Beaches through the lens

                                       WELCOME TO SUMMER VACATION

For the past two weekends, I've been going out of town. Two weeks ago, I went to Anilao, Batangas with some friends. We stayed in this wonderful resort, which, apart from not having a white sand beachfront, was perfect. It was very peaceful and the breeze was refreshing. Inhaling the sea breeze with my eyes closed reminded me that I was far from the hustle and bustle of city life, from the stress of work and social relationships. I was with the people who I wanted to be with.

We went snorkeling, and saw many many long things. lol. I also got a lot of scratches from the corals around. I forgot to say that Anilao is famous worldwide for its diving spots. There were some foreigners in the resort - some were relaxing, some were on boats, ready to dive.

Anyway, here are a few photos from my two day one night trip. :) Thanks friends for inviting me, and thanks Gela for the big ass kubo. :) I was using my 35mm film camera and a fuji slide film, c/o my girlfriend. :)

Check out this set - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157624140811218/

Last week, I went to Bataan with my family and some family friends. We also stayed in a resort. The only difference was this was on top of a mountain. We had to go down the mountain to go to the beach. At first glance, the beach was flawless. It was really a cove to dream about. The water seemed serene and peaceful that you would wish to just float aimlessly on it and let your natural buoyancy take over. Up close, the sand was white although there were a lot of small stingy jelly fishes, which discouraged me from swimming longer. I got stung a few times but it was ok. The water was warm, with a cool underwater current where our feet floated.

Here are a few photos of my trip to Bataan. I was using my Mamiya RB 67 Pro SD and a colored 120 fuji film.

There might be a chance that I will be going to some where in Batangas in the following weeks so watch out. :)

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

Two models are sometimes better than one!

Last Saturday, my girlfriend traveled to my home town in Bulacan. We watched a movie, ate food and basically hung out. Although by 5 PM, I was taking her photo near the basketball court and the front lawn of my grand parents' house. My sister also put down her books to join us for an impromptu shoot.

For this shoot, all I used were my canon slr, my mamiya rb67 pro sd, 1 BnW 35mm film, 8/36 Kodak Ultima35mm film, and a Fuji Pro 400h 120 film, and of course, Mr. Sunlight.

Here are some of the photos from the shoot.

One lesson I learned from using my RB67 with shutter speeds of 1/20 and below - Get a tripod. I should've gotten some great shots but for some reason, maybe my hands were shaking, or the mirror inside the cam was too strong, they ended up as somewhat blurry.

Anyway, first two pics were from my mamiya, and the last one was from my canon. BnW photos to follow. My friend is still processing it.

Also, update on the rechargeable batteries all the way from china. I got them already. I hope their life is better than what I'm expecting. More strobist photos next time!

Check out more of my photos in my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/
Check out the whole set - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157623895803291/

P.S.
Check out my friend's bnw photos here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/buuucs/
He uses range finders, tlrs, etc. and processes his own BnW film.

Strobing test #1 and #2(half strobist)

As promised, here are some of the better test shots from my new strobe set up. I present to you, strobing test #1 and strobing test #2. The first one was shot inside my house, in the proposed makeshift studio room. The second one was shot outside in the greenhouse, and around the area. I had to shift to a reflector-white board set up when the battery of my trigger ran out. It might get too expensive to buy disposable CR2 batteries all the time so I bought 4 rechargeable CR2 batteries and a charger from ebay. Hopefully, it gets here soon so I can experiment more.

IMPORTANT LESSON.. Never open the umbrella with flash and RF receiver when there's a strong consistent wind. I was getting the chair for a possible shot, then boom, down went the umbrella, my 285hv and my stand, aside from the damage minimal damage in the umbrella skeleton, my other gear were still A-Okay.

Anyway, critics are always welcome.

Here are the lessons that I learned, lighting-wise. I shall provide examples.

