I have habits that are borderline anal and some that are tolerable as eccentric. Take for instance my habit of arranging my money. I like to have all my paper bills (Is this redundant? Kindly correct me.) and sometimes even my coins in a certain way. I can say it’s not that obsessive since I only want them to be arranged from smallest to highest in terms of denomination. When that is done, the ones of the same denominations are arranged from oldest, crumpliest, dirtiest to newest, crispiest and cleanest. Also they must be all “facing” outward with one common ground. Meaning, the faces must…uhm… face forward and that they are all in the upright positions. Really, it’s not that obsessive. I mean, I don’t do that to the coins since they just roll around anyway, so no use in having them upright. They still have to be facing the same way and must be arranged by increasing amounts though.

See, I am not mental. I am completely sane. There’s this other thing though. I can’t and will often not use utensils if they are not “pairs”. To be more specific, if the make, material, color, weight and/or design of the fork is not the same as the spoon, one has to go depending on what I am about to eat. I can sense the ever so slight difference in the weight of the utensils and that bothers me. The thing that bugs me the most is if the one has an intricate design and the other is just plain. I would sooner use my hands than the unpaired utensils. (This is not really a pairing issue, but since I’m already talking about utensils…) Then there’s the plastic utensils. It not only uses fossil fuels to produce, it also causes pollution. Oh, and they are harder and flimsier to use than the severed foot(claw?talon?) of a chicken… not that I ever tried using that. There are just times that I do use unpaired utensils such as when I choose not to be rude to the homeowner or my hunger brings me to the brink of bad judgment. So if you have plans on feeding me, make sure you have matching utensils or serve finger friendly food.

I am the picture of perfect mental health. Not a sign of psychological instability in sight. Oh, and I almost always never pass through anything triangular. Things such as ladders leaning on walls, guy wires of electrical/telephone posts, angled beams, fallen trees leaning on walls, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids of Giza… Ahem… Right. Anyway, yeah… I don’t pass through anything triangular in shape. This roots from the belief that walking under a ladder gives you bad luck. I know it’s silly but I believe in certain superstitions especially if they are generally harmless and more on just having something odd to believe in. Don’t worry, I don’t believe in sacrificing virgins… seeing as they are just a few of us left. Just the normal, non-crazy superstitions for me. Like not cutting nails during the night or not opening umbrellas indoors or if someone taps you must tap them back. I don’t want to spoil your fun, so I won’t tell you the reasons and histories of these superstitions. Look them up yourself and see if you are as sane as me.

No strait-jackets, no sedatives for me. I am just your normal everyday Joe. A normal Joe that folds and itemizes every piece of clothing before I bring them to the laundry shop. Yeah, I must have all articles of clothing tagged, logged, noted and finally folded properly before I have them laundered. The list must indicate the quantity, color, material, size, any distinctive marks and brand/manufacturer of the item. I don’t want other people wearing my shirts and much worse *aghast* me wearing theirs.

Really, those things I mentioned above can be present in anyone. Who wouldn’t want to have an organize wallet? Who would be comfortable using a plastic spoon paired with a silver plated fork? Who would want to reuse a table napkin with spaghetti sauce all over it? Well, you’re own spaghetti sauce on your own napkin. I mean, when I eat at a fast food chain then I eat something with sauce or anything that leaves residue on my face then I wipe it with an unused table napkin/tissue, I don’t reuse that napkin/tissue again. Even if it’s still clean on the other side, I most often won’t use it again. I know it’s a waste of paper, kills a lot of trees and is expensive but I just can’t help crumpling an already used napkin/tissue. There are only 2 times I reuse a table napkin/tissue and that’s if it’s the expensive one with a gazillion plies and (of course) given to you sparingly by the establishment and if the sauce if splattered across your face and the nearest available clean napkin/tissue is 3 tables away. Other than that, gimme them table napkins/tissues.

So you see, I am weird but I am far from being hell-bent obsessive. I can still control these habits and can still smile perfectly even if my brain is screaming, “Sacrilege! Blasphemy!” Now leave me alone while I make sure that my shoe laces are lined up equally.

Shutter Speed: 1/2″   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 28mm

Shutter Speed: 0.769sec   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 29mm

Shutter Speed: 0.769sec   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 30mm

Shutter Speed: 3.3secs   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 26mm
Coconut trees… that’s what I see. Here you notice that the shutter was open for 3.3 seconds. That’s because I wanted to get the rocket as it if flying before it explodes. This is where the low ISO comes in handy. If this was taken with an ISO1600 or even an ISO800, the surroundings would have been bright with the light from the street lights and other fireworks especially since the shutter was open for 3.3seconds.

