aking balintataw

Where the City Lights Begin

2011-11-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Dusk is approaching
Its time for me to go
Caught up with this busy traffic
Searching for the path that I should flow
Droplets gushing at my window
I wonder if beauty can be bestowed
In the midst of this chaotic scene
The city lights made himself known

Canon EF 28mm 2.8

2011-11-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

Last year I got a flash and this year I got a lens! Thanks to Maffie who is very supportive of my hobby. I initially thought this lens was already discontinued but surprisingly, it is still sold here. I tested this lens and compared it with Tokina's 12-24mm F4 DX ii; Canon's 28mm resulted to be sharper. It was sharp at 2.8, 4.0 and 8.0 and I believe that this is sharper than my 50mm 1.8, which is a bit soft at 1.8 and 2.8. Although, this lens is noisy when on AF but definitely well compensated by its sharpness.

(From left to right: Nienie, Flippie, Yongie and Happie)

Maffie made a habit of of naming my gadgets and she named the 28mm Happie. I did not get the chance to blog about my other gadgets, so might as well talk about them. :)

I'm glad to have a powerful camera that the Canon 60D offered. ISO handling at 3200 was very good and the noise in the pictures were well compensated. It felt different using it because I started with a small camera (a Canon Rebel XS). The automatic lighting optimizer had 3 levels compared to the Rebel which only has one level. It helps minimize the shadows on your picture but of course reflectors are still the best to use. It has a whooping 5.3 FPS but mediocre from its ancestor's FPS which is at 6.3. Plus, the good thing about this camera is that I got it on sale!

The Lowepro Flipside 300 can fit all of my lenses, two cameras and flash. It has 2 side pockets to keep SD cards and compact flash cards. The right side pocket can be use as a bottle holder in case used for travelling. It has a center holder for a tripod. Gadgets are easily accessed by flipping the bag at the back, maybe that is why it is called Flipside.

Powered by 6 Alkaline batteries or 2 Sony Li-on batteries, the Yong-nuo LED light is a portable and compact light source. I use it as my extra light for our food adventures in the city and a light source for low-light conditions.

The family photographed by Nonnie, Gripie and Zoomie

A Thousand Months to Remember

2011-11-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

360 months had passed and it feels like there is already a thousand months to remember. Moments that are captured by our cerebrum data bank or by the friendly digital picture makes me ponder and wonder of the great things that are ahead of me.

Trials and tribulations hone me to be a strong rock and defines me to be a man. Good times and fun stuffs declare that I am still a kid at heart.

To my family and friends that cultivate the seeds that are planted in my heart. Thank you for teaching me the simplicity of life and how to appreciate it. Indeed you are blessings from up above.

To my Maffie who helps me to become his Dabbie, I look forward for our thousand months to remember. =)

Timothy's 1st: A Pre-Birthday Shoot

2011-08-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

It was my first time to do a pre-birthday shoot. I did not have any concepts in mind but I just want to project the happiness and love of a family in my pictures.

It was a 1st for Timothy who is celebrating his 1st birthday and his 1st pre-birthday shoot. We had a great weather at that time and the sunshine was added by the smiles of Timothy and his parents. I hope you guys will like this!

I have a long way to go in photography, but I'm glad that I had fun taking pictures and meeting these friendly people. It has also been a while since I last posted here and at that brief moment, I think I lost the passion in photography. Good thing I have friends who share the same passion with me and that brought back the fire burning within me. :)

See you again sir and ma'am! :)

Bhang's Justice League Birthday Party

2011-07-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago I attended a colleague's birthday party at Shakey's. Its been a while since I last saw her and she is making good progress in her recovery. It is a fit for her to have a justice league party because she is really fighting her recovery like a superhero!

I'm glad to see you Bhang and I hope you will see this is as a simple gift and you will also realize how much people love you as a person and how much they miss to hang out with you. I am hoping and praying for your fast recovery! See you soon!!! =)

Hermione's Christening

2011-07-02T03:59:00.000-07:00

It was nice to see friends and colleagues gather to celebrate a child's baptism. Me and my wife had a great time with Bob and his family and with our friends.

