In the Philippines this day, called “Undas”, “Todos los Santos” (literally “All Saints”), and sometimes “Araw ng mga Namayapa” (approximately “Day of the deceased”) is observed as All Souls’ Day. This day and the one before and one after it is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted. (Wikipedia)

All of my photos go through general adjustment such as levels, curves and contrast/brightness. There are selected photos that I will spend more time on, but general adjustments are a must. I took more time to experiment with the following two photos in Photoshop to try and create a realistic and engaging black-and-white photo. There are numerous ways to create a beautiful black & white image with post-processing and every image may require a different technique. The two images here both used a similar technique, but this may not look right on all images. I used Lab Mode for my black and white conversion with these images, but I often find myself using channel mixer or third party plugins/actions such as Nik Filters. It just depends on the photo and some experimentation is necessary.

The first photo is of an old Filipino farmer in the mountains of Surigao. The photo was taken by the front door of his home while we were sharing a jackfruit together. You can see his wife in the background of the raw file. I wanted to darken the background some to bring more focus to the man himself and add some contrast to the scene. I went about this by first converting the image to black-and-white using lab color, vignetting the edges to darken the background and added some contrast (via brightness/contrast). That’s all I did to this image and I think the results look really good. If you are wondering how to convert your image using Lab Color, just do a search for “black and white conversion with lab mode” in Google and you will find a number of tutorials. I like the way black and white images look using this mode.

The second image is of a Mamanwa ethnic tribe child in Surigao. I actually like the color photograph of the child better, but I wanted to experiment with the conversion process. Again, I followed the same steps as in the photo above. First, I converted the image using Lab mode and then added some contrast. I did not vignette this image because the background is a light color. I do love the way the dark skin of the child looks in this black-and-white version.

For using some simple Photoshop techniques I really like the look of the final two images.

I had been to Gigaquit once but it was a short, quick trip. This time, I had five full days to explore this charming little town. I was pretty excited about that especially with my camera in tow. Indeed, I was out most of the time shooting. It may seem to most people that nothing interesting can be seen in Gigaquit but I hope to prove them wrong. As ordinary as this place may appear, it holds little gems that one can only find if one tries to look closer. A beautiful, unspoiled beach with laughing children happily swimming, smiling men and women working on the vast rice fields, friendly and helpful folks…these and more I have discovered about Gigaquit. I’m glad I visited again albeit only for a few days. It was worth the trip! You can see more of my finished photos on Facebook.

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Here are some pictures taken during fiesta day. Common sights can be seen as in any other Philippine small town fiestas: parade and coronation of the beauty queen, pig-roasting, gambling, vendors selling their wares, etc.

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I couldn’t seem to get a picture of myself in focus while cruising on our transportation.

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My ‘tour guide’ took me up one day to a mountain through a rugged terrain and introduced me to this elderly couple who lives there. Along the way, we passed by a medium-sized water falls which almost got me to jump into. So tempting, but we couldn’t stay long.

This was a large wedding with a lot of important people in attendance; including Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Philippine Vice President Noli de Castro, and Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada. You can see one of the many newspaper articles written about the wedding here.

Christina & Duke

The day started out like most weddings do here except there were more photographers around. We started at the hotel around 9am shooting accessories, preparation/makeup and then some pictorials with the bride and groom. There were a few different rooms where people were getting ready, so occasionally us photographers had to split up to make sure we were in all locations.

Bride & Groom's Rings

Groom's Barong

When it was time to proceed to the church we found ourselves stuck in traffic. I think the traffic had to do with some streets blocked off for security reasons. We made it to the Cebu Cathedral in time and it was completely full of guests. It seems that people arrived on time for this event. We passed through presidential security and took our specific places for the wedding to begin. We wanted to capture certain angles during the procession and with five photographers I think we did a good job. I was shooting from above to get a wide view and it was hot up top (sweat was definitely dripping). I even had my own personal security guard watching me the entire time I was up top. He made me shoot my cameras to confirm they were really cameras.

