hindi ko talaga pinalampas ang December 16. Naalala ko pa na doon ako sa AS lobby nakapuwesto noon, kasama ang mga kabatch ko. Wala akong masyadong nakita maliban na lang nung tinaas nila yung isang tumatakbo at nag-mala Oble na pose. :o

Nung sumunod na taon, nanood ulit ako. At dahil nga puro ulo (no pun intended) ang nakita ko nung una, doon naman ako sa may AS 101 pumwesto. Okay naman ang view, may harap, gilid, likod… hehe. Simula noon, taon-taon na akong nanonood ng Oble Run. Maliban sa isang taon na hindi ako nakapanood kasi ginawang Wednesday, eh nawala sa isip ko kasi wala naman akong pasok noon.

Pero naku, hindi po ako manyak! (defensive hehe) :P Ang totoo, kaya ako nanonood ay nagpi-people watching ako. Nakatutuwang panoorin yung mga freshies na pag nadaan sa kanila yung mga tumatakbo ay magsisigawan at magtatakipan ng mga mata kuno pero nakakakita naman sa gitna ng mga daliri nila. Aliw ring panoorin yung mga bakla na magtitilian pag nakita na yung mga kalalakihan, aba’y halos himatayin na sila doon hehe at karamihan may dala-dala pang camera (para naming wala sila nun! Haha). Pati na rin kapag may nakikita akong mga dumadayo na naka-uniform pang nanonood, lalo na pag mula sa mga all girls school. :D

Noong nakaraang lingo, Oblation Run ulit. At ito ang ilan sa mga nakita ko:

the run starts

giving out flowers

at the as steps

as lobby crowd

pick me up

handy cellphone cams

UAAP Tennis

2004-12-05T23:29:00.000+08:00

Since I live nearby, I decided to catch the opening of the UAAP Tennis season at the Kapitlyo Tennis courts earlier. The UP Men's Tennis team was up against Ateneo while the UP Ladies battled it out with UST. I don't know who won as I left early when it started to drizzle.

Anyway, I just realized that I haven't played tennis in over a year... to think during college I was at the UP Eng'g/SC courts every wednesday and saturday. During summers I was at the Angono courts from 7am till night everyday! My tennismates then included a well known Angono painter, a chef, an Inquirer photojournalist, a Casino supervisor, a fishpen owner, an OFW and around 5 more on and off players. Our daily routine then was play tennis from 7am till 10am, go to the Angono market at 11am to buy ingredients for lunch, usually we had fish fresh from the fishpen brought by the fishpen owner, have the chef cook our lunch, eat around 1pm. We would then hie off to the painter's studio... where we'd rest/sleep till 3pm. Then we'd play tennis again till sunset. Sometimes I'd go home by then but most of the time we'd cap our day with a drinking session at the photographers house where our pulutan was usually freshly fried itik and grilled big head carp. Shet those were the days!

Pilipinas2.0, game ka na ba?

2004-12-01T19:36:00.000+08:00

Cross-posting this from SKOW

Oh lookie! What do we have here? Guess who's pictures got published without her permission? And wasn't even given credit, tsk.

Saw the online version of the July issue of Pilipinas2.0, a magazine being circulated in North America and was surprised to see 4 of my photos --- Manila City Hall, Manila Cathedral, a boat in Baguio (see the photos beside Goma) and power lines --- in that issue. I do not remember submitting the said photos to any publication nor releasing the high resolution files to anyone. The web copies though, are available for public viewing at my Photos.ph account.

Notice that those photos had watermarks/copyright markings on them; the nerve of whoever was responsible for stealing those photos! I mean, how hard is it to send me email and ask for permission? Heck, I might have even agreed to not charge for usage fees in exchange for a byline. But it's too late for that. I am no wimp. I definitely plan to take legal action. >:|

The Debut

2004-11-30T04:26:00.000+08:00

Mimi and I shot our first debut last Saturday. We both came to a conclusion that we like shooting weddings more :P There's something about weddings that makes them almost magical. Ala Stir.

