A Photo A Day

Using Textures, Layers and Blend Modes

2012-02-27T19:35:00.000+08:00

I have never tried using textures in my photos. I just learned how to use them lately and have been doing some experiments. I am enjoying this new found way to create a new look of my photos. I did not realize it's just easy. Either you use some already existing textures or you can even make your own textures.

I discovered that the technique is just easy. You just have to use the blend modes in the photo editing software, like Photoshop.

I have written a step by step article on using layers and blends in my hub in HubPages. The link is here if you are interested. How-to-Change-the-Mood-of-Your-Photos-Use-Layers-and-Blending-Options

I am just sharing a photo that I created by using this technique. Try it and have fun!

A Wonderful New Year

2012-01-01T01:37:00.000+08:00

A wonderful New Year to all of you!
May the New Year bring you the best of everything!

2011-12-21T14:29:00.001+08:00

A blessed Christmas to you!

All the best for the New Year!

Sunflower in my mind

2011-07-19T14:34:00.000+08:00

I'm learning to love collages. I think they can express in one photo what may take several photos to show. This is just a simple collage created in Picasa.
Sunflowers are such bright and happy flowers so I thought I would share these flowers with you today. The flowers were given to me by my daughter during my birthday. She knows that my favorite color is yellow gold.

Moon Before and During the Lunar Eclipse

2011-06-17T21:49:00.001+08:00

I took photos of the moon midnight of June 15, before the lunar eclipse started. Then I set my alarm to 3 am of June 16 and took more photos during the actual lunar eclipse.

So here are sample photos of this event. Hope you enjoy them!

OMG! I'm the featured Photographer of the Week in Manila Bulletin!

2011-05-31T15:35:00.000+08:00

OMG! I'm the featured Photographer of the week for Manila Bulletin's Picture Perfect section, today, May 31, 2011.
Sorry, the online version is not yet in place, so I'm just sharing a link to a photo of the pages of the newspaper's Picture Perfect section.
Here is the link to my Multiply site.

http://saanva.multiply.com/

OMG! This photo was featured at the RedBubble Homepage today!

2011-03-28T13:51:00.000+08:00

I was so pleasantly surprised when I got a message from the Homepage of RedBubble congratulating me for the feature in the homepage. Wow! That's really super!

I learned that less than 3 in a thousand get featured in the homepage. So I was practically ecstatic when I discovered this. Imagine that, I have only been with this site for about 2 weeks only and I already got featured! How lucky can I get?

Below is the link to the RedBubble homepage. It has a slideshow of the featured works. I just don't know how long our images will be in the homepage though. So please click on the link right away before the slideshow is changed. Thank you!
http://www.redbubble.com/
Anyway, below is also another link to the page where all the images of featured artist (for today) are found.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/home/art/6942093-1-backyard-macro-and-closeups-28-march-2011

Super moon

2011-03-23T08:23:00.000+08:00

I just learned how to take a moon photo last weekend.

I was with a group of photographers from our camera club and somebody taught me the correct settings to get a good picture of the moon.
I am so happy I was able to catch a shot before the moon disappeared.

Here's the shot.

Hope you like it!

Guess What 5?

2011-03-15T11:43:00.000+08:00

This is the last photo for this challenge. I hope you enjoyed guessing the last 4 photos.

Ok. Enjoy!

Guess What4?

2011-03-11T09:20:00.000+08:00

This is photo number 4 for your challenge. Can you guess what this is?

I'm sure you have seen this before. Try guessing what it is. Enjoy!

Guess What3?

2011-03-09T11:46:00.000+08:00

This is the third photo for this series. After two more images, I will start with some other topic.

So here is your 3rd "Guess What" photo.

Guess What2?

2011-03-08T11:51:00.001+08:00

This is my second guess what photo. Are you having fun yet?

Can you guess what this photo is? Please write your answer in the comments. Enjoy!

Guess What?

2011-03-07T11:30:00.001+08:00

I like taking close-ups of common things in the house or around the house. For the next few days, I will be posting some of these photos and I hope you will join me and try to guess what these objects are.

Are you game? Here is the photo for today. Can you guess what this is?

Please write you answer in the comments. Thank you!

Flowers for Valentine's Day

2011-02-08T12:37:00.000+08:00

It's almost Valentine's Day, so I'm giving you flowers for Valentines.

I wrote a flower hub in my HubPages so please check it out there. I am giving you permission to download the photos. Just please acknowledge and link back to the source.

I hope you enjoy the flowers!

Flowers-Up-Close-for-Valentines-Day-and-Other-Days

An Out of Bound Froggie

2011-01-02T18:17:00.000+08:00

I am starting my New Year with something new (for me anyway). I just learned how to make an out of bound photo effect. The process is rather long and a little bit complicated. However, once you get the hang of it, it becomes easy. I just searched in the web for the easiest tutorial to do this effect and I found it in this site:

http://best-photoshop-tutorials.blogspot.com/2008/09/3d-photo-effect.html

How do you like my out of bound froggie?

Small World

2010-12-01T09:09:00.003+08:00

I learned how to make this "small world" effect lately. I did not realize it is just easy.
You only need to follow a few steps:

open a photo in Photoshop
crop the photo so that the width is about 1/3 longer than the height
resize the photo to a square (remove constraints and copy the width numbers to the space for the length)
rotate the photo 180 degrees
click on filter >distort>polar coordinates and viola! you have your small world!
clean up the seams by using healing brush
you can now display your small world photo!

