Korea and a special Birthday Project

Ok, so, I just came home from a week-long visit to Korea. All I can say is that Korea=COLD. Anyway. I had fun taking photos there, which will be posted soon btw. Also, I learned that Korea is not a shopping country. lol. There was one street there which had the same stuff being sold for almost all the stores. We stayed in the COOP Residence in Jung-Gu in Seoul. The room was kinda small but it was able to provide me a comfortable living environment for the week. Among the places we visited were Nami Island, Seoul Tower, the Palace, and many more. 


I especially liked walking in the streets. They were very clean and organized, not like what you would probably see here in Manila. Also, motorcycles were abundant, and not just the scooter types and the underbones, but real sportsbikes and cruisers, which appealed to me a lot because I intend to get a 200cc-400cc bike soon. Anyway. Photos will be up in a few days.. gotta fix my finances as I have been spending a lot for my new project...

Which i will discuss now.

I am planning on converting our drums/guitar/ex-piano(before it got destroyed by the flood) room into my very own studio. I have already gotten a Vivitar 285HV flash, YongNuo RF602 flash/shutter triggers, a flash stand + detachable umbrella set, and batteries. All I need to do now is to get a sufficient background and to cover the entrance with black cloth. Tada, my very own basic studio. 

There will be two sources of ambient light, a drum set(as i dont know where to put it), and the strobist equipments there. 

I'm pretty excited to try it out.. which I will probably do tomorrow.. And again, test pictures will be up in a few days.. depending on how much money I will have left. . . I used almost 200$ for the everything.. I know it's quite big for a student on a budget.. but hey, my birthday's coming up.. This is what my friend and I call "justified GAS". Lol. after this, all my photography spending will be on films. :) I am happy.

I will post a before and after pic of the room too.

On top is a photo of a sign above some fruits in a street vendor's stand taken using my sister's digital camera.


Down here is a photo of what my set up will look like. Image from http://www.Tayhua.com. That's where I bought my triggers and umbrella set.. all for Php3700. 

If you want to see some of my photos..

Check them out in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/

Shooting Series #1

Ok, I'm sorry for being out for so long. I come bearing photos though! Last thursday was my very first photoshoot with no other than my girlfriend as my model. Here are some of the shots! All I had was my camera, my tripod, a borrowed reflector, 5 mins of sun for shooting, and a beautiful model.

Enjoy!

Photographer: Me
Model: My girlfriend
Location: Tierra Bella Park

Check out more of my photos in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/

The 4th UP Touch Rugby Invitational Games

Ok, so last January 23, 2010, I had the opportunity to shoot a touch rugby invitational tournament in the U.P. Diliman Sunken Garden. I had a really great time because the sun provided me with very high shutterspeeds, even at 100-300mm. I was able to borrow my friend's telephoto lens, which I used for most of my shots.

My gear that day was my usual Canon EOS 300, a 50mm f1.8 and a 75-300mm f/4-5.6 and 4 rolls of 200ISO film.

Check out Touch Football Pilipinas' official flickr site for more of my photos of this event.

Check out more of my photos in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/

My Mamiya RB67 Pro SD

Finally, I got my very own Mamiya RB67 Pro SD. I got it from Hidalgo for around 10,000 pesos. It came with a 645 back and a 180mm f/4.5 K/L lens. The seller, bossing Allan, said that it was around 80mm in the 35mm format. Anyway, I bought one Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film to use for a test roll. We went to Manila bay to take some shots. It was really an experience.

Thanks to Nat(pangantot) and Edward for coming along to Hidalgo. MF Day woohoo!

Here are a few shots. Click to see the image in its original size.

Check out more of my photos in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/