Flickers Photo Club

FPC on 2009 Manila International Auto Show @ World Trade Center

2009-04-07T00:34:00.006+08:00

The Manila International Auto Show 2009 held open on the World Trade Center in Pasay city to all Car Enthusiasts, owners and even car manufacturers to display their auto products to the public.

The Manila International Auto show 09’s theme is “Passion for Performance”, with a dual thrust.The first is to highlight car and equipment performance in terms of driving pleasure and fuel economy. The second is to boost industry sales performance with a well-attended selling event.

Guinness World Record holder in precision driving Russ Swift returns with a thrilling show behind the wheel of the all-new Subaru Impreza sedan and WRX STI.

Aside from car lovers, there are also many photo lovers visited the venue not only for the cars but also from the lovely models each brand of automobile represent.

For more images click here:

Autoshow-models

Autoshow-cars

FPC on Manila Bulletin Tuesday Edition March 31,2009

2009-03-31T17:28:00.006+08:00

Quoted text:
"The Flickers Photo Club recently held a get-together photoshoot at the Cubepoint studio, organized by Perry Chua. Five pretty models graced the activity, namely, Precious, Michelle, Angelica, Wendy and Ruby with make-up artist King Pacifico.John Edward Taca of Luminosi studios also attended the said event. A photo contest was also held on the "Best Portrait Shot" where Joel Garcia emerged as the grand winner. Other memebers who shared their talents during the shoot included Ed Chuasiaokong, Pat Hocchuan, Alex, Darwin Andres, Eric Espenida, JC Gepte, Abdul Abubakar, Benjie, Marissa and Lalaine.
FPC is a group of photography enthusiasts, semi-pro, and professional photographers who want to develop and nurture friendship through shared passion for photography and sense of community based in the Philippines, guided by the values:
"Learn, Earn,Turn-up and Share" or LETS."

** From the recent March 7, 2009 shoot at CubePoint, this event was included on Manila Bulletin Tuesday Edition 03212009.

If you will grab a copy of Manila Bulletin Tuesday edition, just flip in to Picture Perfect section ( Main focus is the late great Francis M).Browse in to page 8 and you'll see this article about the FPC group.

Photo taken by: Linus

FPCmeet@Imagesmith March 21, 2009

2009-03-31T16:19:00.005+08:00

Once is not enough for the month of March.
The FPC gang conducted again yet another shoot(03212009), this time it's location is on Imagesmith in pasig city.

Enjoyed by the "testshot" concept, the group performed a number of testshoot together with the model before performing the actual shot itself.

Photographers:

Perry

Joel

Linus

Francis

Eric

Gladys

Ryuji23

Model:

Angelica

Ericka

MUA:Pam

FPCmeet@CubePoint-March 7, 2009

2009-03-31T15:58:00.010+08:00

Last March 7, 2009 as manila is focused on Eraserheads final set & the Bb. Pilipinas coronation nights, Flickers Photo Club “FPC “ held its first photo session this year @ cubepoint in Mandaluyong. Lead by Perry “Power Pee” with the supervision on lighting by Darwin and with the comic comments from Joel the session become lively as the shooters lined up to take their turn to shoot the models.

Photographers:
1.PowerPee

2. Joel Garcia

3. Ryuji23

4. Pat Hocchuan

5.chamba-shots

6.JE

7.Alex (alexdpx)

8.Ed (edcsk)

9.JC

10.Lanimar

11.Abdul

12.Marissa

13.Linus

Lighting coordinator: Darwin

make up by: king

models:
1.Wendy

2.Michelle

3.Precious

4.Angelica

5.Ruby

FPC on Photojournalism Experience March 28,2009

2009-03-30T19:59:00.009+08:00

FPC conducted a photojournalism experience last March 28, facilitated by Linus.

Photo coverage:

1. Sea Festival

2. news

3. Street photography (human Interest on poverty)

1. Sea Side Story:

The first topic is about a story around the sea side of Manila Bay.

There was also an ongoing boat racing competition, people relaxing and some folks swimming on the shores.

Ice cream fun:

Summer is already here so these kids are enjoying there ice cream treats on the bay.

2. Lightning Rally Experience:

Urban poor leaders from Kilos-Maralita surprised Malacanang when they staged a lightning rally last Saturday demanding social protection for the country’s poor from the economic crisis.

The group stormed Gate 7 of Malacanang carrying banners calling on the government to allocate 50 billion pesos to humane and affordable mass housing as part of the 330B peso stimulus plan.

After their speech the Police official decided to disperse the demonstrators away from mendiola.

3. FPC on Poverty and Human Interest:

The Last topic we have that day is about Poverty and Human Interest, so the group decided to go to the deprived part of the metro.

Poverty is a common term in the country but having experienced going to a place where people need to work just to earn a small buck and seeing children help their parents work instead of playing, makes you think that somewhat you feel lucky that you could eat 3 meals a day and can afford simple stuff but makes you think also who can help these people with regards to their current situation…

Group pic:

After all those shooting, its time to have a nice group picture while the backdrop is a dump site..

Photographers:

1.Linus

2.Dennis

3.Ferdy

4.Eric

POW! 2nd Week of August 2008

2008-08-08T13:00:00.004+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Partners in Crime Revisited"
by: crispyparty
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: "Composition and lighting played key roles here. This makes for an excellent print ad."

"Koga"
by: Kim Guanzon
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 1/250, f/9, 40mm, ISO100

Photo Description: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Canon EF 17-40mm f4L USM
AB800 33" Beauty Dish camera left with diffusion sock.. no filter
AB800 with full CTO filter camera right
WB set to tungsten
check the exif data... all processing was done with lightroom... no need of PS

Editor's Comment: " Here is a good example of what an interplay of good equipment can do to your photos. Forget about the talent or skill of the photographer - a little knowledge will do. Top of the line gears necessarily equate to a brilliant photo!!"

"Heat of the Moment"
by: joelcgarcia
Nikon D300, 1/200, f/18, 40mm, ISO200

Photo Description: Make-up by Jossa Cruz. Regina Condominium, Quezon City.

Editor's Comment: "Great Art for Nude. Great Lighting! This photo just inspires me a lot!"

POW! 1st Week of August 2008

2008-08-01T10:55:00.004+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"No Title"
by: yetbu
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: "This is not his best. I invite you to look at his stream and just let the images do the talking this time."

"The Cross"
by: JRmannn
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: - "I love the colors on this shot. and the rainbow.. just perfect!"

- "Shooting and composing with a rainbow...that doesn't happen everyday. "

"URCC 12 (Supremacy)"
by: Ronyak
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: URCC 12 held last July 5, 08 at A. Venue

Editor's Comment: - "Seldom do we see sports photos uploaded in flickr. It is therefore exhilirating to see one and this photo captures the agony of being defeated and the intense concentration of the brawler on top who seems to be the fighter with an advantage over his foe."

- "i can feel the intensity in this frame. As the other editor mentioned it's a image with a strong story to tell. "

POW! 4th Week of July 2008

2008-07-25T11:37:00.005+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Full of Life"
by: JRmannn
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: FULL OF LIFE
Like a whole little world in that one drop.

Editor's Comments: - "Great capture on the reflection and great timing on the water drop."

- " I just love images where the reflection draws more attention to whats on the middle of the frame. It takes a keen eye and a lot of imagination to create that in my opinion."

"No Title"
by: Joseph Ong
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: Model; Tara
Clothes: Harvey Cenit
Maquillage: Jessie Glova

Editor's Comment: - "The cropped shot did this photo justice. The photographer's an expert when it comes to portraits and it clearly shows. Good details and great use of lighting"

- "This portrait invites me to peer into her soul. it's mesmerizing!
Softness in female portraiture still works best for me not only technically speaking but the way the model projects as well."

"Verbotene-Liebe"
by: JohnnyMakati
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: - "This is post editing par excellance. The photographer is an artist. Every photos he shows us is a work of art. Not only he can photograph so well, he can beautify as well. Definitely one of the best glamour photograph of the week"

- "This has the makings of really "fine" art photography! ...in terms of gracefulness, lighting, texture among others. "

POW! 3rd Week of July 2008

2008-07-18T14:29:00.004+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Pinoy ako - My Pride and Joy"
by: my fLEEckr.leeviraycahili
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: “One of the great undiscovered joys of life comes from doing everything one attempts to the best of one's ability. There is a special sense of satisfaction, a pride in surveying such a work, a work which is rounded, full, exact, complete in its parts, which the superficial person who leaves his or her work in a slovenly, slipshod, half-finished condition, can never know. It is this conscientious completeness which turns any work into art. The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement.” --og mandino

Editor's Comment: "The boy's expression exudes confidence and pride... perfect for the patriotic colors of the hat and the title given. The filtered light on the face adds dimension to the portrait. it creates enough specular highlights to bring the portrait to life!"

- "Mabuhay Philippines! The first thing came to my mind when I saw this photo. Great colors. Mabuhay ang Pinoy! "

"Tulolaway"
by: Solanaboy
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: Went back to dumaguete to shoot the Pier and boy it was one hell of a day. I shot 4gb worth in the pier. I have a few more I will upload this week.

Editor's Comment: "Colors blended well with the background, not to mention the light coming behind the subject was a great touch. Always a pleasure to see underwater pictures." =D

"Luiza"
by: chibusque
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: Photography: CHi busque of iD3 photography
Model: Luiza Rower
Hair & Makeup: Aizza Reyes for House of Laurel
Clothes by: Joe San Antonio
Agency: Chameleon Modeling Agency
Location: Jing Arroyo's Crib @ Belle Villa, Merville

Editor's Comment: "It's quite amazing when all the right elements come together in a fashion shoot. Of course good lighting and photography are a must too as you can see here."

POW! 2nd Week of July 2008

2008-07-11T14:19:00.004+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

by: [2]rokbot[2]y
Sony DSC-R1, 1/320, f/8, 14.3mm, ISO160

Photo Description: Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Editor's Comment: "I'm not from UP but i like this one. It shows the blue skies with cloud formation which draws the eyes more to the background than the real subject. A novelty in composition."

"Grilled King Prawn"
by: gilbert "gilbz" gamolo
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: My favorite food...and food photography subject. =)

light set-up: one strobe with a snoot fitted with red gel above & behind the prawn, one small softbox on the left side and a small gold reflector directly below the subject.

did some color enhancement and contrast adjustment in lightroom. also did some minor detail "fixing" in photoshop.

------------------------------------------------

Prawns are crustaceans, belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. They are similar in appearance to shrimp, but can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns (hence the name, dendro=“tree”; branchia=“gill”), but is lamellar in shrimp. The sister taxon to Dendrobranchiata is Pleocyemata, which contains all the true shrimp, crabs, lobsters, etc.

As used in commercial farming and fishery, the terms prawn and shrimp are generally used interchangeably. In European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, the word “prawns” is far more common on menus than the term “shrimp”, which is generally only used in North America. The term “prawn” is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (also called “king prawns”).

source: wikipedia

Editor's Comment: "Product Photography is about lighting. This photo just tells it all. Great Lighting. Kudos to the Photographer for being unselfish and sharing to everyone how he setup his lighting technique. Thumbs up to you Gilbert!"

"Androgynous"
by: Joseph Ong
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: Model: Girly Raven Gabriel
Maquillage: Jessie Glova
Designer: Lorymer Villareal

Editor's Comment: "this is self explanatory... ok...she's lovely! ok nice lighting and she's lovely!"

POW! 1st Week of July 2008

2008-07-04T09:14:00.002+08:00

Welcome to the return of FPC's Photos of the week.

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Ballerina"
by: divemaster4ever
No Exifs Available

Photo Description: Choreographed exposure shot @ Ayala Alabang Village home studio.

Editors Comment: "The work is unique to me! Use of multiple exposure or overlapping layers is very tasteful. The work as a whole is as elegant as the dancer subject who was captured in graceful motion!"

"I'm the Boss here . . ."
by: alexdpx
Canon EOS 20D, 1/1000, f/6.3, 300mm, ISO200

Photo Description: Fuwairit, Qatar, 27 June 2008
Fighting against the wind to prevent her kite from being blown away. She's one of the few women we saw parasailing but the most spectacular to watch. This girl's got some moves :)

Editors Comment: "Nice shadows on the thigh of the lady and the depth of field is pretty good. He captured the emotion pretty well. "

"No One Is Convinced"
by: Paolo Mañalac
Nikon D80, f/8, 18mm, ISO 100, HDR 3 shots by 2 stops

Photo Description: Malapascua Island, Daan Bantayan, Cebu, Philippines...
FACT: Malapascua Island is so small you can get around on foot :D

Editors Comment: "This photo does not only show how good the composition and color was shot, but it also made me feel what my personal eyes would expect to see when i get the chance to visit this place. Superb Work."

"Im personally balled over by this image! The tones are so soothing to the eyes perhaps in part because the colors of the sky and foreground seem to harmonize. The net in the foreground offers rich texture and balance which in itself can be imagined as an extension of the sea."

FPC PoW!s -- Week 12, 2008

2008-03-28T22:34:00.002+08:00

With the long vacation concomitant to Christendom's observance of the "Holy Week," we expect photos from the vacation of FPC members. My family enjoyed the countryside and the beaches of Ilocandia, with me being the full-time driver, part-time baby-sitter and full-time photographer. I enjoyed the landscape and the photo-journalistic images I took with my camera and I can't wait to share them.

Meanwhile, let's look at what our members want us to see in PoW! this week. I see the usual contributors and some infrequent ones. However, looking beyond the personalities, I concentrated on the images and found some gems, including one that is really relevant to the "Holy Week," i.e., "Penetencia 2008" by Eric. Other picks are Marvin's shot of Machi in flowing white dress during their Cagbalete trip. Marvin has the eye, but I can't understand why he doesn't title his images; he seem to be very visual, setting aside the rather encumbrance of exercising the mind by thinking of thought-provoking titles. Therefore, I just give his PoW! photo the title "Where's the Party?"

Ken's photo was nominated by Rey Nocum and gives a spice of action to our selection. "Jenny" by Don is a rather raw photo, considering the "as shoot" skin texture and a seemingly obligatory facial expression. On the other hand, it is a very good material for those wanting to learn studio lighting. He applies a subtle Rembrandt and backlighting that brought out the hair texture on the right side of Jenny and kicking her off the background.

