In my control

Having difficulties of sleeping from 12 hours of work. And that 12 hours became 19 hours of no sleep because until now i'm still awake!!!! I don't think it's because of cup of coffee i had this morning. The effect of it won't take that long. I even never had a minute of sleep at work, not this time that our chief nurse is always reminding us of the possibly surprise visit from our head nurse in the wee hours of the morning. And i don't want to take any other upshot for that.

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I got the chance to chat with an old good friend of mine back in my high school/college days. It's quite good enough to have a chance to talk to your old friends, isn't it? Thanks to our modern technology.

Time to brrrrrrr

Brrrrrr is here. At talaga namang super lamig. Tagos hanggang buto. Sabi ko naman sa lahat ng pinakaayaw kong panahon e panahon ng taglamig. Pero wala akong magagawa dahil nandito ako sa bansang halos kalahati ng taon e malamig ang panahon. But i can say we did have a good fall. Dahil noong nakaraang October napakaganda ng panahon. Ito yung time na nagsisimula ng mag-brown ang mga dahon at naglalaglagan na kung iisipin mo parang(?) namamatay na yung mga halaman. At hindi gaanong kalamigan compare sa mga nagdaang taon na September pa lang naka-winter jacket ka ng talaga. But this year, tamang-tamang sabihin talaga na fall pa lang.
Anyway that was month ago. And now is the time to get your thick jackets and coats from your cabinet. Lahat ng makakapal ilabas na. Last week came the first snow fall. Hindi naman masyadong makapal dito sa City pero tumagal din ang pagbuhos almost the whole day.







This coming Sunday is the first advent. Yehey lapit na talaga ang pasko! Advent came from Latin word adventus, meaning coming. This is the period of preparation for the celebration of Nativity of Jesus. Or in other words the period immediately before Christmas. Dito sa Europa, ito ang simula ng kanilang christmas decorations na inuumpisahan nating mga Pilipino pagpasok pa lang ng buwan na may ber sa dulo (September, October, November....) Nandyan na din ang tinatawag nilang Christkindl Markt (Christmas market). Ito yung mga maliliit ng kubol na tinatayo, bilihan ng mga kung anu-ano, lalung-lalo na ang mga things pang-pasko. Sa madaling salita tyangge sa pasko. And they are open until 10pm, which is unusual here dahil ang mga shops dito impunto alas syete ng gabi nagsasara na. Pinakamatagal na ang 8pm once a week. Kaloka di ba.

My natal day

My birthday celebration was just simple but i had fun with my closest friends and family around. I don't actually celebrate my birthday with all that party stuff but this time (last year was a surprised party) i don't know what came into my mind to invite few of my closest friends into my place to have a simple dinner and "inuman" ( hindi ito nawawala....i guess). With all the kwentuha and bidahan, we finished off at five o'clock in the morning! I don't drink that much, a little sip of that and a little sip of this lang. But because it was my birthday i have to drink with them. It was my first time to taste a whisky, i usually drink the more sweetened one like eristoff and the likes. Hindi naman pala ganun kasama ang lasa, with coke as a chaser "LOL". The day after was a disaster, i woke up at four p.m. with a headache. That's why i hate to drink too much. I hate the after effect. The following are snapshots of my birthday celebration.

My gift

At last, my wish just came true. A brand new camera. And it came before my birthday. At first, medyo napamahal dahil out of stock na ang body lang. They only have the camera with kit lens. Hindi daw pwedeng tanggalin ang lens dahil nakapack sila as one. And as the saleslady told me maybe 5d will soon be phased out by Canon because the new 5d mark II is already out in the market. But as of now wala pa daw nito dito. Hindi ko kelangan ng kit lens ng 5d dahil meron na akong ganung klase ng lens. Buti na lang save by the bell ako ng isa naming friend who happenend na kabibili lang din ng 24-105 na lens. And thank you na din sa consumer's right na pwedeng ibalik ang binili mo within 14 days kung hindi mo gusto, be sure na naka-pack pa ito at may kasamang receipt. I talked to the store na pinagbilhan nya and i told them i was the one who bought it at ayaw ko na sa lens na yun. Sa madaling salita they gave back the money at yung kit lens na kasama ng camera ko ang binigay ko sa friend ko. Ayun, solved ang problema ko. I saved little money (compared sa price ng body only) for the camera because i deducted the amount of the lens bought to me by my friend and he also saved money for the lens because i gave him the price which is lower than the market's price. I was excited like a kid when i got home. Isa na lang ang wish ko, and sana before christmas meron na din ako. A new lens. I would like to share some pictures of what i've got and some pictures of my friends i took from my new baby :D

