Baby/Infant/Child Photography by Ryan Macalandag
Tagbilaran City, Bohol
Babies and infants may be the cutest things in the world but they are the hardest to photograph. I'd shoot an erupting volcano anytime but would second-thought on doing a shoot with babies. Not.
Well, it true that kids are difficult to shoot, but I always have fun! It takes time, patience and the right amount of luck to get nice unforgettable "moment" photos.
I've always thought that I will never lose the child in me. I've always been comfortable with children. I feel that I understand them. At some point in my life when I was a kid, I didn't want to grow up.
Thus, when photographing kids, I somehow use my childish instincts to just lose myself in the moment, play around and wait for that lucky shot to come by. They're hard to come by but they sure will.
Just be patient and wait. :)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Portraits: Baby Michaela
Travel: Balicasag Getaway
Travel Photography by Ryan Macalandag
Balicasag Island in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines
One of the benefits of my work as a photographer is that I get to go to places once in a while.
Work has been really tough for the past few weeks, thus, the photo shoot I did in Balicasag Island in Panglao was a welcome treat. I am currently shooting photos for the town to be included in their official website.
The island, though small, was a pretty site as we eased closer. The blue sea indicates that the water here is pretty deep as big ships pass by this channel regularly.
The surrounding reef water was crystal clear though. Known to be one of the world's more famous dive sites, Balicasag has a lot to offer beneath. That's why I brought my "snorkel buddies" along - Reg, Liza, and Francis. We rented some gear, hired a boat and had fun for about an hour underwater. Liza's 15-shot el cheapo plastic underwater film camera should show us all happy and grinning as we fed the fish with some crackers.
The island also has a lone resort complete with well-appointed rooms to satisfy the weary traveler. The pool wasn't that bad either.
After four hours or so of frolicking around, we had to head off back to the main island. But we passed by the crescent-shaped white sandbar Puntod Island.
Francis (who is also my photographer's assistant at times) likes my kind of work, too. He especially loves it when I do test shots of him jumping around some uninhabited paradise island somewhere in the seas of Panglao.
What a life!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Photobin: Another Tagbilaran Sunset
Sunset Photos by Ryan Macalandag
Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines
We do this often. After a day's work, Reg (my wifey) and I, we stroll around the city on my motorbike. It's really refreshing to just catch the wind and relax. Sometimes a dip into the nearest beach is pleasant. Or sometimes just catching the sunset from the city pier can be amazing.
When we went to catch the sunset last June 3, it was especially magnificent. I got to watch the sky change colors a million times - from blue to indigo, orange to red and dying out into a breathtaking purplish hue. Pretty amazing.
In this photo, we just arrived at the pier. It's okay, we're not late. The sun is up a bit. The colors will get better after the sun has fully set.
While waiting, we saw a bunch of people looking out to the see, apparently waiting for somebody. Turned out they were workers for the fishing vessel, waiting for their ship to arrive. They were about fifty-ish of them. They will be back in the morning with lot of fish - hopefully.
The sailboats below are definitely not for fishing. I wonder who owns these million-peso toys. I have never seen them ever setting sail though.
The sun has just fully set and the sky is a bit bluish in hue. It is getting ready to reveal more colors.
We decided to go to the other smaller pier (K of C) which sets the city pier beautifully in the distance. The whole perspective is amazing. So were the colors. Orangey-red. Fiery.
It's usually that when about 10 minutes after setting, it hit the overlying clouds in the horizon. The light bounces off as oranges and reds and purples too.
It was definitely a tension relieving experience. A lot of people do this every afternoon. Only a few bring out their cameras though.
After that, we went straight to the Cogon market to buy some fish. There is something with the smell of the ocean that made me crave fish and seafood. Yum.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Photobin: My Nieces
Child Photography by Ryan Macalandag
Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines
To date, I have three nieces from two of my sisters. Eden has two - Rain and Ice. Elaine has a newborn, Dionne Dea.
This is Rain. She is the oldest among the three. She will turn three years old this month.
This is Diane Dea, Elaine's daughter. She's barely a month old. She has her mother's eyes.
I haven't taken Ice's photo yet. Will post her photos soon.