Finally, Alex sends another one to PoW! with his self-portrait on a backlit wall, which I would say is rather creative. He uses 2 speedlights, one in ETTL and another in manual zoom and power. With that setup, Alex shows a substantial degree of mastery of Remote Lighting System or RLS.

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Here are our PoW!s for this week, in order of date taken:

November 18, 2007

Untitled (suggested: "Where's the Party?")
by Marvin Llanos Maning
Shooting Information:
Camera: Sony DSC-R1
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 14.3 mm
ISO Speed: 160
Exposure Bias: 7/10 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Portrait mode
Metering Mode: Spot

March 01, 2008

"Surf's Up"
by Ken Tamayo
Shooting Information:
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 85 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 5 EV
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Pattern

March 17, 2008

"Jenny"
by Don Garchitorena
No Shooting Information available.

March 21, 2008

"Spiderman?"
by Alex Atienza
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Flash fired
Exposure Program: Manual

March 21, 2008

"Penetencia 2008"
by Eric Fernandez
No Shooting Information available.

-end-

Tribute to a Dear Friend

2008-03-25T00:55:00.002+08:00

by Alex Atienza

Alex is an Flickers Photo Club (FPC) member based in Doha, Qatar. Originally posted on his Flickr photo page. Reposting here with permission. The photo he captured for this post made it to FPC's PoW!s of Week 11, 2008. Here is the photo:

"Tribute to a Dear Friend"
by Alex Atienza
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 61 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Exposure Program: Normal
Metering Mode: Average

Here is Alex's story:
"Exactly 3 years ago today, my Canon EOS 20D and I met in the small town of Matawan, New Jersey and from then on went into a wonderful photographic journey. Oh man! we did took some beautiful pictures since then.

We went places -- East Coast USA, Egypt, Brunei, Philippines, and of course Doha, Qatar, my present city of residence. We attended some international sporting events -- Superbike Grand Prix, The 15th Asian Games, F1 Powerboat Races, and probably the best known of my photos, 3 seasons of WTA Qatar Total Open.

We photographed some of the most beautiful people in various occasions -- Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Roger Federer, beautiful models, my colleagues, my friends, family and most beautiful of all, my wife.

And then we met some new friends here in Flickr and the name "alexdpx" was known by my viewers and contacts. More importantly, I've met fellow "photo addicts" in the Philippines, particularly those belonging to the "Philippines" and "Flickers Photo Club" group. Thank you guys. I'm looking forward to shooting with you again someday.

No, I'm not retiring the 20D but it now has to take the backseat in all of my future shooting. My new Canon EOS 40D is arriving soon and that will be my new main camera and the 20D will assume the role of backup. Although I hope I could use both of them in tandem.

It's been a wonderful three years and a beautiful friendship. Not even once has my 20D ever let me down. Thank you. Now it's time to pass on the torch."

A comment from fmtabora (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20594351@N02/) on the photo page:
"I'm a new Dad of a 3 month old baby. I've had sleepless nights because of Daddy stuff (changin' diapers & preparing milk). I guess you'll be having the same experience 'coz Mikee told me you didn't sleep enough last night clicking your baby 40D. Congratulations Tatay Alex!"

Indeed a nice friendship between man and machine! :D

-end-

FPC PoW!s -- Week 11, 2008

2008-03-19T13:16:00.003+08:00

With the 7th Tambayan fever wearing out, we focus on the next activities for FPC members. Upcoming are the Go-See for aspiring models and the various tasks that go with it. Committees are formed to ensure distribution of workload among leaders and volunteers. Responsibilities are defined. But however, busy FPC will be, the PoW!s are here to stay.

This week, fresh talents contributing fresh takes to our pool of PoW!s steadily pour in along with long time members of FPC. One is Marc, who took good photos of the Manila Bay dragon boat riders. He also contributed photos of his trip to Anawangin in Zambales and one of these get featured here. Eric shows how to create moving images with a piece of clothe -- and an emotive model.

Perry wows us again with a brilliantly crafted one-lighter creating a dramatic scene with his toy heroes. Alex retires a camera and captures a lasting image-tribute to his Canon 20D. A blog will follow to feature this end of a "close friendship." And lastly, Roy comes back with a photojournal with a political message.

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

These are our PoW!s for this week in the order of date taken:

February 23, 2008

"After Glow in Anawangin Cove"
by Marc Geronimo
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 15 sec (15)
Aperture: f/16
Focal Length: 20 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Shutter priority
Metering Mode: Pattern

March 01, 2008

"Swoosh!"
by Eric Fernandez
No Shooting Information available

March 03, 2008

"The Vision"
by Perry Chua
Shooting Information:
Camera: Nikon D2Xs
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 60 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot

March 15, 2008

"Tribute to a Dear Friend"
by Alex Atienza
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 61 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Exposure Program: Normal
Metering Mode: Average

March 16, 2008

"Only Hope"
by Roy Yap
Shooting Information
Camera: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 22 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

-end-

Sea Breeze Resort Revisited

2008-03-18T00:57:00.036+08:00

by Garry Cruz
Original blog posted by Garry at his Multiply page. Posted here with permission.

I have been in a slump lately with my photography. I couldn't get myself in the right mood to take photos nor process those that I took some time ago. I mean I'm excited to go out and take pictures but the results are sometimes not what I wanted them to be. I guess I needed a break.

Last Saturday, I was packed with possible shoots and really couldn't decide which one to choose. There was the UP fair, a folio shoot for a friend and a funshoot out with my friends from Flickers Photo Club (FPC). I wanted to go to the UP fair since I haven't watched a concert for such a long time but wanted to go to my shoot at Boni as well. Good thing I was able to ask my 'client' to postpone the shoot the next day.

FPC is also scheduled to have a shoot that day in a warehouse located in Makati but due to the lack of participating photogs, it was cancelled. Robert invited me to a shoot in Sea Breeze Resort in Taguig City, which almost didn't push through due to some model backing-out at the last minute. I said to myself: "What the heck! Since I'm not doing anything that weekend anyway..."

After my shift, I went straight home to pack my things for the shoot. I was also thinking of bringing some swimwear since I'm not really in the mood to shoot but rather to relax. Good thing I decided otherwise and my laziness to bring an extra bag paid off.

We started shooting late in the afternoon coz some of the guys swam in the pool while the models were preparing for the shoot. I was surprised when Luane asked me if we knew each other since I looked very familiar to her. I told her that its the first time I've seen her.

We started shooting around 4pm just about when Egay, our hired makeup artist con hairstylist (does great work), finished doing April's make-up. I messed up my first few shots of her because the strobes were not being triggered by my cam. I felt stupid when I found out that I forgot to reset my cam to trigger the strobes that I was testing earlier that day. With all the strobes set... I was shooting like crazy.

We brought April outside the resort to a construction site and saw some workers with their equipment. We asked permission if we could use their equipment as props for the shoot and they gladly agreed. They even posed in a few shots as well.

Two teams were shooting at the same time. Exchanging models as we go along. Next up was Luane. I remember her talking to me prior to the shoot and asked me if we knew each other. She told me that I looked very familiar to her. Flattered, I told her that it was the first time that I saw her. After having her make-up done. We also brought her outside and started shooting.

After shooting for a couple of hours, we decided to take a break before starting the next set. While waiting, some of us had dinner while others charged their batts. With more than enough juice in mine, I just passed the time listening to music in my PSP.

We were shooting till about 9.30pm all of the flash batteries were bled dry. Too bad I wasn't able to shoot Luane with her 3rd outfit but nevertheless I had fun that day. I went home exhausted but had tons of fun.

-- end
MORE SHOTS HERE!

7th FPC Tambayan @ Kiko's Restaurant

2008-03-13T00:31:00.008+08:00

Flickers Photo Club's (FPC) regular Tambayan now on it's 7th time. This night we introduce a relevant and important twist to our eat, dine, and talk gathering. Now we have a model shoot. This is possible at Kiko's 2nd floor where there are no customers eating and a lot of layouts can be shot at the stairs, the orange wall, the door to the kitchen, the restrooms, and the movable panel dividers. Kiko's is at the PureGold ground floor, E. Rodriguez cor Araneta, beside the Quezon Institute.

These are the outtake photos of the event. Other outtakes and the model photos are HERE:

FPC peeps enjoy the delicious food at Kikos Restaurant.
For P200, whet your appetite to a variety of sumptuous meals
to your heart's content.

Kiko's is ideal for Tambayan. Spacious, nice ambience,
delicious food, and most of all, you can shoot upstairs!

Sidney tries his "signature shot" with two babes.
But Abby screams "Bitoy!" and his arms went flying
away from the sisters! Haha

Chit chat before the shoot-shoot.
The models at the left are Breezely and Cecil,
the ones on the right, across Lenard, are Arianne (in gray)
and her sister Abby.

Where are your hands Sidney?!
"Bitoooooy!"

Ronald (k.i.f. as Basti) and Eric.
Ronald and I shoot at weddings together already.
Eric is a regular event shooter.
He arrives from an Incubus Press Con shoot.

Setting up the gears on the 2nd floor "studio."
The stairs, restroom and the kitchen
become part of the studio too!

Readying the gears while the models make themselves up.
Sidney comes in full battle gear, with his old Canon 350D
and new Nikon D300 (Wooo-hooo!)

Robinson and Marvin. Abby and Lenard.
Robinson is an acquaintance of Ian Ong,
but they come along with Rick Li.
Ian Ong comes along with a "Tentative" somebody else! Haha

Surveying the "studio" for layout while the models ready themselves.
A flash unit inside behind the door will highlight the fake leaves
and the glass very nicely, I thought. But we only shot on the leafy facade.

Sidney tots his small and big guns.
A 350D on his right hand and the Nikon D300! on his left.

Eric does his "crazy" thing! LOL
Testing the lights.

- end -

FPC PoW!s -- Week 10, 2008

2008-03-12T00:52:00.004+08:00

The 5th leg of the Vigan expeditions came and went by swiftly. FPC contingents had a hard time finding the Sand Dunes of La Paz. We traveled through Laoag City, pass the rurals. We asked directions along the way and the locals gave conflicting directions. One resident said "Turn right after this straight road" and another, "When you get to the peak of this hill, turn left!" Yet another misheard our word and told us "That's in Ilocos Sur!" We realized she was talking about "Candon," a municipality of Ilocos Sur! Haha

We hit a dead end, backtracked and asked for more directions. We finally find the place--a dirt track with empty gravelly earth and sand on both our left and right, stick fences with barbed wires, and thorny bushes along the wayside. After about 5 minutes of inroad, we see huge hills of sand with dirt tracks, apparently made by dune buggies. Three of us got off and surveyed the place. Garry captures a scene of the place.

Before that episode we shot Nina Caldona and Given Teves, models who came with us on this expedition, at Mindoro beach. By the time we got there it was getting dark and the stars are starting to be seen. After shooting them at the beach hut, I wondered if we can get a decent photo of a model and the sky with long exposure. Sidney's photo is a testimony to the success of our effort.

While we were at Pagudpud, Rolan was in Baguio shooting the Panagbenga Festival, where he shot his PoW! this week. He texted he can not follow us anymore in Vigan and intimated that it was cold up there. He had no idea we were are the north tip of Luzon also battered by rain! We drove back from that brink of Philippines, and the sky cleared again.

Other FPC members contribute outstanding photos this week. Edwin makes it again with an unusual fowl photo, and Nilo shoots the Bangkok Skyline bathed in interesting points of light. We chose five PoW!s this week from among great images tagged for March selection; there's just simply many superb photos to showcase and we have space for them all :D

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Here now are our PoW!s for this week in the order of date taken:

February 21

"Bangkok Skyline"
by Nilo Miranda
Shooting Information:
Camera: Olympus E-500
Exposure: 3.2 sec (16/5)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/10 EV
Flash: 88
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Metering Mode: Pattern

February 22

"Waiting for a Falling Star"
by Sidney Chua
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Exposure: 10 sec (10)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Partial

February 23

"Sand Dunes"
by Garry Cruz
Shooting Information:
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.0025 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot

February 24

"People Power at Panagbenga Festival"
by Rolan Garcia
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 46 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Shutter priority
Metering Mode: Pattern

March 09

"Look... No Hands!"
by Edwin Calica Cacayorin Jr.
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Shutter priority
Metering Mode: Average

-end-

FPC PoW!s -- Week 09, 2008

2008-03-06T01:22:00.002+08:00

Wawa is the birthplace of Flickers Photo Club (FPC). In May 23, 2006, 6 original members had a photoshoot con meeting over lunch at a local "turo-turo" (eatery). My wife and I, at the trail of our 10th wedding anniversary, are back to this place nearly two years after to find the politics of the local government unit stupendously ridiculous. Nevertheless, we had a great day shooting with fellow FPC photographers, "new" breeds of photogs, so to speak, doing Remote Lighting System (RLS).

Once you're into RLS, it is hard to go back shooting models in available or direct flat light from one onboard flash. And it becomes a habit to shoot with creative lighting even when you are not shooting models. I find my macro shooting in Pagudpud using two lights or one in remote. Even with one light, you can get a boom and you can shoot in butterfly setup and still get a dramatic images. If there's one single advise we can give to photographers who want to nurture creativity, it's "Get that light off your camera!"

This week's picks showcases the RLS shooting of Eric with one light source in Wawa, and Sidney with multiple lights in UP Diliman (a great way to start the month of March, by the way). Edwin pitches in his F/32 shot of lilies in the pond of La Mesa Ecopark, with big droplets of water, in available light and slow shutter (1/4) and ISO 200.

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Here are the PoW!s for this week in the order of date taken:

February 02

"Liquify"
by Eric Fernandez
No Shooting Info available

February 26

"Lilies in a Pond"
by Edwin Calica Cacayorin, Jr.
Shooting Information:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/32
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Shutter priority
Metering Mode: Average

March 01

"Lost"
by Sidney Chua
Shooting Information:
Camera: Nikon D300
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/20
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
Flash: Flash fired
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot

- end -

FPC PoW!s -- Week 08, 2008

2008-02-28T01:35:00.007+08:00

With the hubbub of the 12th Hot Air Balloon Festival dying down and the blog nearing completion and sealing its culmination, we turn our attention once more to learning how to light. "Light is a verb," so says the slogan of the Strobists blog site. We agree. The quality of the image all depends upon how light is controlled. Or uncontrolled.

