Photographers' Learning Curve Chart

My photography teacher-colleague Bong Manayon send me this rude and funny chart describing any photographers' learning curve. Can you relate to this? As for moi, I just survived the "gearfaggotry" stage! Which stage are you in now? LOL

Congratz to the FPPF Participants

Here we have the wedding photography workshop participants (top photo) and the basic photography 2nd batch. Congratulations all! The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) conducts regular photography workshop in the sprawling Fort Santiago park. You may find moi there conducting a few workshops. May you have that fulfillment in your heart every time you shoot.

FPPF Wedding Photo Workshop Feb. 16-19

The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation, Inc. (FPPF) will conduct a Wedding Photography Workshop on February 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2010, 9:00 AM to5:00 PM, at the FPPF Studio in the Fort Santiago park, Intramuros, Manila. The 4-day workshop is aimed at any aspiring wedding photographers, advanced amateurs, photography studio owners and hobbyists who intend to learn and cover wedding coverage creatively and confidently.

The Wedding Photography Workshop has experienced wedding photo mentors in Jomel Gregorio, Chito Cleofas, Vic Sison, Joe Galian, Ador Pamintuan and art director Frando Culata.

Please visit the following links for more details:
http://photoworldmanila.com/workshops/fppf-wedding-photography-workshop/

Workshop fee is P7,500 only. Slots are limited to 20 participants. Reservations are strictly on a First-Paid-First- Served basis. Pleasecheck with the Secretariat (Tel: 524-7576) to confirm your enrollmentbefore coming to the first day of your workshop. Cheers!

Shooting Billboards In JPEG Format!

Impossible you say? Here is the billboard for 2nd Mom Pre-school in Pasig City that I shot with an ordinary Nikon DLSR just using JPEG image files. But if you're not sure with your camera settings (focus, lighting, WB, contrast, sharpening, color space, etc.) then you'd better shoot in RAW format. Because JPEGs have very limited pixel latitude compared to the RAW format, hence it's mandatory to have your photo techniques perfected when shooting with straight JPEGs. Though my common practice when freelancing for ad studios in Makati city is to shoot in RAW+JPEG (fine mode), you can break the "norms" but make sure you're confident enough plus you've earned the trust of competent creatives involved in billboard final artwork layouts. Kudos to direk James Banal for the great concept!

Back To Teaching Photography

As a teacher of photography I love to introduce to my students the pinhole camera-albeit in digital! I think it’s a practical, educational lesson plan with instantaneous image feedback for my students to appreciate in photography. Here in this photo (by Alexis Mutuc) I mounted a body cap onto a Nikon DLSR. The body cap has a small drilled hole in the middle, covered with tin foil. The foil is then pierced with the tiniest pin I own. Students were surprised that an image can be produced without a lens!

Cruise Ship & Fashion Photography Talk

Nikon’s VP for Marketing in JR Bonifacio invited moi to speak on Cruise Ship and Fashion photography on the weekend of PhotoWorld Asia at the Glorietta atrium’s Nikon booth. Guest of honor were the Philippine Airlines Camera Club headed by Ruwen Verdaguer. But I was surprised to see amongst the audience Ricky Ladia-one of the country’s best fashion mag photographer! We all learned from each other and had fun with tethered shooting in "live view" mode with Nikon new D300s DLSR! I look forward to experiencing Nikon’s WiFi file transfers in lieu of a USB cable. Thanks for the invitation JR!

GEARTALK: Ultrawide 14mm Lens Fever

One of the benefits of teaching photography at the School of Design and Art (SDA) is that you get to experiment with exotic lenses like Canon’s 14mm. Of course I immediately wished for the Nikkor 14mm to compare with this glass. So when the boss of the AB Photography program, Leo Santos borrowed Canon’s 14mm with the 5D body-it’s fun time! My gripe is the CA at the edges of Leo’s photos so you better stop-down to f/8-16. Checkout our ordinary self-portrait in Leo’s car! Rad huh?

Philippine History of Photography Exhibit

What made this year’s Photoworld Asia doubly great in Makati city’s posh Glorietta mall was the history of Philippine photography exhibit! You can see local scenes captured when photography was in its infancy up to the Edsa 1986 revolution! What a pleasant and enlightening time-traveling experience indeed. Imagine, I didn’t know bull-fighting was a spectacle in Manila before.

Kudos to the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation Inc. (FPPF) for perpetuating Photoworld Asia annually along with the aide of noble volunteer-members from famous camera clubs! And where else, nationally, can you get your money’s worth when it comes to world-classs photo and video workshops?

I spoke to curator Willy Marbella about the possibility for this exhibit to be shown at the School of Design and Art along with Manny Inumerable’s vast and rare film camera collections, so let’s hope for the best on this one.

A great many thanks for these champions of Philippine photography who contributed in this exhibit: Dennis Araneta, George Bonsay, Sonny Camarillio, Frando Culata, Rafael Guerrero, Manny Inumerable, Ed Santiago, John Silva, Joey Tanedo, John Tewell, Willy Marbella, Joshua Frames and YKL Color, Inc. Never forget the greats of the FPPF: Eduviges Huang, Lito Beltran and Dr. Castro. Without them Photowrold Asia is just but a pipe dream and modern Philippine photography in the “dark ages” still!