Anyway, that’s it for my fireworks shots. If you want to see the first part, click here and here for the second part.

Shutter Speed: 0.625sec   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 32mm
This particular one really reminds me of flowers. I see those yellow sparks as the pollen/stamen part and the pink/red parts as the petals.

Shutter Speed: 0.769ec Aperture: f/11.0 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 28mm

Shutter Speed: 0.769ec Aperture: f/11.0 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 28mm
This one seems like a sunflower for me. I know it’s not huge, yellow or has a big “face”. I think the way it “looks up” to the sky makes me think of sunflowers.

Shutter Speed: 0.769ec Aperture: f/11.0 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 28mm

Shutter Speed: 0.769ec Aperture: f/11.0 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 28mm
I like how the fireworks are arranged on this one. The yellow centers really makes me think of flowers.

That’s it for the second part. Click here to go back to the first part and here for the third.

Anyway, I will post some of the new photos I’ve got and from this I think I found a new technique in posting that will make me do it frequently and not be as irksome as before. I now plan to post a lot of photos in one post especially if they are all taken in the same time and place (duh… how could I take a photo of two different places at the same time?). So without much ado here is my first photo post for this year.

The following photos were taken from the First Philippine Pyromusical Competition in the Mall of Asia in Pasay City last February 14, 2010. I was there with Winston, Mica and Hannah. It was the first of, I think, 5 weekends of presentation. There was an opening act where most of my shots were crap and then followed by the first contestant, America where my shots considerably went much better.  Not that the opening act was crappy, rather I was unprepared.

Two things to take note of the shots are that they were taken handheld and on a bulb setting. A bit hard but not impossible as you can see with my *cough* amazing *cough* shots. As you will also notice, ISO was set in the lows and shutter is near 1 second. This is because when taking photos of fireworks, to be able to get the light as it explodes and become the fantastic glory that it is, you need to have the sensor expose for around a second. Why a second? Well, most fireworks that was in the show had the lifespan of 2-3 seconds. Most of the wonderful things happen during 0-1 second and the fireworks’ fading and death during the 2-3 second.  Then why bulb? It’s because the 2-3 second I said is an average. It could be shorter with smaller fireworks or it could be longer fireworks that have a lot of effects. So why the low ISO? Well, you see, these magnificent Chinese creations are explosives with a lot of bang and light. Though nothing compared to a strobe, floodlights or the sun, fireworks are still very bright. If you expose your sensor for even just a second at ISO 800, it’s gonna be really bright. In fact, if your camera can talk, it’s not gonna say anything ’cause you already fried it’s brains with the intense light. And lastly, why handheld? It’s because I don’t have a tripod.

I call this post as “Twilight Blooms” ’cause it’s night and the fireworks seem to “bloom” into the night. You will also notice that most of the shots I chose have the fireworks looking like flowers. I’ve also cropped some of them to be at the bottom of the frame to give it a “grounded” look so that it looks more like a flower. I think that’s about enough crap from me, so here are the shots.

Note: There are settings which are similar with the photos. I will place them here so that the post won’t seem so crowded.

Camera: Nikon D60
Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure Compensation: ±0EV
White Balance: Auto
Picture Control: Vivid

Shutter Speed: 1.2secs   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 200   Focal Length: 32mm

Shutter Speed: 1/3″   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 200   Focal Length: 24mm

Shutter Speed: 1/4″   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 35mm

Shutter Speed: 0.625sec   Aperture: f/11.0   ISO: 400   Focal Length: 36mm

Since this might make this page take so long to load and I dislike when the scroll bar reaches that short length, so I gonna make two more continuing posts. Click here for the second and here for the third.

I sometimes, okay always, envy some people I see. Texting with their iPhones and Blackberries (<— funny… Blackberries… tihihi), photographing with D300s, driving with BMWs. They have such a good life. Either really hard working with a very rewarding job, won a contest or have a “sponsor” for thier needs and wants. I would like to have those things. The rewarding job, a winning lottery ticket and a “sponsor”… no wait, I meant the phones, cameras and cars… Right… phones… cameras… I do have a phone, I have a camera I can use, a car whenever I’m in Davao but it feels that I am still wanting more. More specifically, I only want particular things. Expensive things. Why do I like expensive things? I don’t have the faintest idea. I mean, of all the brands out there, why do I seem to go for the branded and usually imported ones? Of all the hobbies I could waste my time on, I happen to pick the ones where it would not only cost me a huge chunk of my life doing but also cleans my bank account in an instant? Of all the food that is available, my taste buds like the ones prepared and cooked by chefs (*sweatdrop* the first word I thought of for the plural of chef was “cheves”…) who had to take culinary arts for 20 years (and no, not because it took them 5 years to learn to boil water)?