FPC has been in the forefront of the advocacy of Remote Lighting System or RLS, as we like it better-put. The main reasons why we do so are:

(1) RLS packs a good amount of desirable light (although outdoor studio lights are still preferred). You can step up the aperture to F/11 and still capture a good amount of it falling on the subject, when set to manual mode;

(2) Flash guns are more versatile than studio lights and requires less accessories. You can pull out the wide angle panel for broad lighting or zoom it to 105mm for spot/snoot lighting; and

(3) RLS equipments are lightweight and small, and thus, very portable, adding to its versatility. You can put it on rocks or crevices, mount it on tripods or monopods or put them on the ground.

Armed with just Nikon SBs and Canon EXs, we head off to the Sea Breeze Resort in Brgy Hagonoy, Taguig City, Philippines (same location where we shot the "Butterfly in the Rain" concept) for an afternoon-to-evening of RLS shooting with two models. To add a fresh touch to our concept, we enjoined the local construction workers to pose with their equipments and the model. We've toyed with the idea in Vigan and also in Wawa, and we think that it's a great idea. We definitely will do such concept in future location shoots.

And now our PoW!s from the Sea Breeze shoot from Eric and Garry. Others, like Ryuji's and Sidney's are noteworthy posts too, but of course we can't show them all here. We add a touch of photojournalism from the stream of Marvin, with one of his Boracay photos.

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Here they are in order of date and time shot:

February 15

"Bora Trip [day 3]"
by Marvin Maning
Shooting Info:
Camera: Sony DSC-R1
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 14.3 mm
ISO Speed: 160
Exposure Bias: -7/10 EV
Flash: Flash fired
Exposure Program: Portrait mode
Metering Mode: Center Weighted Average

February 16

"Need Help Boys?"
by Garry Cruz
Shooting Info not available.
Garry's Photo Description:
Model: April Sevilla
Make-up: Egay Dacanay
Strobist info: 3 SB800s were used
1&2 at the left and right of the model about 45degrees from center
3 at top right side

"Hard Hat Area"
by Eric Fernandez
Shooting Info not available.
Eric's Photo Description:
10 FPC photogs.. 2 models.. 1 makeup artist.. 1 great location.. 2 groups doing remote lighting system.. 1 helluva shoot.....
Model: April Sevilla
Hair & Makeup: Egay Dacanay
Location: Sea Breeze Resort, Taguig

- end -

FPC PoW!s -- Week 07, 2008

2008-02-20T00:50:00.005+08:00

Photojournals from the recently held protest rally in Makati City last Feb 15, 2008 would have been great to feature this week, as well as photos from the second FPC Sea Breeze photo adventure. Unfortunately, there was none of these photos in the pool yet. But that doesn't mean we don't have other great photos from able and respected FPC members. This week, two of them are from Pinoy photogs based outside of the Philippines.

Ronald makes it this week with one of his photos from our wedding shoot last January 26. The bride had been hiding her real emotions, covering it up with humor. But the sight of the altar may have broken down her defenses and beneath the veil, she lets out her true feelings. Alex takes us 133.30 meters up the Platinum (Al Bida) Tower in Doha, Qatar and melts our knees with his perspective, adding a fellow photog for the total vertigo effect. Joel shows us how to photograph cars in a way that makes you want to buy them (assuming you have the money).

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Now, our PoW!s in order of date taken:

January 26

Untitled
(reco: "Beneath the Veil")
by Ronald Bolante
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Canon EOS 30D
Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 191 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot

February 9

"A View to a Kill"
by Alex Atienza
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Metering Mode: Partial

Alex's Description: Model: TABS; Location: Platinum (Al Bida) Tower, Doha, Qatar; Lighting Setup - Strong afternoon sunlight from the right and 1 Canon Speedlight fired in E-TTL mode with a Speedlight ST-E2 trigger.

February 15

"Ferrari Enzo"
by Joel Monsalud
No Exif Metadata available.

Joel's lighting information: Two lights: AB800 with 20-degree honeycomb on top of the subject. Another AB800 with snoot for background.

- end -

FPC PoW! -- Week 06, 2008

2008-02-14T00:40:00.003+08:00

The 1st day of the 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival was a great day for FPC members who went there. The sky was blue and had puffs of clouds--for the perfect sky photo. Most of all, the balloons went up and soared! Imagine that!

Majority of FPC members, however, came to the festival on the 3rd day, when the wind was stiff, disabling even inflation of the balloon. Even the night glow did not materialize. Fortunately, we had a side trip to Candaba where, although we had a rough time on the road, we had a great time shooting, NOT birds, but Isai, our model :D

This is NOT IN ANY WAY A PHOTO CONTEST. We just want to honor Photographic creativity :D

Now, in the order of date taken, our PoW!s for this week!

"Taking Off"
by Rey Nocum
No exif metadata available.

"Pinwheel"
by Eric Fernandez
No exit metadata available.

"Macro"
by Richard Santillan
Exif Metadata
Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 105 mm
ISO Speed: 320
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot

Richard's Description: Found this diminutive bugger in our garden and thought i'd give the Nikkor 105mm 2.8VR Micro a test. It was a cloudy day so i had to pop in my SB-800 on my D200's Hot Shoe to illuminate the scene. Took around 10 frames of this spider and i was quite lucky to get this shot. Shot handheld with VR turned on =)

- end -

FPC PoW! -- Week 05, 2008

2008-02-05T23:37:00.000+08:00

January is over. February offers a full-packed schedule of FPC Photo Events starting with the 12th Hot Air Balloon Festival. Meanwhile, let us look at some great photos we, otherwise, would have missed. This week's picks manifest the nature-loving, intrepid and brazenly creative spirit of 3 of FPC members--Zek, Perry, and Marvin :D

"Butterfly3"
by: iankino2007
No exif Metadate available.

"Katamaran"
by: PowerPee
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Nikon D2Xs
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 17 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Pattern
PowerPee's Description: "This is a trademark here in the Philippines. This 'banca' carries several passengers and acts like a bicycle with balancers. A lot of locals use this as a means of livelihood."

Untitled
by: [2]rokbot[2]y
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Sony DSC-R1
Exposure: 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 26.2 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -7/10 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Portrait mode
Metering Mode: Pattern

- end -

FPC PoW! -- Week 4, 2008

2008-01-31T00:18:00.000+08:00

Our first set of Photos of the Week for 2008, in order of date taken! Keep shooting and sharing great photos! :D

"In Awe"
by: Ian Ong
No exif Metadate available.

"Unlock"
by: Edcsk
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Canon EOS 350D Digital
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 65 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Partial

"Festival Queen 2008"
by: Ravemastershun
Exif Metadata:
Camera: Canon EOS 400D Digital
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash fired, auto mode
Exposure Program: Portrait mode
Metering Mode: Evaluative

- end -

BEST VIEWED LARGE

2007-12-15T20:45:00.000+08:00

Impressions on Samsung SyncMaster 205BW 20” LCD Monitor

FOREWORD

Until November of this year, I thought that a 17” monitor with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels is already very good. That 19” monitors are just plain excessive. But in November of this year, I was relieved from my site works and have been returned to our design office. Our office has undergone some renovations since the last time I was there and so my old work station is gone and so is my old computer.

Nevertheless, our administration has provided me with a new cube (it’s considerably more spacious than my old cubicle so I’m calling it that) and then our IT department made arrangements for a computer that I can use. Part of the renovation works (and effectively re-branding) included upgrading our computers so I got one of the new computers with 19” Samsung SyncMaster 920NW LCD monitors. For some reason, I got one of the wide screen 16:10 aspect ration instead of the usual 4:3. (Majority of the new monitors delivered to our office were 4:3’s.) I’ve always preferred the wide screen monitors. I’ll explain this later on in this article.

Anyway, I was glad to find out that it’s resolution is also much higher than what I got used to (1024 x 768 pixels). Sure my laptop’s monitor resolution is 1280 x 800 but with a screen size of 12.1” it looks basically the same as the old CRT. I did not fully appreciated the extra pixels. I mean, the old one was good so this one looked good to me too. Good but not better. Not a major leap forward.

But my new office monitor – wow! That was the first word that came out of my mouth when I first turned it on. At 19”, 16:10 aspect ratio, a whooping 1440 x 900 resolution, and an effective viewing angle of 160 degrees, I thought it looked pretty amazing. I tried it with the usual software we use in the office – AutoCAD, and again – WOW! Even with all those icons in there I still have plenty of space to work on my drawings. And the 16:10 ratio was most effective because it makes working with multiple viewports really very convenient. I also found myself zooming in and out a lot less. Then I tried it with Excel and again it was so fantastic to be able to view more rows at a convenient size. And because it’s wide screen, more columns too.

And then, it occurred to me – how will my pictures look on this? Electronically, I’ve seen my pictures large with multi-media projectors. They looked nice but I’ve always thought that the rendition of colors were a little different from what I see on my old CRT (or laptop). So the next day, I brought some of my photos – unprocessed jpg’s – from my Philippines and Brunei vacation last October and viewed it on my office monitor. I was dumbfounded by the clarity of the details the monitor has revealed. I spent my entire lunch break looking at hundreds of pictures testing especially those photos that looked good in my laptop and also those that looked bad. Those that looked bad turned out to be not so bad at all and the good ones looked even better. It’s probably important to note at this point that it does not do a good job of making any picture look good. What it does really well is reveal the fine details. Because as good as it is in showing the clarity of your pictures, it’s also very good at revealing noise and compression artifacts that I don’t normally see on monitors with lower resolution.

Suddenly, my laptop’s monitor looked terrible. I love my new office monitor! I loved it so much that I decided to get one for myself at home – with my laptop, of course, as my CPU. Their prices have considerably gone down and have vastly improved since they were first introduced into the market.

Looking around what’s available in the market the following day, I found out that there are even better ones out there. There’s a 20” and a 22” versions at a much higher resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels. The 20”, while not that much bigger than my office monitor I figured that they would look better because of the much higher resolution. The difference in quality would probably be more obvious with 22” and perhaps that resolution is more suited to it but for its price, I could buy two 19” models. I think the 20” offered more bang for the buck so I went for it. At this point all these were just speculations because I couldn’t test it in the shop with my own stuff. Sure they look good but they were running sample photos and videos that were, of course, made for demonstration, designed to make the product look really, really good.

For size comparison, here it is next to my laptop (to which it is connected to) with a 12" screen and a resolution of 1280 x 800.

SO HOW IS IT?

Upon arriving home I wasted no time in connecting my laptop and making the necessary adjustments to the desktop display, the difference in resolution became instantly apparent. I made my laptop wallpaper to fit exactly to its set resolution of 1280 x 900 pixels and so when it was displayed in my new monitor, the empty spaces around it is big enough to contain 3 columns each of icons at the right and left side of the screen without overlapping with the wallpaper picture. Texts were just the right size and very comfortable to read.

DIGITAL PHOTOS

The pictures? In one word, brilliant! The best photos looked even better but the not so good ones revealed their weaknesses. I saw some compression artifacts in some of the JPGs straight of the camera with medium quality setting. Now I’ve set my camera to shoot RAW + best quality JPGs. Watching slideshows in this monitor is such a joy. And I’m very happy about it.

VIDEOS

HDTV’s are at least 720p and Full HD’s are 1080p. At 1680 x 1050 pixels, this monitor is nearly Full HD and it’s actually equipped with an HDCP port and supplied with the respective cable. I’m sure that Blu-Ray movies would also look really good here. Sadly my laptop is not that equipped and I only have regular DVD’s. My best quality movie (“King Kong”) did not looked so good. Colors looked dull and the images soft. Adjusting to a lower resolution to match that of the DVD did not help and actually made it worse. I guess, that’s any LCD’s “weakness” – they look good at their native resolutions (resolution for which they were designed for) but look terrible when adjusted to a different one.

Wide screen format allows working on applications side by side. At a resolution this high, it's even more wonderful.

WEB BROWSING

The high resolution and 16:10 wide format allows me to browse two windows side by side without overlapping on top of each other and without having to pan left and right on either window. Well – flickr, Yahoo! Mail, and most blogs at least.

OTHER APPLICATIONS

As mentioned above, working with Spreadsheets and AutoCAD is very nice on the 19”. It’s even better here. I just wasn’t able to test AutoCAD because Autodesk has not yet made a version that is complatible with Windows Vista (my laptop’s operating system).

LIKES

- Design – despite the screen size, it’s a space-saver. It has a thin bezel which helps in minimizing the overall dimensions while maximizing screen size. It’s also provided with a stand that allows you to swivel the monitor up and down or left and right – and the height is adjustable. The stand has a circular footprint of just 19.5 centimeters.
- HDCP port – Hopefully I could afford to buy a computer with Blu-Ray drive and HDCP connection in the future. That makes it future-proof enough for me.
- Comprehensive adjustment buttons. Other than the usual brightness and contrast controls, it’s also equipped with Samsung’s proprietary MagicBright button which allows you to choose preset settings for text, internet, games, sports, movies or your own custom settings. The menu controls even allows you to adjust sharpness, fineness and coarseness of the display. If all of those sounds complicated, you can just press the “Auto” button.

DISLIKES

- Nothing major really. It’s just that my slightly smaller, slightly lower resolution and slightly cheaper office monitor has a wider viewing angle of 178 degrees while mine is “only” 160 degrees. That’s not so bad, is it?

Here's the difference between a 1280 x 800 and 1680 x 1050 resolution monitor. Note that the sizes of the icons are identical yet the difference in physical size is very compelling.

CONCLUSION

For its price (around PHP 11,650) I think it’s a really good monitor. I have yet to find a major fault to not recommend it to anyone looking for a big monitor.

Watching normal video (full screen) is probably the only disadvantage here so YouTube addicts, be warned. Incidentally, my wife told me that when she tried to use this monitor, she felt a little dizzy. Apparently it felt like watching a movie from the front row seat inside a cinema. Perfect for me – it’s just the way I like to watch movies.

Wide screen / high res combination is great for virtually any application. It may be excessive for simple word processing but in this case, I’d say too much of a good thing is a good thing.

Cheers,

alexdpx

FPC November Photo Contest Winners

2007-12-08T12:14:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC November "BOO" Theme Photo Contest.

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners for the month of November:

3rd Place Winner

"Deadwood"
by: papdoligosa

2nd Place Winner

by: Lenard Po

1st Place Winner

by: [2]rokbot[2]y

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC December "Red & Green" Theme Photo Contest.
Thanks for dropping by.

FPC October Photo Contest Winners

2007-12-08T11:55:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC October "Delicious" Theme Photo Contest.