Hermione, I hope as you grow up you will see this simple gift and you will realize that you are blessed and surrounded with happy and loving people. Welcome to the Christian World!

Woodstock at White Rock

2011-06-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Rio, Rango or Alfredo

2011-05-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

I went to a resort named Villa Alfredo in Pampanga last weekend and it was a wild life photography haven for me. Aside from enjoying swimming at their pool, I enjoyed taking pictures of birds and reptiles in their aviary. I also learned that this Camelot Macaw is like a living Hermes bag. Whew! That is a lot of money. I'm glad that I got the chance to take pictures of this it! =D

Skittles and Ring

2011-05-13T23:22:00.001-07:00

There are two things that I know about this friend of mine. One is that she loves skittles and the other is her fondness for this ring. But more than the ring itself, she dearly loves the person who gave it to her. Congratulations Moon and Jane!!!

Return to Pooh Locker

2011-05-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Growing up is a part of our life. Time flies so fast! We don't even realize that we've already grown up. We become preoccupied with studying, in finding work, in performing well in our job, in finding our special someone, in building our family, in making our life comfortable up until we become old. But at times we wander and search for our childhood. We long to go back to the time where we need not to worry too much. We recollect the years where we play "patintero" and "moro-moro". We reminisce the times where we enjoy watching The Smurfs, Sesame Street and "Batibot". Sometimes, it is good to just stop, step back and search for that locker inside us. The locker where we can find life's simple happiness and joy... the time when we were kids. =)

Tony + Tricia

2011-04-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

Attended a friend's wedding last week and had a great time taking photos of this lovely couple. Congratulations Tony and Tricia!

Gift: Yongnuo Speedlight YN467

2010-11-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Maffie invited me to go to the Gateway Mall to have a birthday date. She feels a little bit sicky but insisted that we had our date there. She told me that she wants to go to the places where we had our dates. I told her that we did not go to a lot of places in Gateway and that we should go at Shangrila Plaza Mall instead. But knowing her, she still persisted to go to Gateway.

Unaware of the things going on, she planned a surprise for me and bought me a special gift. Meet maddie (she named it after its seller Madmax), my first external flash.

It is a YongNuo Speedlight YN467. I was suppose to buy the Speedlight YN468 but was adviced that it still has a lot of issues because it is still new, that is why I opted to buy the 467. Regarding its performance of course, it is still mediocre compared to Canon’s flash lineup of 430EX and 530EX but it will get the job done, plus it is 5X cheaper than the 530EX. It is compatible with Canon’s E-TTL, has 24mm-80mm distance in manual mode and can be triggered by a flash using the S1 and S2 mode.

I’m so happy of the gift and I did not also think that Maffie can pull-off this kind of surprise. I took a picture of it together with its family. Maffie also named all of my camera stuffs. They are Nonnie(Canon Rebel XS), Zoomie (18-55mm), Primee (50mm 1.8), Telee (70-300mm), Louie (LowePro Bag), Jumbo (LowePro Laptop & Camera Bag), Gripie (Camera Grip) and now Maddie (Speedlight).

Welcome to the family Maddie!

My Personal Shabucks Coffee

2010-05-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Freshly brewed at the sunrise
Her aroma wakes me up in the morning
When I take a sip at the lip of her lid
It fills my heart of its constant need

Her warmth that is serve on every cup
Feels like a hug of her unconditional love
There can be different flavors that can be blend on her
Difficult to comprehend even for a painter

Nonetheless you make me think twice
I want you more like you are my vice
I am Crazy all day having a cupful of you
To have your coffee outlets is what I want to do

Oh I thank Thee for the bottomless cup
A blessing from you Oh Above
Oh I thank Thee for the Coffee you’ve entrusted my hand
I promise to love her as long as I stand.

Like me at Digiprint's Facebook contest.