Yes, it's just easy!

There is a more detailed description of the process in my HubPages article.

A blogger, Robin, just finished doing this "small world" based on the tutorial I shared in my HubPages article. She posted her work in her blog here:
http://cherrylime2011.blogspot.com/2011/11/day-293-robin.html

Thanks very much Robin! I'm so happy for you!

Precious Moment Christmas Decor

2010-11-24T09:09:00.000+08:00

Even if the predominant colors of Christmas are red, green and gold, it's still nice to come up with other colors especially on the Christmas tree.

I just love this little blue doll on a tree. This doll is made by Precious Moment which has a Christmas house here in our country. I just love visiting their Christmas house.

By the way, if you would like to know how the red,green and gold Christmas colors originated, please check out my article over at HubPages.
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Colors-of-Christmas-Red-Green-and-Gold

Another Rainy Day

2010-10-29T10:16:00.000+08:00

It's another rainy day today. So what else can I think of but rain. Here's a raindrops photo for you.
As I mentioned before, raindrops and flowers are my favorite subjects for my photography.

Do check out my hub about raindrops: http://hubpages.com/hub/RaindropsA-Few-of-my-Favorite-Things

Turn Your Photos Into Art

2010-10-22T18:49:00.004+08:00

I just tried a program today. It's called FotoSketcher. You can use it for turning your photos into art. I really had fun playing with it. There are two great things about this program:
1) It's easy to use, it's simply playing, and
2) It's free! Can you believe that?
Below are some of my "art" after using the program. What do you think?

Here is the link to that program if you want to try it. http://fotosketcher.blogspot.com/

I don't have any commission for promoting this program. The owner does not even know me. I just want to let you know because I enjoyed using it.

I wrote a full blown article about Turning Your Photo Into Art in my HubPages: Wait-Dont-Delete-that-Photo-Turn-Your-Photo-Into-Art?

Book Lover

2010-10-15T11:44:00.002+08:00

How would you illustrate a book lover? Here is one idea. What do you think?

I love playing with paper especially when it is raining so hard outside and I cannot take any outdoor photos. I then turn to things inside the house. And since books and paper are aplenty at home, then I gravitate towards them naturally for some inspiration. I just fiddle with them and arrange them into different forms. The photo above is the result of "fiddling" around with books and paper. Tell me what you think.

Don't Delete Your Not So Good Photos, Play with them Instead

2010-10-11T23:00:00.005+08:00

I have been trying to sort and clear my photo files since I already have thousands of photos in my computer drive. So every time I look at a photo, I have to make a decision on whether to keep or to delete them.

I always find it hard to delete photos because somehow I kind of have an attachment with them. Then I read one photographer who adviced - "Don't delete not so good photos right away. Check if you can still make something out of them"

So I followed this advice and played around with some photos that I already marked "for deletion". Now I'm happy that I gave some photos a second chance because I came up with some interesting images after I used Photoshop filters. One of the results of this experiment is the photo above. What do you think?

Original photo before using filters

Garden Beauties

2010-10-07T16:39:00.004+08:00

I was so lucky to chance upon these two beauties along the roadside. It's good I had my camera with me so I was able to capture this rather rare event.

I call this rare event because I hardly ever catch photo of a butterfly. Most of the time, they just fly away before I could even focus.

So from this experience I learned to always have my camera ready with me.

Wild Mushroom

2010-09-27T11:30:00.001+08:00

It has been raining lately so this increase in humidity has triggered the appearance of wild mushrooms.

I found several of these mushrooms in our garden walkway and I just had to take some photos. Here is one of them. This kind is so fragile, it easily breaks especially once it starts to form new spores.

I love the raindrop that was caught on the mushroom's surface.


Wild mushrooms from our garden walkway

Cocoon, fully formed

2010-09-20T16:16:00.001+08:00

The caterpillar's cocoon is now fully formed. It covers completely what used to be a caterpillar. Now I am eagerly awaiting for the day when it would emerge as a full grown butterfly. I guess I will have to wait for about 2 weeks or more for that.

I will keep you posted about this.

Caterpillar now fully enclosed in a cocoon

Caterpillar (higad) Preparing a Cocoon

2010-09-18T09:14:00.001+08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, there are so many caterpillars crawling around in my garden. This particular type called "higad" here is just everywhere, there is always the risk of bumping into them and getting itchy all over. However, as I showed you last time, they are so colorful and symmetrical such that I cannot help but take more pictures of them.

Anyway, as I ventured out into my garden yesterday, I saw another "picture perfect" opportunity. I saw this caterpillar starting to form a cocoon around itself. It was moving ever so slowly as it formed threads around itself. It was my first time to see such an event so I excitedly took several shots again.

You can still see the bristles of the caterpillar and even its orange head is still evident. However, it is now enclosed in some silvery threads that definitely show the beginning of a cocoon. Isn't this exciting?

caterpillar or "higad" forming a cocoon around itself

Have you seen a "higad" (caterpillar) close-up?

