Calatagan, Batangas

First travel for the year!!! :D

Bryan invited me to tag along with his travel gang to Calatagan. It was my first trip with their group so I didn't have any expectations whatsoever. My goal was merely to take a relaxing weekend out of town and abuse my photoholic self.

Well, honestly the place wasn't really very outstanding compared to the other locations I've been to. But for the proximity, it was good enough.


Nevertheless, I had an absolutely great time with this group! Laugh trip all the way! These guys are really pros at traveling. They pack light, only one bag for everything including their photography paraphernalia. They know how to market, cook, clean up after themselves, walang maarte o maselan. Best of all, despite a very long day of spot-hopping, they still have so much energy to last until inuman time! And even better, they have an amazing sense of humor. We were constantly laughing our faces off, haha. Donna, you're a star!


Here are the quotable quotes for the session:

"Ako nagtanim, ako nag-ani, ako bumayo... Iba kumain!" - Donna
"There's no risk in making bayo" - Mer
"Energy is only transferred or transformed" - Sealdi, ginagamitan kami ng Physics
"Mukha bang may ngiti ang puso ko tuwing nandyan siya? Nakikita niyo ba?" - Donna
"Kung isa akong karaniwang babae magugustuhan ko siya... Problema hindi ako isang karaniwang babae...." - Donna
"Isa siyang pandan. Kailangan hawiin ang mga talahib para kunin siya at alagaan" - Donna

Kalurki! Marami pang usapang pagtatanim ang naganap. Sana mag-status message na ang mga tao para maalala ko. Ang profound ng mga taong itech! Hahaha.

On top of the good company, I was also able to use Lexi on a more natural environment. It produced such gorgeous photos, comparable to the ones from the other guys' DSLRs. I couldn't be any prouder. :)

Ronco Beach

Mangrove Forest Reserve

Punta Santiago Lighthouse

Heart in the sky! Happy Valentine's Month!!! :D

Looking forward to my next trip, hopefully soon! :D

Bawal Pumuti!

Just got my new travel buddy! I hesitated for a while though, it was quite pricey that I had to research and make sure that it's worth it. Luckily it was. My friend in the states and sister in NZ couldn't find a similar design for the same price. I was just supposed to check out the size and the quality today, but he's so gorgeous and gay that I just fell in love instantly! He even has his own raincover, how smart! :D




My old companion was getting too weak and is showing significant signs of aging, I had to lay him to rest before he totally breaks. But he'll be in my memory olwez. I had tons of good times with this stud, I don't remember a single travel during it's lifetime that I used another one with me.















I'm so excited for this coming weekend! Gusto ko na maarawan, bawal pumuti! Perfect way to end January :D

Lazy Daisy

I don't have work today since I was on call yesterday. I had nothing planned so I decided to test my toy's macro powers. I keep getting inspired by the gorgeous pictures taken by people with their DSLRs so I wanted to challenge my P&S, to see how it would fare against those high powered cameras. So I went to the garden to take shots of random what not's. Well, I'm very happy with it! Hahaha.

I admit though that condensing features in such a small package has it shortcomings (hello zoom, where are you?! also maximum f is 8).

I also need to learn how to PP! Haha, all I can do are very basic adjustments. I don't even have a decent software. Therefore, note to self: Get a fancy photo editing chorva software... and learn it! Wahaha, wag na kasi tamad! :P

Blue Eye Stint

Was able to test my Sexy Lexi's ability in a more Pro set-up, how fun was that??? :D

I couldn't get decent close-ups though. The zoom range of LX3 is not very good and I couldn't get too close to the model else I'll block other DSLRs' shots with my puny toy(makes me think of getting one myself)/ But overall, I'm quite satisfied. :)
















Quick note on my hobby:

I've really enjoyed taking pictures of everything under the sun. This goes as far back as film days. I just couldn't stop myself from clicking and clicking when I have any sort of camera on my hand. I can quickly use up a 36-frame roll back then and would clap my hands with joy everytime there are extra 3 to 4 frames for free. I truly love taking shots whenever, wherever. I'm not big on journals, but for me, photos are perfect records of one's life. That's also the reason why I got inspired to revive my blog, I got a new semi-fancy camera that I can easily carry around thus recording my experiences better. I'm really thankful to my Sis for getting me this toy. :D

Renovate

From Merriam Webster Online Dictonary:
Main Entry: ren·o·vate
Pronunciation: \ˈre-nə-ˌvāt\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): ren·o·vat·ed; ren·o·vat·ing

Etymology: Latin renovatus, past participle of renovare, from re- + novare to make new, from novus new — more at new

Date: circa 1522

1 : to restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding)
2 : to restore to life, vigor, or activity : revive renovated by a new ecumenical spirit>

I want to renovate my room in hopes that it will renew my vigor and passion for life. Inspiration, that's my theme. What I aim for after completion of this project is to feel inspired every time I enter my room. I'll try to restore things that I already have, dispose of the unnecessary ones and buy just a few items that will enhance my idea. I've chosen red as my wall color, since I've read that it's a color of energy, passion and adventure. I can't wait! I even took a leave for this so I hope that the outcome will be satisfactory. :)

These are some of the designs that I spotted on the web:

But of course, I can't afford these high-end thingies so resourcefulness is key. I'll try my best to make the most of what I have. Yes, so superlative! I'm so hyped!

If the results are fantastic, I'll post photos here and make these designers crawl on their knees, hahaha. Just kidding. :P