BlueWeedPhoto by Rey Bugia

Overdue Post: Azkals vs Icheon Korea

2012-02-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

After the CF Madrid benefit game, another foreign team came to Manila to play against the Azkalsfor the benefit of the Sendong victims. This was very gracious of them, including the major sponsor, Kia Motors. Kia donated Php500,000 that night, while all the proceeds of the ticket sales will go to the victims. Oh and yeah, one lucky ticket holder won a brand new Kia Rio. :) The game was

First Time with Video

2012-02-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

After using my CaNikon and finding out how the photos looked like, I thought that it would be nice to put them through a video test. So I took a D90 and the 24mm f/2.8 FD lens to one of my baby's doctor's appointments and see how it would fare. It was sharp as hell and was very easy to work with. I think I'll keep these old lenses for now. rb.

Azkals vs CF Madrid - Sendong Benefit Game

2012-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

The guys from CF Madrid were very generous enough to travel to Manila for this event. All the proceeds will go to the Philippine Red Cross and they donated 10,000 Euros to the organization. They also brought items for bidding, including a signed jersey of Real Madrid star Ronaldo. I hope it gets sold for a high price so more people will benefit. Here are some more photos from the game:

Photos up on the official Azkals Website

2012-01-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

This is a nice way to start the year. Just found out that the official Philippine Azkals website is up and running with some of my photos in the gallery. Please checkout the gallery for more of my photos from the LA Galaxy vs. Philippine Azkals game. I'll be on the field again for the Azkals Alyansa vs. Internacional de Madrid this coming Saturday. I hope to see everyone supporting our team.

Christmas Greetings to All

2011-12-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. rb

Having a Baby will Always be Fun

2011-12-17T01:35:00.000-08:00

I remember last year when my wife and I were expecting, and remembered how that was the most exciting times in both our lives. That is why I love maternity shoots because it reminds me of that feeling and to be able to share that to first time parents to be is priceless. Like the previous shoot, she had some experience modelling before, which made it easy for me to do my job. Phen is a friend

Actors make the Best Models

2011-12-16T01:13:00.000-08:00

Pretty faces don't necessarily mean they are good models. There are some people who just has that "it" factor that makes the camera fall in love with them. There is a little bit of acting involved when ever you're in front of the camera, be it for stills or motion films. It is seldom that you get both. Angelyn is one of those people. She currently is involved in a theater group. It has been

Bend it like Beckham

2011-12-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the Copyright, just had to put that in I guess most of the game he was the center of attention, and he even scored the first goal. It was a really exciting game, even when you look at the scoreboard and see that the Philippine Azkals have lost the game early in the second half. I guess just seeing Beckham play (in probably his first and last game in Manila) was a treat in itself.

David Beckham in Manila - LA Galxy Clinic and practice

2011-12-05T01:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at blueweedphoto hq, and I have a few things I need to blog about. I'll start of with the recently concluded Manila tour of David Beckham's MLS Champion LA Galaxy. They were here for a few days and played Saturday night with our very own Philippine Azkals. I was fortunate enough to shoot for the soon to be official Azkals website and was given press pass

M CaNikon Part 2 - The Shots

2011-11-18T01:10:00.000-08:00

I guess the ultimate way to know if the adapter was worth the $30 or so that I paid it for was to see the actual shots. I'll go thorugh the lenses I have and shot a few frames with it to test. Most of them are dirty from the inside due to lack of use over the decades. Just in case you would like to know more about each lens, you can click on each lens title and that will direct you to the

My CaNikon Part 1 - How I did it

2011-11-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

Trying out a new system is often times exciting and challenging. But I've got to tell yah', mixing them up is waaaay more fun. As I blogged a couple of weeks ago, I recently started trying out using Canon lenses with my Nikon camera. It's been really fun, and I'll be sharing the experience with you on the next few posts. But first things first, how do you do it? The Lens As you might have

Hollys Coffee

2011-11-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

About a month or two ago, I was commissioned by Hollys Coffee to shoot the interiors/exterior of their newly opened shop along Taft, Manila. Hollys Coffee is a well known coffee shop chain in Korea. This is their first store in the Philippines and the photo above will be used as an ad for their 2nd store. I also shot some product shots that they have been using for in-store menus and and

The Nostalgia of Shooting Film

2011-11-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted here. I blame it on a piece of $*&+ desktop (I really really need to switch to a Mac this Christmas) and a very busy family life. I'm on the last day of a very long weekend and finally got to cleanup my laptop files and saw the album where the photo above was in. This was from June of last year, on a retro-themed party that my day job had to celebrate

What's Wrong with this Photo?