2010-09-09T10:04:00.002+08:00

For the past weeks and month, we have been having "higad" galore. There is an acacia tree in our front yard and this tree is one of their favorite hangouts. We usually encounter the "higad" hanging by a silvery thread from the tree. They are so small such that you usually don't see them before it's too late. Too late means you have them on your skin or your hair and of course your will get the allergic reaction. This is the reason why I always try to avoid them - I get itchy all over once they contact my skin.

I am however curious how these little creepy crawlers look like in close-up. So I got a small twig from our acacia tree and took photos of them. It's no wonder they are so itchy. Just look at their bristles! Ugh! They are so ugly yet so beautiful too. Their symmetry and color are fantastic. Don't you agree?

When You Can't Think of Anything to Shoot - Just Add Water

2010-08-16T10:21:00.002+08:00

Sometimes (or is it many times?), we can't think of anything to shoot. We wake up in the morning and can't imagine shooting another sunrise or another face, what do you do then? One advice I remember is - "just add water"and go on shooting.

So I explored this "just add water" advice throughout my photography adventure. In the process, I have collected hundreds if not thousands of "water" photos.

I remembered this advice when I was thinking of what article to write for my next hub. It was just perfect. I gathered my "water" photos, and now I have a hub. Please check it out at http://hubpages.com/hub/Just-Add-Water-A-Photo-Tip-When-You-Cant-Think-of-Anything-to-Shoot

learning about filters in Photoshop

2010-08-13T05:38:00.001+08:00

I have recently been experimenting with the filters in Photoshop and have created some interesting art works. Can you guess what this photo above is? I just used "distort" then "artist" to create this.
What do you think?
This is really fun and you should try it too!

one little candle

2010-07-15T14:21:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, we had an almost all-day brown-out. There wasn't much to do in the dark so I started taking photos of the candles we were using.

Candle photos are fun to take because they already have their own light. Still, I found that my photos appeared better and with more details if I cranked up the ISO setting a bit. Here is one sample photo.

Moon and Venus Aligned

2010-05-19T09:50:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday, May 16, 2010, we were treated to a rare phenomenon in the sky. The Moon and Venus were aligned with each other for a few minutes and this created such a happy picture. A kind of smiley picture.

Some people believe that this augurs well for our new incoming president, Noynoy Aquino. I certainly hope and pray so.

I was lucky to have been able to witness such phenomenon and even more important, I was able to take a picture. So here is the photo I took.

Moon and Venus aligned

Taking Photos From an Underground River

2010-04-19T14:11:00.002+08:00

Early this month, I visited the underground river of Puerto Princesa with some friends. I really enjoyed the tour and was able to take some pictures.

Taking pictures inside a dark cave required me to use my flash just to be able to get some light. The one in-charged of holding our beam light kept on moving the light. It was hard to get a good picture because at one moment everything is totally dark then suddenly as I am about to click my camera, the beam light would suddenly illuminate what I wanted to focus on. Thus, everything will be over-exposed. Sigh!

Anyway, despite the moving light, I was able to get some pictures. Check them out in my hubpages. Please click on the link below.
http://hubpages.com/hub/I-Recommend-a-Visit-to-the-Underground-River-of-Puerto-Princesa-Philippines

Corregidor, Once More

2010-03-12T09:04:00.001+08:00

I know I posted a photo of Corregidor before. However, I gathered several of my photos of the place and wrote a hub about it.

If you are thinking of going away for some summer adventure, I suggest that you also try this place aside from our usual summer vacation spots. It's a totally different kind of adventure.

The link to my hub is here. Please check it out.

http://hubpages.com/hub/I-Recommend-an-Adventure-in-Corregidor

The photo above is that of the Eternal Flame sculpture which is found in the topmost part of the island.

All About Roses

2010-02-18T13:15:00.002+08:00

I really love taking pictures of flowers. They are my first subjects when I started my photography adventure. Anyway, I just published an article about roses in my hubpages. I share several of my rose photos there. Do check it out. You may also leave a comment if you feel like it. You can do so even if you are not a member of hubpages.
Please click on the link below if you want to check it out. Thank you.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Roses-are-Red-and-Pink-and

distortion in perspective

2010-02-09T09:29:00.001+08:00

We had a photo contest last week about churches/architecture. I did not have time to shoot any church photos so I just went through my old files and picked some old photos. Since churches are usually one of the most interesting structures in any location, I did have a few photos. I had a problem though because those photos where taken simply as souvenir shots, I did not have much control of lighting. So to jazz up the photos and give it a little bit of twist, I thought of playing around with perspective in photoshop. I just learned how to do this so I was rather eager to try it out.
The process is rather easy. Just open your picture in photoshop, duplicate your file and then go to the crop tool and select the whole photo. Then put your cursor over the corner of your photo and bring the crop arrow towards the center. You can do this with the other corner and also slide it towards the middle. Then finish the cropping action and viola ... you have changed the perspective of your photo. This is what I did to this photo I'm sharing today. However, I just used the bottom corner for the distortion. The photo came out rather interesting, don't you think so? The two photos are the before and after distortion. What do you think?

My photo did not win in the contest, but I discovered a new way of adding something interesting to a photo - distortion in perspective.