Click here to view the Flickr set.
Photobin: NFA Rice in Bohol
Photos by Ryan Macalandag
I never thought Bohol could ever be hit by this "food shortage" bug that the government is peddling around. We are the best rice producers in the region. We have a lot of rice farms around. We haven't had no major natural calamity in the past years. How could it affect us?
Then it hit me. I have lived blinded by my own faith and love for Bohol. I might have just relished on the memories of the past abundance. But in reality, my province is no different from a host of others who are as badly hit by much of the Philippine's worsening problems.
Let's just hope we will overcome. Someday.
(photojournalist, photojournalism, news photography, current issues)
Photobin: Trinidad Beauties
Beauty Pageants Photography by Ryan Macalandag
Miss Trinidad Beauty Pageant 2008
Bohol, Philippines
Here are some of the photos from the Miss Trinidad shoot I did las Saturday. The ladies were still young and didn't have any experience with pageants yet but they were quite cooperative during the shoot.
Bravo also to their hair and make-up stylists - all from Trinidad also.
Technical Info:
Shot using a Nikon D80 with a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens.
Lighting Info: 1 Vivitar 283 at full-power bounced to a silver umbrella camera right and above, 1 SB24 left and behind subject to light "blue screen" background and act as kicker light. A huge sheet of white illustration board was placed in front and just slightly below the face of subject to act as fill light (and a flattering catchlight as well).
Background is a digitally made art through Photoshop.
News: Ken and Emily's jumping prenup photo published in FOCUS (3rd edition)
by Ryan Macalandag
The photo above was handpicked by one of the La Familias at the Inquiring Mind online magazine (www.inqmnd.ca) to be featured in the third edition of FOCUS Magazine.
Focus is another online magazine produced by Inquiring Minds which features amateur and professional photographers around the world. The ezine aims to provide a venue for unknown photographers to showcase their photos.
Here is the cover of the third edition:
This is the page where Ken and Emily's jumping pre-nup photo is featured:
I especially like FOCUS because of the layout and not to mention the wonderful pool of photos and photographers included. It is really an honor to have been picked for this edition. All the other photos were amazing!
Most amazing of all is the fact that you can submit your own photos if you feel like it is worth publishing. Just send it to them via email or you may join the FOCUS Flickr Group.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Travel: Pamilican Island Paradise
Hotel and Resort Photography by Ryan Macalandag
Pamilacan Island, Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines
I had already come and gone to Pamilacan Island a few times before. Mostly for dolphin watching. At one time, I joined Reg's team-building and strategic planning together with other instructors for CWTS class.
But, I have grown a certain proud fondness of this place when we went to shoot for this unknown resort owned by Lucio Lim of the Lite Shipping group. The water was magnificent, the beach was perfect and the landscape is awe-inspiringly raw and untouched.
Here are some of the photos from the shoot.
For more photos from this set, click here.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Travel: Stone Church in Talibon
Photo by Ryan Macalandag
Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
The Catherdral of the Most Holy Trinity in Talibon, Bohol is one of the heritage sites in the province. This massive stone church was built in 1852 using plans drawn by Domingo Escondrillas, then Cebu's Director of Public Works.
A gold-mining town in colonial days, Talibon had attracted a sizable community of enterprising Spaniards. The Jesuit Gabriel Sanchez went to Talibon in 1596 after he and Juan Torres had organized the reducciones of Loboc and Baclayon. The Jesuits administered the mission from Loboc but because of the distance it took traveling along the coast, decided that it and Inabanga were more conveniently administered from the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Cebu.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohol_churches#Talibon
Saturday, April 19, 2008
WebSight: The Plug
(WebSight, web sightings.)
So, I checked on Photojojo.com as I regularly do and stumbled upon this way cool link.
The Plug is an online "personal magazine" of sorts which features articles and stuff that not one publisher (even the sloppy tabloids) will ever publish. Not one. And boy, are we glad. The less people reading this site the better for us. The stories posted are as intellectual as they can be - bordering on foolishness and utter stupidity. Smut for the reckless, free-spirited mind. Cool.
But really, just go and check it out. I was just writing the last paragraph randomly to annoy you. Now, go!