Procession

President Gloria Arroyo

Vice President Noli de Castro

During the ceremony we shot mostly candid from the side. We didn’t want to move around the church too much and cause a distraction. At the church we were no longer the only photographers present. There were at least 10-15 other photographers from the media there covering the event. This made things somewhat harder to photograph, especially for Erwin with the group shots after the wedding. All of the media were trying to take the group shots with the couple and president and it made it difficult for Erwin to have all eyes on his camera. It was really crowded up there with a flock of media and guests passing by. I tried to stay back and continued to take candid shots of the guests. Leaving the church was equally crowded and stormed with people trying to take photos and greet the couple (and GMA and Estrada). Finally, everyone exited the church and people dispersed to their vechicles. It was nice to have a cold water after we got back in the cars. I think I drank the bottled water in two seconds.

Leaving Church

Outside Cathedral

President Joseph Estrada

At the reception we again had specific places we tried to be. I spent some time in the holding room with Jun taking group shots of the guests and details. Erwin and Dan went off with the bride and groom for some portraits and Francis worked on the slideshow that played during the reception dinner. The reception itself was at the Cebu International Convention Center and there must of been about 1000 guests. We shot the reception like all other weddings we shoot, but often finding ourselves jockeying for position with other photographers (although it wasn’t has crowded as at the church). Towards the end of the evening we were taking a lot of group shots with the couple and their guests. We helped each other out by taking turns so we all had a chance to eat and get a drink. It was a memorable day and a learning experience as well. I think our team did a great job capturing the moments of the day. Congratulations to the bride and groom!

First Dance

Our team with the Bride & Groom

Last week I photographed a Globe Telecom Business event in Cebu City. There were three motivational speakers (Ardy Roberto, Eric Villarama & Francis Kong) and the guests included local business owners. With the speakers taking up most of the time during the afternoon I was able to shoot a lot of pictures of them speaking. It gave me a chance to try out a variety of different angles of the speakers in action. The talks were all excellent and I would definitely join any of their seminars in the future. I should also thank my wife, Nahoma, for standing the whole time holding my remote flash. Most of the images were taken with my 80-200 using one off-camera flash (powered by Pocket Wizards). I’ve included some of the speakers images here.

Adventures in Missions announced today the winners of their first photo contest. I was fortunate enough to place third and hope the pictures will be used to promote mission work around the world. I believe there will be a coffee table book published at some point with the images.

This is from the judges.

“We were all impressed by the range of high-quality images submitted for the contest. Judging was difficult, so we tried to stick with the criteria for this particular contest, which were: “the image should capture a soul, a moment, a place and a ministry.” Virtually all of the images submitted by our 29 finalists did a terrific job of capturing a “soul and a place”. So we looked for portfolios with a high percentage of pictures that captured a “mission and a moment”. We also appreciated the technical quality and the variety of techniques used in the portfolios we selected as winners.

Because there were so many outstanding pictures, we also selected 15 Honorable Mention pictures from among the portfolios of those who did not place in the top 5.

Thanks for letting us judge this contest; we feel blessed to have had the chance to work with such talented photographers.”

According to Adventure in Missions, “the picture they liked the best out of all entries was of the child being tossed in the air by Jacob Maentz. And the two photographers who got the most people’s choice votes were Natalie Montgomery and John Fracker. Congratulations to all our photographers for their excellent work! We are sending out $5000 in total prize money to the following:”

See Full Story and Winning Portfolios

1. The contest is open to all amateur and professional photographers in the Philippines, except direct or indirect employees of the Provincial Government and their relatives within the 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity.

2. To join, contestants are required to fill out entry forms which they can obtain from the Office of Hon. Victor A. Maambong, 3rd Floor Legislative Bldg., Capitol Compound, Cebu City. Tel. No. (032) 2551245, c/o Sherry, Venus or Jenny.

3. Contestants may use wither film or digital camera.

4. Photo shots shall be identifiably and exclusively in any place within the territorial jurisdiction of the Province of Cebu or within the Municipal waters (15 kilometers from baselines) of all LGUs belonging to the Province of Cebu. Entries shot or taken outside said jurisdictions and submitted beyond the contest period shall automatically be disqualified.

5. Entries must be candid and not posed and must have a date and brief description of the photos and the location they were taken.

6. Entries must be in 8″x12″ prints/photo size which may either be colored or black and white. The entries must be free of any watermarks or any marking and submitted with the duly accomplished entry forms and accompanied with corresponding JPG files inside a CD or with the film negatives of the photos.