My First Real Model Shoot

2010-02-02T09:50:00.003+08:00

I experienced my first model shoot last Saturday. I didn't realize that it would be enjoyable. I really learned a lot and now I am confident that I can wing it when another opportunity comes.

Why did I say my first real shoot? Well, I joined a model shoot before but nobody taught me anything because everybody was busy trying to get their own shots. This time however, it was different. There were professional photographers around who readily helped us (especially me!) with camera settings. Also, everything was so well-organized such that even if each of us were only given 3 minutes each to shoot a model, we were all able to take good photos. It was really fun!

So today, I am sharing one of my model shots. Ala - 5th Element. What do you think?

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

2010-01-27T10:31:00.003+08:00

I really love this photo of a beautiful morning in Boracay. Everything is still with just a hint of the sun's light as it rises. I was then reminded of this quote and thought that it is just perfect for this photo. What do you think?

photo of the week

2010-01-26T05:18:00.003+08:00

Guess what? Why photography started with a bang this new year! Wow! What a way to start a new photography year! My photo was featured as "Photo of the Week" in a major newspaper here in the Philippines.
Please click on the link below to check it out. Thank you.
http://mbpictureperfect.com/pp/2010/01/05/photo-of-the-week-29/

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T22:43:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year to all of you dear friends! All the best to you and love ones this New Year!
God bless!

A blessed Christmas

2009-12-22T11:19:00.002+08:00

A blessed Christmas Everyone!
May the Christmas season bring you peace and happiness!
Love you!

Corregidor

2009-12-01T19:51:00.004+08:00

Last weekend, we were at Corregidor. This is a small, rocky island near Manila and is aptly called "the rock". It served as the headquarters of the Allied Forces (Filipino and American) during World War II. There are thus many remnants of ruined buildings and artillery that now serve as tourist attractions here.
The photo is a view of the island harbor from the top. This shows our group as we were waiting for the sun to rise.

2009-11-09T16:36:00.003+08:00

It's been a while since I made a post in this blog. I'm really sorry for that. My only excuse is really - I somehow lost my rhythm when we were affected by typhoon Ondoy. After that, it was so hard to get back to my usual daily activities.
Anyway, I will try to post more often again starting today. I just hope and pray that no more disasters come our way.

Anyway, what I'm sharing today is a photo I took when we were assigned "circles" as a theme for our monthly camera club contest.This just a photo of the tubes of a tissue paper and paper towel plus a few pages of a magazine. Isn't it neat?

more patterns

2009-09-14T09:19:00.005+08:00

Here's another pattern. This is not a natural one though. As you can see, it's man made. Still the pattern gives it a more appealing view. Don't you agree?

Just imagine how many crabs and shells were eaten to produce this pattern!

Patterns, Revisited

2009-09-07T18:59:00.004+08:00

I simply love patterns. I know I wrote about this before but I keep on going back to more of these. Patterns always give some sense of anticipation. I keep on expecting something and when everything falls into place I get that "aha!" moment.

I love patterns especially when they get interrupted suddenly by some surprise element. This makes the whole thing more interesting and dynamic. Don't you think?

In this photo, I love the sudden shift in color.

I also wrote about patterns in my hubpages site. This time I talk about patterns in nature. Please click on the link below to read about it.
http://hubpages.com/hub/-Patterns-in-Nature

sunset, view from a plane

2009-08-25T14:00:00.003+08:00

On my flight back from Kalibo to Manila last weekend, I saw one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. The colors were simply dazzling and I could not help but take a shot even if I knew that the window glass is rather thick.

What do you think?

discovery

2009-08-15T21:38:00.003+08:00

I am sorry I have neglected this blog for a while. I have been rather busy with other things. Then I am leaving for a week again.
I wish to make up for my negligence by sharing with you another photo that I paired with a quote. I hope you like it.

Follow the light

2009-07-31T18:41:00.007+08:00

One of the best photography tip I have ever encountered is "follow the light" or "pay attention to the light". Focus on the light and not on the subject. See how the light works on a subject.

Every time I remember that tip (I still forget it sometimes), my photos would always come out much better than those where I focused more on the subject. Try it the next time you take your photos. You will not regret it, promise.

When I took this photo of the raindrop, I was actually following where the light was and there it was - just where it gave the sparkle to the drop. Perfect, isn't it?

solar eclipse (partial)

2009-07-22T13:08:00.004+08:00

I took photos of the solar eclipse today. It was just partially seen here in the Philippines. Since I limited myself to just one photo a day in this blog, I am posting only one photo.

This shows the sun at the maximum (partial)eclipse here. Lens flare created a double image. Isn't it neat?

If you want to view more photos, please click on either of the two links below.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3733344-solar-eclipse

http://saanva.multiply.com/photos/album/18/Partial_Solar_Eclipse

Photowalk

2009-07-20T17:40:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, we (our camera club) joined Scott Kelby's 2nd Worldwide Photowalk. For those of you who are not familiar with the photowalk....This is an activity participated in by photographers from all over the world. You need to register your site for the walk and invite as many as 50 photographers to participate in the walk. The idea is to shoot anything that you encounter during your 2-hour walk around your site and at the end of 2 hours all of you meet at a designated place wherein you share the photos you took and discuss and bond with fellow photographers. Then each photographer can upload to Scott Kelby's site a maximum of 2 photos that can compete for prizes with the photos from other photographers from around the world.

