Overjive Shoot Sneak Peek

Here are some proofs that I am not yet dead or missing but just busy juggling my day job, part-time job and other stuff about life. 

A Crowbar and some Bruises

Before the summer ended I went back to the abandoned building at Betty-Go Belmonte station to do another fashion shoot. Better watch out for the crowbar or get hit. 

Graffiti & Demonstrations

I'm having a great week and hopefully it will end that way. Last Sunday we did a shoot at an abandoned building in Betty Go Belmonte and just this evening I took some photos during the Labor Day demonstrations at Mendiola.

Long Overdue: Stef & Carol's Portraits

After a gazillion years of getting stuck I finally managed to get these photos done. Yes!

Moriones in Mindoro

For this year's Holy Week (or People-Trying-To-Be-Holy-For-A-Few-Days as I call it) the family has decided to ditch the usual 5-day staycation and do something that we haven't done for quite some time. We visited Mindoro, dad's hometown and half of my origins.

Sunday Skate Shoot at UP Diliman

Just did a quick shoot last Sunday with the awesome Momma Nikka at UP Diliman. I kind of realize that I suck as a sports photographer and would probably practice that in my later years (or never at all) but for now I'm all for lifestyle, editorial, documentary and street photography.

My 2012 in Images

2012 has been both a good and a bad year for me in terms of photography work. Good because I believe that I have improved at least, acquired new gear, got heaps of books and learned new things. Bad because I wasn't able to shoot that much unlike 2011. 

Now that 2012 is coming to a close I would like to commemorate this one hell of a year by recollecting some of my favorite images that I have taken and the stories behind it.

Of Posts and Plays

Last Sunday I headed out to join a tour around at some of the beautiful but forgotten places here in Manila. The itinerary was pretty long (we are supposed to go to Arroceros Park, Aduana and many more) but because of the inclement weather we just trimmed down the tour into two places. First was the Philippine Post Office or PhilPost and the other one was the Manila Metropolitan Theater both are situated in the Lawton area.

For this shoot I challenged myself not to use my trusty wide angle lens and explore the capabilities of my nifty-fifty. At first it was tough because I am accustomed to shooting the whole scene first rather than focusing on the intimate details specially when it comes to architectural details.

Photography Inspiration: Irving Penn

I just recently discovered the great Irving Penn while I was researching things for a blog post at work. I was actually taken aback after seeing the photograph of the Ballet Society and the image of Lisa Fonssagrives. His images are just so powerful and poetic that it feels like the eyes of the person in his photograph is looking right at your very essence. Most of his photographs are stripped off color and elaborate backgrounds which makes his work so direct and emotionally charged.

The Weekend Gig-Away

While most people I know either spent their 3 day weekend at home pampering themselves or on a trip out of town to escape the chaotic streets of Manila, I on the other hand went to see unsigned bands playing their hearts out offering the restless youth a music that speaks to them. It's awesome to see such dedicated people doing amazing things for music, most specially if you are living here in the Philippines were the mainstream music is mostly comprised of overly covered songs which are not even remotely good and neither it did justice to the original song.

Anyway, time to stop this drama and get this shit down.

Friday: Black Kath Productions' 1st Anniversary at Headstock Bar - My favorite production just celebrated it's first birthday and I wouldn't miss it out specially all the fun and good memories I had every time I attend a Black Kath gig.

Maybe Thursday

Of Lights and Sounds

Sorry for the late upload! I haven't been able to shoot that much since my last post because I have been focusing all my energies at work. 

Sounds

So last October 20, I head out to Autonomy Music Bar for Black Kath Prod gig. I really missed shooting gigs like this one. I was doubtful if I will be able to get great shots since it was my first time in Autonomy Bar, I have no idea how the lights work, space and above all I haven't shot a thing prior to this gig.

