Photobin: Jasper, photographer

Jasper used to art-direct our shoots way, way back when we were still regulars at LifestyleBohol and even when we worked together (he was my boss, kinda) at the City Hall before doing special projects for the mayor. But then he had to go abroad and to look for work. In Thailand, he now teaches high school, mentoring Thai students, while speaking perfect (native tongue) English. Jasper's from Spain so that shouldn't be a problem. At all.



And so after a year (and some) of living it out in Thailand, he's back home for the holidays. He visited us at our apartment because 2. he wanted to drink beer and 1. because he wanted to have his picture taken. He's vain like that you know.hehehe

And of course, I had to show him some Strobist-action there and taught him a few
new lighting tricks I learned online.



Uhm, so yeah, I still suck at doing the (said) new lighting tricks. Well, that or I just needed a proper model to work with. (hehehe) It must be the beers though.

It has to be the beers, yeah.

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Personal: One too many holiday meetings!

I'm complaining though. Holidays are meant to be spent with friends, family and long lost friends and family.

Last night, together with a few photographer and videographer friends, we had a simple and quaint dinner at a "floating raft" in Villa del Sol. There were seven of us - me, Ryan Li, Meljun Daniel, Jude Montejo, Jeramil and the Joels (Diccion and Jumamil. Talk was free so we had a lot. That and some beers.





We planned to make the group regular with regular monthly meetings, activities and stuff. I say, it's about time. In an industry that is so small and cramped, it is just but proper for everyone to be friends and huddle where everyone can have fun and learn from each other.



That's Joel Diccion right there having a great time.
More photos here.

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Lifestyle Bohol Meet-up

I was already a bit tipsy from the "camera club" party but I still had to go to Asiatika at the MetroCentre Hotel to meet some friends too. Jasper, who used to write for LifestyleBohol, just arrived from Thailand after a few years working there and had wanted to see everyone.





There's everyone. I didn't stay for too long though. Just had me some ample time for this pictorial...hehehe They had wanted to go sing videoke or sumthin. I went home earlier.

Oh, well. That won't be the end of it though. I suppose there will still be a lot of meet-ups and parties to go to as the holiday season dwindles down. (Fingers crossed.)

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Photobin: Ryan by Reg

Photo by Reg Estorba-Macalandag
Edited by Ryan Macalandag



Here's another portrait of me before the year ends. Reg, my wife, tries her hands in photography and shot this picture of me. Of a number of shots, she chose this shot. I look goofy here, don't I? Oh well, she's the photographer.

Used here is my new Nikkor 50mm 1.8 which is quite sharp at f/2.8. People say it's soft at 1.8-2 but i think it's just camera shake 'coz at these apertures the DOF can be real narrow. I tried it with some strobes at the biggest opening and had some sharp shots too.

Oh well, as if I don't Photoshop. :p

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Strobist: Annie and Elizabeth, Minute-by-Minute

Strobist: Annie and Elizabeth, Minute-by-Minute



A lot of people have been trying to figure out how it is to be a "professional" photographer. Annie Leibovitz is seen here in her top form.

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Photobin: BITGAP, Bohol Tour Guides photo shoot

Photography by Ryan Macalandag
December 17, 2007
Doljo Point, Panglao, Bohol, Philippines





More to come soon. :)

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Travel: Manila Trip 2007

The Malayan, Ortigas Center, Metro Manila



I barely noticed the day passing through while I was struggling to manage the busy streets of Manila. I arrived at about 10:00 in the morning but went directly to business and visited the store where I was to buy some Cactus V2 RF trigger sets. Reg, my wife, (who was the reason really for my visit, they were having their Christmas party) was to arrive still later around noon.

First thing you really notice is the traffic. So I was in a numb mode and tried to shut myself from the confusion. The city is really not for me.

So as soon as the sun eased itself into the horizon, and we were already at our hotel (The Malayan in Ortigas, posh), had I stopped and opened my senses again to greet the beautiful backdrop of a sunset with the city's skyline as the foreground.



Magnificent. Now if only I had known the number of the hotel spa, a massage would have been lovelier.

So the sun set, and we were off to the party later that night.

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Photobin: Christmas Cheers

Wishing you all the best of your life this yuletide season. May the Lord shower you with more blessings. Merry Christmas!



This is our lone decor in the house. But I like it. It's nice and all shiny. :)

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Photobin: A portrait of me

Photo by Ryan Li



This photo was taken by Ryan Li, a wedding photographer in Bohol, a Nikon brother and a very good friend. Together with his wife, he owns Supreme Weddings, a one-stop wedding shop in province. Their services include wedding photography, wedding video coverage, wedding coordination, invitations and other wedding services.