Our site was Antipolo City. We were lucky that there was an activity going on at the park last Saturday so we were able to take photos of dancers as well as other things, people and places around the area. There are so many interesting things and places in Antipolo but we could not cover all of them. The photowalk was limited to only 2 hours.

Anyway, we had fun and we really enjoyed the activity even if it rained later.

taking a short break...

2009-07-15T11:12:00.003+08:00

I will be out for a few days and will be back Saturday or Sunday.

While I'm out, please check what I have done to some of my photos at:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Make-Me-a-Picture--Write-Me-a-Line

See you soon!

All the best!

body langauage3

2009-07-11T09:08:00.003+08:00

I love this photo of the bond between my daughter and the puppy. Just look at how the puppy is so trusting and full of adoration as my daughter held its paw. What do you think?

body language2

2009-07-10T09:53:00.004+08:00

We were on a photo shoot at a park once and we chanced upon this pair beautifully framed by the window in an abandoned tower. Their body language is so beautiful and perfect, I don't even need to write words to describe it. All of us immediately took out our camera and started shooting. They never seemed to notice. They were oblivious to what was going on around them.

You know what, we were shooting around the park for about 3 hours and when we ended, the pair was still in exactly the same position as when we first chanced upon them. Talk about everlasting love or endurance or whatever.

body language

2009-07-09T10:07:00.006+08:00

I follow a website that has monthly photo contests on themes that are challenging. Although I don't join the contests regularly, I always learn from the photos of winners.

Last month, the theme was "body language" - supposedly photos that tell something using any body part except the face.

Well, I found that challenging. I did not have time to go shooting though so I just went over my photo files and selected some photos that I thought would fit the theme. We were limited to only one photo though so I had a hard time deciding which to send.

Anyway, I'm sharing today the entry that I sent. Sad to say, I did not win. Still, can you give a title to this photo? I will not tell you what I title I gave it. I'll just tell you another time.

bayan ko

2009-07-03T09:14:00.003+08:00

This is the original baseline photo of the collage I shared yesterday. Notice that there is a big white board on the left side. It was thus a perfect place for the two photos I added to make the collage.

Anyway, I wrote down the lyrics of "Bayan Ko" in this white space so that it will not appear too empty and bright. The eye is usually drawn to the lightest spot in a picture in much the same way that we automatically look at a source of light when in a dark room like a movie house. This is one of the many lessons I learned in photography.

When you want to draw the attention to something, then make it lighter than all the others around it. Of course the reverse is true, if you don't want to draw the attention to a part of your photo, then either make it darker or blur it.

collage, bayan ko

2009-07-02T21:57:00.003+08:00

I've long wanted to create a collage but I never got around to doing it until we had a photo contest wherein we were supposed to interpret the song "Bayan Ko".

This song was composed during the time of war when we Filipinos rebelled against foreign domination. It describes our country as a land of riches and beauty and has captivated many foreign invaders. However, we have become captives in our own land and we wish to be free.

I thought that the best way to interpret the song was through a collage. However, I learned later on that collages are usually discouraged in photo contests. So what to do with the ones I already made? Well, since I could not submit them as entries to the contest, I might as well share them here. Right?

So, here is one collage I created.

To make a collage, you have to create a new file. Then open the photos that you want to use and move them to this new file as layers. If you want to make a certain layer transparent as what I did here on the left side, then you have to create a layer mask and then use the brush to make a specific part transparent. That's it.

the many faces of water ... as a seascape

2009-06-22T18:05:00.004+08:00

I love how the early morning sun softly lights the sky and the still blue water in this photo.

I must admit that the sky was not that vivid when I took the photo. However, the polarizing filter helped to make it bluer. I also used Picassa's "I'm feeling lucky" mode for post processing and this is what came out. I like to use this mode of Picassa especially with landscapes or seascapes. You only need to click one basic button. The results always make me feel lucky! Ha ha.

Architectural Details

2009-06-19T10:55:00.002+08:00

I love taking photos of architectural details in buildings. They always tell some intimate stories.
What story is being told to you by this architectural detail?

the many faces of water ... as a mirror

2009-06-18T18:04:00.004+08:00

Still water can serve as a mirror. Most of the time we look at a body of water and we see our own image reflected on it. However, sometimes, we are not aware that we may also leave a reflection of ourselves as we pass through someone's life during our journey through this world. This can be literally as shown in this photo or it can be figuratively in someone's memory.

the many faces of water ... waterfalls2

2009-06-17T19:06:00.003+08:00

Here is another photo of a waterfalls as I promised yesterday. This time, this is taken with 1/13 sec shutter speed. Notice that the water drops are no longer evident. This time the water has a silky appearance. So if you want water to appear silky, use a slower shutter speed.

the many faces of water ... waterfalls

2009-06-16T18:17:00.003+08:00

I love waterfalls but I have never taken their picture until we had a photo shoot where I took this photo. I just knew that since it is running water, I had to use a fast shutter speed if I wanted to catch the water in motion. If you take a closer look at this photo, you can almost see the individual water drops as they fall. I used a shutter speed of 1/1250 sec for this photo. Tomorrow, I will post another photo of a waterfalls using a slower shutter speed.

the many faces of water ... low tide for wading

2009-06-07T17:54:00.003+08:00

This is Boracay during low tide. The water is perfect for wading, playing and if you venture farther out to the sea then of course you can swim. But people also swim even in shallow water because everything is so clear, clean and sparkling.

