adventure in a crunch.

I’ve written about a Kawayan Cove adventure my friends and I had a few weeks ago. I mentioned that we were shooting for our Large Format Photography class but I didn’t have a digitized copy yet of my negatives. Finally I got my files 2 weeks ago and edited my favorite shot yesterday.

It’s my first time do anything like this. As much as I love taking landscapes and all that I’ve never really messed around with long exposures yet so that day at Kawayan Cove was a day full of firsts.

We used my friend Joy’s Mamiya 120 format film camera. Thanks to our friend Tim, I had a roll of Kodak T-MAX 100 Black and White. “Finest Grain”! :D We were running out of time and the waves were getting bigger so Joy and I shared a roll to save up on time since our other friends had to use the camera also. I’m so proud of my shot and I’m happy with the outcome. Can’t wait to do more of these! =)

Last term when finals were nearing, there was talk about a trip to Bataan. Justin’s family’s place with close photog friends. I never bothered to ask permission because I was doubting if it would push through plus the night they intended to leave was the night of the opening of the Liquidus Stilla Exhibit (an exhibit I was apart of along with Artu Nepomuceno, Gab De Leon, Miggy Beltran, Remington Tiu, Shots Koyano and Joey Alvero). April 15 was nearing and I found out that only our friends Jay, Rupert, his friend Enzo, and their dog Gizmo, Justin and his girlfriend Pau, our prof Sir Jun and his daughter Nicole were the only ones surely going. I said no as well because I had to be around with our exhibit up and all. But when Artu found out I wasn’t going he said, “Inna, I’m speaking as one of your best friends: go with them. We wouldn’t mind. Seriously.” After he said that, I had decision making to do again.

With no decision in mind I told my mom about my problem deciding and if I decided to go, would she let me. She first asked for all the details. She was hesitant at first but eventually she said I needed a break. And true enough. I realized that that trip was well deserved and much needed. I only had 4 subjects last term but with all the planning of Liquidus Stilla, my participation in our other exhibit SCENE*ing, it all took a toll on me. I didn’t know if Justin and the others were willing to wait though but they showed up at our exhibit and said they wouldn’t leave me. Thankfully I had my things and when the opening was over Justin, Jay and I waited for Pau to pick us up. We then met up with Rupert, Enzo, Sir Jun and Nicole and off we went. The drive? 11.30pm – 4.30am. I was dead asleep in the car and according to Justin, Jay and Pau, I was snoring, and no matter how much they tried to wake me up, I wouldn’t even flinch. I was just so tired. We all fell asleep by the beach before sleeping in the guesthouse. When we woke up, Pau and Sir Jun cooked for us an amazing spread and Justin took us around. It was so much fun and with no people around it was seriously like we owned the whole beachfront! We climbed rocks, observed sea urchins, raced down the shore, swam, explored the whole area. It was “Us against the world”. And since we were few, we bonded better. Saturday night was just full of non-stop laughter and kwentuhan. Jay and I were the only ones left wide-awake around midnight and we shared so much stories. When we noticed the moon was a huge orange circle and was setting right in front of us, we ran to the shore, took pictures and scared each other (it was really dark once the moon set). Then we just sat by a coconut tree saying how much we didn’t want to leave. We both went to bed around 6am.

We went back to the city Sunday afternoon wishing we didn’t have to leave. I want to go back so badly and Justin promised us he’d take us back. A week or 2 there would be amazing.

Here’s one of my favorite and best shots:

It’s one of the best shots I’ve taken in my whole life so far. I also have Jay to thank. That man over there sitting on the rock with a stick watching the sun set, is one of my best friends Jay! He was like a monkey going here and there. Thank you for making this shot awesome, Jay! Thank you, Justin, for planning this and insisting we still go despite us being a few! And thank you everyone else for making the trip so much fun and worth it. :> 

For my Birthday this year, my mom decided to take my bro and I to Malaysia with her from April 28 – May 7. She was conducting a workshop for the first few days but after, we three were free to do whatever we wanted.