Studio Photoshoot.....the return

Got the chance again to shoot in a studio after a long time. This time a photog friend of mine put up his own studio. A big and comfy one. All i have to do is to bring him models. And it happens a co-worker of mine asked me to take pictures of her and her friend who is a Persian. And me, as a hobbyist always excites to do it, give them a shot. My friend's studio is just a few walks away from where i lived, so it's actually very comfy for me. Here are my shots of Victoria, my co-worker and her friend Maryam.

Scrapbook

I remember when i was in high school i love doing scrapbooks. And i remember i can't even afford to buy then a scrapbook from bookstore, that's why i just made an alternative one. I bought a cheap drawing book with white plain pages and from there i started to make my own scrapbook. I pasted everything there that were memorable to me. From tissues to chocolate and gift wrappers to love letters "lol!". And pictures of course. At marami na din akong nagupit na magazines ng lola ko. I just stop doing it when i went into college. Lack of time, maybe. And now i am again into scrapping but now digitally. Hindi na ako mag-gugupit ng mga magazines to put as designs in my scrapbook. With a help of scrapbook software i found in the internet (there are lots free out there) and of course with photoshop. Pagpasensyahan na lang itong first try ko :$




~°~
Ten days to go and it's my birthday...hmmmm another year of good and healthy life. Thank you God!

Tid Bits

Wow! I have only realized i am blogging already for more than a year. That means more than a year of writing nonsense here....hehehe. Whatever you call it, i just merely satisfied of what i'm doing. You can think it nonsense?....who cares! i just simply love doing it. So, many years more of blogging :)

~°~
I am now hooked on finishing the season I of Heroes. I know i'm more than late of watching this series. A colleague of mine has complete seasons and he was kind enough to burn me copies of it, (opppsss infringement ba ito? shhh....) the third season is not yet finish. i like the character of Hiro, the japanese. He's so funny. Para syang laging natatae when he's using his power. I am opting to finish the first two seasons para makahabol ako. I'm amaze about the writer of this series, how he make it so perplex and originative one. I guess he is brilliant!

Taking better pictures?...read this!

Everyone has cherished photographs of the important people, places, and times in their lives. Then there are the ones that you thought would look great - but just didn’t work out.

How can you get more cherished photographs and less of those that just aren’t very interesting?

No matter what type of camera you use. From the simplest point and shoot to the most sophisticated 35MM single lens reflex, following three simple rules will help you to improve your photography.

1) Know the theme or subject of your photograph.

2) Focus attention on your theme or subject.

3) Simplify your photograph.

Let’s go into each step a little further...

KNOW YOUR SUBJECT OR THEME:

Is the subject of your photograph your Mom? Or the Glorriette in Schönbrunn? Or the majesty of nature? Whatever you subject or theme, make sure you have an idea of what is is as you look through the viewfinder. Which leads us to our next step.

FOCUS ATTENTION ON YOUR SUBJECT OR THEME

Just because your Mom is in the viewfinder, that doesn’t mean that your eyes will be drawn to her when you look at the print. Too many times folks create photos with distracting elements that pull the focus from your intended subject. What can you do to create focus on your subject? Here are a few techniques:

1) Placement. You may have heard of the “rule of thirds”. This is simply dividing your frame into thirds and placing your subject on one of these imaginary divisions. Thus your subject will be slightly off center. This makes for a more interesting photograph, one that will help “pull focus” onto your subject.



2) Relative size. This is simple. Make sure that the subject you want to focus on is large in the frame relative to other elements in the picture. Fill the frame with your subject!