I took this photo early in the morning and the light created this bluish green tint on the water. It was simply beautiful and these two boys could not resist playing in in.

my canon 50D

2009-06-02T11:19:00.006+08:00

I am taking a short break from my water photos today.

I am just eager to share a photo which I took with my new Canon 50D (a birthday gift from my husband).

One big improvement that I immediately saw with this camera is its performance in low light. I just tried the camera last night and got this clear, crisp night photo.

The camera is a little heavy, much heavier than my 350D and it has a rather weird placement for its "on - off" button. However, the photos are sharp and crisp even in low light. I am so happy with my new toy.

the many faces of water ... rain

2009-06-01T10:23:00.003+08:00

I discovered that it's rather hard to take a picture of rain especially if there is not much contrast in the background. The best way is to take it from a slight angle from the source of light. I had to take dozens of photos before I was able to catch this stream of rain as it fell from the leaves. But I am happy with the results. I hope you enjoy this photo of rain.

the many faces of water ... giant shower

2009-05-28T13:36:00.005+08:00

What happens when a pipe opens and pours water all over you? - a giant shower for sure, right? This is what happens in this picture. The man is enjoying a giant shower from an open pipe. Can you feel the refreshing feeling of water falling all over you? It's like taking a shower under a waterfalls.

the many faces of water ... raindrop

2009-05-27T15:59:00.004+08:00

I thought since I love taking pictures of water, it would be nice to share photos of water in its many forms. Thus today, I begin a new series and I call it - "the many faces of water".

My first photo is of course that of one of my favorite subjects - a raindrop. The title for this photo is "Hello World". What do you think?

mundane things ... wire mesh

2009-05-18T12:50:00.003+08:00

I've been trying to think of what next set of photos to share with you. However, I have not decided yet. So meanwhile, here's another photo of a mundane thing - a wire mesh.

We placed this wire mesh on our gate to prevent our puppies from escaping. The spaces between the gate grills are too wide so our puppies are always escaping and we are afraid that they might get lost or get hit by some passing cars. Anyway, as I was inspecting the wire mesh one day, I saw some water droplets caught in between the mesh and I thought they were interesting. Thus this picture.

mundane things ... clothes on a boat outrigger

2009-05-15T09:38:00.005+08:00

We were out on an OTS (on the spot shoot) once and I chanced upon these clothes carelessly hang on the outrigger of a boat. I thought it made an interesting picture and I immediately took a shot. I didn't know if I will ever use the picture but I just kept in my hard drive. So when I was looking for mundane things in my file, I found this photo and here it is. What do you think?

mundane things ... kettle

2009-05-14T16:18:00.006+08:00

Another mundane thing to share today.

We use this kettle everyday but do we really see it? Do we notice at all how shiny it is or how it creates some reflection?

I saw this kettle in a showroom for a condominium and I knew I had to take its picture. Just look at its design - doesn't it spell elegance and grace? It contrasted very well with the dark background. What do you think?

mundane things ... a cuppa

2009-05-12T08:46:00.003+08:00

Today I'm back to sharing another one of my mundane things photo. This time it's a cup of coffee and a reminder.

I took this last year as I was playing around with some possible still life photos. No, I did not submit this for the photo competition on still life. However, I kept it in my hard drive hoping that I might find a use for it someday. Well, I found that day today. What do you think?

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:14:00.003+08:00

Today I'm taking a break from mundane photos. I'm sharing instead a card I especially made for all you lovely mothers out there. I hope you like it.

mundane things ... clothespins

2009-05-07T17:31:00.003+08:00

It has been raining almost everyday for the past few days, so it was but natural for me to focus my camera on things affected by rain. I of course took photos of raindrops, one of my favorite topics. However, since I have shared several raindrops pictures before, I thought I would share photos of things other than raindrops. So I'm sharing another mundane photo today - that of clothespins. What do you think?

mundane things ... shoelace

2009-05-06T09:42:00.003+08:00

What can be more mundane than a shoelace? We use it everyday but do we really see it? So today, I invite you to take a closer look at your shoelace. What does it remind you of? How do you feel about it?

I hope that the photo I'm sharing today will make you take a second look at your shoelace. Did you ever imagine it as making a pretty picture?

mundane things ...soap bubble

2009-05-05T08:00:00.003+08:00

Today, I just want to share a photo of a lone soap bubble on a leaf. Notice that it's very different from the soap bubbles photo I shared yesterday.

You can probably guess that I have been playing around with soap bubbles. Yes, I have. Soap bubbles are not only fun to play with, they also make pretty pictures. Don't you agree?

If you look closely, you will also see my reflection as I was taking the picture.

mundane things ...soap bubbles

2009-05-04T10:42:00.005+08:00

In my photography adventures, one of the questions I always ask myself is, "what else can I take a picture of?".

A friend told me that that he likes my photographs of mundane things, so this is one theme that I have focused on lately. For the next few days, I will thus be sharing my photographs of mundane things. Maybe you will take a second look at these things after you see the photos I will be sharing.

