Photography & Arts: Peace, Love & Happiness

Those three words, or symbols  represent the core of what I believe in—and it took me that line to verbalize it. For so often, I realized have lived with my beliefs thriving inside—asking to be shared, sung, spoken—yet remained out of the reach of expression. I would want to encourage all of our readers to join in doing the same to put values on those pictures.

Source: http://writefromwrong.com/2011/01/14/photoart-january/

Fireworks Photography

Big fireworks shows are thrilling to watch, and they make thrilling photo subjects. Because it's night photography, you'd think that all of the rules of shooting in low light would apply for this.Fireworks are a great way to burn film.  The formula I use is f8 for 100 as a film with a 4 to 12 second exposure.  The exposure is hit and miss - using the bulb feature on the camera and a cable release, open the shutter when it looks like the fireworks will be good and hold the shutter open for as long as you need to fill up the image.  (A tripod is a must - a clamp works in a pinch.  If you can't support the camera, don't bother).  Blue fireworks are difficult to capture (they are dim) and green fireworks are generally the brightest.

Sources: http://www.johnharveyphoto.com/LearnNight/

High Speed Photography

Freezing fast motion (AKA High Speed Photography), can give some pretty special photographic effects. High Speed Photography is used in physics, health research, sports and more. This guide describes how to capture super fast movements using ordinary camera gear and a little home made electronics. I will describes the setup I used the problems I encountered and what I did to solve or work around them.

Here is a nice example of High Speed Photography: 

 
SOURCES: http://www.diyphotography.net/diy_high_speed_photography_at_home
http://immakiddo.tumblr.com/tagged/Photography

Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Confirmed as one of the New7Wonders of Nature

Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Officially Confirmed as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature

Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) is now officially confirmed as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, announce it in Manila and congratulated the people of the Philippines for supporting their national finalist in the global campaign.
Puerto Princesa Underground River is located some 50km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, on Palawan island in the Philippines. It consists of a limestone karst mountain landscape, several large chambers containing significant formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and an 8.2 km. navigable underground river that winds through a cave before flowing directly into the West Philippine Sea. At the exit, a flawless lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge.

Read more: Lakbay LENTE: Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Officially Confirmed as one of the New7Wonders of Nature http://www.lakbaylente.com/2012/01/puerto-princesa-underground-river-ppur.html#ixzz1oa9WDwn0

Baby Photography

Baby pictures are one the most fascinating pictures on earth. And I think they are the most photographed subject in the world. As with any photo, finding the right angle or choosing the right perspective will result in an amazing photo. Capturing adorable moments with that innocent smile requires luck and patience. Getting your baby to model or to smile for a photo shoot is easier said than done. Babies are quite unpredictable in their behaviors and motion blur distort your photos. Photographing babies in a colorful background or natural surrounding would be an ideal choice.

Source: 
http://pau.bengero.com/tag/newborn-photography/

Travel Photography

Travel photography may span several categories of photography, including advertising, documentary or vernacular photography that depicts a particularly local or historical flavor. A travel photographer can capture the feel of a location with both landscapes and portraiture.

Travel photography is a subcategory of photography involving the documentation of an area's landscape, people, cultures, customs and history.  

Sources: 

http://www.photography.com/articles/types-of-photography/types-of-photography/
http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/features/start/26/countries/Philippines/ 

Macrophotography

Macro photography is the art of taking close-up pictures that reveal details which can’t be seen with the naked eye. For example, while we can see the fly on the wall, our eyes aren’t equipped to make out the fine details of the hairs on it’s face. This is where macro photography comes in. It gives us a glimpse into the world of the very small, which goes largely unnoticed by us as we hurriedly shuffle through our day.

SOURCE:
http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/40-amazing-examples-of-macro-photography

Underwater Photography

Underwater photography is probably one of the most difficult to practice. It requires a very specialized equipment and the knowledge of some advanced techniques to get a perfect picture. You need to get the correct exposure, accurate focus, controlled movement of your subject and a pleasing color balance; you also have to deal with low light. Underwater photos offen suffer from loss of color and contrast when taken at a significant depth. Such photos are always adjusted with color balance to help offset the blueish tint of the water.

Because underwater photography is a specialized art, relatively few photographers attempt it. But it offers many exciting and rare photographic opportunities for fresh and truly different vivid images. Most often, photographers use a traditional film or digital camera covered in a watertight casing. Professionals prefer to use special underwater cameras.