2010-04-07T16:42:00.001-07:00

I recently joined a photo contest of Digiprint. Their theme is "SERENETIY: Our chapels and Churches". I was looking at my old photos finding if I did capture a good church that corresponds with the theme. Lucky enough I did not found one. hehehe :).

The past week was the celebration of the Holy Week, and if you are in a country that says it is the only Christian country in South East Asia, I believe you will have an ample of opportunity to find that serenity.

So here is the picture, I took this when we were in Tagaytay while having the anticipated mass for the "pasalubong". I called it "Ang Ilaw at ang Kanyang mga Simbahan", trans: "The Light and His Churches"

I hope you like this one and help me garner likes. Like me at digiprint's facebook wall.

To top it off

2010-03-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was a blast. I went with maffie to attend a baptism, then went to Tender Bob's at the Shangrila mall and then went to play basketball. Eating this dessert was the climax of the day. It made me realize that what we spent at this mall was very special. A special treat for maffie, a special time for the both of us and lastly a special basketball win for our team to top it off.

My ticket to Pacquiao vs Clottey

2010-03-11T09:43:00.001-08:00

Rarely I miss a Pacquiao fight and last night I went to the nearest cinema to buy a ticket. Maffie and I asked if there were still tickets available and they said "Sorry we are already sold out!". Walking away from the ticket booth sad, I was already thinking if my buddy old pal doggy has still tickets reserved in Lipa, also thinking that I can have a good breakfast at their lomi house. Maffie seeing me disapointed read the pacquiao ads outside the cinema. She told me that one of the ads says that if I buy 500 pesos worth of P&G products and with those products I have a 200ml of Head and Shoulders shampoo/conditioner I can get a free ticket. "WTF! That's a freakin' good deal!", so we rushed to the mall's supermarket and asked the customer service if they still have tickets and woopee! They still have tickets! Seldom do I get good deals when buying stuff and this one can be the most memorable. I hope we get a good treat this coming Sunday! Go get Clottey Pacman!

MOA Pyrolympics 2010: liebefunktioniert

2010-02-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

It was my second time to take pictures of fireworks (my first time was not a successful one :D). I went to SM Mall of Asia to watch this year's pyrolympics. There were a lot of people at the mall waiting for the event that the sky will light up and I was there waiting to get the chance to apply what sir Robert told me on how to capture the fireworks. "8 seconds F11", he said and that was the setting I used to capture it. I did not have a great angle to get it but it turned out well and I was able to find a concept for it. I hope you like what I did. =)

Luis' Birthday

2009-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Last September I went to a birthday party with my friends and I got the liberty to take some shots of cute kids. Sorry Luis for the late upload, this is already a long overdue. Here are the shots.

Photoshop Experiments

2009-09-26T07:36:00.001-07:00

Practicing and Understanding the concepts of layers, filters, and some image enhancements.

Lake George, NY

2009-09-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

I had a great time this year's US trip. I met with my old buddies Tony and Donn. I went to play basketball and football with them. My first week here was a long one because they had their labor day on Monday.

It was nice of Donn's family to invite me to there weekend trip at Lake George. I've never been to this side of New York it was a beautiful site to see, away from the tall buildings and bright lights of Manhattan. It is big lake that I think was formed by the glaciers that melted from the mountains that surround it.

Lake George was busy during that time, part of the reason is that summer is about to end. A lot of people were walking on the sidewalks, some of them were sun bathing and playing volleyball in the beach. Others enjoyed riding their boats and some of them even went parasailing. Me, I enjoyed driving a boat and of course taking shots with my camera.

Interstate 80

2009-09-10T06:55:00.001-07:00

On a cloudy Monday we were going home from our trip in Lake George and while we were travelling I took some panning shots. It was a nice road trip, though it was a long one. We had good time, endless talks and great views of the interstate.

BWs while waiting

2009-09-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

My shuttle to the hotel was a bit late. Everyone from work took off early because of the long weekend. A chance to take some pictures while waiting for my ride and while the parking area has no cars in it.