*** WARNING!!! Long, boring, filled-with-rants article up ahead. Read at your own risk. ***

Though, mind you, our perception of what expensive is might differ. If you find lighting a Cuban cigar with a P1000 bill is as common as blinking, then you might want to stop reading now. For me, expensive is P1000 for 4 pairs of socks; P600 for a haircut; P400 for 3 pieces of sushi. Or it could also mean that there exists a similar but cheaper item (like, say item A costs P500) and the other (item B) costs like P100 more (for those mathematically challenged, that’s P600) then item B, for me, is expensive. So if you find that my view is similar to yours or if you keep an open mind or have nothing else better to do, then keep reading. Or not.

First point: Clothes. It’s not that I don’t like the affordable(read:mass produced) brands but it just so happens that I haven’t a single skin cell that feels remotely comfortable in most of the local’s textile options. It’s either too thin, too thick, too heavy, too see through, too static electricity producing, or it simply causes me to have goosebumps whenever my skin comes in contact with a piece of lint from the hem of the underside of the collar. It might sound that I am too hard to please… well, I am. But it’s not my fault (and not the point)! I am just this way. My skin has 500 times the sensitivity to these kinds of things. Let me ask you, “Would you wear something given to you for free but you have to focus your mind just not to notice that the material is driving you nuts and is complelling you to take all of it off just so you’d remain sane?” Huh?!? Would you? WOULD YOU?!?! I guessed not. So you see, it’s not like I’m the Devil who only wears Prada, it’s just that I have weird skin. Also, call me old fashioned or plain or whatever, but I really don’t see the point of putting glitters, sequines, rubberized letters, paint splatters, skulls, and farm animals on shirts, pants, jackets, caps, socks, and shoes and g-strings. I like saw that design on a 5 year old’s shirt (I said shirt. Shirt. Not g-string you sick bastard). Yeah, all of those things on a single kid’s shirt. Okay, maybe minus the skulls but I can’t be too sure since the shirt had too many things on it. I can stand a few letters here and there, a brand logo, plaid/stripes/checkered on shirts but that’s about it. I don’t need nonsense words emblazoned in gold letters. I don’t mind words that make you think (seriously) about it, not those that say, “Press to have a fun time” and an arrow pointing to a nipple. I don’t think sickly pink and bright blue should go together either. I mean who in their right mind would put this two together? It might look cute on a 3 year old girl, but generally, it’s just a poor color choice. This, if you haven’t noticed(in which case I have to ask you which rock you’ve crawled out from), is very common among affordable brands. So you see, from just those two things that I need to have satisfied, my choices have narrowed significantly. In this point of my payslip… errr.. I mean, life, I currently have a handful of brands that I buy from. For pants, I generally stick to Jag, Giordano, Dockers, Loalde, and some Bench. For shirts, I stick to: Loalde, Giordano, Van Heusen, Adidas and an occasional Bench. Shoes/Flip-flops/Sandals: Adidas, Converse, Crocs, Sanuk. So as you can see, I have limited choices. They’re not THE really expensive brands, but I can only manage to buy 2 or 3 new articles of clothing every 3 months or so because of my limited… uhm… resources. It could be 2 or 3 every month if only they were cheaper or I was richer. If it were up to me, I’d buy a P3000 shirt but then people might notice that I don’t eat or that I wear the same shirt everyday. So why, do I like expensive clothes? I guess it’s because they have the right material and the common sense not to design their clothes like someone puked on it. The second reason might give the “affordable” brands an idea as to why the expensive ones have thriving businesses.