To start today, I'm sharing a photo of soap bubbles on water. What do you think? Will you look at soap bubbles closely now?

Aliwan festival 2009

2009-04-29T16:06:00.005+08:00

Hi, I attended the Aliwan festival 2009 last weekend. I also wrote a short news item about this in Allvoices.com. Please click on the link below if you want to see it.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3071470

Anyway, the photo I am sharing today is one of the colorful floats that participated in the festival.

my hometown...another view

2009-04-26T17:12:00.004+08:00

This is a view from another side of my hometown. It's almost like a postcard perfect view, right? I did not even color manage this photo. I just used a uv filter.

patterns...for the last time in this series

2009-04-22T14:50:00.003+08:00

This is the last photo about patterns for the moment. I'm sure you have had your fill of the topic for the last few days. So next time, I will start with a new topic.

Anyway, this photo is the headdress of a costume worn by one of the "atis" during the ati-atihan festival which I posted sometime end of January.

If you would like to contribute any "patterns" picture to this blog, you are very much welcome. Just send your photo to my email and I'll upload it for you. Many thanks.

patterns ...created

2009-04-20T09:07:00.004+08:00

Playing with water and oil created these patterns.

Just shows that water and oil do not mix. In the presence of water, oil droplets tend to join together and form bigger drops.

patterns ...rotated

2009-04-19T11:59:00.005+08:00

This is the same photo that I shared in yesterday's post. However, I rotated it to a vertical orientation and look what I got...doesn't it look more dynamic?

Sometimes, rotating a photo can give it a new twist and maybe make it more dynamic as what happened here. However, everything of course depends on one's preference. I just discovered that I like the vertical orientation better than the horizontal one. What about you?

patterns ... one more time

2009-04-18T09:05:00.004+08:00

I'm sharing another "patterns" photo today. This is a wall decor of a hospital.

In this series, I just want to show that we can find patterns everywhere. That's why the photos I have been sharing for the last few days include both living and non-living materials.

Patterns are really interesting focus points in composition. Don't you agree?

more patterns

2009-04-17T08:19:00.004+08:00

I am still into the "patterns" mood today. So here is another pattern for you.

I know I have already shared several fern photos before but ferns are just simply beautiful. They do create patterns that are very graceful and pleasing to the eye. Don't you agree?

patterns2

2009-04-16T11:36:00.003+08:00

Here is another "patterns" picture.

patterns

2009-04-15T07:57:00.005+08:00

In my other blog, http://whatilikeabout-anything.blogspot.com/, I talked about patterns as one of the things I like. So I thought of repeating here what I wrote there. I still don't know how to link one blog with another, that's why.

Patterns are exciting subjects in photography. I'm thinking that I might do a series about patterns in the next few posts.

For today however, here is what I wrote in my other blog...

One of the many things I look for when I compose my shots during photography is to look for patterns. So when I thought about "P" as my topic for today, I immediately thought of patterns.

We find patterns everywhere... in things at home, in the office, in school, in nature.

Just look at how crayons are packed or how bottles are stacked. Take a look at the leaves, or the flowers, or the stones. Observe the things in your closet, or your bag, or your desk. You will find patterns there, everywhere.

The challenge in photography is to present these patterns in such a way that they create pleasing pictures. This is the challenge that always excites me. That's why I love taking pictures.

city lights

2009-04-14T09:31:00.005+08:00

This is my first city lights shot. I have not tried this before. It just so happened that the hotel we stayed in last time has windows that overlook the city. The skyline is fantastic at night with all the city lights. I just had to take a picture. The rays of light at the lower part of the photo come from lights that illuminate workers who are on night shift. They are building another hotel just beside the one we were in.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T11:33:00.003+08:00

Hello Everyone,

May the miracle of Easter bring you blessings and happiness.

Happy Easter!

a day in the farm

2009-04-08T09:48:00.003+08:00

When we were in the province last time, we visited my mom's farm. My daughter, Smarla, enjoyed the day by having pictures with the animals there. She carried in her arms a newly born goat and also tried to catch some chickens.

Here, she is posing with "Babe" (how original!), the pig.

Flying baby

2009-04-07T09:58:00.005+08:00

One of the things I love doing when in a public place like Boracay is to watch what other folks are doing and to capture some interesting shots. I love taking "stalker shots" as I call them.

Well, the photo I am sharing today is about a baby being repeatedly thrown up the air by the father. I took a series of shots of the activity. I'm certainly glad that I had my zoom lens with me that day. Although I could not hear them from where I was, I'm sure the baby was squealing with delight or fright then. There was even a point when both father and mother were throwing their baby like a ball between them. Should I say "poor baby" or "lucky baby"? I really wonder if a baby remembers such activity with "delight" or with "fright"?

Do you remember being thrown up in the air at all?

morning mist

2009-04-06T08:26:00.004+08:00

When I went home to the province last time, one of the activities I did was to climb a hill and tried to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately, going up the hill took longer than I projected such that the sun was already up when we reached the hill top. However, the morning was still cool such that we were able to catch the morning mist.

So, even if I did not catch the sun rise, the view was still breathtaking because of the morning mist.