Ryan Li shot this photo with a Nikon D80.

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Photobin: Asus Eee PC

Product Photography by Ryan Macalandag





Check this out. This is the new Asus Eee PC subnotebook. Cheap, yet perfectly useful. It's small yet powerful with 1 GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron processor. Comes in different colors too.

This unit also has USB ports, wi-fi, LAN port and an expandable 2GB solid-state flash "hard disk". To keep the price low, Asus didn't include a modem, a CD-ROM drive, a big clunky hard disk and used an open-source Linux OS.

My wife bought this from PC Corner for P19,999.00 only. This is the 7-inch version. Fits right into a lady's shoulder bag.

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Wedding: Trash the Dress, Bohol Style

Photos by Bohol Wedding Photographer Ryan Macalandag
Clients: Kim and Cindy Majam
Church: Dauis Church
Preps & Reception: Panglao Island Nature Resort



I had the opportunity to shoot Kim & Cindy for their Bohol wedding. They were quite young and hip and wanted a Bohol wedding photographer who can explore. So I did a "Trash the Dress" session with them right after the church ceremonies.

The day had started with a fickle weather already. It drizzled slightly in the morning but the sun had shone nicely that afternoon. But come late afternoon, the rain was torrential - almost a storm. All the plans I had for their post-ceremony shoot was gone and had to think fast and sure. I had thought we would do a sunset shoot by the beach already but the setting sun was nowhere to be found.

Thinking quick, we still headed for the beach in dark and did a TTD shoot amidst the thrashing waves. The couple were so cooperative and we had a blast. It was still raining then so we finished quick. My camera was a bit wet, needless to say.



The photos above are some of my early edits and loved it. Amazed really. And quite humbled by the experience as well. As a photographer, I learned that I could only do as much. Beauty really should come from the subject. It is only up to the photographer to capture the moment if only to record it to be cherished for years to come.

Thanks for the opportunity, Kim and Cindz.

(More of this set, click here.)

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Wedding: Kim and Cindy Prenuptial Photos

Kim & Cindy are a couple from Tacloban who both chose Bohol as the venue for their wedding. Why not! Bohol has beautiful churches, wonderful sceneries and great photographers!hehehe

The couple will tie the knot tomorrow at the magnificent Dauis Church. Reception to follow at Panglao Island Nature Resort. :)

This photo was shot at one of Bohol's more iconic churches, the Baclayon Church,built in the 1600's. Really old. One of the oldest in the Philippines. Here, Kim seems to be jubilant that he's finally getting married. Well, he should be.



This scene is in Loay, at the end of the river cruise. A group of Ati tribesmen welcome visitors here with a display of drumming, dancing and fire eating. Lovely.



I just can't resist. We had to do the jumping shot at the top of the world famous Chocolate Hills. As you can see, Kim was a varsity volleyball player before.



Cindy had always loved the sun in tropical Bohol. All day long we were praying for a good sunset. Lo and behold! A majestic sunset. Just perfect!





Trips like these make me happy I am a wedding photographer in Bohol. This way I get to tour around and have fun capturing beautiful shots at the same time.

It was a pretty exhausting day though. Janet, the couple's wedding coordinator was helpful though. She just doesn't seem to run out of fun things to say and do all in the name of good fun! Thanks Kim & Cindy! Thanks Janet! And to my cousin Francis who was assistant, too.

(For more photos from this set, click here.)
_________________________________
Photo by Ryan Macalandag
Gear: Nikon D80, SB-600
Copyright �2007 All rights reserved.

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Music: American Pie Videos

American Pie is a great song and really showed Don McLean's talent in songwriting. But transcending all that, the song really succeeded in telling the story about the music scene in the 60's and how it all changed/evolved/decayed in the 70's. And of course, the song wouldn't be written if Buddy Holly hadn't died -- the day the music died.



The songwriter carefully chose the images and symbols he used to capture his audience. The song would eventually spawn multitudes of discussions regarding the American pop culture in those decades -- even in literature classes.

Here are more videos of this song:
- Don Mclean - American Pie
- Weird Al's Version for Star Wars

Enjoy!

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Photobin: Globe Telecom Bohol 2007 Calendar Shoot

Aldner, who works at the Globe Telecom Bohol Branch called me up last week for a photo shoot. Globe is to have an internal desktop calendar which will feature local celebrations in the Philippines. July, in that calendar, would be dedicated to team Bohol. Thus, we made a photo of them dressed up in "Sandugo" costumes.



