April & Nelson: A Wedding Documentary

View slideshow here.
More photos here.

April and Nelson had a wonderful wedding. And I was honored to document their most special event.

This was no ordinary event, not only because its a very special union between April and Nelson, but also this was the first time I'll be documenting a wedding unconventionally - - as a bystander.

More photos and full story after the jump.



________________________________



I wanted to give April and Nelson moments that their hired photography will not be able to get. You see, a wedding photographer has so many things to do during the event. From knowing the program and coordinating with the organizers to get all the "important" shots to editing on site and preparing the on site presentation. Unless they have 6 or more people to handle the whole group, the photographer would miss a lot of moments that a couple would like to remember of their wedding. Plus knowing the couple, I know when and where to take their photos to convey a story that the couple would surely smile and be fond of. Here's some of the shots.

The bridesmaids (notice how almost all of them were taller than the men!):





A very anxious groom...
The kids:

The bride...


Some random shots...

Finally some shots of the couple....



I hope the couple is having a great honeymoon in Palawan.

Weekend Funshoot with Kristen

Special Thanks to fellow photog Daryl Guangco for his assistance and providing our beautiful model

Kirsten's Flare

Had a chance to shoot a friend of a friend from Cagayan De Oro last weekend. Kirsten was kind as she was pretty. All photos shot at Enchanted Kingdom.
Full story and more photos after the jump

We didn't really had any idea of where to take her for the shoot. It seem's everywhere we thought of was either full of people(like Serendra and La Mesa Eco park)or does not allow professional shoots without permits (Intramuros, Baluarte de San Diego - shame on you). So we thought of the only place that allowed anything - for a small fee but further than most of our regular locations.

The challenge now was getting shots creative enough while avoiding other people and the rides in the shot. We started out with close-ups since that was the easiest, then walked around to see other prospective places.

It was nice looking for spots and we got a chance to play around(and practice) with light. The shot below was lit by two strobes, one infront and left of Kirsten and the other directly behind her pointed to the wall to give the background some texture.


This shot was lit by 2 strobes. One to Kirsten's right and infront, while the other lit's her background behind her. I intentionally showed the strobe behind her (that little black thing)so you could see the effect.


Finally this last shot was lit using the same technique on the first photo. 2 strobes: 1 to her left and in front and the other behind her and pointing at her(the first photo above had the strobe behind her pointing to the camera, obviously), This gives a different feel and effect to a normal looking environment.


All of these were thought of and planned lighting/photos. I have already visualized the shots I'll be making the day before. Only challenge was the location and the environment itself.

More to come in the next few days, including a shoot in the park and a "documentary" shoot of a wedding.

Tax Season's a Beach

__


Tax season is probably the worst time of the year and most of you will agree. I've been so busy lately that's why I haven't been blogging for a while now. I just had a shoot a couple of weekends before, and I'll be blogging about that soon.

For the meantime, I'll be giving some links of some of the best sites for photographers and people who just love to take great pictures.

Read more after the jump.

So here's the list:
Flickr - for all your photo storage needs. 99% of the photos you see here is from my flickr account.
Strobist - David Hobby's home. This site teaches you how to light. It's the light, not the lens.
Lightingmods - this site gives out excellent tips and tricks for all you photographers out there as well as do it yourself tutorials to save budget for a gadget you need. Need a ringlight for less than $10? Here is where you need to go.
Zack Arias - Mr Onelight himself. Gives out tutorials and a nice read for tips.
DIYphotography - as the name states, all the DIY youwould need.
Now for some local sites:
TipidPC - where you well get bargain prices and good cheap finds for all your camera and computer needs. 95% of my gear was somehow acquired from tipidpc. Another reason why you shouldn't be overpaying for photography services.
PiPho and DPP- what a better place to start your photography experience but with a great set of people teaching you how to take great photos? The first one lets you speak (or type) in Filipino (as well as trade/sell stuff) while the other one is an all english site (and no selling/trading).
That's it for now. Happy shooting!

Promo: Prenup/Engagement/Couples Package

___

Update: April 4-5 Weekend is booked. I will not be available on April 11-12 (Holyweek)
I am currently expanding my portfolio and I'm looking to have photos of couples outdoors. It can be used either for your pre-nup/engagement pictorial or just to have some professional quality photos for you and your love one.
Rates and freebies after the jump.

Let me give you a rundown of the services that will be provided:

Pre-nup/engagement/couples pictorial using pro DSLR camera and creative lighting
Unlimited shots saved on CD
Free 8x10 print on framed canvass (add Php 500 to upgrade 12x18)

This will also work for individuals who would like to have creative solo outdoor shoots. Photo Session would last for about 3-4 hrs.


All in for Php 2,500*. Promo runs for April and May. The earlier you sched, the better. Hope to hear from you soon!!


Contact me 09285067328, or click here for more contact details.
*Amount stated does not include any out of town transportation fees

Events: A Walk for Peace with Jean Beliveau

(

Had a chance last Sunday to join Jean Beliveau continue his mission of walking around the world for peace. This was his only stop to Manila, Philippines in his 11 year journey around the world.

