The Lioness's Lair

The Aeropress photo stream



My best friend, Art, gave this for my birthday!  I've been using it ever since!  Follow the link to the flickr photo set.  Directions on how I used it are on each photo as well.

Things have been busy busy busy lately!

• ABS-CBN projects is finally wrapping up! Orange and Bronze will be celebrating tonight.  Since everyone is going to be there I'm sure it's going to be a helluva wild night. (Dean, I do hope you'll be well enough to attend. It just won't be the same with you, me and Garry.)
• Updating materials while conducting the Pointwest Java Boot Camp.
• Preparing to help out Rommel Feria with JEDI (Java Education and Development Initiative).

Learned so many things about car maintenance too!  Besides the usual check up of gas, tire pressure, windshield cleaner, etc., I also learned how to change a tire, test the heating plugs, check for tubing leaks.  Since I always end up talking to our mechanic and observing how he does stufff, in the event of a breakdown I'd think I'd have a better chance of fixing Art's car than Art does. LOL!

I also learned that duct tape can fix anything.  Plus my friends are astounded by the new wallet I made out of the stuff! Gotta shoot that soon.

For the first time in twenty-something years, I've been hanging out with my first cousins.  Haven't done so because of personal stuff between our dads.  But since we're now older and wiser, we've come to learn and say "To heck with their squabbles!  It shouldn't affect the fact that we're still cousins!"  This wouldn't have happened if our favorite cousin, Marie, didn't get married a couple weeks back.

Finally, it's wonderful to get enough time off to hang out with my best friends.  Choppy will be leaving soon for a two-year stint at Singapore's National University Hospital while Art is ... busy ... with a lot of stuff.  Still, it's nice to go out for a beer (Choppy) and watch the movies coming out (Art).

I'm not able to blog as long and often as I want to on all my four blogs.  But at least I'm still able to twitter.  YAY to Smart's cheap GPRS/3G rates!

Oh, and did I mention I'm on number 210 of my 1000 origami crane project?

Personal thoughts on what I learned by observation. Open minds and logic required.

I reserved a slot to attend Jo Avila's product photography seminar.

Yes, I'm excited!  I've been wanting to do this for a long time now. :D

Jo Avila has finally put up a website where you can find out what and when are his latest photography seminars happening.

If you own a digital camera, does it have a feature where you can change the default name of the image it saves to? If so, I'd suggest you make good use of it.

Just before your shoot change the settings to something you can understand later on.  Example, I can only change the first two characters of the filename on my camera.  So at the beginning of the day I usually set it to A1.  If I go to several events in a single day, I'd usually go from A1 to A2 to A3 and so forth.  Sometimes it takes a while before I finally remember to burn the images to a CD (end of the week, usually). So the next day I set it to B1. Basically, the first character denotes the day and the second character the event of that day.  Once I get to burn it at the end of the week, I set it back to A1.

Of course, if you can change more than just the first two characters, then you can simply set the prefix to a particular date or even a more understandable shorthand of the event you're attending. As for the frame count, I usually reset it at the end of the day.

Hi! I will be giving photography seminars for the months of February to March 2007.

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There will be a Basic Food Styling and Food Photography Seminar at my studio on 18 February 2007 from 1pm to 6pm. Learn the basics of food styling. This is a hands on course that will allow you to food style two dishes (pasta and salad). A guided photo session afterwards will allow you to photograph your creation.

The seminar only has nine (9) slots available.

The seminar fee of P3, 500.00/participant is already inclusive of ingredients, handouts and a certificate of attendance. Participants are required to bring a basic food styling kit, aprons and their own cameras.

Basic food styling kits may be ordered in advance for P1, 500.00 or you may assemble one on your own.

The resource person for the food styling component of the seminar is Pixie Sevilla.

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There will be an Advanced Food Styling and Food Photography Seminar at my studio on 25 February 2007 from 1pm to 6pm.  This is a hands on seminar where participants will learn to food style steak, pizza and ice cream.  A guided photo session afterwards will allow you to photograph your creation.

The seminar only has nine (9) slots available.

The seminar fee of P4,500.00/participant is already inclusive of ingredients, handouts and a certificate of attendance.  Participants are required to bring a basic food styling kit, aprons and their own cameras.

Basic food styling kits may be ordered in advance.

The resource person for the food styling component of the seminar is Pixie Sevilla.

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The schedule of the Basic Photography Seminar (Saturday sessions) for February to March 2007 is as follows:

February 24 – Basic Theories and Principles of Photography
March 3 – Composition Techniques
March 17 – Basic Studio Lighting
March 24 – Basic Photoshop
March 31 – Basic Color Management and Guerilla Shooting Techniques

All sessions shall be from 2pm-5pm.

