Nudes

South Cebu Photo Safari

Last weekend PCC (Photographer's Club of Cebu) went on a photo safari to the south of Cebu. We made a number of stops in a number of towns and filled our memory cards with great images, at least that was the intent.

"Seeing Double"

"Mirror On The Pavement"

Our first stop was the San Fernando Church. While everyone was busy taking photos of the models we invited for the trip, I looked around a searched for interesting perspective of the church. It rained that morning, it was a blessing that there were puddles on the pavement. I took a number of exposures and found 2 of them that had potential. I converted them into HDR images. I think the result are fantastic. But that's just me praising my own work. Hehe!

"Carcar Rotunda"

We then went to Carcar. While the other members went to the town's old church, I overshot driving and ended up in the rotunda. I took a number of shots while trying to find out where the other members were. The ground was starting to dry but I was able to capture another puddle shot.

"Colour Puzzle"

"Mirror Silhouette"

We finally caught up with the rest of the group. There was a museum next to the Carcar church and I noticed the stained glass on its doors and window. I took at least 5 shots to see what speed worked well. I wanted to highlight the colors and keep most of the walls and floor dark. It was almost noon then so I had to set the speed to 1600 to get the desired effect.

We also went inside the church. It was good that the models were there so we made them stand next to the window on the stairs to belfry and do some poses. I think the silhoutte of the model and the railing gives the color texture.

It was a great shoot. In the upcoming posts I will feature the models in their summer best. Get your cool beverage ready, coz the next entry will be hot!

Lola

Farewell of The Sun

The land bids adieu to the sun in a spectacular orgy of colors. An earthly feast of visual grandeur that only the night could consume. Dusk is a promise of return. A return just as majestic as the parting.

After a Workshop

"Floating Fuschia"

"Floating Fuschia Too"


"Gulp"


"Caged"


"Hornbill"


"Curious"

"Disproportion in Colour"

A couple of weeks ago I attended PCC's Basic Photography workshop. The units I took in college are yellowing with age in the obsolete shelf in my head. A refresher was most welcome and I'm sure glad a was able to find time for it. There will be a number of workshops this summer and I am looking forward to attending them all. All these workshops better improve my skills otherwise they will prove to be waste of time in epic proportions.

Anyway, above are some of the shots I took after the workshop. D' Family park in Talamban has a lagoon and a mini zoo. It was a worthwhile Saturday. A few more of workshops and I'll be a legend. Hehehe! Oh pull that brow down! Dreaming is free and this is called "dream abuse".

Juggling

I browsed through my backlog of Sinulog photos and found this. The people in the background were a little distracting so I thought of processing the image via CS3. I'm still learning the program so I applied previously learned tricks of radial blurring and HDR imaging. A little frame here and watermarks there and voila! I'm so glad the streak of colors came to life.

A Street Named Colon

Once the heart of the city, Colon St reeks of architechtural decay. Quiapo in Manila is what comes to mind. The old buildings that are usually preserved in old cities stand here begging for restoration. At day break the homeless rise from the pavement that are their beds. Tourists avoid this place but the hardcore travellers will find character in Colon.

"Street Doll"

Where there are street kids there are street dolls. Like their owners they are in need of a good bath and attention. To them a doll is their ticket back to innocense.

"Orient Reflection"

Buildings from its years of glory look down to the puddles that rise after a little rain.

"Bottom Feeder"

Even urban widlife has found refuge in Colon, where there are food carts and barbecue stands there are cats that have no need for human touch.

I regret that I had only an hour to walk the country's oldest street. I'm sure I will be back to capture more of its character.

Cebu Heritage

"Faking Sunrise"

I had to be up at 4 am for a street photography fun shoot organized by PCC (Photographer's Club of Cebu) last Saturday. I had a great time despite my lack of sleep. I'll post more photos when I get a chance to tinker with them. In the mean time feast your eyes on the photo above.

It's the silhouette of the Cebu Heritage Monument. Done with 5 photographs, auto-stitched and auto-aligned via CS3. Cropped to define the edges and color matched with a photo of a sunset. This photo was taken at 7 in the morning when it was almost impossible to get silhouettes. The details of the monument were evident the original photographs. I used curves to hide the details and bring out the silhouette. I hope I was able to fake sunrise. What do you think?

Deconstructing a Tourist Spot

Aside from structures older that the rest of us there are a number of things in common that litter the typical tourist spot in the Philippines. Below are a number of them.

"Rooffa"

There are pidgeons/doves (I know they are similar but different). Unlike the ones in Venice, out local fowls of tourist spots are aloof. Food attracts them but do not expect them to land on your head and shoulders while pecking your grains. There are doves/pidgeons, not only once but twice. LOL

"Looking Back"

"Rocker in the Dark"

There are blind musicians to serenade those who need a room. LOL

"Souvenir Menagerie"

"Souvenir Menagerie Too"

"For Lilly Feet"

There are shops that sell items to remember the place by. 

Fort of San Pedro

For a structure dwarfed by modern buildings. Fort of San Pedro surpasses the value of the ones outlining Cebu's skyline. Its walls house points in the country's history, written and otherwise. It's original structure saw the Spaniard's first settlement in a country that will be under their rule for 3 centuries. Wars were fought even after the Spaniards left, and as wars ravaged the land the fort changed role fit for its time. It was once a prison, an American barracks, an informal school; it even served as a hospital. In its later days it was turned into a garden and a zoo.

Today tourists flock to this place where its importance is reiterated by the occasional guides. Its written history can be read and seen in a number of materials hung on stone walls including photographs depicting its days. Locals seem to come here for picnics, dates and photo op's. Fort of San Pedro is small compared to Intramuros in Manila. There is not much to expect if you decide to come to this place. Without knowing what it has gone through one will think that it's a garden inside a triangular stone wall. I would pay to hear those walls talk.

Since they are not selling tickets for talking walls let me show what my lenses have captured.

"History Brief"

"A Rusty Welcome"

"Hinged"

"Peeking Explosion"

"A Fort's Mouth"

For more information about Fort of San Pedro click here.