Senor Bookie's Despedida

2009-08-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

This was my first time to cover for a party. I think I did a pretty good job on taking nice photos. Here are the results.

Liliw - Tsinelas (Footwear,Slippers,Flipflops) Capital of the Southern Tagalog

2009-08-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Liliw is the "tsinelas" capital of the southern tagalog. It is like the marikina of the south. In here you will find a street full of slippers stores.

Also right beside the street you will find one of the oldest church here in the Philippines. The Church of Liliw, which finished its construction in 1605, is a massive building built in brick stones. It was damaged by an earthquake on 1880 and was reconstructed in 1898.

If you are going to buy here, I will recommend the store Entrada. They have unique designs and tough slippers. Maffie bought some of her "tsinelas" here... take note SOME... and got some other shoes and sandals in the other stores.

She really enjoyed shopping and good thing I did not bring enough money for her to buy (hehehe). She enjoyed walking around, buying and fitting "tsinelas" and I enjoyed taking pictures of this historic and cultural place.

lone ranger canon warrior

2009-06-28T09:39:00.001-07:00

We are a group of photo enthusiast. From left to right Assie (D90), Little John (D40), Treblig (D90), Balintataw (1000D), Bobuy (D60) and Almonkeyeini (D60). I am the only canon user in the group too bad I can not borrow their lenses. But we do share the same passion and help each other on learning new things about photography.

my spiderman paint tatoo

2009-06-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite shots during my boss' daughter kids party. I did some post processing to emphasize on Matt's emotion. He had a good time while having his tatoo and eating his chocolate bar.

Photoshop Magic (Amazing Eyes)

2009-06-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this video in YouTube on how to make eyes standout. So I did a little experimenting on my own. Making Maffie's brown eyes and picture standout. It was said that it is quite difficult on brown eyes but I did it anyway. Here is the bare image.

I did a little bit of adjustment on the image's brightness and contrast, made her brown eyes clearer and here is the finish product.

a birthday wish

2009-06-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

It was Andre's birthday and it was my first time to take a picture of a kid blowing his candles on his birthday cake. He is already 4 years old and was accelerated from nursery to kinder. I gave him a special treat for that by buying two of his favorite transformers action figure (Optimus Prime and Megatron). This is another treat for your birthday Andre hopefully you will still find this blog site when you grow up. Love Tito Bom. :)

Terrazas de Punta fuego, Nasugbo, Batangas

2009-06-19T18:30:00.001-07:00

This summer I was blessed enough to explore some parts of the southern Philippines. Indeed our country is blessed with wonderful sites and great beaches. I was able to go to Los Baños, Laiya, Nasugbo, and last week at Mabini. Here are some of my shots when we went to Punta Fuego in Nasugbo, Batangas. This site is a beach club and a yacht club. Good thing I know a friend who knows a friend that owns a place in Punta Fuego. She was kind enough to allow us to visit this beach club.

Acuatico Beach Resort Laiya, Batangas

2009-06-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Last April we went to Acuatico Beach Resort, Laiya, Batangas to enjoy the summer. We took off from the city at 4:30 am and passed by Lipa to go to the cathedral and eat at my friends Lomi restaurant.

We arrived at the resort around 9:00 am and immediately I took pictures of the site. The place had good cottages and nice rooms to stay. They had a small infinity pool that adds up to their small place. In the middle of the pool is a bar. It was place nicely for customers to easily buy food and drinks. It had a nice big flat screen TV (i've watched the peñalosa vs lopez fight here). Overall it was a great vacation, a nice place to take pictures and an enjoyable road trip.

a butterfly's pathway

2009-05-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite shots when I went to Los Baños, Laguna. The butterfly is such a photo addict that it did not move when I was taking my shot.

Flower Capture

2009-05-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

I went to UP today and took some shots of flowers seen in the vicinity. I was blessed enough to capture a bee's moment with a flower.

timeless...