After the debut we went straight to the UPZS oldies drinking session at Ben's house. It felt like ten years ago when after school, we'd buy beer from the grocery at the Tomas Morato circle and head on to Scout Fernandez for our drinking session. Anyway, congrats to Ben for graduating from UP after 12 and a half years... beating Geno's record of nine and a half. Cheers!

Harry Potter

2004-11-23T02:35:00.000+08:00

Harry Potter

This model looks like Harry Potter. Shot during our camera club shoot. I took third place with this shot. I was giddy that the judge photog I idolized picked this as his top pick.

Tagaytay again

2004-11-16T20:20:00.000+08:00

We spent a part of the three day weekend over at Tagaytay together with Mimi's family. We arrived around 1am but we weren't sleepy so we watched a DVD that was 2 and half hours long. Before we knew it was already 4am and since we wanted to take photos of the sunrise, we decided to just wait for it. It was so cold and I forgot to bring my jacket which was probably the reason that I feel a bit under the weather right now. Hehe.

Tagaytay overlooking Taal Lake

Tagaytay Highlands' viewing deck basked in the sun's golden light

surreal, but nice

2004-11-12T11:05:00.000+08:00

part two of the leslie-jayson prenup pictorial

Nurture Spa

2004-11-11T18:44:00.000+08:00

Mimi and I went to shoot at Nurture Spa in Tagaytay yesterday for part 2 of a pre-nup pictorial. The place is nice, cozy and very secluded. We arrived past 1pm, this photo was taken about that time when the sun was out and skies were really blue. We told the couple to take their spa treatment as the lighting conditions were a bit harsh for portraits. Anyway, an hour and a half later, clouds covered all but a few patches of blue sky. Bummer. Despite of the grey skies, the shoot turned out pretty well and I can't wait for Mimi to post the photos.

On a side note, we had our dinner there. Food was ok but just not worth the 500 pesos set meal price. Also, we also found out why it's called Nurture Spa, we got to nurture their humongous mosquitoes with our blood. Hehe. We went home around 8pm and the rough road going back to the main road was pitch black. We took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at a dead end where a van was parked and a man was standing. The scene was kinda spooky as if they were waiting for someone, maybe a drug deal or a kidnap-ransom exchange. Hehe. I had a tough time making a u-turn as it was only a one lane road while the man kept on peering through the window. Freaky. Hehe.

Funeral

2004-11-08T02:55:00.000+08:00

Last week went like a blur. My uncle died just past midnight of Oct. 31. He died of a heart attack at the age of 45. He was able to drive himself with my tita to the hospital but he expired at the emergency room. I was devastated when I learned of the news since it was sudden and he was the uncle who was there whenever I (or any of my brothers and cousins for that matter) got into trouble.

I remember the time in college when I drove my then girlfriend to their house in Malolos, Bulacan and the car broke down at the Shell station just before the Malolos exit. I was a neophyte driver then and was only allowed to drive to and from UP so imagine my dad's surprise to learn that car found its way onto the expressway. To make a long story short, my uncle was the one who drove me back to Malolos to find a mechanic and was the one with me a few days later on a bus going to Malolos to get the car. A few years later, when he learned that we broke up, he ribbed me that we went through all that trouble for nothing.

I'll just link to the photo I took at the funeral. The lady in front is his sister and the lady next to her is my widowed aunt. Sigh.

Baseball

2004-10-29T05:58:00.000+08:00

So the Red Sox won the World Series. I haven't watched any of the games, I just read about their amazing comeback against the Yankees and their sweep of the World Series on the net.

Baseball isn't really a popular sport here in basketball crazy Philippines. Although I learned the rules of the sport as a kid while playing it on Intellivision and although my cousins (who I learned last Sunday visit this blog) and I used to play baseball on the dried up rice fields of Taytay, Rizal, I never really liked watching the game. I just found it boring.