7. Photo must be in their original take. Digital manipulations acceptable are adjustments as to color, contrast, brightness and sharpness; removal of dusts and scratches; cropping; and black and white conversions. Not acceptable are photo composite (combination of two or more photos), the addition, duplication, deletion. superimposition or moving of objects in the photos or the use of artistic digital filters and effects.

8. Each contestant will be given and identification code or entry number that he/she will write at the right bottom portion on the dorsal/back side of each entry. Identifying marks such as names, aliases, addresses, or any sign or marking that will suggest or disclose information about the owner of the entry are strictly prohibited and shall be ground for the disqualification of such entry from the contest. Judging of entries will thus be based on the identification code or entry number, and not by the photographer’s name.

9. Regardless of the date they were shot or taken, photos submitted as entries must not have been published nor shall have been submitted as entries in any previous photo contests and should not have been posted in any website or social networking sites.

10. Only three (3) photos per subject category may be submitted free of charge per photographer. A charge of Fifty Pesos (PHP 50.00) per photo will be imposed for additional entries up to maximum of ten (10) additional entries per subject category.

11. Except for Special Awards, a contestant who wins more than on best overall photo is only entitled to claim the higher prize. The entry which wins the next lower prize is automatically entitled to claim the forfeited prize.

SUBJECT CATEGORY:
12. The entries/photos must any or all of the following
subject categories:
a. Town’s/City’s People, i.e., human interest
b. Town’s/City’s Panorama, i.e., Nature, Landscape,
Heritage Plazas, Underwater or
Marine creatures or seascapes, Forrest, Flora and Fuana,
lakes, rivers and other
natural or ecological wonders
c. Product/Industry, i.e., puso, delicacies, furniture, fashion accessories, arts, cottage industries, agricultural, horticultural, marine and such other products made in Cebu Province (Cebu City EXCLUDED)
d. Socio-cultural, Religious Rites/Sites/Fiestas, i.e., religious procession, mardi gras and other activities which are of religious significance or content, places of religious devotion, churches, parishes and such other religious socio-cultural events.

AWARD DIVISION
13. a. Prizes for best overall photo entries on each of the four (4) categories
1st - PHP 10,000.00
2nd - 7,000.00
3rd - 5,000.00
4th - 3,000.00
6 Consolation prizes at PHP 1,000.00 each or the remaining qualified entries

b. Special awards PHP 1,000.00 per category
Best in Human Interest
Best in Panorama
Best in Product/Industry
Best in Socio-Cultural, Religious Rites/Sites/Fiestas

14. Only three (3) entires per subject category (4 categories) will be chosen to qualify and vie for the best overall photo award, however, the choice for Special Awards per subject category shall not be limited to these said qualified entries.

15. The criteria for judging on both award division are:
a. Image quality (sharpness, exposure, lighting - 30%
b. Composition - 30%
c. Relevance to the theme - 40%

16. Entries shall be submitted to the Office of Board Member Victor A. Maambong, 3rd Floor Legislative Bldg., Capitol Compound, Cebu City. Deadline for submission of entires shall be on or before August 10, 2009, which shall be done in accordance with the provisions of Rule No. 6 of the MECHANICS herein.

17. All entries shall become the sole and exclusive property of the Provincial Government of Cebu which shall have the right to reproduce, reprint, publish or cause the reproduction, reprinting, publication of the same without any need for permission from the photo owners. The latter, on the other hand, shall not have the same rights as are mentioned in this provision without prior permission of the Provincial Government of Cebu which shall be held free by the photo owners from any and all obligations for the acquisition of the said photos/entries.

18. Judging and awarding will be on August 25, 2009 at the Social Hall, Cebu Provincial Capitol Bldg., Capitol Compound, Cebu City.

19. The decision of the Board of Judges shall be final and unappealable.

For further information, please feel free to call or visit the Office of Hon. Victor A. Maambong, 3rd Floor Legislative Bldg., Capitol Compound, Cebu City. Tel. No. (032) 2551245, c/o Sherry, Venus or Jenny.

I photographed a 50th Wedding Anniversary this past weekend with a wonderful family. I’ve selected a handful of images to post here from the event. Congratulations to the Cabrera family for this wonderful accomplishment.