i'm back

you think i quit? guess again! i am back.

eating anitibiotics

due to unforeseen events i am now eating antibiotics for more than two weeks. i will be fine. the doctor said that i might get well soon. so as of the following months no pictures and no photography for me.

5th award

this photograph has been at veiwbug for more than two years. and it's the first time that they give an award for this. thank you viewbug.

naked in your eyes

are times when you think that life is boring then something hit you in the head. i never expected that i would be able to capture such image in one of the most unlikely places. one of the first thing that hits me is the juxtaposition of the whole picture. it's like placing pickles in an ice cream or wearing a two piece bikini in Antarctica. it's odd, it has something to convey and it's interesting.

i won another award

i didn't even know i won this award at viewbug but still i am thankful i have another one.

controlling the light: (in combo)

one of the first photos that i made for the strobist sesiers. i only use one speelight in this shot which is in slave mode to create the wonderful highlights for the subject. as of now i am experimenting on a one light set up.

finally controlling lights

it's really hard to control lights... nah not really. it sounds hard if you have no clue what is a light and how it works (in general). if you know the true nature of a light then you won't have a hard time controlling it. so the first thing that you should do is to understand what is a light, i think your physics teacher got it covered. remember folks photography is science too so you should know something like a little science to get around it. we can control light by bending, reflecting, bouncing and you can do cool stuff by refraction. well enough with the science thingy lets go to work... after years of somehow being a natural lights photographer, finally there is one critique that made me jump to artificial lights. it is true that sometimes as a photographer you have that point that you need additional light in order for you to get what you want. and this is where artificial lights comes in. and to be a master you need to combine ambient light with your speedlites to create or recreate a light (which is i am miles away). so i need a light that is handy and somehow helps me to control light. after months of looking into that matter i found exactly what i need. well created some of it.

i got the speedlite but i just don't have the perfect softbox. something that is light and very collapsible. when i gave up and i can't seem to find what i need i ask my boyfriend to make me one. the idea of the design came from me but the hands that made the models and the actual on is him.

i use a huge umbrella for this, a black and silver taffeta fabric, a white plastic, two small clamps, blots and nuts, two aluminum rivets, two L shape metal strips.

i cut the umbrella tube or pole and then took out the four out of eight of the top notch rib or rib to give me a square frame of the sofbox. sew the taffeta fabric together.

small clapms , blots and nuts, aluminum rivets and the metal strips are used as the mounts. i use a tripod here.

these are the sample shots taken using the diy collapsible softbox. in three-quarter view and profile view.

preparing for the better

right now i am doing all i can to make a bigger and better project this year. hope i can do something out of the ordinary. wish me luck guys...

hope that you will still spend sometime with my post.

sometimes i just wish i said no

one of the things that i love about photographing is the fact that i have a chance to be part of someone or somebody's most important time of their lives. but i never thought that i could be one of those who is silent in a corner and witness great sadness.

being an event photographer i never thought that i would photograph a funeral, something that is really, really something that i never have thought that i would do in my career but i did. i was there and it sucks because it's such a gloomy day thought the sun is up. most of the time the only thing that echos in the silent day is the sobs of those who were left behind.

and it is the first ever job i took that i did ask myself... do i do this again? can i do it again? i know that this is my second project (on a funeral) but really do i need to be in this type of situation again?

the whole project is too out of my character it is totally in contrast with my personality and i felt out of place. i photograph to be able to share happiness and joy, not bear witness to a sad day. bottom line is i hate sad things, its something that i don't really need in my life but everything in this funeral is worth photographing. do i like the photographs yes i do, but i am not happy with sad situations.

the wedding project

this wedding is part of a school project... everything here is not real but we all made it realistic for the viewers...

we all had fun with this shoot... the students are very cool about it. some were even very exited about the whole event. i am just happy that everybody participated well and made the whole event a success.

this wedding is the first ever solo wedding that i have ever shoot, considering that i am not really a wedding photographer. but this whole event open up to a whole new experience, i am very glad that i had a chance. i learn something that i don't really learn in my usual photography... i just thought that in wedding photography there is a whole new discipline. you need to work with people... literally work with them. combination of ideas is the key. you need to combine your own idea with others to have a spectacular shoot. and the best part is that i have fun with every second of it.

luntian is my name

for years now i am bearing the name luntian... many would ask why do you have that name?

people are mostly given names when they are born and same equation is used why people have names... because it describe them (mostly). if we trace back history most of the names are given to our ancestors because it describes them... like they are as swift as a kidlat (lightning), as hard as a bato (rock), or they are like a hiyas (jewel). we are given the name because it's part of who we are and what we are to the people who love us.

luntian (green) is who i am. it represent life, fertility, well being and most importantly it represent nature. yes luntian is kalikasan (nature) that is who i am. it is the only thing that describes me best... a person one in nature.

it is the only time that i am at rest... i can feel that i am revitalizing when i am in her midst. it's really the place where i can really think. and ever since i am always in love with mother nature. it's like you can't separate her from me.

who am i? i am the daughter of mother nature for she always nurture me and everyone else in this planet.