"2nd Place Winner"

by: "akire - Erika Serrano"

"1st Place Winner"

by: Karen Ilagan

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC November "Boo" Theme Photo Contest.
Thanks for dropping by.

2007-11-28T14:14:00.001+08:00

Awe-inspiring Beauty

Scenic Falls
Originally uploaded by john edward

This is my third visit to Wawa Dam, Montalban and Im still amazed at the place’s natural and historical richness. The deep gorge below the main falls where large boulders split the stream, the thundering noise of white water crashing down to the bottom from the top of the dam, the river lined with hills on both sides and of course the friendly local folks living along the trail going up to the dam are some of the splendors only Wawa can bestow to its guests. The main attractions of course are the Spanish era 1800s (best guess) structures: the roughly 100 foot stone brick dam, the dam control stone brick tower and the man made tunnels bored at the sides of the hills to allow folks to access the dam by foot. These are some of its gems but every visitor will surely find their own to add to the list.

One can only go so far to paint a picture of Wawa using words. You have to be there to capture and experience it! These pictures somehow try to capture some visual gems of the place but they are merely made for seeing. Traveling per se is so popular because of its a multi-dimension sensory experience. Going to Wawa is no exception; it will not disappoint.

All About Fish-ball Sticks

One of Wawa’s striking features are its people. Although the dam was built with considerable technology during its time the people of Wawa seem to have stagnated in terms of development. The place is still rural community than anything else. Its locals lack most if not all of today’s conveniences. I doubt if they have sufficient plumbing, sewerage and electricity; they live in shanties after all.

As you navigate the trail to the Dam what captures your interest is its people. They are friendly and yet will look at you with curiosity. What struck me however are the local working folks. I admit that I’ve only really noticed them beginning with my second trip to the place. As you ascend the narrow rocky and uneven trail you inevitably cross paths with young adults, the elderly and children carrying sacks on their backs that look like a mountaineer’s full sized back pack. Instead of carrying the load on their shoulders however, its carried on their backs, head and balanced against a band on the top of their head (see inset).

I've seen some carry sacks loaded with coal. On my last visit they were carrying cut bamboo pieces in very large sacks. I tried to carry them by lifting it with one arm and the sack hardly budged. I used to be able to bench 200+ pounds back in the day. Sacks (inset) are packed with cut bamboo pieces and are soaked in water hence their heavy weight. The 6 inch planks will further be cut into sticks to be used as “fish ball” or barbeque skewers/ sticks.

Those who move them transport them by raft from 2-3 mountains away via a bamboo boat that operates like a gondola. They are then off-loaded to a riverbank and loaded to the backs of the young men, elderly and children. They get paid for each pack they deliver from pick-up to the delivery point . I reckon they don’t get paid a lot judging from the type demographic of the workers. As I photographed them I’ve watched them flex their whole body with their veins on their necks and arms stretching as if they were about to burst. They seem to be mildly amused by my presence but choose not to be distracted because it was already 4:00pm then and they still needed to fetch and deliver about 4 boatloads of sacks before nightfall about 6:00pm.

I followed them to document how they mount, carry and move the packs. I just shook my head how the littlest of them manage to even carry those sacks and travel even a minute on very rough terrain. Travel by foot to the delivery point is about 15 minutes away.

One of them asked in Filipino: “what will happen to the pictures?” I presumed they wanted to see themselves in prints so I told them I'll leave copies to the neighborhood tourism office for them get copies.

He wasn’t interested. He remarked instead: “Send them to Gloria (Philippine president) instead so that she may know our (dire) condition here.”

If anyone can forward this to the right agency local or foreign who may be able to HELP (perhaps through technology grants and livelihood programs but at the same time not disrupt their way of life in a sense) please do.

FPC's Bowling TournaParty!

2007-11-21T10:05:00.000+08:00

The Flickers Photo Club is going to have
some FUN and PARTY again.
If you are a member of FPC, Come join us and check out
the details and register HERE.

If you are not a member, We invite you to check us out
and join us at the FPC Flickr Group.
You are cordially invited to have fun with us.
It would be an honor to meet you in person.

See you all there!

FPC September Photo Contest Winners

2007-11-21T09:49:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC September "B&W" Theme Photo Contest.

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners for the month of September:

3rd Place Winner

"Old School"
by: Daniel Y. Go

2nd Place Winner

"Fisherman's Face"
by: Xavier Alcala

1st Place Winner

"Hintay"
by: Boyet Ignacio

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC October "Delicious" Theme Photo Contest.
Thanks for dropping by.

The Flickers Photo Club

2007-11-06T10:57:00.000+08:00

PoW! 46th Week

2007-10-31T11:59:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Charm City Rollers Girls Championships 2007"
by: Maryland1RN
Olympus E-500, 1/30, f/2.8, 60mm, ISO400

Editor's Comment: The only way to get this right at the set shutter speed is to pan the camera following the subjects. Oliver is fortunate to be in this position to capture the many expressions of the players especially the jostling behind the column of players. I figured that the flash must be blinding to the players but if they concentrated on their play, I assume they would mind that momentary burst of creativity.

"Aklatan"
by: addikk
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, 1/200. f/2.8, 23mm, ISO1600

Editor's Comment: When I first see this photo, I was surprised to see that it was shared by Syke. If my memory does not fail me, this is his first PoW! The concept and the lighting indicates that this is shot in a studio, probably in one of their media productions. Syke shows his share in creativity with a great composition and timely capture of that expression along with the action.

Suggested Title: "Stealth Merchant"
by: archjoshua
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: The action here and the setting bespeaks of a street peddler trying to hawk his wares in between plush shops and among high class citizens. Or it might be that he is stealing those items in the middle of the street. Highly unlikely though. For what reason he is there where it seems he doesn't belong, only Joshua can tell.

PoW! 45th Week

2007-10-10T14:39:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"300 -- Philippine Version"
by: mtxtremist
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: This is what i call "A Photographer in Action". kudos to the photographer's courage and determination to produce quality photos and news, despite the risk of getting caught in the middle of both sides. Great! Just Superb Photojournalism.

"Clear"
by: Gilbert "gilbz" Gamolo
Canon EOS 30D, 1/13, f/16, 68mm, ISO200

Photographer's Comment: "Wala ako magawa last night eh"("I had nothing to do last night"). I just practiced lighting products (applied rim lighting as well). Just grabbed my shampoo from the bathroom since I also love the matte blue finish of the bottle. Did some post processing with lightroom then fine tuned the dithered background in photoshop CS and added the reflection and the copy.

Editor's Comment: Very productive idle time, Gilbz! Very professional hob on the lighting and the post-processing. One could easily mistake this practice photo for one taken for a real product advertisement!

"Beautiful Moment"
by: JRMannn
No Exifs Available

Photographer's Comment: Sometimes I just chuckle when I find captures like this. I wasn't planning on shooting macros but I got to work a little early, turned on my computer, went to the side of the office where the trees are. Didn't see much happening so I was heading back to the office. On the way this bluish color caught my eye, which was the butterfly. I haven't seen this before but after all the rain and gloomy skies, this is my reward. Thank you Lord! =)

Editor's Comment: Among the butterfly and flowers shared into the FPC pool of photos (there are countless of them, if you'll notice), I have to give accolades to this one for the superb colors and the angle with which it was taken, bringing out the brilliance of the blue, brown and pink. Truly a rewarding macro moment for JRMann :D

PoW! 44th Week

2007-09-27T08:42:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Given Teves Face Portfolio"
by: igorms
Nikon D200, 1/320, f/13, 160mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: Aside from the model gave a dramatic pose.... i like the color tone used and tight crop....

"Anti-Smuggling Unit Commandos"
by: mtxtremist
Exifs not Available

Editor's Comment: One of the best photojournalist I have personally known. "Mr. Linus Escandor". This photo shows specifically the ingredients of a good quality photo.... from the composition, bokeh, focused subject and the message/information that the photographer wants everyone to see. He have shared to us before that a photo should consist as much as possible the following elements. SUBJECT, WHERE and ITEMS related to the scene.

by: [2]rokbot[2]y
Sony DSC-R1, 1/20, f/4.8, 68.1mm, ISO160

Member's Comment: This is just a simple shot of a box of candles... what strikes me is the way the photographer composed this shot... and the memories he rekindle from going back to his hometown.

PoW! 43rd Week

2007-09-21T13:03:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Panorama Wedding"
by: Ken Tamayo
Nikon D80, 1/80, f/5.6, 28mm, ISO400

Editor's Comment: The Panoramic effect of this shot is wonderful and romantic. The Location is just perfect. Great Job.

"Where they at?"
by: Roel Santiago GUAM
Canon EOS 5D, 1/1600, f/4, 28mm, ISO160

Editor's Comment: I couldn't find a suitable for my category this week in 30 pages. Thus, I switch to checking the ones I have faved while browsing the pages. This one among them stands out. What makes it interesting, of course, is the juxtaposition of the wall graffiti (which, by the way, is very artistic; it reads "eDGe") and the air-soft gunner. The wall texture added the "grit" factor necessary for this high action shoot.

"Jacq"
by: Edlin Roguel
Canon EOS 30D, 1/45, f/8, 50mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: Lovely Girl, Lovely Pose. Nice lighting. Wonderful treatment on the photo.

FPC "ONE" EXHIBIT

2007-09-07T12:11:00.000+08:00

FPC's 1st Exhibit

Flickers Photo Club (FPC) turned one year old this year. But beyond just counting, "one" represents the unity with which the Club will face the challenges that lie ahead. This photo exhibition caps the celebration of last year and heralds the beginning of another eventful year. The Club also joins the celebration of World Tourism Day in recognition of the fact that we have only one world, one home. Now, take a look at our home through our photos.

We are cordially inviting you to join us on

September 11, 2007 at 7-9pm for the Opening Night.
The Exhibit is located at
Ground Floor, Alab Art Space
IP Philippines Building,
351 Send Gil J. Puyat Ave.
Makati City

FPC August Photo Contest Winners

2007-09-01T23:46:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC August "STILL LIFE" Theme Photo Contest.

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners for the month of August:

3rd Place Winner

"Midnight Blues"
by: erxkulotz

2nd Place Winner

"Glass Trio"
by: dark_ghetto28

1st Place Winner

"Strawberries"
by: Mushroom & Gadgets

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC September "Black & White" Theme Photo Contest.
Thanks for dropping by.

PoW! 42nd Week

2007-08-30T08:58:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Naked Art 2: Asian roots"
by: Ian Ong
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: . . . simply for the colors, and the curves, and the composition, and the pose, and the patterns, and the way it makes my eyes look around the itsy-bitsy details and the . . . on and on and on. Simply beautiful.

"24 Hours of Flickr Manila"
"Through the eyes of a child" (Suggested)
by: Little Mix Mix
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: I make an exception this week on technical quality, to make way for this very significant photo shared into the pool. We are all familiar with this photo. Yes, it is dark. It is also an ordinary group shot taken with "just" a point-and-shoot camera. Yes, it is the 2nd most interesting photo of the "Flickr 24 in Manila" event, and during some days, it was no.1.

Yes, it made it to the flickr blog http://blog.flickr.com/en/2007/08/27/two-down-two-to-go/.
Yes, it was taken by Mika, the daughter of Pat, an FPC admin.

But what does it REALLY mean to you? For me, it is more than what we SEE it is. I faved it not because I look gorgeous. In fact, I look like a burnt charcoal. I faved it not because there is a beautiful, sexy model showing her "best assets." I faved it because I like how we are one big "family" in this photo. It reminds me of how we always have fun when we get together. When we do, we are all like children with expensive toys, sharing them or hoarding them, liking yours or envying the other's. But above all the gears, It is the spirit of belongingness that brings us together, with kindred spirits around us making us feel like children in our home, where you can be yourself whatever gear you have.

Imagine this photo as a solo shot of you. Would you care putting a pink star over it? I think that it is fitting for us now to think of how far we have come, how good we have become at taking pictures, and the relationships that we have formed being a flickr and FPC member. Now, look at all that through the eyes of a child.

"Flame On!"
by: Lenard Po
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/125, f/14, 97mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: What caught my attention with this shot is the creativity of using a lighter for a portrait shot. It has always been interesting to capture a flame. Check out how the flame danced. Wonderful details and portrait. Its a fave!

Flickr 24 in Manila: Grand Party!

2007-08-29T01:51:00.001+08:00

Straight from the Naked Art shoot at Megamall B Megatrade Hall 3 in the afternoon where we shot bands and body-painted models, and from the Montalban Zoological Park (Avilon Zoo) with loads of shots of tarantulas and poisonous scorpions on our CFs, we head off as the contingents of Flickers Photo Club (FPC) to the Ayala Museum to join other Flickr members in welcoming Yahoo and Flickr staff.

We came to welcome them on their "Flickr 24 in Manila" stopover, but they threw us the best of surprises! At the registration table, we were greeted by Yahoo/Flickr staff with a loot paper bag with the "YAHOO!" logo. Inside was the "24 hour of Flickr" coffee table book, a flickr shirt and a bunch of button pins and stickers! We could have went home after the bags were handed to us! Hahaha

Of course we wanted to go inside and meet the Flickr team, especially fellow-Filipino Manny Ventura, from whom we got the personal invite in the discussion threads. Going inside with my wife and 3 more of us, we saw our fellow FPC members already intimate with the food and drinks!

Then almost out of nowhere, there was in our midst a short, amiable guy welcoming us. He said he was Manny V.! Oh! I didn't expect him to be looking that young; his avatar looks older (which he might need to change therefore! Haha). We shook firm and a brief conversation ensued between us and him. Someone with a Polaroid camera (I should look his name up, I know!) came over, took shots, and gave the out-of-cam prints to us! Cool! I handed him my cam and asked him to take a group shot of us.

We let Manny go as he has a lot more people to welcome, and we got down to business, i.e., food and drinks! There was a cafe-ful of them! The bar was open for all, and the food was just inexhaustible! We found our table and made it our "food station." Many more FPC members and other flickr members came in. In fact, the cafe was just filling although we were already 30 minutes late. I had a short chat with Sir Jimmy Hilario (known in flickr as "Stitch") and introduced him to my wife (they already met at an earlier party, I was reminded! LOL). Sir Jimmy is an Admin of the "Philippines" group, where we originally, vicariously met online. I saw also Bingbing and Jolengs (also coming from Megamall), admins of the group.