There are only fifteen (15) slots available.

The seminar fee of P4, 500/participant is the total fee for all five sessions.  All participants will receive handouts and a certificate of attendance.

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The schedule of the Basic Photography Seminar (weeknight sessions) for March 2007 is as follows:

March 6 – Basic Theories and Principles of Photography
March 8 – Composition Techniques
March 13 – Basic Studio Lighting
March 15 – Basic Photoshop
March 20 – Basic Color Management and Guerilla Shooting Techniques

All sessions shall be from 630pm-930pm.

There are only fifteen (15) slots available.

The seminar fee of P3, 500/participant is the total fee for all five sessions. All participants will receive handouts and a certificate of attendance.

===========================================================

The schedule of the Advance Photography Seminar (Wednesdays) for February to March 2007 is as follows:

March 7 – Composition & Lighting
March 14 – Composition & Lighting
March 21 – Composition & Lighting
March 28 – Composition & Lighting

All sessions shall be from 630pm-930pm.

All sessions will begin with case study discussions of certain shooting situations. All sessions will have a studio shooting session using various light sources and techniques. It is for this reason that the class is limited to a maximum of eight (8) participants only.

Slot reservations are on a first come, first serve basis.

The seminar fee of P4, 500/participant is the total fee for all four sessions and is already inclusive of a certificate of attendance.

===========================================================

All sessions will be held at Unit 114, Gold Building, 15 Annapolis, Greenhills, SJ.

Participants of my past basic photography seminars may attend any session of my upcoming basic photography seminar for free as a refresher course.

Please feel free to contact me for queries or suggestions regarding the seminars.

Cheers!

Jo Avila (0917) 5305133
pinakamagalingako@gmail.com

This was a shot without a flash. Dark, isn't it?

This is a shot of the same spot with the flash pointing straight on.

Same shot. Flash pointing towards the ceiling.

Last shot. Flash still pointing at the ceiling but now with the CD case bounce card.


Frankly, I kinda like the last shot. What do you think?

It's not the best of photos, but it will do for now. This was given to me by Albert Yan a couple of years back.

It's an early Zenobia C I. It is a 6x4 folding camera. It was made around 1952. And Albert is going to kill me for not using it as much as he expects me to. (Sowwee!!!)

But today I took it out from it's plastic wrapping (See?! I still took great care of it!). From the time I got this I had promised myself to have the lenses cleaned. I still haven't done that. But it doesn't look like the glass was any cloudier than before.

And yes, it still works. And yes there's still film inside it.

I took it out for two reasons. One is that I got envious of Gen's newly acquired Yashica TLR. That's when I decided that maybe we could hook up and shoot stuff. Oh yeah that would be super!

Secondly, I decided to try out my new flash. I was talking to Elwin earlier and he suggested using those CD envelopes from CD-R King. I tried it out and... I think I just made myself a better bounce card. Haha! If you're going to try this, get two CD envelopes, remove the plastic, use the soft white material and slap them onto your flash with a rubber band from the side of the flash.

After buying the flash yesterday, I found myself in an event with Art Ilano.  Nevermind that I wasn't dressed for the ocassion.  But at least I had my camera with me.  I left the flash in the car though since I still had no idea how to effectively use it.  That said, I took a few shots and soon put my camera back in the bag.  I was getting insecure with all those photographers in the area with their big bad flash guns. Haha!

Note:  I'm lousy in event photography.  Hence you won't see photos of the event.  Well... maybe.

Anyway, I also met Hans Villarica, Art's editorial assistant.  Turns out he's into photography as well and was suggesting I buy a stofen or a lightsphere.

Me:  "You do know how much that thing costs, right?"
Hans:  "Yes. I bought one myself."

Ah. Lucky him.  But I'm a hobbyist, thus I can't really afford buying a diffuser which I just might rarely use.  And again... do you know how much a sto-fen or a lightsphere costs?

Which brings me back to economics and physics.  Heck, it's light after all.  So I really just need something to diffuse the light with.  What would be good cheap alternatives?  Try wrapping your flash with tracing paper.  Try a DIY bounce card using a stiff white business card.  Or take a tip from strobist and get a cheap translucent plastic container to fit on your flash.

Fred Miranda's site has instructions for a home-made soft box.

Then there's a video for a better bounce card over here.  I might try this one out. Have to check the craft shops for some nice white felt cloth/paper to use.