Second Point: Food. This is easier to explain. I like food. To those who know me or seen me in the corner of thier closed eyes, I definitely look like a guy who likes food. But not any kind of food. Though I like almost all edible things, I tend to stick to the “normal” side of the fence. So, no insects, eyeballs, testicles, hooves, horns, or even tongues for me. Anyway, I like burgers. If I could eat burgers all the time, I would but my doctor has put me on a lenient TRO on them. Anyway, when I was still in Davao, I would only eat McDonalds’ burgers. Back then, if I had the money I would go for Space Burger but they had expensive(since it’s not part of the meal) fries. When I moved here to Manila and I tried Burger King… well, let’s just say that I think twice buying a Mcdonalds’ burger now. Yeah, they’re only about P40-P50 more than a McDonalds but that P40-P50 could have been used to buy something else. Heck, I could settle for Burger Machine, and save a ton-o’-cash, but I don’t. I stubbornly only get Burger King. Grilled and the veggies they put feels like they can still be replanted and live. Pizza… only Yellow Cab. For now. I haven’t tried California Pizza Kitchen. I bet if I tried that, I probably forsake Yellow Cab. After careful calculations though(I pretended to push buttons on my calculator and nod with whatever was on the screen and made an an erroneous conclusion), I found out that Yellow Cab has the best square inch to price ratio. It sounds I am actually getting a cheaper pizza, but an 18in pizza for 2 people is not cheap. Sundae: Dairy Queen. Back in Davao, I didn’t like any kind of sundae. Even McFlurry. But now, after I eat at the heart clogging BK, I insist on buying the thigh enlarging DQ for desert. I could just go for the P15 sundae from MiniStop but they’re just not as satisfying. This is not much of a problem now. Since I have really costly clothes and hobbies(coming after this. You: GOOD GRIEF! There’s more?!?!), I tend to cut down on my food expenses but there’s still the occasional(like, once a week) P800 dinner. So why do I only eat the best out there? (Okay, I know the places I mentioned are just fastfood chains but I can’t really get into the bistro’s, resto’s, and other o’s out there as this might take a whole lot longer. Do you really want to read a another page worth of my food choices? Well, do you? Didn’t think so. Also, my first line said this would be easier to explain.) I guess it’s just the Remy in me. You know… Remy… from Ratatouie? I mean why eat less when you have the option to eat more and better… albiet more expensive.

Third(and last since this is getting awfully long. You: You think?!!): Hobbies. This, my fooli… uhm… patient readers, is the bane of my existence. I have poor judgement on the things I waste my money on. My first expensive hobby is reading. I love books. I would skip meals and sleep just to read and finish a book. Fortunately for me, Manila has a plethora of book shops. Unfortunately for me, a single book costs more than my day’s pay. Even if it’s softbound or paperback or reprints, these books don’t come cheap. I am sad to say to you great authors and publishers, I sometimes (more often than not) just rip you off and download digital versions of your books. But let me tell you, reading from a phone, laptop, psp, or any kind of PDF reading device is never and would never be as satisfying as reading from a thick, solid, paper book. The smell of new books and glue, or old books and dust have no fear of ever being becoming obsolete. That is unless they keep getting expensive in which case they should watch out. Next expensive hobby was gadgets in general. I wanted every new gizmo, dodad, and whachamacalits back then. Phones, PDA’s, laptops, netbooks, mp3 players, watches and all that crap. I wanted it. Bought my first MP3 player last 2005. It was P3000. I get only P500 per week for food and fare. Took me 3 months of occasional starving and brisk walking to save the money. That was not cheap for me but I had to have it. I never really got to buy anything else after that since I could not stop eating and walking only saved so much. Anyway, I have grown out of that now. I am happy with my gadgets and only seek to buy when it needs to be replaced or upgraded. The instinct to browse shops for gadgets is not gone though. Next hobby is photography. I have not yet succeeded in satisfying this thirst. I have camera’s to play with but… well, but. I love photography. It makes me happy way beyond anything else. Unfortunately, to play properly, I would need lots of stuff. Lenses, strobes, tripods, filters are just some of the stuff that eat through your savings. Though it’s not the equipment that makes a good photo, but it surely helps a lot. It’s the same with “Money can’t buy happiness”. Yeah, it doesn’t but it does a hell of a good job in making you think you are. So photography… *sigh*… I’m not giving up on you. Last and current obsession: Gundam Plastic Models. This might sound childish to you but guess what? An MG 1/100 Shin Musha: Sengoku no Jin is about P4600. Nothing childish about that. Besides, with that particular model, I highly advise against making an 8 year old build that model. Heck, I’d advise you to not let me build it. Kidding. Lemme at it. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Anyway, this hobby would be cheap if you just look to buy HG’s, cut, snap build and leave it in a corner. But for me, although I’m pretty much a neophyte in every aspect, that’s not the case. I want to sand left over gates. I want to remove seams. I want to prime. I want to paint. I want to top coat. I want to polish. I want to drill. I want to rivet. I want to scribe. These things will not be cheap, time- and money-wise. Painting alone will cost you at least P1000 for a mediocre job. But like any obsessive and eager neophyte, I want to get down and dirty(not really dirty… don’t like getting dirty…) with it. I want a P4500 air compressor, a P3500 airbrush, P5000 worth of paints and thinners, and P100000 worth of Gunpla’s to paint. A little bit overboard with the last one, but if anybody want’s to offer, I’ll gladly accept. So you see, my choices are not the best ones. It would have been fine if I had only one of these hobbies, but I have all 4. So why do I choose expensive hobbies? ‘Coz I find stamp and coin collection boring. I don’t feel the same satisfaction from making origami’s. Or probably because no one has piqued my interest in other hobbies.