A short program went underway. I got over the other side to listen but couldn't get through. And the public address was too weak I cannot hear the parts. I met Stevie at the bar and had him take a shot of the proceedings because he was tall. Three shots and they all were the same, with the walls and ceilings occupying much of the frame! LOL! I looked at him and by the looks of it, he must already have been "very intimate" with the lips of the beer glass! (Photo below was shot by Stevie, with walls and ceilings cropped out) I found Ian and had a shot of them. Then I took blind overhead shots of the program through the crowd. The program was over in a while, but the commotion had just started! Flickr is giving away FREE PRO ACCOUNTS (costs about P1,250 per year)! In moments, Tara, who was in possession of the "For You" cards was swamped with flickr people, both PRO and Non-PRO alike! My wife got one for herself and I got my niece, who I am teaching Photography, one of them cards, right off from Tara's hands, after we were photograph by Little Mix Mix.

Pat, one of the FPC admins, came in with her daughter Mika(k.i.f.a. "Little Mix Mix") about 8:00 pm. Pat gave Manny the promised FPC shirt. He had no camera but Mika has his PowerShot A620 in her hands. It became hers in an instant! And she loved taking photos of the crowd with it in her hand. Pat handed her a lens cleaner once in a while, and she would religiously wipe the LCD screen. Mika became the darling of FPC and the darling of the crowd! Everyone would pose for her. Later on, her photos would be flickr-blogged (blog.flickr.com/en/2007/08/27/two-down-two-to-go/) and become the most interesting photos of the event.

Then Mika suddenly "had it" and egged her Daddy to leave. Without our darling, we turned to and made fun of ourselves! The projector was spewing colorful lights and the projector screen provided an interesting background for some creative shooting. We had group photos in front of the screen. The light would play different effects and it was quite exciting to look at the photos and see how the light had hit the subjects. Then, we got bored of group shots and made shadow action figures on the screen. Of course, there was only a short span of time we could amuse the crowd before we get considered annoying! Haha

After that, the stairs, where we shot several group photos. My flash would not let my camera fire up (later on I realized it was short of battery, having been fired from morning to night). At the stairs, five of our members was playing tantrums and decided to have their souvenir shots taken with each one of them on a stair up to the landing. I had a good shot of them and it really appeared to me like a shot for a band album so I put title and description like it was a band album photo! It made it's way to the flickr blog too! Cool! We had some fun too with the "Mickey ears" (the flickr blue and magenta circles), too!

We met a few more important people. Ingrid, Lyn and a lady from a popular daily. Cody too. He was taking a shot of the projector screen when I found him; he pointed his camera at me and I also got a shot of him. Then 3 members who just got their "For You" cards from Tara arrived and posed flashing their cards with Cody. There's much more I can remember but I must already be sounding boring! Haha

Yes, the "Flickr 24 in Manila" event was a sorry-if-you-missed-it party for flickr members. Thanks to Yahoo and Flickr for the food-drinks-and-giveaways-charged flickrmeet! Coolest one ever that happened in the Philippines! -- RER

To view all "Flickr 24 in Manila" photos, click HERE
To view FPC-only "Flickr 24 in Manila" non-exclusive photos, click HERE
----------

Here are some comments from FPC members (most in Tagalog):

Thanks to tara. Actually, salamat kay JC na sinamahan pa akong humingi kay tara ng free pro account. at sa lahat ng mga taga-FPC, Philippines, atbp. Di ko na-meet si sir Manny. Or baka na-meet ko kaso sobrang gusto ko nang umuwi at i-activate ang free pro account ko. hehehe...

Late kami dumating ni small wonder. Wala kaming freebies na yahoo! bag. Hingi na lang ako kay Lyn. Ang laman ng yahoo bag ay libro. t-shirt. Malamang may mga stickers at kung anu-ano pa. Sayang di namin naabutan. Ang lapit lang namin sa m-cafe kaso may trabaho pa. Tumakas lang:) at bumallik upang i-activate ang pro account na bigay ng flickr. woo-hoo!

Masaya yung event:) Nakita ko lahat ng mga nasa likod ng iba't-ibang pangalan sa mga larawang kabigha-bighani. Kaskasan ng siko. Barilan ng camera. Ang gaganda mga lente nila! iba't ibang camera. May lomo. May homo. May old school film cam. May polaroid. Powershot, Cybershot. at kung anu-ano pa.

Minsan lang ako mag-blog [sa FPC discussion thread]. usually sa Multiply. Baka kopyahin ko to at ilagay dun. Kaso wala naman silang pakialam sa kung ano man itong kasiyahan ko ngayon:)

Maraming salamat sa Yahoo, Flickr, FPC, Philippines, at mga ka-flickr. Salamat sa inyong mga ngiti. Kita ulit tayo sa susunod na grand eyeball! hehehe...
-- Addikkk

PRO extension na 'to!!!

Actually, madaming natuwa at nagulantang ng namigay sila ng free PRO account. Kahit kami nakapag-extend for free din! Sarap pa ng food, appetizers, lalo na open bar! Woohoo!

Thanks to Flickr, FPC, Sir Manny & to all the Flickr guys!
-- Erxkulotz

Ang astig nung event! libreng book, libreng shirt, libreng food, at me libreng pro account pa!!! thanks to flickr! :D nice to finally meet a lot of online buddies in the flesh! :)
-- Redsago

Ei guys! Just got home from the event. Whew!!! Sooo many freebies. It's an awesome experience meeting the people who made the flickr. And also once again bonded with the ever cool cool people of FPC... rock on guys!!! yahoo!!! c",)

And yes! Yes! Yes! The food and freebies are great too!!! I got to take home cool flickr shirt, lots lots of stickers, souvenier key chains, coffee table book of the 24hours [of] flickr, a polaroid picture (with the official flickr logo -- take note -- hehehe), and the cool goody bag of yahoo. And YES! THE FREE FLICKR PRO ACCOUNT!!! (Thank you sooo much sir Manny)... yay!!! It's really worth going in there. Tthe people behind flickr are great and very warm and friendly. I feel like i'm with the stars... awww!!! I hate to leave early... waaahhh!!! They are still in there... :D
-- *JC*

Sa lahat po ng nagpunta sa event... nice seeing you guys again... especially those na hindi ko pa kilala... hehehe
-- Lothariel

BIG THANKS TO FLICKR!!! Was nice to see and chat with other Flickr pips around.
-- webzer

Thanks sa PRO account!!! :D
-- Ryuji23

Hahaha! Nakahingi din ako ng isa pang pro account. Daming free stuff. And i was surprised napasama sa photo exhibit ang photo ko. Kakatuwa. Nice meeting you Pat, DGM, Jobaracuda, angrylittleboy... Yung iba hindi ko na matandaan pero FPC rocks!
-- EdzL

Thanks to sir Manny V. And to all flickr guys for the pro account and goody bag!

Galing ni Mika. May kakampi na si kuya Pat! :P
-- LadyShutter

-----
Grabe busog ako sakaka-kain ng finger foods/appetizers. Naka-kain siguro ako ng 100! Yun roast beef salap din!

Nice seeing everyone again and meeting new ones =D
-- John Edward

-----
THE BEST PARTY EVERY! Free food, free drinks (open bar), free shirt, free sticker, free book, free lens cleaner, and finally, FREE PRO ACCOUNT!!!! Thank you flickr!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Woohoo!!!
-- Ian ong

-End-

PoW! 41st Week

2007-08-24T10:51:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Civil War"
by: PowerPee
No Exifs Available

Description: The Icon (Captain America) is about to get barbecued...

* I just received news that this picture won the 1st ever photo contest at the 6th Philippine Toycon. God is indeed good to me. :)

Editor's Comment: To not honor Perry's work on FPC PoW! will be a shame. This is appropriate time to celebrate and be proud of a masterpiece, a work of art, which Perry has seem to have perfected over the course of time, since his formal lessons on creative lighting. What makes this winning photo click is obviously the suggestion of action making the lifeless figures come very alive, with the appropriate facial expression.

"My Paper Flower Dream"
by: Glenn Mendoza
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: Not all subjects look good when rendered in black & white. But who would have thought that a colorful flower (even though a paper flower at that) would look this good without color?

For those participating in FPC's theme contest for this month, this photo is a case study. Excellent contrast, wide tonal range, great lighting revealing all those texture details. Bravo!!

"Stairway to Heaven?"
by: laz'andre
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: the key to the shot's "pow" value is very fundamental to photography: composition.

It takes a keen eye to spot the subject. a good appreciation of symmetry to frame the mural and creative talent to include the birds and some sky in the shot!

FPC July Photo Contest Winners

2007-08-24T09:38:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC July "COLORS" Theme Photo Contest.

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners for the month of July:

3rd Place Winner

"Makulay na Bubong"
Photo by: redhatkeeper

2nd Place Winner

"Flippin Flops"
Photo by: dark_ghetto28

1st Place Winner

"At Rainbow's End"
Photo by: rarerimages by shutterbugrer

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC August "Still Life" Theme Photo Contest. Thanks for dropping by.

PoW! 40th Week

2007-08-15T16:18:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Point Reyes"
by: born19june
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, 1/200, f/16, 37mm, ISO400

Photographers Description: Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately 30 mi (48 km) WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the promontory bounded from Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southwest. The headland is protected as part of Point Reyes National Seashore.

The cape protects Drakes Bay on its southern side. The headland is largely drained by Drakes Estero. Inverness Ridge runs along the peninsula's northwest-southeast spine, with forested peaks around 430 meters (1,400 feet). West of the ridge, the land flattens out and the vegetation turns to scrub. The Mount Vision Fire in 1995 burned part of Inverness Ridge.

The peninsula is a popular recreational destination for the nearby San Francisco Bay Area, especially for hiking on its many trails and sea kayaking the shores of Tomales Bay and the coast.

Vegetation native to Point Reyes includes Bishop pine, Douglas-fir, coyote brush, monkeyflower, poison oak, California blackberry, salal and coast redwood, among others.

During the Cold War, submarines repaired at Mare Island Naval Shipyard were tested in the shallow waters off Point Reyes following shipyard repairs. Navy safety personnel used a small monitoring and communications hut on the peninsula for monitoring submarines during these sea trials.

Point Reyes Lighthouse was used as the radio station for Antonio Bay in the John Carpenter film "The Fog".

Point Reyes lends its name to the town of Point Reyes Station, California.

Editor's Comment: Is Titanic the Movie making a comeback? This photo has a very striking composition. And is just awesome in all aspects. Great Work.

"beauty @ work"
by: [2]rokbot[2]y
Sony DSC-R1, 1/320, f/8, 71.5mm, ISO160

Editor's Comment: There have been many shots such as this. And obviously there are probably photos beyond the pages I have scoured that are more striking than it. But among the ones shared recently, this one has the blessings of both tonal and compositional excellence. Immediately, when you see the thumbnail, you will invariably like to look at the big picture.

"duck"
by: scubapup
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 1/500, f/5.6, 700mm, ISO800

Editor's Comment: This aint no ugly duckling. I would call this a beautiful duckling. Wonderfully Captured. This can be a lovely painting hanged on my living room. :)

PoW! 39th Week

2007-08-04T14:01:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Love Boat"
by:Ogiecute
Nikon D80, 1/250, f/10, 10mm, ISO140

Editors Comment: This photo plays tricks on your eyes! One glance and you'll think it's a grounded UFO! Evidently, the positioning of the foreground subject in relation to the sun creates the effect of a glowing cockpit of a craft. There's a lesson. Once in while, it pays to pay attention to how you put things in the frame and a little imagination can make an oddly ordinary scene like this, a hit!

"Muffins"
by: Rey Nocum
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: I know this is just an ordinary shot. but so what. The photo served its purpose. It made me hungry and craving for muffins! :D

"Friendship"
by: Joanne Curlah
Nikon D80. 1/100, f/6.3, 52mm, ISO100

Member's Comment: For me, what makes a silhouette photo effective is the fact that you don't see the usual elements like faces and expressions found in photos with human subjects but somehow still manages to intensely convey emotion. For this picture, it is hard to miss the bonding that these two boys are enjoying. So innocent… yet so meaningful.

One Hot Day of Fun! (Part 1 of 3)

2007-07-28T11:10:00.001+08:00

Trying to sleep was a futile effort. In my mind, hundreds of images of the past festival ran around like cats and dogs chasing each other. Good thing there was Bubble Gang to divert my attention to. After the TV show, a short nap and it was already time to roll.

1:00 AM. Abby and I got our packed things in the cars. Kuya Rey Nocum called to say he couldn't make it because of a family medical emergency. But he said he would keep in touch with the group because of the IDs to the special access areas. We were saddened but at least we still have the other guys to go with us. We had the cars gas tanks filled then called Eric Fernandez (known in Flickr as Erxkulotz), who was already on his way to the meeting place, the 7-Eleven store at the EDSA Grand Central Pavillion building, same place we were to pick up Eric Espenida (k.i.f. Ryuji23).

1:30 AM. At the Pavillion, it didn't seem to be wee hours because the mall lights were still on and many people are around, walking and talking. We parked by the 7-Eleven store, got ourselves something to eat, and waited for Eric and Ryuji. Ryuji came with a stranger. He introduced her to us as "Andrea." As she looked fine, I thought our problem with model shoot at the festival was solved! Eric arrived and around 2:00 AM we left EDSA Central.

2:00 AM. We fetched two Dennises (I already had two Erics on onboard! Haha) at the Munoz Market crossing--Dennis Tanay and Dennis Dayao (we called him by his Flickr alias, "Tuklaw!", to differentiate from Tanay). We already met Dennis T. at the Ecopark photo event but Tuklaw is completely unknown to us. He looked gaunt and at first I thought he had short hair; but then he seated on the front passenger seat and I saw his pony-tailed long hair. Thus, we hit the NLEX, dropped by Petron Jollibee, then began navigating the longest stretch to the Angeles exit, chatting the whole length of the tollway.

3:00 AM. We were lost! We exited via the Angeles access road and crossed over to the left side via the overpass. We missed the right turn to the Festival field and came to the bridge going to Porac! We Asked for directions, and backtracked and was at Clark Field at around 4:00 AM.

