Craving for Irish Breakfast!

Friday, July 16, 2010

I miss the things I used to eat when my brother was here preparing my favorite Irish breakfast. I love those slightly fried potatoes that are pre boiled and those oh scrumptious sausages. I wonder how my Mum would be able to recreate this simple meal for me on occasions that I crave for it. I have to go there late this year so I could see the sights and drop by those pubs I frequent before. I have to also do landscapes and I'm sure those green hills and cliffs won't disappoint me. My brother will be coming home too. As soon as he gets his chef hat parked on our door I'll force him to make one for me! Or else! Ha-ha!

A variety of side dishes are on my mind right now like cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. I bet it will work greatly with tea and a spritz of milk. I won't hold back on chutney or jam made from apricots and heaping slices of butter on hot toast. I really wonder where that famine went when Ireland is so full of these. I'll prepare a big amount so I can fix that vacation soon. He invited me anyway so I'm gonna be really gunning for that! When can I start wearing my tap shoes so I can do it with those dancers that fire up on riverdance! ^_^ I'm sure it'll be a blast!

It's a Man's meal!









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Party Preparations Start Now!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010


I know how to throw parties and as a matter of fact I have hosted a lot of them over the year. The pain of preparing for something out of the ordinary is the one that makes or breaks it. If there are some instances of craziness you can always say it is excusable. I love the part where we often dress up in costumes. I throw that twice a year either on Halloween or another holiday I can think of. Everyone complies too and it would not be such a phenomenon to see someone in Scooby Doo Costumes or Shaggy for that matter. I also put in some mystery games when I do it in large houses. It makes the event extra special!

I would not stop my friends from coming over, get drunk or dress up whatever they want just as long as they have fun. I don't let the drivers drink of course! Believe me I have actually hooked up a lot of friends in parties that I host and I'm not in the mood to stop now. I have one next month and preparations start as early as now. Do you know how I can integrate Toga's in the next one? I need a lot of white sheets too so its going to cost me a lot. If I am lucky I can get my former classmates to join in too. It has been twenty years since we met so if that isn't reason enough to get this party started; I just don't know what else is! It is also going to be extra special because of the costumes! Let's get this party started!




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KUMAGCOW's Blogging Tools

Monday, July 12, 2010


I know a bunch of my friends ask me the same question; on what particular tools I use for blogging. It's pretty simple and I don't have that much weird content on my site. If I had something weird posted you probably caught me on a bad day ha-ha! I'll share some of the things I used to stay in this on line doppelganger since 2006. I hope you don't mind...

Publishing: Blogger

I have been using Blogger for the longest time. I find it very user friendly and simple. It's all good too that it works with Google and I don't have to worry about hosting and it does the payment automatically too so I don't have to go through all the fuzz about renewals. It made renaming my site a cinch. There are also thousands of templates to choose from on the Internet. It takes a lot of time organizing how you get the site to look like and they made it easy for me. I don't have anything bad to say about Wordpress or Typepad so don't badmouth Blogger ok? Hehehe..

Photography: Nikon D60, 70-300 Sigma Telephoto Lens, 35mm Nikkor Prime Lens, 18-55 Nikkor Kit Lens, Nokia Phones, Blackberry Curve 8320

I use the DSLR cam mostly for fashion shoots and food photography. For the quick unannounced trips to restaurants and what not the common cellphone cameras does the job. Daylight provides ample amount of lighting. Updates in Twitter gets most of my Blackberry shots and even with measly megapixels it works. I don't steal images; and I have them linked on original URL's if I need some for reference. I'm a photographer so I know how it feels to use someone's photos without their permission. I should get a carved bust soon, this is getting me heroic!

Videos: Flip Ultra 120 Minutes


I won tons of prizes from Olay to say the least with Ms. Daphne Osena's site. I guess I am lucky. Though just this last week, I volunteered to have my Flip Cam be taken to the UN General Assembly as my Aunt was speaking on Civil Society Hearings. To make the story short, the glass lens cracked in transit rendering my Flip on retirement mode unless there are some people who want to be shot with cracks on their faces. Hence the need for a NEW ONE to continue this streak of luck this year. You must be blind by now if you haven't noticed I'm giving you a hint! LOL!

Subscription: Globe

I have been with Globe since Day 1 of my mobile phone usage. I had never changed numbers up until this year when I got into post paid. Not really a fan of the other one (no offense) but I had so much unscrupulously charged things on my account which were never returned, Globe provided me better service and that made a huge difference. I also use their service to post blog entries even if there are no Blogger blackberry applications. I use the browser straight away and had no glitches even on WIFI. I love my phone until now because of this!

Laptop: ASUS X80N


With large tasks on gaming and editing I needed a laptop computer that would be able to perform above and beyond normal ones hence this one. I needed to test out several games and download others for my PSP. Photo and video editing was also a chore so I do that every now and then. If I don't get a new one in the near future, I'd stick with this one since it is doing what I need as of now. Anything smaller than its screen and I'd be squinting. I wouldn't want netbooks because it won't do on editing. If there's a free one I'd be happy but it won't get my laptop replaced. I'm taking it hostage!



Software: Adobe Photoshop, Premier and Lightroom 2.3 Flipshare

All my watermarks are made via Photoshop no matter how simple it is.Color Management is done via Lightroom. Premier handles the videos and effects. Flipshare does the cutting and editing before I do render them back in Premier. Nothing complicated for my level but hey I'm a Computer Engineer and I had to do videography and photography altogether. If I had something simpler that would not deteriorate quality of images then that would be better, but not now since the Adobe stuff are doing good! I won photography contests and had them printed already; so go figure! I also use a lot of image hosting sites like Flickr, Photobucket, imageshack and Imageboo. Flickr does the best in showing images since it does not deteriorate compared to the original file.

Enjoy what you are doing

You won't survive years of blogging if you don't enjoy and love what you are doing. It's hard to write everyday. It's hard to please everyone. If you love what you are doing then you can be contented with what you publish in your blog. It's your blog after all!

I just got you to take a look at how I do things in this side of the globe so if you (in some stroke of luck) would want to get into this hobby too; you know what to do and when to use it alright?!

Go get your writing itches and do the deed, go get your blog out for the world to see!

Here to help!


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DPP's UNLEASHED 4th Anniversary Party

Sunday, July 04, 2010




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!






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