Well that changed 2 years ago when I watched a UAAP Baseball game at the Rizal Stadium. With just a few die hard spectators, the energy level was like that of a UAAP basketball game. I guess you need to be really rooting for a team to enjoy the game. Anyway, I'm excited that November is coming and the UAAP Baseball season will be starting soon. I hope that the University of the Philippines Baseball squad get to defend their crown. UP Fight!

I'm also excited to photograph the sport using my new lens as I can now zoom in closer to the action. Below is one of my favorite photos that I took last year. By the way, that La Salle guy was out.

Watch time is it?

2004-10-29T05:29:00.000+08:00

I haven't worn a watch in, like, 8 years. I used to be a watch person until the pagers came along. Why wear a watch when you can check the time on a beeper? (Of course, nowadays it's your cellphone; like heller, beepers are sooo 1990s.) Recently though, I realized that I might have to re-introduce my wrist to a watch soon especially when I need to be on the go at times. Pulling out my phone from my pocket/bag has suddenly become time consuming. :S And so now, it's time for some watch shopping.

Avilon Zoo: My turn

2004-10-26T01:41:00.000+08:00

You've seen Mimi's Avilon Zoo photos. It took me forever to upload mine. Please view them here.

2004-10-24T18:25:00.000+08:00

Jailbait

Yummy?

2004-10-23T02:39:00.000+08:00

Pampagana ba o pampaalis ng gana? :D Here's two of our latest shoots:

At the bourdoir seminar of the WPPP Photo Congress. That's right, at the Photo Congress. In front of ALL the seminar attendees. There's 4 models actually but I can't post the other photos, wholesome tayo dito eh ;)

A new pizza being offered by Don Hen... with mango toppings. I wonder what it tastes like? (shot this for their banner ad, i think. thanks ellyn :D)

2004-10-13T04:02:00.000+08:00

Photo by Fashion Photographer Karl Emmanuel

Love Zoo

2004-10-11T03:05:00.000+08:00

October 10, 2004 marked our 8th anniversary. Mimi and I celebrated by going to the Avilon Zoo in Montalban Rizal for a photo trip. Anyway, was it just us or was love in the air?

Government Launch

2004-10-09T14:27:00.000+08:00

I was asked to cover the launch of this new bar called Government along Makati Ave. It is where Orange/Olive bar used to be. I was told that the dress code called for Fiery Red attire or else the Fashion Police will handcuff you (that's what it said sa flyer haha). So yun, I wore my red shirt. I haven't been to a dance club since the Euphoria/Faces days of freshman high school. Tagal na yon no!

Anyway, I was just reading livejournal posts that Government is supposed to be a gay bar. I kinda figured it out last night when buffed gay men in red were french kissing in front of me. Hehe ayos!

I was introduced to this guy but forgot his name. He started dancing the minute he entered the club and I don't think he ever stopped.

Government 2

The place was packed. Champagne was overflowing in the VIP area where most of Manila's 'young' socialites were. Pansin ko lang na the teenage gays wore the more flamboyant clothes. Anyway, ate des pag bumisita sina Uma alam ko na kung san gilingan natin sila dadalhin. Hehe

Just keep swimming...

2004-10-09T14:17:00.000+08:00

I know this is two-week old news, but congratulations anyway to the UP Men's Swim Team for bagging the UAAP Men's Swimming first place trophy. Congrats also to the Women's team for the 2nd runner-up finish.

It was our first time to cover a swimming event, so medyo nangapa-ngapa pa. And with half the pool in the sun and half in the shade, the shots were a bit contrasty, plus the background's not too appealing/picturesque. Buti na lang naka"chamba" ko *wink* :

UAAP Men's Butterfly event

Testing testing

2004-10-06T04:10:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, we bought our first Canon L lens. The L stands for Luho and eventhough we got it secondhand, it was still expensive. I had to borrow money from my dad but hopefully the lens will pay for itself. We tested it today at Mimi's brother's school play. Below is my favorite photo...