            I’ve been to Malaysia before but just KL and with my dad’s side of the family. Now, it was just us three at Genting Highlands, mostly hanging out at the hotel, the nearby Strawberry Farm or Resort’s World. We also stayed for three nights (not consecutively though) at KL. I bought the most interesting things at Resort’s World: a green long-necked dinosaur stuffed toy, 3 rolls of awesomely designed tape, chocolates, etc.

            When my mom’s workshop was over, we headed to Kota Kinabalu! I’ve always to go there. (One day I’ll conquer Mt. Kinabalu! Just you wait and see! Haha) Niccolo got sick on the first day though and we later found out that he had a gastro-intestinal disorder. When we didn’t know it was that serious yet though, my mom and I left him at the hotel and explored the place. We went to a nearby pier, met an awesome cab driver named Jinggo who took us to Rasa Ria Shangri-la Resort. (Thank you once again, Artu, for suggesting this place and many more.) My mom and I got to witness an amazing sunset at a beautiful resort! We couldn’t stay long though and my mom kept on haranguing me to go so we can check on my brother. I only have a few good shots thanks to that, but as my mom put it, I now have more incentive to come back. Either way, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, etc, are places you’d want to return to all the time. I want to go back so badly!

Here’s a shot of the Sunset at Rasa Ria:

The next following days, we went on a tour that included seeing the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia, visiting Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden, braving the canopy walk by Mt. Kinabalu, and taking a dip at the Poring Hot Springs. It was so fun and amazing but to go in detail would take more than one entry. I’ll post pictures and talk about my Malaysia adventure more soon! Stay tuned! =) 

2 Sundays ago, July 10, to be more precise, a bunch my photography friends and I decided to go to Kawayan Cove, Batangas to shoot running water with rock formations. It was for our Large Format Photography class with Sir Jun Barrameda. It was a plan we randomly came up with 5 days before. Who were we? None other than: Open-Art Photography himself Artu Nepomuceno, the great Gab De Leon, the traveler Joy Cruz, the macro photographer Shots Koyano, the Euro-buff Remington Tiu, Mega wonder Miggy Beltran, and of course, me. Now, if only we could actually be introduced that way. :D

            Artu’s cousins own Kawayan Cove so getting permission to enter and all was easy. My parents allowed me since it was just a day trip, Joy brought her 120 format Mamiya, we all rode in Artu’s car, we had fun stop-overs (including a stop over at Little Souls where Artu made me try the most delicious ice cream sandwich) and we had SO MUCH laughs! I’m surprised our stomachs weren’t aching after.

            We got to Kawayan Cove and it was raining. No one seemed to be around the resort let alone the beach. We climbed rocks, looked for good spots. When we found spots we wanted, we took test shots with our DSLRs in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Out of all of us, only Artu and Gab brought extra clothes. We sure learned from that. Eventually the rain got harder so we started just messing around. The guys played rugby and both us girls took pictures. Joy aptly named her photo album “Oh My Gab” due to all the awesome photos we have of him. My camera died so Joy and Artu lent me theirs when they weren’t using it.

            We were about to call it a day since the rain wasn’t even getting lighter let alone disappear completely when all of a sudden around 4pm the rain stopped. We grabbed our rolls of film, Joy’s Mamiya and braved the strong waves. Artu found this amazing spot, and since he was the only one with a tripod, got amazing shots there. We all followed him and in effect, Joy and I got soaked thanks to the unpredictable waves, Shots’ camera got a bath (thankfully it’s still working) and we discovered a place we really wanted to go back to.

Let’s go back soon please! I need to fully conquer Kawayan Cove! :D

I’ve always had this fascination for film cameras and everything about film but when I first fell in love with photography I was surrounded by friends who owned point-and-shoot cameras. When I finally got my own DSLR 3 years ago, I was focused on that and nothing else at the beginning. But a part of me also knew I was missing out on something. My dad used to be a commercial photographer and what he used back then was film so every time I’m at my dad’s place I see his film cameras on his shelf and I wonder when I could ever learn to use them.