I finally got to go to Photoworld today.  Despite my aching legs (must remember to stretch before jogging next time), I was able to go visit all the shops.  Actually, I almost missed one side.  I was looking for a circular polarizer for my camera but the cokin polas were unavailable.  So the next thing I considered was a new flash.

My old Sunpak Auto thyristor had already given up on me, so I decided to might as well get a new strobe unit.  The Olympus flash guns were... expensive. And out of stock as well.  So I decided to follow a friend's advice (many thanks to Jay Camus!) and hunted for a Sunpak flash.

My search came up empty.  So I decided to sit down for a while on one of the benches.  (My feet were already killing me by then.  Mental note: when shopping, do not wear heels.)  I was wondering where the shop owners from Hidalgo were.  For some reason, those shops were missing in action.  Then I realize that I hadn't visited the area that was RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.  I got up.  Went forward.  And found myself staring at a Sunpak auto 383s at Avenue Photo Shop.  The original price tag was at 6807.  I got it for 6200.  Not bad. :D  I'm happy now!

Now all I have to do is learn how to use this thing.

I know this isn't about photography.  But I really am need of a guinea pig. I found this wonderful recipe for a really wicked cookie.  If anyone is interested in sampling this, do let me know.

Oh right. What does it contain?
Espresso powder. 
Cocoa powder.
Chocolate chips.
Chocolate-covered coffee beans.

I've been remiss in my updates on what's been happening with my photo seminar.  Day 02 we learned about composition, what makes a good photograph, framing and to avoid shooting a cow eating grass.

Day 03 was about lighting. Gosh!  There was really so much to learn about flash photography and strobes.  I need to get several books from Fully Booked soon.

Tomorrow is Day 04 where we get to learn how to use Photoshop for the basic retouching.

Finally, at the end of Day 03, I ended up buying a set of WarmCards at Jo Avila's studio. Until Oct 31, the price is pegged at 2,800 pesos.  Using it (specially the gray card) did make a difference on the color of my photos.

Hmm. I should get a Spyder during PhotoWorld Manila. :D

Hi! There will be a BASIC FOOD STYLING AND FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY SEMINAR at mystudio on 19 November 2006 from 1pm to 6pm. Learn the basics of foodstyling. This is a hands on course that will allow you to food style twodishes (pasta and salad). A guided photo session afterwards will allow youto photograph your creation.

The seminar only has eight slots available.

The seminar fee of P3, 500.00/participant is already inclusive ofingredients, handouts and a certificate of attendance. Participants arerequired to bring a basic food styling kit, aprons and their own cameras.

Basic food styling kits may be ordered in advance for P1,500.00 or you mayassemble one on your own.

The resource person for the food styling component of the seminar is PixieSevilla.

The seminars will be held at Unit 114, Gold Building, 15 Annapolis st.,Greenhills, SJ.

Please send me an email at pinakamagalingako@hotmail.com if anyone wishes tosign up.


Cheers!
Jo Avila (0917) 5305133

So you've spent all your hard earned cash on a camera that shoots RAW images.  You need to do your magic now.  Then you realize... you need Photoshop.  Plus some plugin to open that RAW file.  But you need  money to buy the stuff.

So, now what do you do?

First thing everyone will tell you is, "Try GIMP!"  GIMP is short for the GNU Image Manipulation Program.  It's free (as in free beer).  But alone, GIMP won't be able to open your RAW files.

Enter UFRaw.  This other free program can be used by itself or as a plugin to GIMP.  For Nikon users UFRaw has the advantage that it can read the camera's tone curves. Even if you don't own a Nikon, you can still apply a Nikon curve to your images.  Check out this page to see what cameras are supported in UFRaw: http://ufraw.sourceforge.net/Cameras.html

Hi! I will be giving photography seminars for the month of November 2006.

This will be the last set of photography seminars that I shall be offering for 2006.

My photography seminars will be resuming in January 2007.

The schedule of the Basic Photography Seminar (weeknight sessions) for October 2006 is as follows:

November 7 – Basic Theories and Principles of Photography
November 9 – Composition Techniques
November 14 – Basic Studio Lighting
November 16 – Basic Photoshop
November 21 – Advanced Photoshop and Guerilla Shooting Techniques

All sessions shall be from 630pm-930pm.

There are only fifteen (15) slots available.

The seminar fee of P3, 500/participant is the total fee for all five sessions. All participants will receive handouts and a certificate of attendance.