Actually, illusion lang yan. Yung lalaki supposed to be a man turned to a golden statue. Ang galing na lang na dun pumwesto si girl lead at ganun na lang expression nya hehe.

Oktober na!

2004-10-01T01:57:00.000+08:00

Halloween na!

Boo!
self portrait :D

One night Two events

2004-09-28T03:18:00.000+08:00

I covered two events last Friday night. The first one was UP Streetdance Club's Chosen Ground at the Bahay ng Alumni. I'm disappointed with the shots on that one. Looking back, it maybe because my style of shooting events involves getting close to the subject using a wide angle lens and using flash with a stofen omnibounce while letting in some stage lights. I could have tried to come closer but I didn't want to impede the dancers movements or worse have a dancer crash into me. Medyo nakakahiya ata yun hehe.

The second event was at the AS Parking lot for the UP Le Club Francais' Rock the Ramp. It's a good thing they didn't start on time so I got to catch Whatevuritakes take the stage. The event also had a fashion show which was a treat to shoot. Hehe. I liked the shots on that one that I already uploaded them at my philmusic gallery.

Two of the models during the UP Le Club Francais' Rock the Ramp gig at the UP AS Parking lot.

Guess where?

2004-09-21T23:54:00.000+08:00

We shot Jenn & JM for their prenup photos last Sunday. They're getting married in April, but the groom's leaving for Bangkok(?) by the end of the month and would only be coming back a few weeks before the wedding and so we had to photograph them now. Thank God the weather cooperated and we got some good shots of them. :)

^That photo's by Karl

Love from Lust

2004-09-19T02:59:00.000+08:00

Just uploaded a couple of Bridge photos over at my Philmusic gallery, taken last August 30 at 70's Bistro during their "Love from Lust" album launch.

Mmmm... Sharapova

2004-09-19T01:38:00.000+08:00

Hehe kakatawa nito, tagal ko na di nakakanood ng Tennis.

Coconut Palace

2004-09-16T01:15:00.000+08:00

Coconut Palace is the latest pitstop in this week's Amazing Race. Who else welcomes the contestants but the Philippine president's daughter, Luli Arroyo.

For a brief background, the Coconut Palace was built by Imelda in the 70's to serve as the Pope's residence during the Papal visit to Manila. I've been inside the Palace three times. The first time for my grade school field trip, the second during my cousin's debut and the third only last December covering a wedding. The place is beautiful but the Manila Bay sunset is the palace's best asset.

Next week the teams will be heading to Palawan. I'm rooting for Ate Des este the Bowling Moms since my favorite team Charla and Mirna have long been eliminated. Go Moms!

Teka, pano kaya manlilimos si Colin and Christie? Parang di magwowork yung beg from the tourists kasi wala naman tourista masyado naglalakad lakad sa CCP. Kung mag Westin naman sila di kaya sitahin sila ng guard?

The Mighty Duck

2004-09-16T00:48:00.000+08:00

The giant duck at Victoria, Laguna

Yep, that's the duck the Amazing Race contestants had to look for during the Manila leg of the race. The episode was aired today (yesterday na pala) and the teams had to go from the Malaguena Motors in Cavite, to Victoria in Laguna and end the leg at the Cookie (*lol*) Palace in Manila.

The duck photo was taken last summer, while we were on our way home from Pila, Laguna. It was a good thing that Lem slowed down so I can take a snapshot of it... now I have a piece of TAR history with me. ;) (babaw ko ba? :P)

So long, farewell

2004-09-10T01:42:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the UP Fighting Maroons Men's Basketball Team's last game of the season. They finished UAAP 67 with a 7-7 win-loss slate... not bad from the predicted 0-14 of jaemark hehe.