            As a photography major I have classes such as History of Photography, Large Format Photography and Philippine Photography. Thanks to those classes I now know how those huge 4x5 cameras of long time ago work. The thing was though, whenever we were taught how to use range finders, TLRs, etc, there are so many of us in the class, not everyone gets to completely understand and use any of the film cameras. Then our professor in Philippine Photography gave us an assignment: to shoot old structures still existent in Manila using a film camera. With the storm and all 2 weeks week, I almost thought it would be impossible but the rain died down Saturday afternoon (June 25). I asked my dad if I could borrow his camera and if he could teach me. At first he hesitated because he was worried about the weather but when he found out from my grandmother’s driver that it was no longer flooded in Intramuros he called me right away and told me to get ready.

            He lent me his Canon F1 complete with battery grip and a bunch of lenses to shoot with. Our prof wanted shots of the structures’ exteriors and all so I opted for my dad’s 28mm, which I instantly fell in love with. He also had a 50mm f/1.4, which I only used for 2 shots but I’m planning to practice more with film one day and use his 50mm for awesome portrait shots.

            My dad taught me how to use the F1 and it was a good 2 hours of bonding I’ll never forget. I love travel photography and history so going down those roads of Intramuros with my dad, sucking in the aura, admiring the structures, and shooting in black and white film was amazing. And I love the thrill of waiting for my shots to get developed. Can’t wait to do this again! Thank you for teaching me, Pa! Now I can’t wait to get my own film camera and preserve the world not just through digital files but also through negatives. I love you, Pa! :> 

Boracay. A beautiful summer getaway the young and old all enjoy. The perfect travel spot for beach lovers and adventurers looking for a good time to chill or go do some “escapading”. And of course it also possesses the right amount of bars and famous drinking games for partygoers and nightlife lovers.

            Now, here’s the thing. Ever since I was Grade 7, I’d hear about Boracay and how my friends are going there with limited, if no, adult supervision. Not that I care about that exactly, I was still young and I didn’t mind if my parents came along and I had my friends with me too, but what I did envy was that my friends were going to this amazing place when my family had no plans at that time to go there. Well, my mom did, but money was pretty tight and my dad felt like we’d appreciate it better when we’re older. I was 12 and my brother was 7. As for my grandparents, they’re not exactly fond of the beach

            When I got into High School though, all the more I saw on social networking sites I was apart of where my friends were going, and not just Boracay anymore, but Tali, Puerto Galera, etc. My mom wouldn’t allow me to go out of town with friends without adult supervision. (She finally did when I was 17). I’m not complaining, I totally understand where she’s coming from, but of course I can’t help but have that longing to go to those places whether it be with friends or family. So… Imagine my surprise when my mom tells me she’s taking us to Boracay.

            June, 2009. My dad came along as well. I already had classes so we made it a weekend getaway plus 2-3 weekdays. Since it wasn’t peak season, it was just simply perfect. I watched the sunset everyday, tried almost everything; I got a henna tattoo, had my hair cornrosed, got a massage by the beach, walked along the shore of almost every station with my mom, and got ice cream and mango shake (the 2 things I believe I should try everywhere I go). I even got to play my favorite video game, Left4Dead, with my bro in some Internet café because my bro was having withdrawals from being away from his computer for too long. My parents took us parasailing, ATV-riding and restaurant hopping. The ATV ride though was quite scary. The brakes and steering wheel of my ATV broke and the wheel got caught in a ditch catapulting me 2 feet away from my mode of transportation. I got a bruise near my hipbone and a small wound on one of my fingers. Thankfully that was it. They got me another ATV and I kept on riding. I didn’t want to be a buzz kill and it was still pretty exciting. We saw amazing views that I’m sure not everyone who visits Boracay gets to see because people would rather just do activities by the beach.

            I had so much fun and of course I had my camera in hand. My dad attempted to teach me all these things to properly shoot the sky but I have to admit I was practically distracted by everything and wasn’t really listening. But I got beautiful and one of them I really love is the shot I have of my dad taking a picture with the sun slowly setting behind him. Pretty symbolic if you think about it. I was able to sell this photo in my 18^th Birthday exhibit.

Until now we haven’t gone back to Boracay, but I can’t wait till we do. I’m more adept with travel photography now so I can’t wait. Eventually I’ll come back and Boracay better be ready for me! :D

For the next 2 months, I’ll be updating my photoblog weekly with a narrative of my travels in the past and at present. Travel Photography time! First off: Palawan.