So why do I choose to punish myself with wanting things that I know I can’t have? I don’t know, well exactly. Lot’s of reasons, I think. Maybe I’m just built that way. Or maybe I am actually adopted and my real parents are filty rich and I got the instinct to go for the best and expensive from thier genes? Dr. Evil Voice: “Riiight…” *Sigh* Why can’t I be happy with clothes that are literally off the rack and into the discount bin? Why can’t I eat “kanto” food like most people I see in the streets? And why can’t I be happy with just playing with straws, bottle caps, shadows, paper and pencil like when I was a kid? I need to get rich quick. Get a better job, win the lottery, or rob a bank… I don’t know. Anyway, go away now and leave me and my drool as we browse the net for more things we can’t have.

The girl in the photo is a child of one of my officemates (duh…). I noticed her a lot since she was very friendly, well behaved and was polite to everyone around her. She fell one time and hit her tooth (or lip) and was about to cry but with a little consoling, she was up and about again.

I like this photo ’cause it captures her moment. When everybody else was busy doing something else, she was intently listening to the person in front. So I accentuated her a bit more. I made everything else’s saturation lower. I isolated her and made her brighter and more vibrant.

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: 55-200mm f/4-5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/30″
Aperture: f/5.3
ISO: 500
Exposure Compensation: ±0EV
Metering Mode: 3D Matrix
Focal Length: 175mm
White Balance: Auto
Picture Control: Normal

Note: The big preview above is a bit screwed ’cause the photo is wider than usual. Just click it to view the actual photo.

This, obviously, is a shot of fireworks exploding. This was taken on a Saturday at 7:00PM on the Mall of Asia. Let me tell you something… We don’t have this in Davao. Fireworks are not allowed in Davao. The mayor forbids any form of fireworks to be brought in, sold, or ignited within Davao City’s limits. It’s kinda hard for the Chinese community since this is one of their tradition and belief. I kinda miss fireworks. I am very fascinated about it. I like how it is choreographed to explode in a rythm. I love how the colors mixed. I even like the smell of the explosive powder. So if you see me during a fireworks display, I’ll probably be giggling like a school girl so don’t bother me.

This shot… well I don’t remember much of it. I took this on the night of the day that we bought the camera. I was about as savvy with it’s function as I am dextrous with my left hand. Anyway, I would leave the shot details to the EXIF data below. As for post processing, I cropped it, made the sky darker and removed a lot of noise. I increased the saturation a bit. I sort of cheated got in between the lines and removed the smoke and light that leaked.

Camera: Nikon D60
Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Shutter Speed: 1″
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 360
Exposure Compensation: -0.7EV
Metering Mode: 3D Matrix
Focal Length: 18mm
White Balance: Manual
Picture Control: Normal

I gave “Obstacles and Journeys” as the title because this is from a kid’s playground (me thinks so) and this, for me, symbolizes a kid’s journey as well as obstacle. It is the kid’s journey to get to the top, so that he/she can achieve his/her goal. It’s also an obstacle since climbing a flight of stairs, even if it’s just 4 steps, can be very daunting for a 2 year old.

I post processed the shot to have a lower saturation. I also increased the contrast a lot so that the grain and unevenness of the metal is obvious.

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: 35mm f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/1000″
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 200
Exposure Compensation: ±0EV
Metering Mode: 3D Matrix
Focal Length: 35mm
White Balance: Sunny
Picture Control: Normal

For post processing, I tried something different. I used a Holga-ish effect on the photo. I vignetted it heavily, decreased the contrased, increase the brightness and smoothen his skin a bit. I also made it less noisier than what an actual Holga would take.

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens:35mm f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/50″
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1000
Exposure Compensation: ±1EV
Metering Mode: Spot
Focal Length: 35mm
White Balance: Auto
Picture Control: Normal