4:00 AM. I immediately noticed the big difference in setup from last year. The carpark was more organized, fenced-in by, albeit, flimsy sticks and straw cords. It was guarded unlike last year where the parking was just beside the way. The entrance to the Field was now elaborate and the fence higher than the previous year. We parked in the cold and dust of the dawn and tried to catch on some sleep. From the driver's seat I could see some festival goers arriving early. Some were taking souvenir photos by the gate. The big tree before the gate was lit by the spot lights from the gate fence, creating a dramatic effect.

"We can put Andrea on that branch up there and shoot her now," I joked.

The sight beckoned the shutterbug in me and then I was restless until I took a photo of it. I took out my cam and got some pre-sunrise shots.

5:00 AM. All sleep fled and we were in the line going inside the Field. The Fuji-YKL booth was already swarmed by photogs clamoring for IDs to the special access area and enlisting for the photo contest. Kuya Ronnie Ragonton (k.i.f. Ronrag) came and joined the group. We also met Docbertus with his brother. Richard Santillan was also present.

We got to the front of the line but when we asked for our IDs, we were turned down. "We give preference to those clubs accredited by the FPPFI," explained the booth attendant. "You would have to wait until they claim theirs. If there's any more left, I can give them to your club."

6:00 AM. We were disappointed. Kuya Rey confirmed the availability of the IDs. I sent him a text message. Thankfully he was still awake. He promised to call the booth administrator to whom he submitted our formal request. We tried again but was rebuffed once more by the attendant. Downcast, we took our position at the fence of the special access area, where the balloons were being wheeled around the area to their designated spots. We situated ourselves at the fence on the runway were we have a good vantage view of the mountain beyond. Balloon pilots and their attendants were fleeting everywhere with vans and trucks hauling burners and and baskets. In our frustration about the IDs, we yelled at photogs who blocked what remaining views of the flight preparations that was dealt to us.

Then, I got a call from Kuya Rey instructing us to get our special access IDs. Our enthusiasm thus rekindled, we hurried to the Fuji-YKL booth where we found the last 6 IDs! We put them on and running towards the balloon launch area, we started shooting at balloons already rising like giants waking up to the heat of the morning sun.

Once in, we were each to his own! From the hangar I readied my camera and flash and off I was, shooting as I go, lying on my back to get an upward shot, unmindful of the trampling I could get from the other photogs and attendants, as well as pilots and passengers. In 30 minutes, almost all balloons have taken off. -- End of Part 1. The following are part 1 photos. To see all FPC Hot Air Balloon Fest photos, click this: FPC Hot Air Balloon

PoW! 38th Week

2007-07-26T17:27:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"awts"
by: laz'andre
No Exifs Available

Photog's Comments: May kasabihan na "tawanan ang problema." Siyempre noong bata ka pa, alam mo lang tawanan ang problema ng iba. (Translation: "There's a saying "laugh at problems." Of course, when you were young, you only know how to laugh at other's problems.")
(He's ok, except that this must be his most embarassing moment...)

Editor's Comments: Very true. We laugh at others in their embarrassing moments but look at ours as a great misfortune. But when we keep our sense of humor, we look back later, and yup you guess, we tend just smile or laugh at most our failures. After all, we are still here and survived them all.

Andre captures, in a very quick flash of reflex, a very rare moment that called for a "quick eye, quick finger." In this photo, I see myself both in the children that are laughing and the boy that kissed the steps of the stairs.

"break"
by: TyC
No Exifs Available

Member's Comment: while browsing the FPC photostream, this one caught my attention.. i love how the photographer composed the shot.. the model, stairs, door, and lighting.. harmony at work.. the title also had an impact on me, we all need a break from our busy 8-5 life.

"The path!"
by: merlysunflower
Kodak P880 Zoom, 1/400, f/2.8, 5mm, ISO50

Member's Comment: well compose picture and what makes this picture interesting is the curve line from the tracks of a vehicle that creates a very visual path

PoW! 37th Week

2007-07-19T16:35:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"777"
by: scubapup
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 1/400. f/8, 700mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: The colors and composition of this photo is just wonderful. The first time I saw this. I thought this was a background wallpaper from Microsoft's Vista. The photo gives you a relaxing feeling. Would love to use this as my wallpaper. May I? :D

"FPC at Binondo group shot"
by: ianong
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: Another pick from our FPC meets! "Friends... Photos... and Cameraderie." These three words have been ingrained into the culture of Flickers Photo Club (FPC). This photo exemplifies them all! It signifies what FPC really is all about -- fun ,sharing and belongingness. Whatever class of photographer you are--learning, earning or yearning; snapper, or composer, technical or emotional--you will find your place in FPC. All you need is your camera and passion for Photography, and of course, your funny bones! Come learn and shoot the fun way. The FPC way!

"Astig Pinoy Photographers"
by: -Roy-
No Exifs Available

Member-Picker's Comment: I love this photo. Instead of seeing photographers with their guns in detail. No brags on this. Discrete. Just pure passion in each silhouette, moving as a group, ready to shoot, one in mission, but each with a different eye for beauty and artistry. Talagang astig ang Pinoy Photographers, anywhere they meet up, Dubai or any part of the world!

PoW! 36th Week

2007-07-11T14:30:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

by: xtoid
Nikon D200, 1/250, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO1600

Editor's Comment: I like the action in this shot very much. You can see the intensity of it. I also like how the photo came out. I can imagine this in the front page of a newspaper. Nice work.

"Signature"
by: DIRTH MAN
Canon EOS 300D Digital, 1/320, f/4.5, 34mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: as they say.. "boys first love are wheels and not heels". if i were to pass by such a beauty, i would also stop in appreciation. The photographer was able to express his feelings through this photo. Nostalgic and swept him off his feet to the clouds...

There are things that makes a man sigh like a little boy and a woman would never understand.

(hayyyy.. ang ganda nga talaga)

"Coro"
by: ianfelix
Nikon D40, 1/10, f/3.5, 18mm, ISO800

Photographer's Comment: Manila Cathedral's choir chamber. It houses one of the oldest pipe organ in the country, restored to its original form to bring back the glory days of Spain in the Philippines.

Editor's Comment: It was tough choosing from the architecture photos this time, with lots of shared great captures from talented FPC members like Andre, Marvin, Ian, Chewy and many more. But I had to settle for only one. This one. Why? Although, the interior was not shot from floor to ceiling (which could have been done with a portrait orientation?), the horizontal details are just as effective.

The lamps, the ornamented arches, majestic ancient pillars, domed ceilings and a curious centerpiece in queer blue light, all contribute to a grand composite. Your eyes will travel to every nook and cranny of this photo looking for more, even if you need to explore only one symmetrical side.

PoW! 35th Week

2007-07-05T11:38:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Solitary Planter"
by: jeridaking
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: i always love seeing serene scenes like this one. it gives you a calming effect and also make you want to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday city life.

"Ring my bell"
by: Ian Ong
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: Time again to honor great photos from FPC events. There's definitely glamor in this photo, because of the expression is so catchy, that most attention is drawn to the subject. The windblown hair adds to the glamor, creating a feeling like Mercedes is in a wanton state, without regard to how she looks or appears to the viewers, like a forlorn beauty left atop the bell tower waiting for a release.

"pusa"
by: addikkk
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, 1/4, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO1600

Member-Picker's Comment: One striking photo. One can think of many things when looking at the photo. Good angle. Nice timing in capturing the subject. Contrast matches the whole composition.

FPC June Photo Contest Winners

2007-07-04T15:32:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC June "H2O" Theme Photo Contest

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners for the month of June:

3rd Place Winner

"Out of the Earth"
by:Rareimages by Shutterbugrer

2nd Place Winner

"Gush Forth"
by: [2]rokbot[2]y

1st Place Winner

"The Water Tree"
by: Hocchuan

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC July "Catchy Colors" Theme Photo Contest. Thanks for dropping by.

PoW! 34th Week

2007-06-28T17:10:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Rachelle Ann Go - Celebrity Singer"
by: -Roy-
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, 1/250, f/2.8, 140mm, ISO400

Editor's Comment: This photo has many good qualities but I will not go down the details with technicalities. What caught my eyes was that peak performance and great moment captured.

"Manalmon-264"
by: malacama
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: A perfectly well executed shot from concept to composition to post processing. Wonderful photo.

"salbabida kid"
by: joanne curlah
Nikon D80, 1/125, f/8, 105mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: This one silhouette beats me! A comical and solemn ambience in one composition! Reminds me that life, because it is God-given, is sacred and thus should not be taken for granted. At the same, this photo tells me that one should not lose his sense of humor, because it gets us through to many serious trials. "Life is a box of chocolates..."

PoW! 33rd Week

2007-06-21T08:57:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"She Ain't Heavy"
by: Julius
No Exifs Available

Member-Picker's Comment: Julius captured a powerful photo, and at the same time a strong message is being conveyed from the title, the facial expression and eyes of his subjects.

"Patriotism"
by: harley501
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: As the title of the photo goes.. "Patriotism" is a love of and loyalty to one's country. A patriot is someone who loves, supports, and is prepared to serve their country.

Kaya bilib ang lahat sa pinoy. Even with extreme poverty and hardship in life, pinoy stands up and raises their country's flag with dignity and honor. Go Pinoy!

"..to Art"
by: myklmabalay
No Exifs Available

Member-Picker's Comment: "From earth... to Art." The photo tells a deeper story in the life of a pot maker. Dark tones, in motion action, pot maker's expression add drama to the photo. One of those photos that tells a thousand words.

FPC May Photo Contest Winners

2007-06-16T10:14:00.000+08:00

Here are the entries and winners of the FPC May "BLUE" Theme Photo Contest

"The Entries"

and here are the Top 3 Winners:

3rd Place Winner (A Tie)

"Gown under Water"
by: Rastamarie

"Lady in the Blue Water"
by: Hocchuan

2nd Place Winner

"As Blue as It Can Be"
by: garion007ph

1st Place Winner

"Tungsten World"
by: [2]rokbot[2]y

Congratulations to the Winners!

Watch out for our FPC June "H2O" Theme Photo Contest. Thanks for dropping by.

FPC's Bowling Fun

2007-06-15T09:45:00.000+08:00

When this happened: Last April 21, 2007
Where this happened: SM Megamall Bowling Lanes 13 and 14

Here are some short stories on what can happen when a number of people gathers together just to have some cameraderie. :)

The cast who joined the fun: rareimages by shutterbugrer, Hocchuan, Ryuji23, erxkulotz, †whiteknight†, Tipoy, kael06, shutterglass, kamalayan, yakimika, dark_ghetto28.

Short Story #1 - The Bowler
Photos and Story by: Shutterglass

This guy instead of the usual throwing stance, sat on the edge and thought of how to make a strike.....

..... and he did the best he can do.... first try

.......second try.....

but to no avail....

life is short, play more!

-The End-

Short Story #2 - The Great Martial Artist
Photos and Story by: Shutterglass

It is now Pat's turn... but hey! someone is blocking the lane.......

its a bird...a plane... its RYUJI! Great Martial Artist!

Pat had been waiting for his moment... combing all his energy and KI...the ball began to lit up...

lets take a flash back of Master Ryujis skills... heyaaa!!! the flying V gasoline kick

Pat's bowling kungfu!

....back to the scene... he showed his mid air banana split.

Pat never gave him the chance.... strike as hard as he can

Pushing him further towards the dark side of the force..

Exerting much more energy with the right leg back technique

....pushing further

I have to end the photo here... its of highly graphic and disturbing nature =)

Guess who won?

-The End-

Here are some other fight scenes:

The Jump Shot - taken using the Creative Lighting System of nikon w/ 3 units of SB800

So who won the fighting scene you ask? Here you go. :D

The Agony of Defeat - A Sweet Taste of Victory!

You can check out the rest of the photos HERE. Thanks for visiting. :)

PoW! 32nd Week

2007-06-13T15:19:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Semplang"
by: mtxtremist
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: I thought I might be disappointed by the scarcity of "street event" photos from 50 pages of the pool. Until I saw this recent one by Linus. Indeed, a professional photographer must be quick to the draw, especially with fast-paced events such as the "Padyad Pinoy" on May 28, 2007. Expecting something like this will happen in such an event with many participants is one thing. To actually catch one actually happening is another thing. Great capture Linus!

"Forever Love"
by: Julius
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: There’s no better way to relive your wedding memories than to create a scrapbook taking you through each moment of that special day. I'm 100% sure the photographer's Sister will cherish this photo forever, always reminding her of that very special day in her life. Wonderful work Julius.

"Gabie"
by: edlinroguel
Canon EOS 30D, 1/125, f/9.5, 100mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: best portrait... the skin tone is great. the artwork definitely made an awesome impact to the photo. the eyes are very expressive that compliments the facial expression of the model...

PoW! 31st Week

2007-06-06T18:02:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Fran of Final Fantasy XII"
by: RUS_88
Nikon D200, 1/30, f/6.3, 130mm, ISO1000

Editor's Comment: Amidst the commotion among fellow photogs shooting the fashion show in the recently held 1st FPC Founding Anniversary at the Town and Country Gardenville clubhouse and pool, Richard shoots an "arrow" from his camera and got this one beautiful shot of Jerry Polence (www.polence.com) of Final Fantasy.

What makes this photo interesting is of course, the expression of the model's face. Next is her stance as she strikes a "shooting" stance. And amazingly, the peripheral lights of the swimming pool provides an interesting highlight.

"Basta Flickerian, Sweet Lover"
by: julygarcia
Nikon D80, 1/2500, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO200

Editor's Comment: This really had me and i agree.

"Disney Train Handgrip"
by: Daniel Y. Go
Canon PowerShot G7, 1/4, f/4, 25mm

Editor's Comment: There is always a kid in us. When I saw this photo, I immediately felt like going to Disneyland to get to see Mickey Mouse. :D Its very interesting how this kind of things makes us wanting to be kids again.

This made my day, it gave me a happy thought all throughout the day.

The 1st FPC Anniversary Party

2007-06-05T11:04:00.001+08:00

There are no people more tensed than the Admins of Flickers Photo Club (FPC, www.flickersphotoclub.com) as the days wore out. They have been planning for this event since the start of the year, having experienced some snugs over the venue and other issues, arising obviously out of their want to make this event a big astounding one. In the end, they decided to make it as convenient and fun for all the members and thus, announced to hold the 1st Founding Anniversary of FPC within Metro Manila, not out-of-town as earlier planned.