1. Despite being able to sync at almost all speeds, because of the RF wireless trigger and receiver, I should not abuse the shutter speed, especially when there is only one strobe on site. This will make the photo bright on one half and very dark on the other, much like a gradient.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the left, very high shutter speed (I was taking advantage of the   high sync speed)

2. Don't always shoot at 1/16 power, even to conserve power. Sometimes, it is still too weak, especially when there's a diffuser or a shoot through umbrella, or a reflective umbrella. The model pose was really good, in my taste. It was just that my flash was either too far from her, or was emitting very low light.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the right, higher than 1/200 of a second shutter speed.

3. Reflectors are very useful when you run out of battery for the trigger. I was able to use a reflector and a white board for the remainder of the second shoot. Although even with this, the light redirected might be too harsh. It might cause your model to squint or close his/her eyes.

Reflector below-left

4. Just because something might look good as a stand alone subject, it might not necessarily be a good background. I thought the branches looked cool, and I imagined how they would look like if I shot them as a subject. For me, it became too busy, or too messy a background. lol.

Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the left, around 1/200 of a second shutter speed.

5. Write down the settings used for each shot. Evident in how unsure I am about the apertures and shutter speeds used.

Here are the better ones from the two shoots. Enjoy :)

First strobe test

Details:

First photo - At around 3pm, ambient light to the back left, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the upper-left with reflective umbrella.

Second Photo - Same setup as the first one.

Third photo - Ambient light, kinda diffused to the left, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the mid/upper-right with reflective umbrella.

I shot using 1.8,8,11 apertures.

Second strobe test

Details:
First photo - At around 12pm, Reflector lower left, white board lower right (I did not have an assistant to hold it).

Second Photo - Same setup as the first one.

Third photo - Under the sun, Vivitar 285hv @ 1/16 or 1/4 power on the upper-right, around 1/200 shutter speed if I remember correctly.

I shot using 1.8,8,11 apertures.

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

For more photos of the first and second shoot - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157623909750514/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscogmm/sets/72157623785271329/ respectively

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/

Christmas photography

Today was the first time I really got the chance to shoot models, specifically my parents. They were going to an alumni ball in Manila and I asked if I could shoot them. This'll probably be my gift to them for Christmas!

** Next day.

Ok. I got the shots already and I must say, I am surprised at some of the photos that came out. I ended up having to ask the technician guy to convert a pic to bnw, as I had used colored film, to liven up the mood in the picture. On top are some of the shots I got from this shoot.

Mamiya RB67 and the Soup Kitchen

photo from http://shooterslab.com

Ok. It's been too long since I've posted here. Honestly, school's been hell. There's always a lot to do and this limits my shooting trips and sessions. So anyway. I've decided. I will not venture into the digital photography scene. I have decided on getting myself a Mamiya RB67, from ebay or hidalgo quiapo, and go into the medium format biz.

I've been torn whether to get a dslr, for practicality, or a mamiya, which I feel more strongly about. "Digital pics don't strike me as much as film does." That's what exactly came into my mind. That's the reason why I'm getting a Mamiya rb67 soon, hopefully. I'll have to search for a good 2nd hand one. It'll probably cost me around 12,000 to 15,000 pesos, so yeah. I might get a body, with wtf and probably a basic lens for now. possibly 90mm or something.

I also feel that I'll eventually get bored with shooting digital (coz almost anyone can do that). I like the challenge of carefully taking my time in composing a shot. Anyway here are some of the soup kitchen pictures and some other random photos that I took.

By the way, my friend developed my Ilford negs (which are looooong over due). I'll just have to get them scanned and I'll post soon!

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

Debutant Modelling

I'm excited for my cousin's debut. Why? That's because she will be having a photoshoot for her debut this november. I asked if I could tag along her photo shoot and take some photos of her in traditional black and white. I'm thinking if I should load up on C-41 bnw, like xp2 or bw400cn, or do it old fashion and use ilford hp5s or kodak tmaxs. To any readers out there, can you suggest to me what to use as this would be my first real photo shoot. Thanks!