We did the shoot at the back of the Dauis Church where there is a beautiful green lawn. We tried to include the stone wall of the church as backdrop but opted for a "more cleaner" shot with the green lawn as the background.

Lighting Info: ambient light, plus bare SB-600 left of camera triggered via Nikon CLS.

_________________________________
Photo by Ryan Macalandag
Gear: Nikon D80, SB-600
Copyright ©2007 All rights reserved.

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Travel: Camiguin, Island Born of Fire

I was properly corrected by my travel companions when I said (matter of factly) that Camiguin is the "Island of Fire" which if course is quite different when you say "Island Born of Fire" (which is really how this volcanic island is described). My online research the day before we sailed to Camiguin was done in real haste. Can you tell?



The boat ride to Camiguin was not pleasant. Not at all. Our luck was smooth as the sea rocked by the storm that sailed with us to the island born of fire. Huge waves struck our boat to a shudder as rain sploshed all over us. Talk about eco-adventure. This was the real deal.

Our boat San Pedro 3 had to maneuver to a fairly manageable cove to dock and unhaul us out of our misery.













The photos above are only some of the photos I took. Most of the bunch were of us, tourists that we were, ludging our lazy butts around the island. I'm sure most of us had a wonderful time.

I will post more photos later, when I'm able. (Read: When I'm not too lazy anymore.)

_________________________________
Photos by Ryan Macalandag
Gear: Nikon D80
Copyright �2007 All rights reserved.

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Photobin: Lovely Couple at the Hippy Party

These photos were from a few months back during a "Hippies Party" at Miriam and Sebastian's house. As I was reviewing this website, I saw that I haven't posted these pictures here yet. I just felt compelled to put these up.









It might be due to the quantity of alcohol I took that I forgot their name. Apologies. They are Antonio's friends. They are a beautiful couple indeed.

(Edit: Thanks to their comments, now I know their name - it's Gertjan & Marielle.)

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News: PayPal Philippines now available! But...

The beautiful folks over at www.paypalnow.com.ph are definitely on the right track. For a long time, PayPal has not been accepting transactions to and from the Philippines. But the latest news says different. PayPal is now accepting payments FROM the Philippines. But, thing is, we still can't received funds into our PayPal Philippines account. And we need it badly.

So if you think that you need PayPal Philippines -- the full version -- also, please sign up and be counted!

Click here: www.paypalnow.com.ph

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Photobin: My plate of Scrambled Eggs

Me and my wife usually don't prepare breakfast. We wake up too late that we only have time for shower in the morning and hurry up to work. On lazy Sundays though, when I have no photo shoot or whatever, I prepare food. Last Sunday, this was what I prepared. I thought it was pretty so I took a photo.

The basil leaf is fresh since we grow some on pot here at our apartment. We also have taragon, parsley and some mint leaves ready for some culinary experiments (a la Jamie Oliver)

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Events: Field of Screams 1 @ Martin's Bar

It's quite difficult for underground rock bands in Bohol to get a decent event to play at these days. No producer seems to be interested with producing a concert with bands who look like (and sound like) a bunch of hungry retards/addicts/degenerates pounding on empty rice kettles. All they want are the commercially viable, publicly loved and horribly boring radio pop-rock bands. I mean, I totally understand them. They won't bet their money on something that won't be a viable for the cashflow.

But, some bands got brains too, apparently. "Why not produce our own concert/event for ourselves?", they thought. Genius. The result was a night of sweet and pure rock 'n roll chaotic fun. A total of thirteen (or so?) rock bands from Bohol's underground scene came out and got together for a wickedly wicked hell of a party at Martin's Bar in Gallares. The event was dubbed, Field of Screams.






About a hundred or so rock-thirsty boys and girls flocked and crammed themselves into a standing-room-only bar. The nooks, crannies and even the hallway to the toilet was filled to the brim.

Red horse - the beer of choice - overflowed and intensified every beat of the songs played upfront. You can already hear the old wooden walls and floor of the bar moaning and groaning.








The night had to end at 12 midnight though. As the son's and daughter's of rock and roll drunkily haul their rocked-out asses out of the place, one could not help but ask when will this happen again? Fact is, there is no telling when.



Thanks and kudos to Plug-Out Productions for the blind-courage of making this happen. Roy Tutor SoundGarage for the undying loyalty to your dream. For the boys and girls who saw it all happen.



(More of this set, here.)
_________________________________
Photos by Ryan Macalandag
Gear: Nikon D80, SB-600
Copyright ©2007 All rights reserved.

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News: Disclosure Policy of this site

This policy is valid from 27 September 2007

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This blog does contain content which might present a conflict of interest. This content will always be identified.

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