Source:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/19/25-beautiful-examples-of-underwater-photography/

Street Photography

Street Photography, also known as straight photography, refers to the body of photography that uses scenes from everyday life for its subjects. While street photography can focus on shots of streets, it may also focus on parks, malls, parades or any other urban center or celebration. While it is a subset of documentary photography, street photography differs from traditional documentary photography in that it documents a portrait of the world, rather than a specific subject.

Street Photography. Similarly, although street photography may have a social or political message, it tends to center more on an ironic statement relating to its subject directly, instead of commenting on all similar subjects. Essentially, the intent of street photography is to function as mirror that directly reflects its immediate subject.

Photo Courtesy:http://richardyulo.multiply.com/photos/photo/38/23

Documentary Photography

Documentary Photography refers to the area of photography in which pictures are used as historical documents. Rather than serving as a source of art or aesthetic pleasure, documentary photography is often used to incite political and social change due to its ability to capture the “true” nature of an image or location. In simple terms, this school of photography uses pictures as documented evidence of a particular situation.

Oftentimes, pictures taken in the vein of documentary photography tend to be shocking, grotesque, vivid and intense to prove a point and evoke a viewer’s emotions. Some of the most common examples of documentary photographs are featured in modern newspapers and magazines.

Here are some sample shots of documentary photography:

Photo Courtesy:http://photo.net/editors-picks/2009/documentary-photography/

VALENTINES DAY!

Couples around the world celebrated Valentine's Day in different ways; weddings, flash mobs, decorations and even kissing contests. 

Filipinos regard love and friendship as the most essential ingredient of their spiritual life. Moreover, Philippines are a multicultural and multiethnic territory. These facts make flowers very important in a Filipino's life. Throughout the year, dozens of festivals belonging to different ethnic and cultural groups need flowers for their successful celebration. However, Valentine's Day unites Philippines removing all the ethnic and cultural tags.14th of February, is celebrated with the full spirit throughout Philippines.

Filipinos present red roses to their Valentines as an acknowledgment of their boundless love for them. Those who are in a search of a perfect match, wear red shirts. All the public places seem raided with the couples joining hands together and giving surprises to their dates. All the beaches, malls, plazas and other important sites are decorated with spectacular floral arrangements. People start their Valentine Day celebration with presenting a unique Bouquet, flower basket, heart made of roses or other captivating floral arrangements. Next, they go for a dinner or lunch to the pre-reserved hotel. After having taken the meal, preference of the majority is to go to a live performance. Here they request singers and dancers to sing their valentine's favorite song or to perform on the one. Celebration usually ends with watching of a romantic movie together. This February Filipinos are making special arrangements for claiming the record to be their once again. Florists, no doubt, play a very important role in this celebration.

Night Photography

Taking a photo is not as easy as focusing on the subject and then clicking the camera. It takes more than that. In fact, it takes a lot of intuition and a set of lessons. This is why amateurs in photography need not only experience but also lessons in techniques and of course in the basics.
One of the hardest thing to master is night photography, not only because the subject is hard to find but also because the shadows will make it more difficult for the amateur photographer to take a good shot.

Source: http://www.photo.net.ph/blogalicious/lessons/night-photography-tips-for-amateurs/

Street Food in the Philippines: A Taste of Filipino Life

Food is arguably the most important thing when it comes to a person’s life. Everyone eats, no matter what kind of diet they tend to have. Everyone just really eats food and that’s that.

The great thing about food, however, is that they tend to be quite unique to its location. A dish could be popular worldwide, but it can also be very local and specific to an area. This is mostly due to the fact that food largely reflects local culture. The ingredients and how the food is cooked say a lot about a specific region or country.

Aside from the regular cuisine, however, a country’s set of street foods also tend to serve the same purpose as well. For example, the Chinese’s meat buns are extremely popular because they are inexpensive and filling. They are also perfect because they easily feed the working class citizens.

This is the same case with Filipino street foods. Most items that you will find out on the streets all over the country are made out of inexpensive items that are very affordable. They tend to say a lot about the country, because, as most people know, the Philippines is not exactly a rich country. Being in the “third world”, these food items are perfect because they are easily available, cheap, and tasty.

Here are examples of street foods shots by some of the photographers in the Philippines:

KWEK-KWEK , ISAW AT BALUT

 Source: http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2011/08/27/street-food-in-the-philippines-a-taste-of-filipino-life/