2011-09-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Yup, you're seeing it right, that's a Canon lens on a Nikon body. You normally see people having Nikon lenses on Canon bodies nowadays (just says a lot who's lens is better), but there are some Canon lenses that I really like. The lens above is a Canon 24mm 2.8 FD lens. FD is the old lens mount that Canon abandoned about 30 years ago. I have a few lenses and I'm now starting a collection

So Who thought this was an Actual Photo?

2011-08-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

I have always thought that I was looking at a computer generated background everytime I turned on my PC in the last 10 years. Turns out it was a landscape photo by Chuck O’Rear. Full article here. So for you landscape photographers out there, who knows, you're next photo might land on to Bill Gates' hard drive... rb.

So What Can You Do with 250 Cameras and 250 Flashes?

2011-07-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you get a Japanese rock band, a factory full of Japanese made cameras and flashes, a chock full of Japanese ingenuity and a ton of the usual Japanese craziness. Totally amazing video. So if you're seeing a ton of 60Ds in Ebay or Tipidpc, please check the actuations, and if it shows 50,000, then it probably was in this video. via Strobist rb

Pat and Juna's Wedding pics

2011-07-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the long overdue-photos from the wedding I shot for about a month ago. Again, the couple were fantastic and were very easy to get real emotions and expressions from. I wish they have a long, happy and lasting relationship.

Pat and Juna Engagement Shoot

2011-06-26T01:10:00.000-07:00

I shot these about a month ago and have also shot their wedding. They were a great couple to work with. I hope every couple are like these two love birds. Their wedding photos next.... rb

DIY Collapsible Strip Box

2011-06-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of DIY projects in my mind but too often I'm either busy or too lazy to work on them. My last DIY was the black straw grid that I retired about more than a year ago. Since then I just bought what ever I needed, but there's always a different feeling when you finish a diy project and then use them on shoots. I love reading DIYP for inspiration but never work on any of them. I

It's been Awhile

2011-06-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

I've been out of the bloggersphere for a couple of months now. I guess it was harder to be a dad than I was expecting. Let me correct that, it's not hard to be a dad, it's hard to blog or do anything else when you have a newborn at home. Man, she's so cute I couldn't take a camera and take a picture. I just spent a lot of time looking at her and her big round eyes. It's such a wonderful

Nine Months in - We're Ready

2011-04-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

She's on her 40th week, and its Lenten Week. I'm taking her to the hospital in less than 12hrs form now to have the doctor induce her labor. Lara is not in any pain that I was expecting. God has been good to us, and now we can finally see His blessing. Thank you for everyone who have supported us since the beginning. I have taken all your advice and tips and will be putting them to good

8th Month - She's Almost Ready to Pop

2011-04-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm not only late for the 8th month, I'm also late for the 9th month. She's on her 38th week in this photo but she's almost on her 40th presently. I hope I get a chance to shoot a picture of her before she pops. :) rb

Playing around the pool

2011-04-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

I borrowed an Olympus Stylus Tough this weekend and had a blast taking shots underwater, if only I wasn't having more fun with my niece and nephew, I would have taken more shots. After a few minutes in Photoshop, I got the shots below. I really am digging underwater shots. Hopefully I could put this to more artistic use. :) rb

What 2 years of Blogging has Done to Me

2011-03-08T00:21:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I haven't really made a lot of improvement in my pictures (technical aspect), but I think my pictures from the last 12 months have more emotion, and means a lot more to me. I think that's because of the efforts that I have made to make those pictures that meant more than the actual image. Wether it's going on a crowded bus for a 10-hour drive north to take photos of a tribe, or going

7th Month - Mother and Child

2011-03-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

She's almost 8 months now, and I just had her 7th month picture taken. It's been a hectic few weeks. I hope I can take another photo this week or the next for her 8th month, so I could at least be on time for once. I took a step away from the usual "tummy" shots I've been taking. I guess I wanted to focus more on her for this month. It's not just about the baby, it's also about the one

An Incredible and Inspiring 18-year Photography Project

2011-02-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Photos copyright Darcy Padilla I stumbled on this yesterday while looking for some inspiration on a project. This has got to be the most touching set of pictures I have ever seen. It's about the life of a mother's experience through poverty, addiction AIDS and death. This is also a story of one person's (the photographer) documentation of one's life unadulterated, and true to the very

