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Silverlens Portfolio Review with Romy Vitug, Derek Soriano, and Isa Lorenzo

I wanted to take my photography to the next level and I'm glad that Silverlens organized these portfolio reviews with the photography masters. I submitted my best pictures to the PAL photo contest and it failed to even reach the short list. I was devastated and thanks to Silverlens photos for organizing these portfolio reviews to get direct feedback from the masters on how I can take my photography to the next level.

Portfolio Review with Isa Lorenzo, Derek Soriano, and Romy Vitug. (Dec. 8, 2008)

All of them gave me the feedback that most of my photos were generic. They were postcard perfect but they do not reflect my personality or my own signature style of photography. The photos don't jump out except for those pictures taken with Aidan. It was devastating to hear na walang kwenta ang mga larawan ko.

Isa had some useful suggestions to create a collection of photos about a place and take a lot of photos about that place. I do hope to discover my own artistic style to the point that people looking at my photos will immediately identify that it was my photo.

I also learned that one of my photo strength is Aidan as the subject. Most of the photos were taken with love that's why Aidan comes out alive. I plan to create a portfolio of photos in time for Aidan's 3rd Birthday in January. Maybe I can do an exhibit somewhere in Serendra (if possible)

In the meantime, I'm thinking of selling my photos as postcards :)

Paeng Nepomuceno, The Greatest Filipino Athlete of All Time

Aidan with The Greatest of All Time Bowler, Paeng Nepomuceno

We realized that Paeng's achievements were super underrated and when he gave the opening inspirational talk, it was a standing ovation that I've never seen before in our company. It was Paeng's first corporate talk and everyone agrees that it was one of the best speeches we have ever heard. In fact, Paeng's inspirational speech was a lot better (in my opinion) than Nadia because of his achievement of winning 6 international championships in 3 decades vs. Nadia's 1976 Olympic Glory. He reinvented himself over time, by mastering the fundamentals and having the self discipline that made him the greatest Filipino athlete of all time.

The picture above was taken 3 months ago as a promotional photo for the sport of bowling. He wanted to have an abs like Manny Pacquiao and show the world that Bowling requires the same fitness as any other sport. He was able to do it at the age of close to 50 and he challenges us that we can do whatever we set our minds on.

I actually shed a tear, when he shared with us one of the critical incident that happened in the First World Cup in 1976 in Tehran, Iran. An American insulted him by criticizing the Philippines and Filipino Bowlers in general. He said that in the Philippine Islands, the bowlers use coconuts and the lanes are made of nipa. (Of course, he delivered it in a very emotional way) He won that First World Cup and a total of six-(6) World Bowling Titles! It made me proud to be a Filipino and that is why he wears this special dri-fit shirt patterned after the Philippine flag.

Related Posts:
‘A truly sporting treasure’ by Chino Trinidad
Paeng Nepomuceno's Official Website

A Turning Point in Philippines History?

I've always believe that if only Filipinos believe and love the Philippines, we can achieve any goals we set our minds and hearts to. This May 2007 marks the turning point in Philippine History. Perhaps this is the start of a tipping point towards Philippines' greatness. I can feel it in the air and there is so much hope that we will become a great nation. Let me share with you why I'm so proud to be a Filipino today:

1. Congratulations to Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon, and Janet Belarmino for becoming the first Southeast Asian women to summit Everest, and the first women in the world to traverse Everest! I must admit that at first I did not have faith that they can do it but they proved us wrong. If they can climb Mount Everest, this gives hope and inspiration for all of us to conquer our own Everest. To think that Janet just gave birth to their five month old baby boy Himalaya. Ang galing ng Pinay! (Official Blog: Pinays on Everest)

2. God truly works in mysterious ways. Fr. Eddie Panlilio became the first Catholic priest in the country to be elected to public office in what is being touted as a “people-powered” unprecedented run for governor of Pampanga.

"Panlilio who got a total of 219,706 votes in the six-cornered race, winning by a lead of only 1,147 votes...The decisive votes that clinched his victory came from Magalang, a predominantly Catholic town, where 11,095 residents voted for him.Panlilio’s major rivals were Lilia Pineda, an incumbent provincial board member, who got 218,559 votes, and reelectionist Gov. Mark Lapid who received 210,875 votes." (Miracle in Pampanga by Tonette Orejas )

3. The Filipino voters have matured politically!! Yes!! Finally, Filipinos are voting based on performance, results and credentials.

"The citizenry has become sick and tired of actors and actresses in elective posts. Cesar Montano, Richard Gomez, Christopher de Leon, Lito Lapid and his son Mark, all movie idols, suffered humiliation at the hands of lesser known personalities....The only exception is actress Vilma Santos who won by a big margin over incumbent Armand Sanchez in the Batangas gubernatorial race. The reason behind her victory is her exemplary performance as Lipa City mayor."

"The biggest loser in the electoral contest is boxing idol Manny Pacquiao who ran for the congressional seat of South Cotabato. He suffered a knockout at the hands of a woman, reelectionist Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who was running scared and was the underdog."
(Upsets in the just-concluded polls by Ramon Tulfo)

4. There is a mysterious reform movement happening in the country because everyone is sick and tired of the corruption in the government! Most of the Genuine Opposition are winning in the National Elections! I was surprised when I asked my mom who to vote, she said if you don't know the candidates, just vote for the Genuine Opposition candidates. For the record, I voted for Noynoy Aquino, Joker Arroyo, Alan Cayetano, Chiz Escudero, Kiko Pangilinan, Sonia Roco, Antonio Trillanes, Manny Villar, Migz Zubiri, and Ang Kapatiran: Dr. B Bautista, Adrian Sison and Jess Pares. We were hoping for the Kapatiran to win but at least Trillanes was able to get in the top 12.