Realizing that what really matter most are the "F", "P", and the "C" -- "Friends, Photos, and Cameraderie" (yup, that's spelled correctly: CAMERAderie). Therefore, they concentrated on giving the members a night of fun, friendship and lots of model shoot! Once everything was finalized, the invitations were sent out to the members via flickrmail, the venue was readied and the food and the models in the waiting.

Members responded and the invitations were answered, the registry filled up with member names. All is set by the end of the week. The big day came.

Photo by: Hocchuan

The big day came and silence enveloped the online threads of FPC, except maybe punctuated by the far voices of members who are based outside of the Philippines and those in the provinces. However, at the clubhouse and pool part of Town and Country Gardenville where Anne Herschelle lives, there was commotion of people carrying cameras and models and makeup artists touching up on the art for the oncoming show. People with black (and also white) shirts with familiar words etched across the front and back start trickling into the clubhouse. There is no mistaking that the FPC anniversary party is well underway! The garroulous, host, JC, is at the microphone belting out Angela Bofill's"You Should Know by Now" (weird, he sounded like a real woman!) and Pat, Robert with his wife, Abby, busy on the counter registering in the people and doling out the shirts (for a price of course!).

Ppaps and JC - Kael and Mtxtremist

Rey Nocum, Tuklaw, Shot-goon and lightroom - Jepoy, John Edwards and Lenard Po

Kael and julygarcia - Lenard Po, Spiegelbild and JC

Whiteknight and Mercedes - Lordjit and Rabbitsfoot

Powerpee and Spiegelbild - Kamalayan, ten_paras and Whiteknight

The food came with the ensuing "round table discussions." Everyone has someone to talk to. Flickr names now with FPC faces, laughing together, singing together... and yeah, shooting each other -- "trigger-happy" as Ronnie would say. The program went on and lo and behold! Ronnie would thank Canon! Well, he spoke for the group, so that must be really sincere. Other Admins welcomed the members and basically, JC and Jen had the microphone to themselves all the time, talking incessantly. Robert presented the PoW!s (Photos of the Week!) from its start in November to the week of the Anniversary, and you could just see the photographers face light up when their photos came on the screen. With now itchy trigger fingers, the members are summoned to go feast their cameras on the waiting models by the pool. And from there they did not come back anymore!

Until past 12 midnight, when Anne is already fidgety because of the overtime use of the facility. These photogs really are armed to the teeth! With wide angles and long lenses and Pat came with his P&S enclosed in an underwater gear (and he shot gorgeous underwater model poses)!

Amidst the model shooting, there was raffle drawing and awarding of the prizes for the photo contest themed "Summer Lovin'". Ice Allen bagged the Canon printer while JC took home the HP for his entry in the photo contest (real cool jump shot; beats Diane's that time! LOL) Look up the thread to see who won the other prizes.

Look up the thread HERE to see who won the other prizes.

Unfortunately, the time passes by and the models have to rest too. Even the Flickerian photographers has to go home to share the beautiful photos that they took that night. Goodbyes were said, handshakes conclude another day of friendship, and those who still have the strength stayed on for the parting shots. Some models who really looked tired, gave satisfied smiles for the parting shots.

These are the FPC peeps that were left minutes before the venue became silent once more and our models from aRTi Entertainment (di na rin kumpleto! hehe), with their fashion show director Rei Rana, and Co. Thanks to Erxkulotz :D

It's been a great and fun-filled anniversary party, no one could contest.

Write up by: rareimages by shutterbugrer

Acknowledgement:
Fashion Show Direction by Rei Rana of aRTi Entertainment

Hair & Make up Artists : Karen Angelynne Leong & Amix Beltran
Assistant : Allen Ting

Gowns by Baro at Saya Houte Couture c/o Loraine Javier

Models:
Clara Castro - blue gown, white bikini
Sharla O'Hara - black/gold gown, violet bikini
Andrea Gregorio - white/pink gown
Dana Sarigumba - black gown, black bikini
Shella Hollon - the petite one, black bikini
Kimberly Panganiban - white gown, red bikini
Mercedes Cabral - old rose gown, black bikini

Jerry Polence - Fran from Final Fantasy XII

You can view the rest of the photos of the Anniversary Party HERE

PoW! 30th Week

2007-05-31T11:07:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Waiting for the day's catch"
by: cocoy@2007
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: Landscape and silhouette shots always amazes me. Maybe its because I don't get a lot of chance to shoot this kind of photography. Whenever I see such photos. It keeps my hopes to be able to travel around our country and to be able to take such beautiful photos.

The golden color of the sun is so wonderful, the kids silhouette and their reflection on the water are just superb. Nice work.

"FPC Anniversary Shoot" (suggested: "Three-Piece")
by: Kamalayan
Canon Powershot S3 IS, 1/25. f/6.3, 34.3mm

Editor's Comment: Somewhere in Reuel's multiply pages, he wrote of being frustrated at seeing other FPC members using "pro" equipment at the 1st Anniversary Party. He felt small with his Canon Powershot S3IS, and lamented at how far-fetched it is for him to obtain "pro" equipments.

I reply to that post, encouraging him to continue even without "dream gears" because he has the eye. As I was about to choose my PoW! for this week, I deferred to the Anniversary photos (of course, to hype FPC events), deviating from my list of categories. When the photos with tags "fpcannivparty" came on the page, this photo was the "most interesting," on top of the heap. That proves my observation that Reuel has the eye, and with a good one, he doesn't need much pro gears to inspire others.

"Hilutungan2"
by: manu antigua
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: It's just a shame that manu did not enter this in the FPC monthly theme competition (Blue). I don't know if it would win but it definitely stands a very good chance. I mean, just look at that water, that sky!! Very effective use of wide angle lens and the view point is excellent the boat pointed towards the horizon with the two passengers looking at it - it says, "It's a big world out there!" It reminds me of those Rennaisance explorers just before Magellan proved that the world is round.

FPC April Photo Contest Winners

2007-05-24T15:49:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to the winners of the FPC April Monthly Contest - "Just Desserts" Theme.

To all the members who submited their entries. Congratulations for a job well done.

"The Entries"

Here are the top 3 Winners:

3rd Place Winner

"Watermelon Chill"
by: spiegelbild

2nd Place Winner

"Impending Attack"
by: usclabdog

1st Place Winner

"Halo Halo Special"
by: den1224

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE.

PoW! 29th Week

2007-05-23T10:50:00.000+08:00

We have skipped a week of PoW because of the preparation for the FPC's 1st Anniversary Party held last May 19, 2007 at Town and Country Gardenville, Congressional Ave. QC. Check out the outcome of the party Here.

We're back!

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Wheel"
by: manu antigua
Canon EOS 400D Digital, 20 sec (20), f/14, 10mm, ISO200

Editor's Comment: This one of the much photographed Enchanted Kingdom amusement rides packs a definite PoW! punch and simple knocks your jaw to the ground! The peripheral lights caused by the onboard gondola lights (and some specks on the lens?) add interestingness to the overall good composition, which was made possible with a wide angle lens.

"Tagaytay City Philippines - 4"
by: Karlo Bonifacio
Nikon D80, 1/500, f/5, 195mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: Crystal Clear, Sharp and Wonderful Colors. Such a great macro shot. This is just wonderful.

"mirip"
by: farl
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/640, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO800

Photographers Description: I am a Filipino but a lot of people have mistaken me for Indonesian, probably because not only do I look Indonesian (yes, we Malays resemble each other) but I speak the language as well. Having been visiting Indonesia for almost 14 years now, I feel at home in archipelago which is so much like the Philippines in so many respects. Heck, I even got married in Indonesia but to a Filipina of course. In embracing another world's culture, one keeps coming back to your own.a boat detail that looks like the Philippine flag in Geger Beach, Bali, Indonesia

Editor's Comment: The first time I saw the thumbnail of this photo in the FPC pool, my first thought was that this looks like the Philippine flag. When I clicked on it and saw the photo page and learned that that was Farl's exact description why he took this photo, it made me smile.It only shows how effective this photo is in conveying a message. Beyond technical excellence and bright colors, its effectiveness is what makes it a winner.

"Melvin"
by: laz'andre

No Exifs Available

Photographers Description: Melvin James own an antique shop in Cubao Expo.

Editor's Comment: I like the detail and light and color mood in this image -- a shopkeeper and his wares, a guy who hopefully truly loves his work. So many details here, from the knick knacks he sells to his reflection on his clean tabletop.

PoW! 28th Week

2007-05-09T13:19:00.000+08:00

The sun and the moon and the pattern
Of the sand and some french fries sticks

Make my mind wander to places I yearn
To the sanctuary that the silence speaks.

But here I am underneath this passage
Counting my days straight into old age!

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"Watery Desert"
by: Ian Ong
No Exifs Available

Photographer's Description: Sunset at White Island Camiguin. The sky was overcast the whole afternoon. I already gave up hope of ever seeing the sun. So I decided take a swim and enjoy the beach, instead. Then a miracle happened, the sun decided to take peek! My officemates were shocked to seem me running and jumping along they beach, frantically trying to shake myself dry so that I'll be able to take some pictures. :D Hehehe. :D

Editor's Comment: I pretty much love everything on this photo. The pattern of the sand, The Clouds, the reflection of the sun with the flare. Great wide angle shot. Love it.

"+++++++o+++++++"
by: laz'andre
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: Very creative use of lines and colors. It's a wonder to me how laz'andre is able to see art in what appears to be simple everyday objects. I still can't figure out what it is. Is it a fence, a trellis, part of a bench . . . I guess that's where the magic of this photo is - in it's mystery.

"central park_2007-04-28_068"
by: scubapup
Canon EOS 5D, 1/50, f22, 70mm, ISO800

Photographer's Description: untold story (as suggested by rarerimages)

intentionally allowed the sky to blow out to get detail on the stonework, the walkway above the tunnel is a very popular jogging route in central park and the buildings behind are the metropolitan museum of art (the met) and apartment buildings along fifth avenue.

initially took this photo in color but the blownout highlights didnt work for me so i thought that converting it to monochrome would work and i liked it better that way.

the musician was playing and singing rambling man and did it very well.

there are several versions later in the photostream that are colored versions of this but still the guitarist is sillhouetted. up to the viewer to decide if they like it or not. :)

Editor's Comment: A rarer B&W find from about 7 options from 30 pages of the FPC photo pool! What makes this photo awesome is the artful inclusion of the branches and building over and beyond the overpass. How it was done, Lenny will explain in the photo page, but however it is, the end makes us crave for the means! The human figures beneath the archway and another beyond adds to the mystery of the photo's "untold story."

PoW!: 27th Week, by Members

2007-05-03T09:16:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!, in no order of preference:

"Aliwan Fiesta 2007"
by: redsago
Canon EOS 30D, 1/250, f/8, 120mm, ISO100

Member Picker's Comment: Interesting to see different facial expressions from the performers. composition is interesting and eye catching.

"Golden Harvest"
by: jeridaking
No Exifs Available

Member Picker's Comment: The color contrast and composition is simply amazing. The color tones and the moment captured is something to relish and enjoy looking at. The photographer was able to capture the beauty of a place where life might be slow but peaceful.

"Shine on me"
by: Ian Ong
No Exifs Available

Member Picker's Comment: perfectly composed. Got a nice timing of the sun at the back of the cross. The blue sky and the clouds somewhat made it more heavenly to look at. i'm not really good at landscapes but this really caught my eye... perhaps, it's a reminder for us all...

PoW! 26th Week

2007-04-25T10:20:00.000+08:00

That's a different sun over the sea right there!
In what planet this was shot, I definitely wonder.

Scream when you sing but not at the microphone.
What angst on that face and his locks fully grown!

Red downs black! Huddling in jubilation in victory!
But in defeat there is no shame, only short agony.

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"... an almost empty sunset beach..."
by: cxAlena
Canon EOS 300D Digital, 1/400, f/14, 30mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: A very nice silhouette shot of a beach. What amazed me is the shape that came out from the sun that looks like a star. Very nice shot.

"Chicosci"
by: redsago
Canon EOS 30D, 1/200, f2.8, 85mm, ISO640

Editor's Comment: This is a beautifully executed shot by any means. Technically excellent, sharp where it shoud be, concert lights, the expression, composition, exposure. Pure energy!!

"17-0"
by: richie_laz
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: The photog says on the description: "You can guess which team won." And yes we can. The greatest captures are those that tell a story, as we know. This one by Richie Lazaro captures a whole drama depicting victory and defeat. But it also narrates that in defeat there is consolation, among team members. There must really be "agony" in defeat, but there is no shame in it when you play fair and with all you've got.

FPC March Photo Contest Winners

2007-04-24T12:29:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to the winners of the FPC March Monthly Contest - "My Passion for Gadgets" Theme.

We would also like to to congratulate all the people who have submitted their entries. All of you are winners.

"The Entries"

Here are the top 3 Winners:

3rd Placer

"Music is Mine"
by: Igorms

2nd Placer

"Techie Baby"
by: Squareroot

1st Placer

"Me and My Toys"
by: Hocchuan

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!

A day With the Heroes

2007-04-23T14:05:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to go to tourist spots or places around Manila and take photos. Believe it or not, I haven’t been to Manila zoo. I searched places around Makati and became so interested with the Manila American Cemetery. The description of the place in the internet fascinated me. It is considered as largest cemetery in the country and imagine, in this cemetery almost 17,200 military people who died in World War II were buried.

I gathered information on how to go there and if permits were needed before posting this in FPC. When I posted the invite to have the shoot on December 23, I got positive responses and many signed up. Kuya Robert a.k.a. Shutterbugrer organized the meeting time and place.

We met at around 1 PM at Market Market. Fifteen people joined the activity.

When we got to Manila American Cemetery, I was amazed by the place. It was so clean and a lot of spots to shoot. They have the so-called "Headstones" where the names of Filipino and American Heroes were written.

We took pictures of models emoting so well and feeling the grief, pattern shots in the graveyard, landscape, candid moments, and of course...jump shot. We stayed there until 5 PM because the cemetery closed at 5.

After the shoot, we went to Market Market and took dinner while JC, Lee, and the models went to Libis for a photo shoot.

The excitement didn't stop. There were fireworks display in Market Market. We took some shots and then went home.

Really, Manila American Cemetery was a place to be! I really recommend this place not only for photographers but for travellers.

PoW!: 25th Week, by Members

2007-04-19T02:00:00.000+08:00

Several weeks ago, we decided to let FPC members choose the Photos of the Week! And we asked for volunteers as we wanted the choosing to be a "labor of love" on the part of the picker. Today we bring you the debut issue of "Member's PoW!" It's your PoW!