2009-05-08T11:35:00.001-07:00

"Seize the day, you're not getting any younger!" Saying such teaches us that time is indeed valuable. We eat, we work, we sleep, we blog, we drive, we play our game consoles. These are some of the things that consume our time.

Beyond what is said, how do we make our time valuable? Which second, minute, hour, or day can we consider a treasure?

Do we give our life for something that is divine? Do we take into heart happy moments that happens in our lives? Do we learn from our mistakes? Do we value every person we come across with? Do we make the right decisions? Do we contribute our life as an inspiration to those who are younger than us?

Many questions, many answers, different views, different opinions. Live your life as if you can say that you lived it to the full! Every clock ticks and every minute swings, remember to make it worth of what is ahead of you.

a street at the big mall

2009-05-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

I love the bright lights in the city! Capturing it on picture really makes a photograph lively but sometimes disorganized.
I love seeing the rays of a light in a picture, which can only be seen by our eyes if we pay attention to it. A picture makes it still and gives us the opportunity to see its beauty.
Here is a sample of a city street in Manila, taken along the biggest mall in the country. Captivating the lights I exactly wanted to see.

la esquinita en la pueblo

2009-05-01T01:15:00.001-07:00

Its a sunny noon, everyone is hungry. A lot of people rushing to the restaurants for a quick lunch before resuming to work.

blue and window

2009-04-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

tic-tac tic-tac

2009-04-21T15:30:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday Maffie and I were looking for a place to eat, we passed by a boutique and saw there a nice clock. Too bad the boutique is closing and I could not take my picture. Blessed enough I saw this beautiful clock at Giligans GB1 and that triggered the interest in collecting clock pictures. One good thing about it is that a clock has a time stamp, which makes you know the time you took the picture hehe.

LA's eyes

2009-04-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

she is sweet
she is little and cute
she is perky
she is a kid at heart
she is LA

passing through makati

2009-04-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here are my shots when I was going to work last Friday.

shiny sportivo

a side mirror's perspective

makati loop

going to work

easter night at high street

2009-04-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I took maffie to high street's station of the cross. While I was taking my shots, I found it difficult to shoot while in hand-held and in low light conditions using my kit lens. Here are my takes at that night.

hope of salvation

memories

crucified

the bribe

who am i

DM's eyes

2009-04-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Tell me what do you see?
Do you see happiness?
Contentment?
a Snobbish?
an Elite?
Playfulness?
Shyness?
Tell me...

la mesa easter 09

2009-04-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my takes when we went to la mesa ecopark last easter.

kaya ko ito

slide tayo

wood fence

geronimo

waiting for the mass

si atey at si baby

mamang sorbetero

maliliit na talulot

flower on water

sunsets during black saturday

2009-04-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

I asked my sister to come along with me to take photos of the sunset at MOA's bay area. She tagged along two of her friends to join. It turned out that is going to be a photo shoot of them and not the sunset hehehe :). We went to "libingan ng mga bayani" first before going to MOA. Around 6 pm I was in a hurry to catch the sunset at the bay, unfortunately it was too cloudy and I did not catch the sun. After reviewing my takes tonight I think I captured two nice sunset sceneries. Hope you like it.

it's time for the lamp post to shine

sunset at busy bay

moon star

2009-04-10T21:29:00.001-07:00

It always gets unnoticed maybe because of the calmness of the night or maybe because we are so used to see it. Seeing the moon and how fast the clouds past by really is site to watch.

my first street

2009-04-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is one of my goals in photography to capture different streets. After several attempts in the past I think I made a nice capture with this one and worthy enough to be called the first street (hehehe). I'm using my 18 x 55 mm kit lens at 25", f10 and ISO 800.

beauty is in the eyes

2009-04-10T01:50:00.000-07:00

As the first entry for this blog it is very fitting to talk about the eyes. I love to take pictures of a person's eyes. In the eyes you can see a person's emotion, his thoughts, his frustrations, his happiness and everything about a human being's feelings. I wish as I continue in this hobby I can capture and bring life to a picture.