5. I can't believe that the Peso to Dollar conversion rate is now at its all time low P46.xx to a $1 despite the elections! I love the graph below :) Can we see a P40 to a $1 conversion rate? At this point, I am very optimistic :)

We are three years away from having a great leader for the Philippines. All of us need to be vigilant and this is an exciting time to be in the Philippines. Time to celebrate and invest in our country. We love the Philippines!

Pacquiao Wins!! Congratulations, You make us, Filipinos Proud!!

I was happy to see the look on my father's face when we watched Pacquiao in Rockwell. The overall anticipation leading to the 3rd round knockout was priceless. You have to be there to experience it. All the Filipinos were in awe of Pacquiao's speed, power, and tiger look determination. Congratulations again, Manny! I do hope that you take care of your blessings and share it with the people.

For those who were not able to watch it, thanks to youtube for this video clip :)
Pacquiao - Morales III Grand Finale 11-08-06 PT 1 of 2

Pacquiao - Morales III Grand Finale 11-08-06 PT 2 of 2

Related Posts:
Pacquiao Larios Fight Ticket Prices -- Outrageous!

Pacquiao Larios Fight -- Pinoys beating Mexican Boxers 4-0!

Pacquiao Larios Fight -- Pinoys beating Mexican Boxers 4-0!

At around 11.15am, July 2, Sunday Manila Time, we saw the people's champ Manny Pacquiao entered the ring with the Philippine Flag waving proudly in the air in front of an almost sold-out (80%) Araneta Coliseum. We were seated in Upper B and we were able to get in the front row seas of that section to still get a clear view of the boxers in the ring (see photo above). I did not imagine that Araneta will be filled by such crowd given how expensive the ticket was. I did not imagine that all our Pinoy boxers will defeat their opponents all in unanimous decision by the judges. I did not imagine how good Pacquiao was and how he masterfully defeated a taller and longer reach boxer in the person of Oscar "Chololo" Larios.

This was my first time to watch a Boxing Match. I was expecting that I get bored so I brought a book with me to read. But I was wrong, the matches were so exciting that I felt that it was my national duty to cheer for our pinoy boxers. I expected the shows to be late, but it started exactly at 8am for the first undercard match between Amonsot vs. Ortiz and Pacquiao vs. Larios fight started exactly at 11am. I was just expecting to have a date with my father and hoping that he would have a great time. It turned out that this was the most exciting live show that I watched and all the people in the crowd are proud to be a Filipino. Ever since this day, I renewed my reverence to the Philippine Flag and I always make it a point to sing proudly our National Anthem "Lupang Hinirang". I can still remember that feeling of "Yes, I am proud to be a Filipino" when Bituin Escalante sang our Philippine anthem with a solid reverberating voice that never faltered up to the last note.

Manila, Philippines

A Glimpse of Raymund's Isaac Artistic Brilliance

I always have fun watching how artist/ photographers interpret a concept and bring it to life. I'm amazed at how it is being done, and I was fortunate to witness how Raymund Isaac brings the concept of "Essence of Wellness" to life. All elements of the visual are handled with excellence -- from the projection of professional models, to the perfect make-up, to the artistic props/setup, and and choreography of the visual scene. Really amazing and just sharing with you the glimpse of the fun shoot below:

--> The use of a huge glass can do wonders for the shot either infront or behind the glass.

--> It's fun when even the rest of Raymund's team would pose or act out in the scene.

--> This shot calls for a hand of a person that has the same skin tone as the model. In this particular case, Raymund's hands were the closest in tone so he decided to be the aloe vera hand props. BTW the aloe vera smells like bad odor -- yuck.

>> MORE: Essence of Wellness Photoset

All Photos were shot in Raymund's Studio in Makati..

Shooting House of Care visuals with Raymund Isaac @ Sta. Elena

raymund in action shooting the bed of flowers2
Originally uploaded by antondiaz.

Now I can already blog about the stunning visuals that you would see in the house of care solution center in Shopwise Alabang. I'm into photography, and it's an honor to have worked with Raymund in shooting the House of Care visuals in Sta. Elena Golf & Country Club last May 5. At first, you would thought that he is intimating but really he is down to earth and I enjoyed chatting with him and exchanging photography tips. Here are a few tips that I would like to share with you:

1. Visualize the photo before composing and taking the shot. This is the key to the photographs. You should be able to articulate in your mind what about the shot is visually appealing to you and why. After this clear vision of the photo, that's when you capture that vision in your shot. (easier said than done)

2. Use Backlighted composition. For people, this would give a hair light effect on the heads and for nature like leaves/ trees, it would give a dimension instead of appearing as flat in the photo.

3. Its all about light. You should be able to tell (by practice) what would be the aperture/shutter speed settings of a particular seen based on how light strikes the objects/ colors. The key is to be able to photograph the scene with the right settings the first time with no need of post production. This takes alot of practice and alot discipline! Some practical tips on lighting would be shoot early in the morning before 11am and after 3pm to get the right lighting levels.

Here are my favorite photos among the various layouts. Sta. Elena is very very beautiful and it provided the backdrop for all the shots in the House of Care photos in Shopwise.

Lovely place with a great photographer, can you ask for more?
>> More Pictures of Raymund Isaac @ Sta. Elena