Lakbayin #6: Barkin' Blends Dog Cafe

Canines. You just gotta love 'em. Domesticated or wild, they're one of the most lovable things on earth, especially dogs. They're not nicknamed "man's best friend" for nothing. It was this fondness for these friends that I acted on a simple bit of info from my Facebook newsfeed.

Woof goes the dog, and I rushed to inviting my girlfriend Robie to the place for our anniversary date. Being the pooch lover that I am I really miss having a dog companion around, and it's even better that le girl is a dog lover too! So off we went, knowing what we're looking for, but definitely got a surprise beyond what we were prepared for.

Read on for more!

Kwento #4.5: Gearhead-gasm at ManilaPhoto

ManilaPhoto was more than just a string of talks and a fine gallery of masterpieces - it also served as a platform for camera and related accessories manufacturers to strut their stuff and attract potential markets. Numerous gizmos made it to the stand both for consumer- and commercial- level photography, and I believe many enthusiasts had the time of their lives testing out different cameras and lenses made available for the occasion.

Look at all those shelves. Drool.

Limited in time and funding (for dinner lol), I made the most out of exploring the gear gallery of the exhibit at the 3rd floor of SM Aura Premier.

Jump!

Kwento #4: Learnings at Manila Photo

It’s been a while since I last wrote, pretty much because of business or boredom, but while those hours passed without any visible progress in my photography work I’m glad to have come across things that have enriched my experience and learning along the way.

One such event that gave me a good insight and really good points to learn was Manila Photo, an event organized by DPP, one of the top photography magazines in the country. I had been looking forward to listening to unsolicited advice from several renowned professionals in the field. Turns out the experience will be one of a kind and the learning I'll receive very useful for many years to come.

More stuff after the jump!

Kwento #2: Shooting dietary delights

Portraits are the "in" thing today. From selfies to glamor shoots, they're everywhere (but here in Manila, it's mostly at NAPAW haha). Taking a break from the sea of faces (and occasional heavenly bodies, as well as cats, and cat-related memes), I took the opportunity to join a local camera store's in-house food photography workshop.

And in that short two-hour lecture, I learned how to shoot stuff like this:

I was successful in my attempt to restrain myself from eating it on set.

Click "read more" to ... well, see more!

Kwento #1: A resurrection of the body

Photography is a risky thing, especially when being done on assignment.

Recently, I was hired to take on a video shoot in Bulacan, where I needed to get the help of a fellow Pentaxian who happened to specialize in video. Due to circumstances my friend couldn't attend the shoot so I took over the role and borrowed his Pentax K-01 for the mission.

Everything was going well until we were shooting in a tight location at the edge of a river, with the house we're in on standing on stilts, and dank, murky water all around us. I did what I could to keep the gear safe, but in that ONE moment I had to put the tripod and camera down, the inevitable accident happened.

The setup fell off-balanced on the WeiFeng tripod it was mounted on, into the water, and took me some time to get it back, probably around 5-6 seconds. Attached to the K-01 was my dear DA* 50-135, and the body was promptly dead, with the lens having some focusing issues afterwards.

Dazed, broken and embarrassed, I went on with the shoot until the job was done. Of course I had to let my friend know his cam was dead, so I promised to replace it with a brand-new one, which I did the next day.

I took the unit and was conclusive the water damage can't be undone, but somehow, hoped for the best and kept it in a drybox with a dehumidifier for three days. It stayed dead for three days...