==========================================

The schedule of the Basic Photography Seminar (Saturday sessions) for November 2006 is as follows:

November 11 – Basic Theories and Principles of Photography
November 18 – Composition Techniques
November 25 – Basic Studio Lighting
December 2 – Basic Photoshop
December 9 – Advanced Photoshop and Guerilla Shooting Techniques

All sessions shall be from 2pm-5pm.

There are only fifteen (15) slots available.

The seminar fee of P4, 500/participant is the total fee for all five sessions. All participants will receive handouts and a certificate of attendance.

==========================================

The schedule of the Advance Photography Seminar (Wednesdays) for November 2006 is as follows:

November 8 – Composition & Lighting
November 15 – Composition & Lighting
November 22 – Composition & Lighting
November 29 – Composition & Lighting

All sessions shall be from 630pm-930pm.

All sessions will begin with case study discussions of certain shooting situations. All sessions will have a studio shooting session using various light sources and techniques. It is for this reason that the class is limited to a maximum of eight ( participants only.

Slot reservations are on a first come, first serve basis.

The seminar fee of P4, 500/participant is the total fee for all four sessions and is already inclusive of a certificate of attendance.

=======================================

All sessions will be held at Unit 114, Gold Building, 15 Annapolis, Greenhills, SJ.

Participants of my past basic photography seminars may attend any session of my upcoming basic photography seminar for free as a refresher course.

Please feel free to contact me for queries or suggestions regarding the seminars.

Cheers!

Jo Avila (0917) 5305133
pinakamagalingako@hotmail.com

For some odd reason, my "Nudes" post just became the most visited item on my multiply blog.

To put the rest of the readers at ease, let me qualify my "stare" quote.

If I stare at you with great interest... yes, I'm already imagining what your best pose could be (or would have been).

If I stare at you with a quizzical look, then there must be something wrong with you.

If I give you a blank stare... then I'm either thinking of work or an earth-shattering, world dominating idea.  Or perhaps daydreaming -- fantasizing the many things I can do -- about you.  But definitely not stripping you.  No, sirree!  Maybe wonder if whipped cream, cherries and liquid latex look good on you.  But definitely not stripping you.

Just kidding.

Seriously, if I stare at you in an interested way, then yes. Birthday suit.  Definitely.  But if you catch me staring at you, then I wasn't really thinking about you naked.  Nope.  If I was, you wouldn't really know. :)

Confused?  Ah!  Then make it easier on yourself and forget about me staring at you when you don't know about it.

Got milk?

Start:	Apr 29, '07
Location:	http://www.pinholeday.org/

What is Pinhole Day?
Anyone, anywhere in the world, who makes a pinhole photograph on the last Sunday in April, can scan it and upload it to this website where it will become part of the annual Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day celebration's online gallery.

While searching for a receipt among the many boxes in my bedroom, I found my book on Nudes by Anna Henly (Camera Craft series. Ava Publishing. ISBN 2-88479-024-1).  It's the very first book I ever had about nude photography.

I admit, when I stare at people from a distance I'm mentally stripping the clothes off them.  Yes. You too.  If you're over the age of 21, human and not a relative, at some point in time I will start thinking of you in your birthday suit.  Doesn't matter if your lithe and trim or huge and pudgy.

My first foray into nude photography was when I was invited by Eddie Boy Escudero to pose for him.  Well, semi-nude.  I still had a bathrobe and knickers on.  At that time I couldn't tell anyone about it.  But I soon realized that this was Eddie Boy Escudero we're talking about here.  I should be flattered!  And I really was!

Then there were the times when I assisted Jo Avila during his FHM shoots a few years back.  From both men I learned how to handle a nude model.  What to do and not to do.  This helped a lot when I joined in a group figure study shoot held by John Mateos Ong.  My last shoot was when I had a couple girls, best friends with each other, pose for me semi-nude a couple years ago.

There are many types of nude shoots.  With FHM, it's more of a glamour or pin-up shoot.  On the book that I have, the author gave her opinion that there are six different types of nudes:  commercial, artistic, pin-up, erotic, nude abstract and creative.  My preferences lean more towards artistic, abstract and erotic.

The human body absolutely fascinates me!  I don't know why but I find the nakedness absolutely beautiful.  There have been quite a number of people whom I've met over the past couple of years that I'd like to shoot in the buff.  A lot from Mensa Philippines, several PhPhoto members, three or four JGL, ten Mapalad, three from Hinge Inquirer, and a couple from CSGC.  And not to mention people from current and previous work.

If you're wondering who these people are on my wish list, I could tell you.  But then I'll also have to shoot you.

Seriously.