DPP's UNLEASHED 4th Anniversary Party

I woke up at 5AM which is not my usual routine. I guess I was as excited as some of the other photographers here because of this event. I have been looking forward to this one since they announced it on the threads... and why not; the best photographers in town are all there so who am I to resist?! I got there at around 7AM when there were not much people because the ones I saw were just the people from DPP. So I decided to get breakfast at Figaro to get espresso shots since I knew it was going to be a long day. I don't want to be resentful not going to Xander Angeles' slot in the evening so I tried my best to prepare for the rest of the day. Ladies from the DPP staff suddenly came in and obviously since that was a coffee shot that I was in, they are probably going to get breakfast. I said to myself "Oh it seems I'm really too early coz these girls are relaxing" and so I thought. After my 2 espresso infused drinks and a chocolate muffin, I saw them rush outside and so I went out to check if there was a line already. Lo and behold at 8AM I saw people across the plant boxes holding 3 lines already. Frantic, I went ahead and got my gear and sat on the same area under the heat of the sweltering sun. The shade from the grown shrubs helped a lot in keeping us aptly cool but I was still perspiring. I hate the thought of not starting the event yet and I was already filthy. Some of the staff cared enough to send water and got us to fill up forms and yes these people were really nice. I could have been first in line but lo and behold I was in the third line bearing number 57.

I planned to go to three classes:

1430-1600 BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS by Pilar Tuason
1700- 1800 THE REAL APPROACH to FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY in the Digital Age by Raymond Isaac
1800 - 1930 EDGE OF LIGHT: Deconstructed by Xander Angeles, Niko Villegas, and Genald Tungol

So I got that encircled on the paper and waited patiently. Yes, it was about two to three hours more before Fully Booked opens at the Fort. I didn't see any of my peers from the photography clubs yet. I spent my time alone texting and bugging them to go there early since they initially planned to be there by 10AM. I'm sure they won't be able to get into any class as I saw the lines grew by the minute. To give you an estimate of the attendees, here's how long the line was (in red):


Yeap, we all had to endure the heat, noise and smell in some cases LOL but if you think about it I was really impressed on how photographers like me kept their cool and EAGERNESS to stay and participate in DPP's day (which later I learned to have numbered 1,800 people!). I listened to some of them who came from as far as Singapore, Bacolod, and Davao who came there just for the event... so who am I to complain when I was just from QC. The staff tried their best to make things better by getting us to prepare stuff ahead of time and get lanyards for the ID's. Mine had a photo on it of John Regala and I was cute too hahah. So after I got all my peers agitated and rush to the venue, they were a little too late since classes were all gone in an hour or maybe less when they opened. I got all of the classes I wanted and went back to the lines to find my club mates. One by one they all arrived but only a few got what classes they wanted. It closed like hotcakes. I'm not surprised since the Best of the Best names in the industry were the ones holding the seminars. I was really happy to get the last class specifically; after all I'm a fashion photographer and I've got to get in to that DECONSTRUCTED class by Xander Angeles, Niko Villegas, and Genald Tungol by hook or by crook.

So I had small chats with my peers from the D60KREW, Digital Katipuneros and the Nocturnals. I met some of my co bloggers too. I was really glad to see them! Some of them I haven't seen for the longest time. I knew it was a good thing to come to this event but seeing these faces again was PRICELESS. You get to catch up on stories, brag about gear (for some of them hehe), compare shots and see their work too. I spent the afternoon doing that and some fun with the D60KREW on the side event we had for our anniversary too. D60KREW does street and we had a challenge of doing 50mm on our kit lenses and produce the best photos we could have. I didn't get to print mine because of time constraints and work but when the bunch had their entries laid out, it was pretty impressive. I had a nice time and lunch with the guys.

It was time to go to my first class so I went back to the venue. My first one was with Ms. Pilar Tuason. I knew she was very good in lighting. This one for portraits was eagerly awaited. The schedules kinda had to wait because landscape Master Jay Jallorina was just finishing his class. I must admit I wasn't into that genre of photography but his tips were great and very technical. It made me a little bit interested (just a little! hehe) but I think I already know what I was up for when I took this hobby. I want to do fashion and portraits.

Pilar Tuason's Child, Maternal, Nude and Beauty Photography

Last year I had a glimpse of what Ms. Pilar Tuason has up her sleeves. She is very good in weddings and child photography bar none. A calling so they say. The shots she got us to look at were superb. I specifically like the one with the dancers spinning around and the bride in the middle. It made me think of some Russian inspired Anastacia like production. It was all good! I got some really good pointers on how to do portraits of this caliber.