A Tribute to My Inspirations

2011-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Having a pregnant wife at home means less time shooting/blogging and more time cuddling and checking out the latest baby movements, which I like. I haven't gone into a hiatus yet (maybe in 2 months time), but future posts will be short and maternity/baby related. For now I'll leave you with some of my favorite photographers and their blogs to read. Some I have featured here before, and some

6th Month - Better late than Never

2011-02-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

I know that technically its her 7th month, but this would have to do. Why did I not have a photo of her actual sixth month? It's a combination of employee annual reviews, never ending home chores and laziness. Anyway, here are some more photos. As always, click the pic to see it bigger. :)

I am Blessed

2011-02-04T05:48:00.000-08:00

Meet Baby Sophie, the soon-to-be newest addition to the family. After seeing truly amazing photographs from David Hobby to JoeyL, these photos have got to be the most heartwarming and breathtaking photos I've ever seen. She is so beautiful, even in harsh light and a very low-res camera. She was very cooperative and even showed us her tongue while we were watching her (more pics and video

It's a Girl!

2011-01-31T22:47:00.000-08:00

It's been really tough to blog lately. End of the year performance reviews are nasty, but I think having a pregnant wife at home makes it even harder to blog. I'm late wit hthe 6th month maternity photo of my wife, and I haven't even made my 2011 photography goals. But you know what, I'm not bothered about all that stuff as of the moment. Because all I know is that I'm having a baby girl.

5th Month - Curiosity

2010-12-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is an overdue photo of my wife's 5th month of pregnancy. She's almost on her 6th month which means we will know its gender by next week. I'm not sure if I want to know by that time, wait until the 7th month 4D ultrasound or wait until the baby comes out. All I know is I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for me and my family. I hope everyone will have a safe New Year.

On Location Photography by Drew Gardner BTS video

2010-12-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

Drew Gardner Workshop at Bert Stephani HQ Belgium from drew gardner on Vimeo. If you don't know who this guy is yet, then you better drop by his excellent site and blog now! Drew is one of my favorite photographers and was the inspiration for the Mythology shoot I did a month ago. I grabbed this video from his site, which is also available in Bert Stephani's blog, who himself is an excellent

We're Expecting - 4 Months In

2010-11-25T18:34:00.000-08:00

If you know me personally, then you probably already know. This is our first and we're really excited. My wife and I have been married for a couple of years now. This surely made 2010 a great year for us, and I can't imagine what 2011 would bring. My wife asked me the other day for some photos of her and her tummy, so she show it to her boss abroad. She said her boss has been asking her for

Stretch that Shutter

2010-11-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to photograph the beautiful Aly this weekend. She's a co-worker now but was a cheerleader back in college. I asked her to do some gymnast-like jumps for me. She had some reservations, as she was one of those shy-types but after a few shots, she loosened up and started having fun with it. As with my concept shoot a few weeks back, I started planning a few days before the

Weekend Gear Test: Softlighter and Nikon CLS

2010-11-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

This test has been overdue for a loooooong time. I purchased a Photek Softlighter II back in August, and I have been looking to make a review of the product ever since. You see, I haven't really tested it on another person except for myself. I thought of using on my recent shoot, but the bad weather didn't give me the chance. So when my pal Daryl came over the weekend, we took it out, dusted

Shooting with a Concept

2010-11-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

For any shoot I do, may it have a concept or not, I visualize what I will shoot and sketch (terribly) what I see will be the final image. This is sort of my goal lists of the shots I wanted to achieve. I normally sketch around 20-30 shots, hoping to get at least one that would work. I may tweak it a little bit on the actual shoot, depending on the situation, but I'll try to get it as close as

Corporate Profile

2010-10-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

I am really not much of an events photographer. Aside from the occasional birthday/wedding of a close friend or a relative, I normally turn down offer s for events. I guess I just don't have the desire to go running around taking pictures of everyone while the event organizer tells me what to shoot and who to shoot. I like working on my own terms with a little flexibility to choose a

I'm Back - with New Gear in Hand

2010-09-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my travels and brought two things I've been drooling for a few months now. These are not available in Manila, so I'm really excited to try them out. Up above is a Photek Softlighter II, with my YN 460 II inside it. Below is the Rosco Strobist Filter Kit. I'll be doing a review for both items in the next few days. I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. :)

Taking a rest from taking photos...