More photos and his amazing journey after the jump.










Jean has been walking for the last nine years for the benefit of children's charities and foundations. You can read more about his mission here.

In his stop to Manila, his efforts will benefit the Virlanie Foundation. I joined my wife's company in joining this event. I wish my company has the same kinds of activities.

Jean has walked from Canada 9 years ago and has not gone back on his mission to walk around the world. He is probably in Malaysia now, walking the streets. I hope he has a safe trip and I can't wait to see him get back to Canada. Hats off to this guy.





We walked from the historical Rizal Park up to the CCP grounds. We saw a number of famous people, such as Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Leo, who was the first filipino ever to got to the summit of Mt. Everest. I even had the chance to carry one of the Walk for Peace Flags.


My wife posing with Jean and myself with Mayor Lim. One of the advantages of arriving early...




Also check out http://www.wwwalk.org/ and http://www.virlanie.org/

Gallery Page is up!

edit: I changed the title and the portfolio link to "Gallery". I think this sounds better.

The Gallery Page is Up! Finally! Well its not yet completely done, it's a work in progress. Feel free to click on the link at the left side of this blog to view it.

Enjoy!!!

Still Life: Wolverine Xmen Origins

With the recent previews for the Wolverine X-men Origins movie, I was inspired to do a shoot of my favourite Xmen character of all time.

More after the jump.

















I didn't have any action figures from any of the movies so I used the one I had with him in yellow spandex. I like this one better anyway

How to Navigate the Site

I've been asked a couple of times about thow the site goes. It's still a work in progress but I think I'm coming along fine. I have added some neat links at the right side of the site to help people go to musch more specific pages that they need. I have also updated the site for a much better reading experience.

More after the jump


So first things first: the right side of the site. This is where all the shortcut lists to previous posts are located. At the very top is the help links. This is where you can find the introduction of the site, rates, how to navigate the site (this web page you're reading right now) contact information, portfolio page (will be up soon) and other things that I may see fit in the future. Clicking on any of the links will forward you to the specific page that you are looking for.

Right below it are drop down boxes that represent my previous posts by topic ( more on this later). This will help you read posts that are specific of the type of photography that you are looking for. This is very helpful if you are looking for sample photos of assignments that I have completed, or recent projects that I have posted. If you don't want to read the posts, better click on the portfolio link above it to view photos by type of photography (as of 3/15 it's still down, for now, please bear with me by just reading the posts. tnx). Current drop downs are Portraits ( meaning people photography) and Travel (photos I have taken during my recent travels). Up soon will be Product Photography, Events, and a Photography tips page for all you photographer's out there.

This is followed by my blog Archive, which is basically the same as above, only categorized by month/year.

Next is the profile page, which is still not updated, because I'm lazy : ).

Lastly are links to a list of my favourite sites. For now only Strobists (has to be the best blog site in the history of photography and lighting) is there, but I will update this as soon as I can.

Some other Features of the site:

1. Home page Posts are cut short: Posts are cut short in the home page so you can see more blogs. You can read the full post by either clicking the title or the Read More at the bottom part of a particular posts

2. Photos are clickable to view larger copy: This makes the web page load faster for you to read. If you want to see a photo up close, just click on it to get a better view.

For now that's it but I will be adding more features to this part of the site, as we go along.

Portraits: Beauty Queen Maggie Wilson

()



I had the chance to take some shots of beauty queen Maggie Wilson a few weeks ago during the13th Annual Balloon festival a few weeks ago,. which I blogged about here. She was having a shoot with another photographer and from the looks of it, was for a fashion or glamour piece.
More of this story (and photos) after the jump.
___

Maggie is this month's cover for FHM Philippines which you can find here.
It was 2pm and the blazing sun was burning my forehead. The balloons were replaced by kites as the heat of the sun could damage the balloons. Nothing really interesting, except for an exhibit from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, showcasing their guns, tanks, jets, missiles etc. I turned the corner outside teh exhibit building to check out the old military jeeps on exhibit when I saw Maggie sitting on top of one of the jeeps! Wow what a bonus. All of a sudden the sun wasn't a problem and I couldn't care less for my now sun burnt forehead. This was a chance that I wouldn't give up. She was nice enough to give me and some other photographers a few poses even if we were not really her actual photographer. She was very beautiful and a really good model too.


Some of the marines joined the action. A few good (and lucky) men indeed.

These are best seen larger. Click on the photos above to get a better view. This set is also part of my portfolio which hopefully will be up soon.

Update: for some reason, the pics above could not be clicked to enlarge. Sorry for that. You will still be able to see this set once the portfolio is up. Thanks.

Contact Me

If you would like to contact me, please drop a comment on any of the posts, or shoot me an email at reybugiaphotography@gmail.com.

If you would like to actually hear my oh so lovely voice, then give me a call at (632) 9285067328.

Hope to hear from you soon.