Saturday, October 8, 2011

I placed 7th in the Nikon Club Philippines Photo of the Month for September 2011

I'm so happy to learn that one of my entries for the NCP PotM last September was able to place 7th in the photo contest.  This picture of the chef in action was taken at the Sutukil during our Mabuhay Manor photoshoot.  Our Mabuhay Manor photoshoot was really so worth it considering that my wife and I already received two free breakfast buffets and a free P1000 gift certificate at Sutukil which we won for the photo contest held after the photoshoot.

Thanks again to Sir Dingdong Sebastian, the former manager at Mabuhay Manor, for accomodating us and to Allan Benolarao for inviting us in the photoshoot in the first place! :)

BTW, here's last month's theme:
September Theme: At your Service
Description: Portrait of people who serve us everyday.
Finally, thanks again to Nikon Club Philippines for hosting this photo contest!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Scott Kelby's Fourth Annual Worldwide Photowalk: Intramuros, Manila

To go or not to go?  My wife and I had been pondering that question on our minds as the time for Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk neared while at the same time typhoon Quiel intensified.  We thought about how this would be our first participation on an annual event.  So to miss this would mean waiting for a year for the next event.  We also thought about the opportunity of finally having the chance to take shots inside the old walls of Intramuros, which had been our dream ever since we got interested in photography.  Lastly, we thought about the free snacks and drinks that would be served after the Photowalk.  I guess that last item sealed the deal.  We would definitely go, typhoon Quiel or not.

After enduring the LRT, the heavy rains and the taxi ride, we finally arrived at the meeting place at Casa Rocha.  Out of the 50 that originally signed up for the Photowalk only around 14 arrived.  We were quite sad that after waiting for so long to have a chance to shoot Intramuros, we didn't have the optimal conditions for a good photoshoot since the sky was overcast and the rain was continuously pouring which might damage our cameras, not to mention the strong winds that continue to threaten our feeble umbrellas.

But bravely we proceeded.  But alas, as we tried to take our first shots the wind blew so hard that our umbrellas turned inside out.  It was a struggle just to walk against the wind and rain as we tried to seek shelter.  Finally, we entered the nearby Chow King to dry ourselves while we sipped some hot soup.   After waiting it out for some time, we finally decided that it was time to go back.  We only had an hour left in our Photowalk so we had better make good use of it.

Here's just a teaser shot of Real Street inside Intramuros.  More will be posted in the next posts.

Cobblestones of Real Street by israelv
Cobblestones of Real Street, a photo by israelv on Flickr.

Monday, September 26, 2011

The Mabuhay Manor: Still Life Photography (Picture Set #2)

Here are the rest of my shots taken inside The Mabuhay Manor:

Bamboo Blinds by {israelv}
Bamboo Blinds, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Inukit by {israelv}
Inukit, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Dama (Filipino Checkers) by {israelv}
Dama (Filipino Checkers), a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
When the wind blows... by {israelv}
When the wind blows..., a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Shell on Straw by {israelv}
Shell on Straw, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Wooden Bird by {israelv}
Wooden Bird, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
That's all folks! My wife and I just can't wait to get back to The Mabuhay Manor!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Mabuhay Manor: Still Life Photography (Picture Set #1)

After a sumptuous and a FREE buffet breakfast which Lei & I won during last April's photoshoot at The Mabuhay Manor, we hung out in the lobby while we waited for the food to settle down. In the meantime, I took out my handy Nikon COOLPIX P300 and took shots of assorted subjects throughout the lobby and also in the Sutukil area.

Here are some of them:

King & Queen by {israelv}
King & Queen, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Tansan (Pato sa Dama) by {israelv}
Tansan (Pato sa Dama), a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Sungka by {israelv}
Sungka, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Beyond the bend... by {israelv}
Beyond the bend..., a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Hanging Headlines by {israelv}
Hanging Headlines, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Scrapbooks by {israelv}
Scrapbooks, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
Kid's Play by {israelv}
Kid's Play, a photo by {israelv} on Flickr.
More pix in the next post! :)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Instagram: R2-D2's Less-Famous Cousin

I was preparing to go home from the office last Friday when I chanced upon this vacuum cleaner lying around near the pantry.  I suddenly remembered R2-D2 and that inspired me to take this shot :)

R2-D2's less-famous cousin by israelv
R2-D2's less-famous cousin, a photo by israelv on Flickr.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Instagram: Droplets for Windows

I just love this App for my iPod touch.  It's simple to use, it has nice effects, it has a great community of users and best of all, it's free!  Actually, I've got the 3G version of the iPod touch so it doesn't have a camera.  So I'm doing a little workaround.  I will first take pictures on my Android phone.  Then I will upload these pictures to Dropbox.  I will download these pix to my iPod touch, again via Dropbox.  Finally, I can now share them via Instagram.  BTW, my iPod touch is wirelessly tethered to my Android phone so I get the best of both worlds :)

I've been using Instagram for some time now and I'm really happy with the results.  Some are griping that the pix are low-res, but I still like it.  Simple yet effective.  I'll be now sharing some of my Instagram pix here as well.  Here's a shot I took of our pantry window while it's raining hard outside:

Droplets for Windows by israelv
Droplets for Windows, a photo by israelv on Flickr.
If you use Instagram you can follow me at @israelv and I'll follow you back :)

Instagram: Coming Soon!


If you haven't already done so, download this free app to your iDevice now! :)
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