3) Framing. This is a very versatile technique, there are many ways to “frame” your subject. For instance, you could frame your Mom sitting on her front porch. Frame her either by the vertical porch posts, or the horizontal porch railing, or both. There are many ways you can frame a subject. When photographing a distant scene, such as an expansive landscape scene, try framing the subject with a nearby object. A tree or fence line (framing along the bottom) works well for this. You’ll frame the subject and help to enhance the sense of distance. If your camera has a zoom lens a wide angle will aid in creating a longer depth of field for distance shots with nearby framing elements. Also, if you can control the aperture on your camera, using a higher f-stop (smaller aperture) will also help create a longer depth of field. (More on how to use depth of field below)

4) Lighting. You can use selective lighting to help create emphasis on your subject. For example, you can compose your photograph so that your intended subject is lit while other elements of the picture are in the shadows.

5) Converging lines. An example could be your Mom walking down a path in the distance. The sides of the path appear to converge in the distance, creating the emphasis on your Mom. If you camera has a zoom lens, use of a wide angle helps to exaggerate this effect.

6) Selective focus. This is another use of depth of field. Instead of using depth of field to give a sense of distance in relative sharp focus (shorter focal length and/or small aperture), you can use a shallow depth of field to create a selective focus on your subject. Your subject is in sharp focus, while surrounding elements in the picture are out of focus. If you have a camera with a zoom lens use a longer focal length (zoom in). If you don’t have a zoom lens, move in close to you subject if you can. If you have aperture control with your camera, use a larger aperture (or lower f-stop) to create a shallow depth of field. Using these techniques, focus on you subject and surrounding elements will be out focus, thereby creating a selective focus with emphasis on your subject.

Depth of Field tips:

1) The longer the focal length of your lens (i.e. “zooming in close), equals less depth of field. (see number 6 above)

2) The shorter the focal length of your lens (i.e. “zooming out”), equals greater depth of field. (see number 3 above)

3) The smaller the aperture setting (higher f-stop setting), the greater the depth of field.

4) The larger the aperture setting (lower f-stop setting), the smaller the depth of field.

5) At any aperture setting, there is about twice the depth of field behind the point of focus as in front of it.

Let’s not forget our third rule for better photography...

SIMPLIFY!

You’ve decided what the subject or theme of your picture is, and you’ve used one or several techniques to help emphasize that subject or theme in your frame. Now you need to look in your viewfinder and notice what elements you see that are not crucial. You have your Mom nicely framed in you viewfinder, off to one side just a bit (the rule of thirds), very nice. Do you need the garbage cans along the wall of the garage in your picture? For that matter, do you want the garage showing at all. These may be elements that just add clutter to your photograph. Get rid of them! move the garbage cans, or move your Mom, so that you don’t see the garage. The point is to eliminate unneeded clutter in your pictures to help produce clean, sharp composition of your intended subject.

What to do if you have an “automatic everything” camera.

Many cameras today are “point and shoot” types with sophisticated chips inside that take care of all the focusing and exposure (shutter speed and aperture) tasks for you. This can be great, except you loose the control you might want to create a more interesting photograph. Don’t despair. There are ways that you can “fool” your automatic camera into giving you the settings you want. If your camera has “automatic program” modes, as most do these days, you can select the program that will give you the kind of exposure settings you’ll need to use some of the techniques described above.

For instance. Most cameras will have a “normal” mode, some sort of “slower speed” mode (this may be called something like “landscape mode”), and a “higher speed” mode (sometimes called “sport” or “action” mode”. A slower shutter speed will mean a smaller aperture setting, and a greater depth of field. A faster shutter speed, on the other hand, means a wider aperture setting, and a narrower depth of field. You can adjust your automatic mode to best suit your needs.

BONUS TIP:

The most common reason that some pictures turn out blurry or apparently out of focus isn’t really due to the focus at all - it’s called camera shake. Make sure that you are standing with your feet slightly spread apart and support your arms against your chest to help support your camera and keep it steady. The best way to eliminate camera shake is to use a tripod. This is especially true when you are taking pictures in a low light situation or any time that your exposure settings utilize a slow shutter speed.

To recap, keeping these 3 steps in mind as you take your pictures -

Know what your subject or theme is.

Emphasize your subject or theme

Simplify your picture

will help you take more interesting pictures of your loved ones, travels, treasured moments.