Member's PoW! from hereon appears in alternate week with the "Editor's PoW!". Thus, the next issue will be on May 02, 2007, hopefully with a new batch of volunteers to pick the great photos we might have missed.

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!, in no order of preference:

"Table View of Cockle Bay"

by: Chewy_Chua

Essential exif: Nikon D80; 1.3 sec (13/10); f/4 @ 17 mm; ISO400

Photog's Comments: In between drinks and chat, I left my d80 on the table, and I inadvertedly snapped a frame.

Member-Picker's Comments: This is one of the most serendipitous images I have ever seen. You dont care about the out of focus motion blur junk on the sides of the table, the image at the far end came out spectacular.

"ID Please"

by: Rey Nocum
No exif available

Photog's Comments: My macro shots are always at the minimum aperture or at f22 and shutter speed at 1/200 secs, seldomly using a monopod or tripod. For life size or higher magnification, I simply use an ordinary 50mm lens with extension tube attached. Greater magnification is achieved by attaching a diopter which I took from the teleconverter of my old P&S camera (inlcuding a 1.4X teleconverter). For lights, I use the camera's built in flash.

Member-Picker's Comments: Kuya Rey's macro shots are indeed sharp and eye-catching. Showing a clear and different side of our minute neighbors. This is one side of photography wherein we are given a "MAGNIFICENT" and "MAGNIFIED" view of nature's hidden beauty!

"Bamboo"

by: Doctian

Essential exif: Sony DSLR-A100; 0.005 sec (1/200); f/4.5 @ 180 mm;

ISO200

Member-Picker's Comment: "Bamboo" is a creation out of simplicity. Emanating beauty through the superb DOF , artistic framing and vivid colors. A minimalist shot conveying beauty in simplicity.

PoW! 24th Week

2007-04-11T11:44:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"sayawan (SINULOG 2007)"
by: Victor Bautista
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: The moment I saw this photo. All I was able to say was WoW. The movement effects sorrounding the subject is just amazing. with the subject very sharp. Not to mention her smile, you can just feel that they are all having lots of fun celebrating. Just Wonderful.

"Book of Love"
by: BT Niko
Nikon D200, 1/1600, f/6.3, 105mm, ISO100

Editor's Comment: There's nothing more solemn than shooting a wedding ring with the Bible to exemplify sanctity of the God-initiated arrangement of marriage. Although this one may not be out of a wedding engagement and the book is a dictionary and not the Bible, the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the photo is marriage, and your bias will dictate that the book is the Bible at first glance.

In this photo, you can see both the words "love" from the appropriate page of the dictionary and the shadow of the ring cast on the inner part of the rib of the book, between the pages, forms a heart. I'd say that it is an imaginative concept, and is pretty inspiring for other photogs to "whip something out of the air."

"Kristo"
by: myklmabalay
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: It's a very well-crafted piece of photograph. I have nothing but praises for this photo. The facial expression, the blood and sweat on his face - they all work together to create a very powerful image.

Travel Special: Photograpy in Egypt

2007-04-07T11:25:00.000+08:00

Photographing the Nile River from the balcony of our hotel room with my Canon EOS 20D.

Egypt is a photographer's paradise, I think. I said that maybe because I've never been here before and the subjects seem endless to me. Apart from the more obvious ruins of the Pharaonic era, the country offers plenty of interesting photographic subjects. The people, the streets, downtown Cairo, the colorful crafts and souvenirs, the overall landscape . . . It's definitely a place worth exploring.

Modern Cairo. My wife and I stood here for a good 30 minutes shooting people, buildings and interesting cars passing by. Some looked at us with curiousity but none, not even the police made an attempt to stop us.

I like the Egyptians general attitude towards photography. Not just the government but the people themselves. Most will smile for a photo and at no time did I encounter anyone who reacted offensively for having a camera pointed at them. As for the policies of the tourist spots, photography is virtually unrestricted. Maybe this is the general policy of the Egyptian government.

A tourism & antiquities police on a camel in the Giza plateau. Protecting visitors and at the same time, Egypt's treasures.

There's plenty of police presence everywhere. In the hotels, in every tourist sites and in almost every street. Before the tour guide takes us out for a trip, an authority asks the driver, where we are going which company they represent, how many tourists do they have with them and what nationalities. Whenever we arrive at any site, the same procedure occurs but they never bother the tourists.

An old Lada, Russian-made car. A lot of these cars are still in use as taxi cabs in Cairo.

While seeing the sites, hawkers and souvenir sellers will approach and try to be very persistent to an extent but would leave us alone when they sense that we're starting to get irritated. I guess they don't want anybody complaining to the police. I appreciated that. It simply shows that the police presence is there to do what they are supposed to do - and that is to protect the tourists (and the general public of course) and let them have a good time; NOT TO BECOME PARANOID ABOUT TOURISTS AND THEIR CAMERAS.

A security guard in traditional dress gladly smiled for a photo. He asked for a tip afterwards which is okay because I would have given him voluntarily.

The only place where I was stopped from taking pictures was in one portion of that walk along the Nile River in front of the Russian Embassy so I think the restriction was reasonable. The policeman, who was at some distance gestured politely and smiled. I understood what he was trying to say and so I smiled, gestured my apology, placed my camera in the bag and walked away.

Rowers at the Nile River.

One place where cameras are totally banned is inside the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. This is where they put on public display the complete collection of Tutankhamen’s treasures and the mummy of Ramses II. With the number of counterfeiters and thieves out there, the restriction is a well justified measure. Photography, however, is allowed at the front garden of the museum. But before, you go inside the building, you are required to deposit whatever camera you may have to the guards by the gate.

A demonstration on how papyrus paper is made. These papers last for thousands of years.

When I was already face to face with the 11Kg solid gold mask of Tutankhamen, I remembered that I still had my SE K800i in my pocket and right then, I felt the strong temptation to sneak a photo. But an angel kind of whispered into my ear not to and so I resisted it. A few moments later an Arab kid, did just that with his Nokia but before he could shoot, a guard in civilian clothes was quick enough to shout "No photos!" and stopped the kid from shooting. I could just imagine how embarrassing it might have been had that been me.

Painting on papyrus paper.

Cameras are also not allowed inside the Great Pyramids of Giza. I'm not sure why not considering there's absolutely nothing inside - just empty narrow corridors and an empty tomb. I guess the purpose was to prevent people from staying inside too long while taking souvenir snaps. Without photos, people move constantly in and out.

Tourists posing for a souvenir photo at the Pyramid of Cheops.

Other than the places mentioned above, photography is open in Egypt. Local people in traditional costumes will even be willing to pose for tourists with a camera. Be prepared to give a tip though. It doesn't matter whether you give him 1 or 100 Egyptian Pounds or any currency, as long as you give him some kind of a tip.

Sheesha bottles being sold as souvenirs at Al-Khalili Bazaar. We bought nothing but the shops welcomed visitors who just want to take pictures.

Tourism is Egypt's main industry and source of income. I admire the fact that the people here are not photophobic. Thousands and thousands come and go in this country on a daily basis from all over the world - Europe, Americas, and recently according to our tour guide, a lot from main land China. Have you ever wondered what makes these people come here? I have one good guess - it's the millions of pictures taken by other people who have been here before them.

Next: The Giza Plateau and the Great Pyramids

Cheers,

alexdpx

Egypt, Land of the Pharaohs

PoW! 23rd Week

2007-04-04T15:39:00.000+08:00

Here are this week's FPC's PoW!s, in no order of preference:

"There's Hope... right there... Somewhere... "
by: Kamalayan
Canon Powershot S3 IS, 1/1250, f3.5, 56.8mm

An FPC Member's Comment: The photo is full of expression.. the photog captured innocence & hope in the eyes of his subjects

Editor's Comment: The Photographer wanted to send a message from this photo. And I felt that message. This photo was taken by Kamalayan during the FPC @ Paco Park charity event with the help of Child Hope Asia. Check their website. They have quoted the following message...

“Here we are, take a look at us.
Here we are, can you see us at all
All alone and unsure.
Can you feel our fears?
Let us share them all with you..”

--excerpts from the “Song on the Rights of the Child”

"FPC @ the Park: Tatoo"
by: Tipoy
No Exifs Available

Editor's Comment: The "FPC @ the Park Charity Event", I'm sure was an event full of laughter and exciting activities. Yet amids the frenzy, tipoy managed to look at the finer details within the event. This is a really good one. Well composed and well crafted.

"Sunset - Kids at Play"
by: jeridaking
No Exifs Available

An FPC Member's Comment: At first glance, this photo shows the qualities of exhibit display. Very well captured moment, both the background and the subject. Composition wise this follows the rule of thirds, likewise giving space towards the direction of the subjects path.
Silhouette to give impact to backgrounds' color, not to mentioned dynamic subjects. Overall, this photo tells a STORY.

Travel Special: Egypt, Land of the Pharaohs

2007-04-03T12:11:00.000+08:00

The Great Sphinx standing guard in front of the pyramid of Chefren. On the background is the pyramid of Cheops.

Our "Little Adventures" just got a lot bigger this time. No local restaurant, no little anecdotes, or simple stories to share. This time we packed our bags and flew to Cairo, Egypt for a 4-days holiday. Let me share our "big" adventure with you.

How do I sum up Egypt? It is perhaps one of the most exotic, if not the most exotic place on the face of this planet. There are just not enough words to describe the whole experience. Culture, history, the people, the warmth . . . I think there's something for everyone.

Lighting effects on the Sphinx during the lights and sounds show at night.

The single most important reason why my wife and I decided to visit this beautiful place is to see the Pyramids of Giza and the pharaonic ruins and antiquities. We have studied these in school during our elementary and high school days. And then for me and my wife, in college while we were completing our studies in architecture.

Laser illustrations and dramatic lighting during the lights and sounds show.

For this reason, I've decided not to bore you with the details and history of the sites we've visited. There are already enough documentaries in Discovery Channel and National Geographic, plus the hundreds (or maybe thousands) of books written about them, and then there are also information that you can find in Wikipedia and other Internet sites, and then add to that what you have already learned from school. This article, then, will be about how it was like for us to travel to this land. I will be sharing here what went wrong, what went right and what went great - touristically and photographically speaking.

HOLIDAY PACKAGE

The Nile River as viewed from the balcony of our Sheraton Cairo hotel room.

We went to Egypt by availing of one of Qatar Airways Holiday packages. It is true that we have many Egyptian colleagues and friends who could simply give us advise (which many of them did) and give us some kind of a tour plan. Photography is, of course, the other main reason for going there. I wanted a trouble free trip, where I can concentrate on enjoying the sites and taking lots of pictures, so I decided to have everything organized and bought a holiday package.

The pyramid of Chefren, the only pyramid that retained the smooth limestone finish at its apex.

The holiday package we got included airport-hotel transfer and vise versa, a bed-and-breakfast Nile-view room at the Cairo Sheraton, and guided tours to the Pyramids of Giza, Memphis and Saqqara plus the light and sounds show at the pyramids at night. Aside from the light show, all guided tours were scheduled in the morning. It was strange that the Qatar Airways personnel who made our bookings said to us that guided tours are available only on mornings, none in the afternoon. Now, past experiences taught me that airport transport provided by the travel agent is usually late so made sure that I have the local travel agent's contact number on the Egyptian end. It happened to us in Singapore and then again in Orlando - and these people are supposed to be efficient.

THOMAS COOK LOCAL TOURS

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. This is where I "met" Ramses II face to face. It's a shame that cameras are not allowed inside, otherwise I'd have a souvenir photo to show.

Anyway, we landed in Cairo International Airport with that expectation, but then, on our way to passport control, I saw this tall dark man holding a placard with my name, "ATIENZA", spelled correctly. I mentioned this because, for some reason, Arabs have difficulty spelling my name correctly. But he got it right. He was on time and gladly assisted us with changing our Qatari Riyals (QR) to Egyptian Pounds (LE). He introduced himself as Mahmoud from Thomas Cook.

The fallen colossus of Ramses II in Memphis. Memphis was the capital of Egypt during the period of the old kingdom.

On the way to the hotel, he briefed us on how the tour will go, what time we will meet with the tour guide and then gave us his personal cellphone number so we can call him anytime we need anything during our tour. He also assisted us with the hotel check-in and left us only after we got the key to our hotel room.

The Step Pyramid in Saqqara. This was the first pyramid ever built in Egypt. It is basically 6 mastabas built on top of each other. Unlike the Giza pyramids, the lime stones used here are much smaller.

In all the tours we did (all private tours), the tour guide was always on time and sometimes even early. We felt ourselves trusting the people around us - driver and tour guide. Often times, we had to leave some of our items in the van we were using as transport because they were inconvenient to carry around and we felt confident that it will not be lost, stolen or something. We felt safe. I guess that's the difference between a reputable travel agent and a so so agent.

View of Cairo from the Citadel of Saladin.

Our tour guide was very good and was able to explain the sites we visited very professionally. On a couple of occasions, we offered to pay for both the driver and the tour guide's lunch but they refused. The tour guide said that they're lunch is already included in the fees that we paid. I liked that. On another occasion, he took us to a buffet restaurant and again, we did not have to pay for his lunch, because tour guides are entitled for a free lunch in that restaurant. Very professional, I have to say.

View of the Alabaster Mosque inside the Citadel of Saladin. Those who have seen the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" would remember Saladin as the Muslim leader and nemesis of the Crusaders.

The original program that we paid for only included tours in the morning so our afternoons were pretty much vacant. I decided to inquire from the tour guide if it would be possible for him to take us to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in the afternoon and to The Citadel of Saladin the next afternoon. He said yes and with that, he called his office to inquire how much for those tours. After informing us, (and we agreed on the price), we proceeded without any paper works, or advance payment. How nice it is to do away with red tape.

When it was time to go, again, our transport was in the hotel earlier than scheduled which is a good thing because on our way to the airport we got caught in a huge traffic jam. No worries since we have some time to spare. In the airport, Mahmoud even assisted us with checking in so my wife and I just had to sit comfortably and wait instead of standing and waiting in line. Mahmoud did that for us.

Overall, my wife and I enjoyed our trip and would actually consider it as one of the very best trips we've ever had. And the oppotunity to stand right next to the ancient monuments of human achievements is very humbling and quite an experience that is definitely like no other.

Next: Photography in Egypt

Cheers,

alexdpx