2010-08-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

(if you're here for photography, better move on to the previous/next post)I took a break from taking photos and had sometime to do my other hobby. Fishing. I have fished in the ocean and in rivers before but never in a lake. And since I was in the land of 10,000 lakes, I figured, I should get some time to try it out. Now, if you know me from college, you'd know that one of my goals in life was

Just walking around...

2010-08-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos from my trip to Minnesota. I'll try to post pictures once a week. I really have to get my sensor cleaned. Softlighter is on it's way. I should be able to do a review while I am here. :)

Back to Basics

2010-08-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

State Capitol, St Paul MN No, I'm not going to go back to point and shoots. I'm currently on travel here in the great state of Minnesota with only limited lighting gear. I was afraid to get hung up with immigration issues and what not. Nevertheless, I had to bring something right? So I brought the following(lighting gear): 1 flash (YN 460II) a Monopod 2 Triggers and 1 receiver (YN04 II) -

Lost People Series: Ifugao

2010-07-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

"Apo" is what they call their elders. This is Apo Tomas, he's the infamous view point Apo and have graced some photography and travel magazines. He's now at least 80 and is partially blind. From my previous post on a trip to Banaue, I realized that the rapid modernization of the world have a negative effect to our indigenous culture. Our future generation would be lucky to see this culture in

Banaue -Land of the Rice Terraces

2010-07-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

They said this was the 8th wonder of the world, so I had to see it at least once (or twice, in this case, more on that later) in my life. About a month ago, I went to banaue with a handful of office mates for a weekend trip to this wonderful place. The photo above is the famous Banaue Rice Terraces in Batad. It's a beautiful, picturesque place and the locals say that these are the most

Winning Branding Photo

2010-07-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned on a previous post, the photo above won a company branding competition held last June. The theme was to represent in pictures the company's branding attributes: Agile, Clear, Human and Optimistic. I submitted 3 entries, with the one above bagging the top prize. Here are the other 2 entries I sent in. One is familiat to long time readers as this was part of my Lemon project

Teaching for a Cause

2010-06-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, I have been gone for a while, I know. The transition from one job to the next is never easy, especially if you have been there for a while. I know I have a lot to catch up on, and I'll try my best to keep posting for the next few days. Moving on, about a month ago I had a shoot for a personal project that involves I admire. He was one of my former employees, who is also an avid (

Things I'll Miss

2010-04-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

Last week was my last in my former office. I've stayed there for about 4 years, and I can say that it was 4 years well spent. Leaving was the hardest thing I've done in recent memory. I think I've made the best of it, learning a lot along the way, as well as helping others develop and grow professionally. I'll miss working there, especially the people I was with. Here are some of the things

Tin's Maternity pics

2010-03-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

My cousin's wife is due in a month, and they wanted to have some photos of her pregnancy before their little girl comes out into the world. I gladly obliged. So we went to Mall of Asia and thought it would be nice to have pictures in the mall(and outside) while the place was still closed, with no people around. We got there at 7am, just to find out that a ton of people go there even under the

Happy 1st Birthday BlueWeedPhoto plus a Studio Fun Shoot

2010-03-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today marks the first year of Blueweedphoto's existence. I couldn't believe that I have been blogging for a year. Yes I know that I haven't really blogged as much as others do, but I am glad I started this, and hopefully I'll blog more than ever this year. Here's some of the favorite things I have done or posted for the last year: The Maggie Wilson shoot A Walk with the Man who Walked Around

one/project day seven: I'm moving on.....

2010-03-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460IIf/4, 1/25, ISO 400Strobist: Flash behind subject around 10 ft away @ full power The final photo of this week long project. I can say that I have learned a lot this week, and had a lot of fun while at it. I'll have another post next week on a post review of this week, including some tips on how I did each photo with diagrams so I can share with you what I've

one/project day six: I'm sure to have a hangover

2010-03-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460IIf/8, 1/320, ISO 200Strobist: Flash above subject to camera left at 1/8th power I wanted to have a different photo for day six. Didn't want to have another "profile" type of shot. I wanted something that's the total opposite of me. So, since I don't drink, I took a shot that shows the total opposite of it. The bottle isn't even alcoholic. I think

one/project day five: eXtraordinary service begins with me

2010-03-05T06:34:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460IIf/2.8, 1/25, ISO 200Strobist: Flash from behind subject with blue gel at 1/4 power; Reflector from the waist level reflecting fluorescent bulb from above This was our motto when I was back in customer service eons ago. I guess I liked it, and it shows that I still kept the free shirt. Anyways, this week has been nothing more than extraordinary. It has been

one/project day four: A Brand New Day

2010-03-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460IIf/22, 1/400, ISO 400Flash from camera right in front of subject @1/2 power Day four comes to you 8 hours after the last one, only because I might be coming home really late tonight and I might miss today's image. This one was from our rooftop. I have been looking to shoot there in the morning, as our side of our "mini village" gets the beautiful daily sunrise.