30th day of the challenge; oh my kit lens

the 30th day and now we are at the end... for our final photograph i will show you how wide it can go and how far it can zoom. first photo is in 55mm, the 2nd is in 26mm, and last is in 18mm.

photography is suppose to be an expression, it reflect reality, a way to communicate, to reach out to others. it should not be contain with in a box but transcend to different levels. that is why we should not limit our creativity because we only have a kit lens but instead find ways to capture that illusive, that one shot over 120 shots. we shouldn't blame the camera nor that lens and start making excuses that "if only i got this... if only i got that..." no! stop right now and start thinking again... is it really the camera or it's just me?

29th day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

29th day every one... it's almost over and i am happy that you are still with us until this day...

with this shot i only make things very simple. i hope that you will still be with us until the last day. this

28th day of the challenge; oh my kit lens

so this is the 28th day... and i think that we made it a long, long way by now. this is my second time to do smoke photography with in this challenge. i know that i have shown last time some smoke but i hope that this will blow your mind away.

i know that smoke photography itself is a challenge because it's very tricky but i guess the photographs tell the story itself.

all i did here is a very simple set up... i only use the pop-up flash, black and white cardboard, tripods to hold the camera and the smoke thing (a lighted-rolled tissue). i use a a57 in fluorescent white balance (that is why it has a cooler tone). other than that i forgot the rest. well i did use a kit lens (18-55mm).

due to internet connection problems this post is very late. thank you for visiting the blog again.

27th day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

now we are at the 27th day! it's like really it's almost over... we have a great fun with our journey. we find something really amazing about the kit lens and photography. it's really fun to know more about kit lens and what it can do (and what it can't do).

i am doing a little different here, i guess i still have a hangover over our faceless assignment last week. sometimes it's really the hidden message in the photograph that we are really interested. it's not the obvious, it's not what is waving in-front of us but rather the one that hides itself from the rest of the world. it's how we tell the story of the subject that really captures our imagination.

you are correct the subject is really hiding from me. guess not everybody is happy being photographed. elements that i use to make the subject stand out light, leading lines, and i frame the subject.

26th day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

so the 26th day has come and i want to show some personality (person) in the photographs. so how will a kit lens handle this shoot?

how or what makes a stunning portrait? is it the model? the way they are dressed? really it's just the light. just master the light and you'll be fine.

25th day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

i just went out and get this photo... 25th day is something that i did a street photography. i think (it works best for me) that this lens is the best for this type of photography. i can zoom a little closer (though it's not necessary) and i can do wide to capture of the whole scene. and i can move around too... giving the stealth mode full blast.

i am not related nor sponsored by this company.

24th day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

finally its 24th day... it's like yesterday that we started this journey and now we found ourselves that we are at 24th. the power of photography (creativity of light) is something that is way beyond the camera (structure and build wise) and lens. it's the power to read the light and make friends with it.

now may be you have already saw that most of the photographs that is part of this challenge is compose of light and show light itself in contrast with shadow... why is it that most of the photos shows that? simple because we have to understand that photography is about light in general. that without it every photograph is nothing but a blank of darkness. it's because photography is light painting.

above all we have to understand light, we need to read and see through the lens. it's by mastering this that we will be able to make a masterpiece. so before you start talking about lenses... discussing the latest camera available in the market... may be we need to reflect with in ourselves... am i reading the light?

in this blog post the image above is compose of three elements... the lines that points to the subject. the polygon that breaks the fame giving another dimension of the photograph. and the light.

23rd day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

this time i am making it simple. 23rd day i only show a different perspective giving an abstract image. i just hope that you will enjoy it.

22nd day of our challenge; oh my kit lens

so this is one of the things that most people doubt about kit lenses... high speed photography and kit lens don't mix. so how do you get around it? trust and luck and a little bit of hope.

so at our 22nd day of our challenge i made something a bit challenging of your mate kit lens... this time i did some high speed photography with out other set up. i just use the pop-up flash and that's it. i just recommend that you will shoot in raw so you can play with it later at lightroom. you might want to change the color of the liquid instead of that boring transparent color just like i did here.

by the way this tutorial is at digital-photography-school so you can check it out if you wish to do some high speed photography.