First is to be a people person, I know I have that. Apparently when she mentioned this I got to smile the whole time because I passed this criteria (yes I talk too much) and if you think about it I get to manage people because I can entertain them a bit. I am a little weird but I do that a lot so no one can check out I have MENSA capable scores on paper. It is important to handle kids and parents alike so you have to be pleasing at all times to get that perfect shot the first fifteen days when a child is born. I was worried about flashes and kids so I asked a question; and no they don't hold back on lights when they handle kids. I guess I was worried they would go blind or something. Since she assured no one came back to her after a few years complaining their kids were blind I guess it was okay (haha).

Making creative poses for kids was also important. Making that perfect shot means taking the means of being different with other photographers. You can't just leave them flat on the bed and take shots. Everyone can do that at home. So a photographer needs imagination. Make the shot that would be the envy of others so you'll be successful on shooting kids. Ms. Tuason's Mother and child shots were superb. Some just used one light. Some were also just plain ambient. I like the effect a lot. I'm going to try that out one of these days. Hoping some pregnant woman comes along and volunteers for me though. The Motherly nudes were also great. I guess like mountains you sometimes see the female form, pregnant or not to be very regal... even majestic. Not because they are huge that time, but the female form all in all is impeccably pretty. I also like the headshots and face closeups on the beauty shots. We had the same thinking about the armpits being the most difficult to edit out on photoshop. So now I know everyone's having a hard time on that part. Really cool to learn new stuff and confirming things that are normal. The wedding shots for editorials were great too. I would like to do weddings soon but probably when some of my peers and my schedules meet. I think I have to make time for that soon. I got lots of ideas for poses and angled shots on her class. I have to make sure that I could do them within the year where everything is still fresh. I tend to forget them but I'll check out this post from time to time so I wouldn't. =) Thank you for the chance to listen to your talks Ms. Pilar Tuason!


*Around this time we got our group hug shot outside. =)*


Raymund Isaac's Real Deal Fashion Photography

It all made sense to me. I attended workshops from great masters like Winston Baltazar before and when fashion photographer par excellance Raymund Isaac did his stint on DPP it was really making sense to me. All the practical things that should be done by a great fashion photographer were simple. You don't have to have the fanciest gear or accessories to have the best shots in the league. It can be as simple as a card board or car shade for a reflector and a couple of simple directional lights to get that shot you want. It also made the reflections softer as a matter of fact. I really appreciated the small things he mentioned about how photography should be simple enough for everyone to understand. It should also be as easy to implement when on a photoshoot. I often make the mistake of over complicating things when all I wanted was simple shots of a model and her clothes. Thank you for making me realize how important thinking about the shot more. I will also try my best not to use the term BOKEH hahaha! I will use Out Of Focus next time!


Edge of Light DECONSTRUCTED by Xander Angeles, Niko Villegas, and Genald Tungol

How can you go wrong with Xander Angeles?! He's my idol and a second or third demigod from my first one Ely Buendia of Eraserheads but he IS the reason why I want to be better at fashion photography. I thought I was doing remarkable shots before but all that went down the drain when I saw his photos. It was not conventional and everything had a story. Emulate?! Yeah I had a hunch I had to go that path to try and be better in this field but if there was a reason why I had to I wanted it to be Xander Angeles. I almost had a heart attack when I won his XBOOK last year during the DPP Holiday party. The lights mattered in his questions so I kinda got that right. This would sound creepy (yeah I know!) but I had dreams working with him and painting lights and stuffs with foreign models. I'm sure Genald and and Niko are grandmasters too and just to experience how to work with them would be phenomenal. I want to do that soon. They inspired me and my shots this year and I'll continue to try and be better on being different. I guess that spells how you get good at this. Lights mattered a lot on how you get the impact of a photo across the 2 dimensional world of a photo. If you got your message across and had done it excellently then it would be the best thing you could do for your craft. They deconstructed photos, I wish I had their lights to begin with but it might take a while. I'll use simple setups first and see if I can get my shots to look better on print. I know it will take a couple of years but I am having lots of fun. I'll do fashion photography and draw inspiration from what they taught us. Thank you for the chance to get to talk to him too after that class. That made my day!


I stayed for the live judging (and the booze!) so I could take a look at the photos there. I went there with my peers from the Nocturnals. I knew some of them didn't pass the taste of the judges and I kinda knew that right from the time I saw the photos. I was not surprised how they hacked the landscapes and obliterated the train of thought put in on the portraits. The top winners were really deserving. I like their entries but of course I like my entries more (but I never got printed hehe)! All in all I had a nice time at DPP UNLEASHED. I learned, I got inspired, I laughed, I looked weird at some instances and got drunk. Best of all... I was happy. I hope I didn't bore you guys with the story of this very long but great day.

I'll take this bit to thank Sir Nick Tuason, and his boss Ms Pilar Tuason hehe... and to the people who facilitated the event. You did your best and we all got what we wanted, that's what matters!
Congratulations on a very successful event and I will be there on the HOLIDAY party... there is one right?! ^_^

PS
I also got my copies signed by my idol Xander Angeles! He knew right from the time I showed him my shot that I was using a NIKON..I wonder why heheh... This was the best part of it! ^_^





Thank you!

