Photography
Prior to doing the Grand Trans-Siberian Express, we went on a whirlwind three-day tour of Armenia. Like most people from this part of the world, I had very little, if any, preconceptions about Armenia, and what I found is a country with a deep, ancient history, fierce pride, and beautiful people. I hope to have captured some of that experience in the video above.
Read MoreHere's "Manilapse," my first piece for 2017! Teaching myself to hyperlapse on a day around Manila last year. Turns out it's hard work to shoot and even harder to edit cleanly. Practice, practice!
Locations:
0:00-0:12 Rizal Park
0:15-0:25 Quiapo
0:26-End Around Manila Bay
All shot on a Sony A7RII with a Canon EF 24-105 L IS on a Metabones adapter and a Sony FE 24-240 f3.5-6.3.
Shooting the summit of Mt. Pulag from Saddle Camp. Photo: Tania Reynoso
A quick tidbit of wisdom from Chris Burkard once again, as shared on his interview with Everyday Carry:
“To all you hopeful photographers out there: love what you shoot. I spent a ton of time early in my career serving the needs of editors, magazines, etc. But once I finally focused into shooting what actually made me happy and brought me joy, my career skyrocketed. I also realized what I was good at and stopped trying to convince others that I could do everything. That is really important. Don’t try to show an editor tons of images that reflect a broad variety of work. Focus on what is most important: your best work. The stuff that shows what you specialize in. It will help you become a better curator and editor for your own work. The worst thing you can do is try to tell people you can shoot everything well. You’re hired because you are a specialist in a certain area, so the sooner you realize that the better.”
2:00 in the morning and perfect night sky conditions at Saddle Camp on Mt. Pulag. Click to enlarge. Sony A7RII + Samyang 14mm f2.8 | 20s | ISO 6400.
This post has been a long time coming: a showcase of the incredible night skies I experienced back in April 2016 on the Akiki Trail of Mt. Pulag. The quantity and quality of images I shot on that one trip was easily worth 3-6 months of average shooting. On this post, I take you through my best shots of the trip and the process of shooting and post-processing them --- in effect, this is my first virtual night sky workshop!
And coolest of all: my first 180-degree VR panorama of the Milky Way!
The trek on the Akiki Trail --- known as the "Killer Trail" for its seemingly never-ending steep ascents --- is worth a Photo Diary of its own, but for this post, I'll be focusing solely on the night sky shots.
Coming into the trip, I was optimistic and excited to shoot the night sky because the conditions were just right:
Aaron Anderson's "Periphery" Exhibition at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Part 2 of 4 of my Photo Diary of a visit to Colorado Springs in August 2016. For part 1, click here.
One of my main agenda when traveling abroad this year has been checking out museums and galleries to check what world-class photography looks like, to find inspiration, ideas, and benchmarks for my own practice. As I've written before, photography does not yet have a high level of awareness as fine art in the Philippines, so I wanted to gather ideas for how to help elevate it to that level back home.
So I made sure not to miss visiting the Colorado Spring Fine Arts Center near downtown Colorado Springs. I was not disappointed, as they had a interesting and diverse collection of photography, paintings, and other art.
Read MoreFinally got around to making a video on one of my favorite topics: printing! This is one of the most technical but also most rewarding aspects of photography, as many photographers insist that it's not a photograph until it's printed. This is quite a deep topic that I've spent many, many hours studying both online and under the guidance of my mentor, but I hope this demonstration both gives you a decent overview and whets your curiosity about all the work that goes into fine art printing.
Read MoreA JOURNEY OF 200,00 MILES BEGINS WITH... getting your Platinum card
For those of you who haven't heard this story yet, it's actually simple and soon-stated. Upon the prodding of my frequent-flying mentor --- who prodding has led to many of the questionable and exciting things I've done with my life --- I joined the Air France KLM Flying View Photo Competition last June. With no entry fee, there was nothing to lose, so I submitted what I thought would be a strong entry, and promptly forgot about it. I've joined a good number of contests, and lost every one of them, because I suck, just kidding, but maybe I do? Anyway...
Read MoreAmbon-Ambon Falls, part of Panguil River Eco-Park
Part 2 of my Photo Diary of the Trail Adventours Waterfall Circuit daytrip! (For Part 1, click here.)
After hiking back from Buntot-Palos Falls to the jumpoff point, we hopped on our van and proceeded, after a heavy lunch, to the Panguil River Eco-Park a short drive away.
Read MoreFollowing up on my previous guide to shooting the Milky Way, this quick and easy tutorial is meant to give beginners a solid starting point for editing Milky Way and night sky photos in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. While it doesn't address the finer points of a perfect Milky Way edit, it will definitely give you a more visible and dramatic Milky Way galactic core and can save photos taken in less-than-ideal night sky conditions.
A summary of the basic workflow I followed in the video:
From here, you can proceed to perfecting the photo with localized edits, composites, dodging and burning, etc. Hope this helps! Til next time.
A full Milky Way galactic core over Mt. Pulag
A lot of readers and followers on social media ask me how to shoot the Milky Way properly. I'm entirely self-taught, and the good news is, all the resources I used to learn are easily available online, right now.
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