Vogue's 120th Anniversary Photo Shoot

Vogue, the most influential and most sought after fashion magazine is going to celebrate its 120th year on September and the best way to celebrate its 120th years is to do a massive photo shoot features some of the most influential people like Florence Welch, Rooney Mara and Jennifer Lawrence to name a few. While the list is filled with A-listers in their respective industries it is inspiring (and pressuring) to know that all of them are all under 45 years old! Norman Jean Roy was the man behind the lens in this editorial shoot who is also a top dog in the fashion industry.

Here are some of the photos:

Raf Simons

Sarah Burton, Christopher Bailey & Stella McCartney

Peter Copping & Erdem Moraliogu

Ricardo Tisci & Rooney Mara

Phoebe Philo

Jennifer Lawrence

You can view all the photos with a detailed description about the people in the photo here.

After seeing all the photographs I was naturally psyched to see the BTS video and Vogue was good enough to post one on their Youtube channel.

So what do you think? I'd love to hear what you guys have to say so hit the comment and let's discuss. (Source: Vogue) Cheers!

Photography Inspiration: Patrick Demarchelier

I have been following Patrick Demarchelier's work since I first saw his photographs in a back issue of Vogue July 2011. I really love his work because the his images are always stunning and clean to the very last detail. After doing my bit of research I was awed to learn that he was able to worked with the great Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as Terry Gilbert while he was building up his career. With a client list that comprises some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, Patrick Demarchelier is one hell of a fashion photographer

Images by Patrick Demarchelier

Winston Baltazar Photography Workshop

I was very lucky to be invited by Sir Winston to attend in one of his photography workshops last Sunday held at his studio in Makati. I arrived in his studio a bit late but I was welcomed by the attendees, we did some exercise before we got started. The workshop is divided into two classes. The first is the morning class which is attended by the newbies who are learning the first ropes of photography  which is the relationship of aperture, shutter and ISO and getting creative, the latter was the "oldies" basically they are done with the basics and learning more about lighting setups while working on their communication skills with the model.

The workshop's topic was shooting a prenuptial shoot and I was very lucky since Sir Winston invited Janice and Michael, a real lovely couple to be the subjects for the shoot. The lights was setup in a particular manner where it will vary depending on the trigger that the person is using while the others can shoot using available light. We took turns on the triggers and it gave us different lighting combinations giving us the opportunity to be creative.

Sir Winston let me try out his 70-200 L lens and I'm really captivated by it!
Now I know what lens I must have in the near future. :)

The whole shoot was comprised of 3 sets in different locations and styling. The last set was the bride wearing a beautiful white wedding gown. Sir Winston added 2 of his continuous lights to the setup adding another equation for the participants to take advantage of.

Keeper shot!

Credits:

HMUA: Maffi San Miguel

Models: Janice and Michael

Location: WinSam Studio Makati

We wrapped up the workshop around 6pm and everyone was happy and judging by their smiles it looks like everyone got the shot that they wanted. I would like to thank Sir Winston again for having me as their guest, I sure did had a lot of fun and learn new stuff that I'll be applying in my future shoots.


Interested in attending one of Sir Winston's workshops? Check this out.

114th Independence Day— A Day Worth of Risk

I risked and therefore I conquered and captured images. These are my 114th Independence Day Collection. All are captured using my 10-22mm on a 500D body and a CD-R King flash/Godox Flash trigger by a Yonguo CTR.

For my 2nd independence day celebration, I have decided to do something I haven't done before. First is photograph people in the street with a speedlight. The second one is to talk to strangers, complete strangers and ask them to pose in front of the camera. In all honesty these are no street portraits. These are still images of the 100% Juan.

All of these images are copyrighted and cannot be used in any means without my permission and the permission of the person in the photograph.

This guy was giving the real owner of the ice cream stand a lesson in posing.

One of my favorite shots during the day.

Wish I had a dog that big too!

Yes even security guards didn't escaped my camera.

I waited for almost 3 hours for the fireworks but its all worth it.

I'm really happy with the results but I think that to be able to create better and more compelling portraits, I need to practice this for 1,000,000.00 times.