Yesterday was also, I think, the last time we'd be seeing Cervantes, Ibanes and Almeda play for UP (unless they'd still be playing at the University Games). sigh. I'd surely miss those guys next season.

jos, jireh and toti

LSS

2004-09-09T13:33:00.000+08:00

LSS ko ngayon yung kanta ng Musculados "Nakaka-aliw ka Nakakabaliw" so naisip ko sana ipost ko yung body shot ng guy model above. Kaso baka maraming mabaliw hahaha. So ayan post ko na lang tong photo na to with his girlfriend.

Fashion spread?

2004-09-03T14:51:00.000+08:00

Nope, it's actually a prenup pictorial. :)

The photo above was taken at the couple's Laundromat shop. The rest of their photos are taken at the bride to be's home and at the cemetery (shocked?) where her relatives have been buried.

We wanted to photograph couples in their own environment, where they spend most of their time at, not in someplace they've never even been to. That'll be our signature prenup style. ;)

Now, who wants to have their pictures taken? :D

Little Jinx

2004-08-28T02:38:00.000+08:00

Today is a big day for the UP Fighting Maroons as they will be going up against the UAAP defending champions, the FEU Tamaraws. A win will give UP a better chance to enter the Final Four while a loss will bring the team back to normal. Mwehehe.

The Maroon fans are ecstatic about their four game winning streak, the first since 1997 when Paolo Mendoza, Ogie Gumatay, ChuChu Serrano, Bryan Gahol and Alan Gamboa raced to a 4-0 record in the first round. Since this is a big deal for UP fans, a lot of them have become superstitious.

"Wag batiin baka matalo."
"One game at a time..."
"Please Lord kami naman!"

So as to put the jinx on FEU, I will leave you with a photo of the Tamaraw's main man Arwind Santos showing us that FEU is number one!

Arwind Santos flashes the "We're Number One" sign after winning last year's UAAP championship.

Anak

2004-08-19T06:09:00.000+08:00

I haven't been online much this past week. My mother had a Japanese house guest and she was the one staying here at the condo. Anyway, the original plan was my mom and her sewing circle would be spending most of the week in Baguio with the Japanese teaching them Totsuka embroidery.
That plan didn't push through because a member their group got into a car accident. It was all over the news, she was the wife of Undersecretary Ponce. An SUV allegedly driven by a Jason Ivler "flew" across the center island of the C5-Ortigas flyover and rammed onto the SUV being driven by Mr. Ponce. It's a very sad story. Tita Angie was in the passenger side, the door pinned shut by the flyover railing. She was drenched in her husband's blood and by then she knew her husband was dead. She was conscious all through out the ordeal and was able to call her brother and sister for help.

Jason Ivler it turns out is the nephew of Freddie Aguilar and is a Fil-American studying in Hawaii. He was on the news again last Tuesday as he was caught in Zamboanga on a boat to Malaysia. He was being "escorted" by two police officials who also tried to bribe the immigration officers with $5,000. Isn't that just sickening? I caught the TV interview of Ivler's mom saying that her son wasn't escaping because he is not guilty. Hello?!?!? Or in Korean... Heller?!?!?

Anyway, wouldn't it be appropriate for Freddie Aguilar to dedicate his song for his nephew? "Nang isilang ka sa mundong ito..."

Ok now on to the photo part... (the whole post above was a long introduction, hehe.) We will be having our monthly camera club contest later and the theme is "Children". This is one of my entries. Mimi's entry is way better than this ;)

Mimi's cousin, Gio.

Breakable

2004-08-17T18:23:00.000+08:00

Just wanted to announce that I have a Philmusic.com photo account where I'll probably upload all my music related photos. For my first album, I uploaded behind the scene photos of the Twisted Halo video, Breakable.

Rain, rain go away

2004-08-17T17:37:00.000+08:00

Para sa mga inuulan :)

A beach parasol at the Terrazas de Punta Fuego
taken during our photo club's On-The-Spot (OTS) contest last April; other photos are here

BigMac?