The Freedom of Choice and Family Health

I know this is a very sensitive subject to tackle and in all places I live in a country so conservative they would not even want to talk about it. In my opinion tackling the topic of family health should be a choice. I am not married but pretty soon I will be. In this day and age where I am still living with my folks; I am used to helping them out with bills and expenses at home. I think it was instilled in all of us to take care of the ones you love even at a young age. This is also the same with our culture and you wouldn't be able to separate yourself from it unless you grew up in a different country and way of life. The US has very high regards with health and if a person chooses to go to abortion clinics new york they would not be stopped by the government. They have the freedom to choose which particular way they would want to plan for their families or take care of them selves. There are about a few hundred women dying every day because of fatalities concerning teen pregnancies and they often do not know what to do with their conditions. I hope it changes with proper information and education.

Health is tantamount to the success of a civilization and if there was a way for everyone to choose the proper way of planning their family and lives then it should be decided by the same ones who hold it. If I had my way I will vote for the freedom and right to choose. The freedom of choice has been fought hard by our forefathers and I wouldn't want to be the one who would start restricting other people for what they believe in. I am PRO life don't get me wrong; but I am also PRO choice. What is your point of view on this matter?! Let me know!

Between Iron Man and Mortal Kombat

Here I go back again to my habits of playing out of the blue. I held my psp in the middle of the week and downloaded some new games. It was Iron Man 2 and the ever favorite fighting game Mortal Kombat. Let me start by telling you a little about how the Iron Man 2 game works.

Iron Man 2 is actually based from the movie of the same title. In this particular game Tony Stark definitely resembles his movie actor and gets all the humor in between. The graphics are nice however it would have been more easier if they all started doing something about the flying capability. It wasn't that nice if he could only do it on 2 floors right? The repulsor blaster also had its pros and cons but it did the job every now and then. I never got through finding how he would actually die in the game because the life indicator was complicated and never really shown the health of Iron Man. You can also choose what armor to have after the second part. Although it would be a pain not to use the main character because you have upgraded it after all. All the upgrades would be done right after a chapter. The story flow would actually lose you in translation because if you are lost in the map it would be doubly hard for you to find your way back into the story. Yes there are clues but an arrow would have been very right to do. All in all the game is a 2 out of 5 kumags but I'll still play it!

The Mortal Kombat version for the PSP is called Unchained. No its not melody because of all the things that will be included, the gore and blood is still going to be evident. It's the violent falls and deaths they do to themselves on some instances via hara kiri that is quite entertaining. If you are a bub like me who love gore and violence you wouldn't be disappointed because it is the only thing it can offer. Controls are shown but how can you do that with fat fingers like I have on a combo. I can press em but the response time in a PSP console was not really being given a chance. I wish there was some way to make it all better. I love fighting games and I hope there are new titles to play like Marvel vs Capcom and the titles after that. I love the video they released of it though because the guy from Devil May Cry is on it. I'm excited!

Mortal Kombat will get the same rating as with Iron Man because pretty soon I'll be bored with it so 2 out of 5 kumags will do.

In the meantime watch this.

A Clearer and Better View

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of faceVsion Technology USA. All opinions are 100% mine.

It has been doubly hard lately to talk to my brother in Ireland and it has proven to be a pain in the wallet when our phone bills arrived. I wouldn't be able to recuperate a couple of hundred dollars if it's just for utilities like this one. I suggested we use SKYPE instead so we can call each other anytime of the day for free. The problem is that I get horrible video streaming from it and I couldn't do anything about it. I was so dependent on the software that we just rubbed it off when we experience skipping videos or on some instances only the audio works. In this day and age we shouldn't stay on a difficult situation even if it is for free. Services like these should already be flawless. I chanced upon the faceVision on line store and tried out what I could use at home. I was at awe with what I could do with the gadgets they have available.

True enough faceVsion made me realize that there is hope after all. I can probably use one or more of their HD cameras for communication and it would relatively cost me a lot less considering the suffering we have been experiencing with just plain old SKYPE. The FV touchcam N1 looks very promising and if my hunch is correct I can get my relatives in the US buy one for me and my brother so we wouldn't have to spend that much.

I know how hard times are in Europe and since the dollar is performing better now I would be better off asking some of them for gifts. Our birthday is coming anyway! It has been a couple of years too since we met and they could benefit a lot with it too. I can call them the same way I'd do with my brother with SKYPE OUT for a few bucks. The FV ExpressCombo also is very attractive and I'm sure one of us will probably get that soon. I wouldn't blame them if they choose to get more because after all we all need to talk these days. I know some of them are coming home for a vacation and it would be easier to arrange everything with this technology right? Thank the heavens for VOIP and Internet technology!