The picture I'm sharing today is just one of the many photos I took that day. Don't you feel like singing "...the hills are alive with the sound of music..."?

twilight jump

2009-04-02T07:46:00.004+08:00

I never could get a good jump picture. Something always comes out blurred. I just could not get the right aperture, exposure and shutter speed combination. However, when I went home to the province last time, I tried once more to capture a jump shot with the twilight as background. My daughter, sister, brother and brother-in-law were my willing models. We were at the same pier that I featured in a previous post.

Just to make sure that nothing comes out blurred, I used the sports mode of my camera and finally captured a perfect shot. What do you think?

passages

2009-04-01T17:49:00.004+08:00

Generally passages fascinate me. I kind of look forward to whatever is at the end of a passage. If a passage is however too long and narrow then I get claustrophobic. Thus I welcomed this newly built underground passage which connects the Quezon City Hall to the Quezon Memorial Circle. This passage is just short and well-lighted and there are guards at both ends of the tunnel. This is definitely a safer and more pleasant alternative to crossing the street. I wish all underground passages are as well-lighted and airy as this.

fire dancing

2009-03-26T19:35:00.004+08:00

Hello, I just got back from my short break late last night. I actually visited my favorite island, Boracay, and I also visited my mom.

One of the activities that usually takes place at night in Boracay is fire dancing at the beach. The performer holds in both hands a "poi" which is a pair of chain which has lighted wicks at the other end. He/she then swings around this pair of chain as he/she dances to the rhythm of drums and music.

During daytime, the performers actually willingly teach any interested group the fundamentals of fire dancing. I tried my hand at this but could not synchronize the movements of my right and left hands. Ha ha. We did not use actual fire of course. We just used strips of cloth attached to chains.

taking a short break

2009-03-20T09:50:00.000+08:00

Hi, I will be out of town for a few days and may not have access to an internet. Will be back next week.

another view of my hometown

2009-03-16T17:47:00.003+08:00

This is the only pier in my hometown. It is not only used for docking of ships, boats and ferries but also as vantage point for watching the sunset. Of course I took this picture in the morning, not at sunset.

By the way, the pier also serves as destination point of a leisurely walk around town. This is where we usually take in deep breaths of fresh air from the sea. Then after the sun has set, we pass by one of the nearby stores and get some refreshments of mixed iced sweets or what we call as "halo-halo". If ever you come to the Philippines, this is something that I highly recommend you should taste.

bird's eye view

2009-03-14T10:29:00.006+08:00

This is Boracay (my favorite island here in the Philippines) in "bird's eye view". I am going back there with my daughter next week, so I thought of sharing another view of the island. This was taken from the plane as we were about to land.

It was late afternoon and the skies were cloudy, so light is not very good. However, one can still see the beauty of the island. Right?

vanishing point 2

2009-03-12T11:43:00.003+08:00

A visitor asked last time how my "vanishing point" photo would look in black and white. So what I'm sharing today is the result of converting that photo into black and white. What do you think?

stained glass window

2009-03-11T08:36:00.004+08:00

This is the stained glass window of the church in my former university. The stone in the middle is an architectural fountain that serves as the church's font. The effect is rather striking, don't you agree?

vanishing point

2009-03-09T21:58:00.006+08:00

One composition tip that makes a landscape more interesting is to add a vanishing point. This is usually created by looking for leading lines that vanish somewhere into the horizon.

This photo I'm sharing today shows this effect.

back to my fav "model"

2009-03-08T21:20:00.005+08:00

I felt like going back to my favorite "model" today, so here you are... a flower with another fav ... a raindrop.

Flowers and raindrops are really my favorite subjects in photography. So I hope you don't mind that I am sharing this fav once more. When I cannot decide what photo to share for the day, I always go back to my fav "model" - a flower. If it has a raindrop on it, then it's a bonus for me.

By the way, this flower's scientific name is Euphorbia milii.

this time it's a diptch

2009-03-06T07:51:00.009+08:00

This time I'm sharing a "diptch" or "diptych". I just thought that if there is a tryptch, then there must be a "diptch" or a "tetratych" for that matter.

When I "googled", I discovered that there is indeed a "diptch" and even a "tetratych". In "flckr" for example, there are groups that are devoted to sharing "diptch", "tryptch", and "tetratych". So I got more inspiration from them.

Now I'm wondering if there is a "quintatych?" Hmm... time to google again...

I love visiting websites and discovering new ways of taking and presenting pictures.

Tryptch

2009-03-03T12:29:00.003+08:00

A friend is working with tryptchs in wood art and I was inspired to try it in photos.

I “googled” images of tryptchs (even spelling varies... triptych, tryptch, tryptich) and found many variations.

Originally, they are supposed to be 3 related images joined together by hinges but again there are many variations.

So what I am sharing today is one of the results of trying to make a tryptch. What do you think?

circles

2009-02-28T20:17:00.007+08:00

I was just playing around with some of my photos and I thought it would be nice to combine some of them.

Questions is...what to combine? Then I thought of patterns... what is a common pattern in the photos...and the answer is... as you guessed...circle. Thus the title.

As I was writing that, I was reminded of the lyrics to the song "Windmills of Your Mind" It goes like this...
"Round
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel thats turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that you said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
You were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair

Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind."

Hmm...I just realized that the lyrics of this song is beautiful, that's why I copied the whole thing here.