Gear Talk:

For many years I have struggled with all kinds of camera straps. What annoys me the most is the way it tends to block the camera’s viewfinder whenever I would rotate the camera into a vertical position for a portraite. So I modified and married both the Tamrac and Nikon straps into my own convenience. What I like about the Tamrac strap is the way you can unobstrusively detach it (into a fourth its length) should you decide to mount your DSLR onto a tripod (inset, top right photo). Because of my light-weight camera and flash I can risk to just attach the strap into just one camera strap holder. In lieu of the thick and foamy Tamrac neck strap, I used Nikon’s strap that came with my DSLR. Yes, I had to literally cut that Tamrac part out with a blade. Eureka! Joe’s hybrid camera strap. Try it!

Mark Gil Testifys for Svenson

Veteran actor Mark Gil is Svenson's spokesperson for Svenson. Advertising photo studio BVW got me to cover for the media PR drive of Svenson's campaign against hair loss at the Pepato Cibo di M restaurant in Greenbelt 2, Makati City. Such coverage venue are gastronomic nirvana for those photogs (and guests) inclined towards genuine Italian haute cuisine with Filipino fusions. Mark is a hobbyist photog and is looking forward to buy his first Canon DSLR. He uses film cameras like Olympus and Nikon. Go for it Mark!

Gear Talk: Nikon SB-27 Speedlite Flash

Here is a blast from the past! The “old” Nikon SB-27 Speedlight flash that can be had brand new for less than Php 6,000 (-USD $143) in Quiapo, Manila. Some photogs use the recently revived, powerful Vivitar 285 HV strobes (Guide No.: 120), but the Nikon Sb-27 is smaller, powerful enough (Guide No: 112) and durable. With the SB-27 on some Nikon DSLR you loose the auto zoom head, TTL metering (but you can set the SB-27 in Auto mode and the flash head can be manually zoomed) and AF-assist lamp. Now I use the SB-27 as my off-camera flash most of the time in manual mode. And with it I can attach colored gels, the Nikon SD-8A battery pack for extended shooting coupled with my small TriStar radio trigger attached (via 3M heavy duty velcro) to the SB-27. Aquiring the smallest, durable universal umbrella holder and light stand/monopod helps a lot in bulk-reduction. The photo on the right shows my off-cam rig: lighter in weight, smaller in size yet powerful enough. The usual off-cam rigs are bulky, expensive with top-of-the-line flash units (Guide Nos.: 100-plus) coupled with the far-reaching Pocket Wizard trigger. It’s great using top gears but “Light is Might”. By my minimalist mantra I meant about the weight of our photograhy gears in proportion to our light sources necessary for image capture–both in the figurative and literal sense of the word. The future promises us with better technology: better ISO noise control, long-lasting batteries and built-in “Pocket Wizard” in-flash. Until then, I stick to my off-cam ol’ lighting rig.

Celebrating Italian Food, Fashion & Passion

You have to credit the prestigious Rustan's Group of Compnies for bringing high-end brands like Armani, Polo, Lacoste, Marks and Spencer, Starbucks, etcetera into the Philippines. Now Rustan's Department Store will celebrate Italian culture in their boutiques for the whole month of June. I photographed Rome-based model Isabel De Quiroz for the launch print ad, flyers and poster of the upcoming festivities. Ciao Italia!

Minimalist Interior Lighting

Interiors are usually photographed using available (or ambient) light. When I assisted photographer Carlo Villongco I had witnessed how to do Trend Micro's office interiors with just camera flash units mounted on junior light stands. Some of the interior photos will be used for the corporate brochure. Now these flash units act as lighting "accents" to the interiors for dramatic effects. Kudos Carlo!

SM Celebrates 50 Years Of Shopping

This year we find SM (Super Malls or Shoe Mart) celebrating fifty years of Philippine shopping experience –which I ador. I missed covering for this special event with Shutterbug studio due to conflict of schedule (a wedding). But I happen to stumble in my archive a photo of SM tycoon Henry Sy celebrating forty five years then which I took with a Fuji Finepix S2 camera to show you. Shutterbug Inc. was the contracting photo studio and I was the second photographer (of four photographers plus Patrick Uy) then. Congratulations to SM! We don't have a lot of city parks in the Philippines but we sure are dotted with SM malls nationwide.

Julius and Eva Wedding At Fernbrook

Here is a couple based in Colorado, USA. Both are pro dance instructors and what ease it is to pose such graceful, athletic, lanky and willing folks! Studio A was the contracted photo/video outfit. Yours truly was the second photographer assigned to the Julius. Their grand garden wedding and reception was held at the majestic Fernbrook in Muntinlupa City.

Gear Talk: Two Camera Setup Worries

A quickie self-portrait with two cameras on-hand: Nikon D70 and D2x. They were used for two days during Chevrolet Philippines' 2008 Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Mimosa, Pampanga. Everytime I have two camera for events, they always scrape against one another. I'm seriously considering a Canon G9 (or such ranegfinder units) and the Nikkor 18-200VR lense for a Nikon DSLR just to lighten up the load during extended shootings (like weddings). The heavy Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 lense with the D70 (plus vertical grip) was used for this grabshot.