one/project day three: I am not Alone

2010-03-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460IIf/5.6, 1sec, ISO 400Strobist: Flash at full power to camera right. Today was nice, as I was able to have my wife to volunteer to help me. I guess it was much more fun having her help me shoot. Who says self portraits need to be always done by yourself? This was shot at the rooftop of our condo's clubhouse. It was pretty dark and I had to use a 1 sec exposure

one/project day two: Emotion keeps me Alive

2010-03-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460 II (Click for bigger size)Strobist: Flash at camera left at 1/16 bounced from a partially open silver umbrella 1ft from the subjectFor a visual of the setup please see here Day 2 was a little easier with the power back on, but coming home late didn't help as much. My idea for today, was very reflective of how my day went - it was a long, tiring and very emotional

one/project day one: Blackout

2010-03-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

Nikon D70, f/2.8, 1/10, ISO 200Strobist: Flash behind subject with full cut CTO They say the first steps are the most difficult. That happened to me tonight. Not only was this the first day of my one/project, it also turned out there was a power interruption for the next few hours. Damn! So, even though I had the night planned - from concept to location, it turned out those plans won't be for

one/project: One Reason to get of my A$$

2010-02-28T04:54:00.000-08:00

Update: You can follow the project via:flickr Set flickr stream As I wrote here, this is one of my resolutions for this year. Photo projects squeezes out the creative juices as well as forcing myself to get out and shoot (and then blog it) specially if its a daily one. Here's the first of hopefully many projects for 2010. This is the one/project. This is a project that I will be doing for

BlueweedPhoto featured in Lighting Rumours

2010-02-25T02:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Selbosh for linking to the blog. He featured the "informal" review I made of the Q-Strap from a few months ago. If you don't know yet, he's site is a very nice resource for upcoming products for lighting and strobist related stuff. His links mostly will lead you to ebay (which is not as useful to us in the Philippines, as we can buy these stuff from Quiapo), but it nice to see what

New Year, New Beginnings

2010-01-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Alright I know it's been a a month since the year truned anew, and its been a couple of months since my last post. But better late than...well, later I guess. Here are some photos from the holidays: My lovely niece Bea: My Wife and her sis Lei: Me, with my wife and Mom: Yup, that's me dressed up as Santa : ) My wife after receiving an autographed cd of her favorite singer: I guess the New

A Tip to Better Low Light Photos

2009-11-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

Some might say Taking low light photos are a PITA to do. But for off camera flash users, also called as "strobists", this is one of the most favorable times to take pictures. This is because you have total control over lighting the area. But for other types of photography, low light is really a problem. The problem arises when you try to let as much light into your sensor, either by using a

IMO Review: Q Strap - The Knockoff that's better than the Original

2009-11-05T01:08:00.000-08:00

Most great products nowadays have their counterpart "knockoffs" or for a better term, a cheaper alternative. For every Pocket Wizard there's an alternative Cactus trigger (actually there's prolly a little less than 10 that I can think of). Most of these are made in China, such as the Cactus triggers/flashes, lightstands, umbrellas you name it. Heck, even the original branded photographic

Hello and Goodbye

2009-10-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

My mom visited us in our new condo this last weekend. Haven't seen her for a few months and I was excited to see her. Incidentally, it was her bithday last and we kinda celebrated it by having lunch and eating her favorite (although bad for her, but hey what's not good for you is what you normally crave for) lechon. I told her she can only eat this once a year, and she did make the best of it.

After the Storm

2009-10-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of storm has passed. And although we always get hit by one ever so frequently, this one hit too close to home. I hope everyone is safe and okay. Please pray for those who have been affected and those who may still be tormented by typhoon Parma. Photo above is the view from the back of my new condo. That was farm land before, but was turned into a deep pond last week.