2004-08-15T04:33:00.000+08:00

The so-called BigMac, with patties as thick as a pickle slice.

name game

2004-08-13T20:45:00.000+08:00

When acquaintances learn that I'm a photographer or when I meet new people in the photography circle, I always get asked if I'm related to Jun de Leon. Well I'm not... but I am related to one talented photographer.

Anyway it got me thinking, what if I drop my surname and start using my second name for photography related endeavors? Para kasing mas-astig ang Karl Emmanuel kesa sa Karl de Leon. Tingin niyo?

Karl Emmanuel :D self portait at Enchanted Kingdom. Off camera slave flash with yellow gel, Canon D60 on tripod.

Kapamilya

2004-08-13T02:47:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, Karl & I were tasked to take photos of ABS-CBN talents who were recording their ring-back tones; the photos daw will be used for MMS. The call time was 10am... the first talent arrived at 12nn. :s About 30 talents were expected but only half showed up, most of which were fresh (pun intended) faces. (Kala ko pa naman eto na ang chance to meet Piolo *hihi*) Anyway, here's two people we shot:

Cherry Lou (Blanco *lol*)
Ang ganda niya no?

Joross Gamboa

XP wallpaper anyone?

2004-08-12T04:54:00.000+08:00

at the Subic Bay Yacht Club

Runaway Bride

2004-08-06T01:18:00.000+08:00

^That's Denise, and I just finished post-processing some of her wedding photos to black & white; I'm gonna show it to a potential client. I was about to upload the photos to the fotogra gallery, pero bigla namang nag-down ang Peyups, lech :P

Font

2004-08-04T03:35:00.000+08:00

I didn't think using a font can bring back so much memories. While photoshopping the previous photo, I decided to use the "Temple of the Dog" font which I've always associated with music. You see, that font is based on Jeff Ament's handwriting. Jeff being the bassist of Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam. His handwriting was used in the Temple of the Dog album cover, on Pearl Jam shirts and in the sequence titles of the movie "Singles", my all time favorite movie.

Singles came out in the US in 1992, the year I graduated from high school. I remember watching and getting blown away by Pearl Jam's Evenflow video on MTV while in Seattle for a cousin's wedding. It sucks that I was in Seattle during the peak of the grunge era but never got to see any of the bands.

1992 reminds me of watching the Eraserheads for the first time as a Pisay senior with around 20 batchmates at our first UP fair. Their album Ultraelectromagneticpop wasn't released yet but you could feel that they would make it big. Incidentally, Ebe's band Cambio came from the ashes of the now defunct Erasherheads. Galing no, may connect. Hehehe.

Anyway, I think I'll be using that font more often :D

Ebe

2004-08-03T22:41:00.000+08:00

Para sa original na Dramachine! ;)

Ebe Dancel of Cambio and Sugarfree at the Guijo Cafe, Makati. Sugarfree's 2nd album "Dramachine" is now out.

Liga

2004-08-02T04:25:00.000+08:00

Kung UP kaya sumali dito, manalo kaya sila? Hehehe...

UP Sigh :P

2004-08-02T03:20:00.000+08:00

UP lost. Again. The game was so frustrating that even Mang Jimmy's siZig and tapa mix couldn't make us feel better.

The UP crowd after DLSU's last basket

UP (Pep) Fight!

2004-08-01T05:37:00.000+08:00

~~Tomorrow~~ Later today, I'll be watching the UP-DLSU Men's Basketball game at the ULTRA. What for? The UP Pep's halftime performance of course! May iba pa bang rason? :P

The UP Pep Squad's halftime performance during the UP-UST game

Travel Portfolio

2004-07-31T03:59:00.000+08:00

Today was the supposed deadline of submission of travel photo portfolios for a magazine. Fortunately, the deadline was moved to next week. Yey! More time to blog hahaha

Lake Caliraya at sunrise