            I have to admit that when it comes to traveling, even if I love traveling so much with the plane rides, road trips, adventures and all, I actually haven’t really gone out that much. Finances and all. =) I’ve never been outside South East Asia. I’ve only been to 4 other countries namely Singapore (twice), Malaysia (twice), Thailand and Hong Kong. Now when it comes to going around my own country, I’ve only been to Cebu, Ozamis, Tagaytay, Batangas, Baguio, and Subic countless times, and have been to La Union, Bicol, Puerto Galera, Palawan, Boracay and Sagada only once if not twice. But the one trip that made me start to want to capture the world’s sunsets and sunrises was our trip to Palawan.

            I was 15 years old and the only camera I had to work with was my mom’s old Canon Digital Ixus. Before the trip I had an avid collection of pictures of sunsets and sunrises I had since I was 14, but I never actually thought I could shoot them with a camera like my mom’s. At the age of 15, my mom completely trusted me with the camera and I was old enough to appreciate the responsibility of documenting everything (because I wanted to), and appreciate the sights and activities Palawan had to offer. It was in Palawan, I shot my first sunrise using my tita Noemi’s Panasonic DMC-LC50 and I aimed to get the sunset as well. But due to my mom’s schedule (she had a workshop in Palawan), we had no time and I promised myself that one day I’d go back to Palawan to capture their sunset. I had no knowledge in photography yet at that time except the basic “point and shoot”, and with that in mind, I’m happy with how this photo turned out. 

(I was able to sell a print of this photo at a photo exhibit I had for my 18^th Birthday)

A new term has started (actually a new school year), and unlike last term, I now have 6 subjects and not just 4. I don’t have minor subjects or design foundation subjects anymore, so I’m currently taking up 6 major subjects. 3 of them require a shoot every week as assignment, two require a shoot almost every 2 – 3 weeks using film and one requires paper work and calculations every week. So, yes, I have had no time to update my photoblog, but I’m determined that by the time I have more time on my hands I’ll definitely update all online networks I’m apart of.

            For now though, here’s what I’ve been up to last week. I’ll talk about my summer vacation and such next time. Last week was one of my busiest weeks ever. Here was my schedule: (excluding Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday since I have classes on those days)

o   Thursday – FILFOTO Tondo Shoot at 8.30am

         ADVDIGI Make-up Shoot at 11.30am

o   Friday – FASHIFO Bohemian Shoot at 1pm

o   Saturday – Shoot Extrapolation’s gig at June Marieezy’s Heavy Eyes EP      

        Launch

o   Sunday – QUALLIG Shiny Object Shoot

I was also supposed to have a shoot on Monday since it was a holiday, but it thankfully got cancelled last minute. I already came down with a bad cold Sunday and could barely breathe. I actually still have my cold until now but it’s no longer as bad as Sunday and Monday.

Out of all the shoots I had this week though I really loved what I did in my ADVDIGI Make-up Shoot. I got my friend Ame Calix as my model. For a make-up artist, I needed someone who could do clean, lifestyle and avant-garde make-up. The people I originally had in mind couldn’t make it, but thankfully my friend Gabbie Isabela was free, but I wasn’t sure if she could do avant-garde make-up. On location, I talked to her about it and she said she could, but she didn’t have the stuff for it so we searched for pegs with simple avant-garde make-up and I fell in love with one peg that I really wanted to do on Ame. Gabbie gave the make-up her own touch and we made a fake necklace. We ended up even finding the perfect background, which was actually just a rug. And what I’m also so proud of was that originally; I’m not so verbose yet in lighting. I admittedly still have a lot to learn. But my dad lent me his one studio light and soft box and let me be so I tried what I knew and to my own surprise I got the shot I wanted. I felt so proud. I even got the feel I wanted. I wanted Ame to look “wild and free and yet strong and determined”. I wanted that when you see the shot you’re reminded of Africa, or of wildlife and so far, people who have seen this shot give me the feedback I want. I couldn’t have done this without Gabbie and Ame, and also Joy Cruz for the support. Thank you guys! Let’s shoot again soon! =)

More shots of this shoot to come. This is just an unedited teaser. :>