rafa's first birthday

Been busy as hell the past few weeks, espcially now that everything in the office is in full swing (not to mention everyone else's nerves). Anyway, my son's birthday is coming up in a month so I just had to do his invites like I did in his baptism. One, because that's the only "intangible" that I could contribute being 20,000 miles away from home and two, it's hell of a lot cheaper than the traditional invite (although nowadays, I believe e-mail is the norm). Well, for you folks out there who actually read at my ramblings (read: 3 or 4 persons) , here's what it looks like:

My high dynamic range image

Seeing that anyone with a DSLR and a couple of memory cards can get into digital photography, I decided to venture into something different. Although quite arguable, a "real" photographer would still need skills but nowadays, that just doesn't cut it. Digital photgraphers need to evolve their "digtal-ness" from the mere camera and photoshop to more experimentation (and failure) thus resulting in my first take at high dynamic imaging:

My coney-island experience

"Coney Island?" yung ice cream? THAT would be a normal reaction in Manila. I had the misfortune of learning that Coney Island is actually a real "island". Yeah, beaches and amusement parks and hotdogs and everything. All is lost... maybe I should stop my quest to find my friend the Unicorn...

Anyway, here are a few shots that I took. The resizing is blogspot is awful, I would suggest clicking the image for the actual size before you say "this is crap".

My stupid external drive

Been trying to make it work for the past 4 hours to no avail... stupid, stupid, stupid. It's time for an RMA and matutulog na ko. Hopefully the online store takes it back without the stupid box.

My modern-day "Grease"

I was reading the papers and saw a review of the new Disney orignal movie "High School Musical". SO I thought, what the heck, not doin anything on the weekend anyway. My ever-so-reliable Torrentspy-Azureus combo did not fail me again so in short, I had a DVR copy of the movie the moment I got back from the gym.
I've always liked musicals and this isn't any different but I can't help but compare it with Grease. The whole high school image protection idea has been used through and through BUT never gets old. The DVD just came out about a week ago and I'm expecting a rip in the next few days. I'd give it a 9.5/10 especially if you're a musical sucker. The songs remind me of Alan Menken which is the true musical genius of Disney. Would definitely recommend this to everyone especially those with 4-6 year olds since it strikes a perfect balance between young parents and their not-so-young kids.



TRIVIA: Knowing Disney, there are no kissing scenes. There was one kiss at the cheek, but that was it.

MORE TRIVIA: Vanessa Anne Hudgens (Gabriella) is half-Filipino

My across-the-river experience

I had the "unfortunate" opportunity of getting dumped last July 4 for a session. It was ok really, I mean it is the first time that I would be shooting fireworks and I didn't think that getting up close and personal with 50-pound explosive shells is an opportune experience. I also didn't want to be in the crowd to I took my chances on a site just across the river in Jersey. It turned out pretty well as I met a few new friends on the same field that I work in, got some free drinks and good company =)

Anyway, here are but a few of my shots (i'm starting to hate my hit-miss ratio... thank God for DSLRs and gigacards)

My unfortunate "kababayan"

Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my heritage and love my mother tongue but I honestly think that we need to do something about our education. Well, for all we know the letter might be a clever hoax but it's funny nonetheless

My anime addiction

I was never a true anime afficionado that's why I never really liked anime "love stories". I'm for those that blow each other's heads off like there's no tomorrow (like Dragon Ball or YuYu Hakusho). Anyway, I saw this really simple but awesome GIF somewhere in the net. Funny that all he wanted was to open the door. =)

My coffee comfort zone

I started viewing updates in Friendster due to boredom. Was supposed to watch Fast and the Furious: TD at Newport but being the loser I am right now, I thought it would be best to stay home and sleep... obviously that didn't work. Anyway, Marge (Dizon) had posted pictures of her "tropa" on several coffee locations which made me cringe.

Top 5 places I miss in Manila with the exception of "family" places:

1. Gloria Jean's Coffee (Fort)
2. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (Eastwood)
3. Max Brenner (GB3)
4. Starbucks (Valero)
5. Mocha Blends (Marcos)

And it's not that I'm a coffee addict. These places are the ones where I hangout the most whether with friends, family or by myself. A comfort zone to be simple. Don't get me wrong, I did try to scour the city for a similar place but it's just not there. I mean NYC does have the same coffee shops save for Mocha Blends (local satin 'to) but I guess its more of the atmosphere. In Manila, as weird as it may sound, coffee places have much more "authority" over bars... it is "THE" place to be seen as believed by a certain niche of people. But I think that this notion has evolved through the years as coffee places have become more common and Starbucks just being "one of them". Although the basic, unscathed purpose remains: a place to hang-out, chill, think, laugh, chat, work, study, play and basically do anything that you want in your life. Here in Manhattan, it is nothing but a place to get coffee.

My natural light photo

I recently took a photo of things I found in the fridge that had bland colors; the chili adds the spice (figuratively as well as literally). I call it the "Ginisa" picture. =)

My Stuff

I can't believe how much stuff I've bought since I got here 4 1/2 months ago. Working like a slave does have it's perks. Here's a list off the top of my head:

1. Sony PSP
2. Nikon D50 w/ 18-55 lens
3. Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens
4. Nikon ML-L3 remote
5. Altec Lansing speakers
6. Symphonic TV
7. Philips DVD/DivX player
8. iRiver media center
9. Zurotech Laptop TV Tuner
10. Ultimate Battle Pikachu Action Figure


... and these are just the "electronic" stuff. It does not include clothes, shoes and some other junk that I bought. Speaking of item #10, the office messenger is a huge hispanic guy that goes around the office and gives us our stuff as soon as he gets it from the mailroom. It's not everyday that you see him walking around the office with a Pikachu box.

My winning photo

I took a picture of the R train at the Subway and sent it to my brother. Accenture has this new "fad" to make people do the promotional things for them and save up on professional costs. Plus it gives HR a seemingly "busy" state since they send out e-mails every 10 minutes. I have always been a sucker for contests. Last year I won an SE K750i phone and a trip for 2 to El Nido Palawan. I would've gotten a PSP too if work didn't get in the way. =) Of course I sold both prizes and got myself a laptop instead which is far better than the phone and trip combined. Anyway, while I'm stuck here in New York (or as I call it, the center of the universe) that old contest itch is still haunting me. It's a good thing that my brother is picking up the slack. They recently had this "Operational Excellence" photo contest and this ladies and gents is my entry. It won. Hallelujiah! Now they have another one which involves AVPs, it's something that I would definitely try out BUT current circumstances won't allow me to do so.

1. I just moved in to a new apartment. Everything is so messed up that I don't know where to start. INTERNET CONNECTION is on top of my list then a dvd player (or a PS2) and probably a "mini" studio.
2. I was sick during the weekend and I still have the heebeejeebees until now.
3. I don't have a videocam
4. Nacho Libre is showing on Friday

Hopefully, I get everything sorted out and chance upon some good video equipment or photo stacks.