Winning Branding Photo

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:

The prize was an Ipod and the winning photo will be printed, framed and will grace the walls of the company's office.  Not bad, considering it will be right beside award winning photos from the company's photographers. :) I was hoping the print will be mounted by the time I post this (hence the delay) so I could include pictures of it, but unfortunately, that won't be until the new office in Taguig gets designed.  I'll post pictures when it's up.

Teaching for a Cause

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 (and very good at it, I'd say) fencing player.  He's been out of competition since his college days, but this did not stop him from enjoying the sport he loves.  He's currently training kids in their area the sport, as well as establishing a team for competition here and abroad. Too, bad I don't have a photo of him, but at least I have some of his team. He has worked really hard, getting these kids trained, getting sponsors, as well as getting the kids into school through scholarships.

His efforts has been fruitful, as a number of his students recently placed third in an international fencing tournament held in Manila.  I thought I'd give them some nice portraits as my tribute to their efforts.

The top most photo recently won a branding contest (more on this soon), and that just made me thought that this needs to be posted soon.  I'm glad I did this project and glad that we had fun at it. 

Things I'll Miss

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 I'll miss.

Ayala Avenue

This is where I worked since I started my professional career.  It seems like forever.  I'll miss the "Taho" breakfasts and the Jollijeep lunch breaks.

My team

I will miss the fun and the not so fun times we had.  I wish everyone success and more happy times together.

Daddy and the Boys

I'll miss the lunch breaks, the "yosi" breaks, and the people who suddenly disappear only to find out they are sleeping.

The Management Team

The management team is probably one of the few reasons I have stayed for 4 years.  I loved working with them and I think we were a unique group who support each other through everything. I wish that we will have the chance to work again with all of them.

So were am I going? I wish I could say I'll be going professional (photographer), but that won't really make any financial sense.  That is still my ultimate goal. On second thought, my ultimate goal is to be my own boss, whatever that may be.  I am still chasing that dream, and I hope where I am going will be a step to the right path.

Until then.... I'll see yah!!

Tin's Maternity pics

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 torching heat of the sun.  Alls well, as we made the most of it by taking photos under the shade.  Here are some more:

Happy 1st Birthday BlueWeedPhoto plus a Studio Fun Shoot

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 The World
• A Friend's Lovely Wedding
• Revisiting the Point and Shoot
• Renting Gear
• Getting to be a Finalist at a Strobist Competition here and here
• Surviving the storm
• The Gear Review that got Featured
• And of course, a project using one lens, one strobe in one week

In general it was a fun year, and how would you celebrate a year like that? With a Studio Fun Shoot, that's how! Me and pal Daryl, went out last sunday and had some fun in a the Indios Bravos Studio. Here are some photos:

Models: Michelle and Princess
MUA: Jay M. Garcia
Location: Indios Bravos Studios

I have only been done with editing half of what I have taken.  I'll post some more when I have some more time.  It was really fun, but I'm not so sure about studio strobes vs my small flashes.  I think I like the portability of my flashes more than the power (and its a lot) of studio strobes.  I'll probably post a comparison in the near future.

Thanks to Everyone who have read this blog.  Hope you have learned something for your photography, and hopefully you have as much fun as I have had this last year.  :)

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

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460II

f/4, 1/25, ISO 400

Strobist: 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 learned. For now, I'm moving on......

Update: Links to each day's posts

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7


Follow the one/project flickr set here
Follow me on flickr here

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

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460II

f/8, 1/320, ISO 200

Strobist: 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 tomorrow's image will be great.  One more day.

Update: Links to each day's posts

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Follow the project on flickr here

View my flickr stream here

one/project day five: eXtraordinary service begins with me

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460II

f/2.8, 1/25, ISO 200

Strobist: 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 really fun doing this each day.  I still can't get over the look people give when they see me shooting myself in weird places.

The lighting technique for today is the total opposite of day four. Day four was Flash as my main light with the sun (available light) as my kicker. Today, I used the flash as my kicker and available light (fluorescent bulb reflected to a gold round reflector) as my main light.  I haven't done this kind of technique before and it was nice trying it out.  Hope you like it.

At the end of this 7 day project I'll be posting some observations and the things I learned. I can say that right now, my confidence is growing, and I can feel like I can shoot total strangers without any problem.

Update: Links to each day's posts

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

one/project day four: A Brand New Day

Nikon D70, 50mm 1.8, Yongnuo 460II

f/22, 1/400, ISO 400

Flash 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.

So far the project hasn't been really hard, as I keep on getting crazy ideas for each day.  I may not make them all in this project, but I'll surely have them for the next project.

I kinda cheated on this one as I used "two" light sources, flash in front, sun from the back.  Hope you like it.

Update: Links to each day's posts

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7


View the project flickr set
View my flickr stream