Hello! I'm Diego and I take photographs. Hope to meet you someday!

CURIOUS AND TEACHABLE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 04:08:00 +0000

"What I believe is that all clear-minded people should remain two things throughout their lifetimes: curious and teachable."

-Rober Ebert

TROY ON BC MAGAZINE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:30:00 +0000

Some published work for BC Magazine of celebrity Troy Montero.

PAPERMAN - ANIMATED SHORT FILM

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 02:00:00 +0000

If you haven't seen this yet, do so. Disney's still got its magic.

MUMBAI FACES

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:10:00 +0000

I had the amazing opportunity to photograph a wedding in India recently and had the pleasure of spending a few days of leisure in Mumbai. Without a doubt, the best thing about Mumbai is its people. So much energy, chaos, and beauty (and killer food) in this amazing city.

[CONTINUE READING...]

SPARK: CAMILLE TANTOCO

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:30:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to photograph Camille Tantoco for Spark Magazine a few months ago at the Ronac Art Centre along Ortigas Avenue. The place was real neat and artsy, and Camille was great to work with. Here are some of my favourites from that day.

Thanks to the awesome crew - the folks from Spark, production, hair, makeup, wardrobe, and to Camille of course, for making these photos happen!

Cheers,
Diego

SLICE MAGAZINE: KENJI TEI

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:48:00 +0000

Sharing some photos I shot for Slice Magazine showcasing the awesome ramen restaurant Kenji-Tei. They've got a really neatly designed interior, it's like noodles are all over the place. My favourite ramen to order is the Spicy Negi Ramen. If you love ramen and spicy stuff, go for it!

Cheers!

Diego

BERTAZZONI AS ART

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:05:00 +0000

Here's some recent work with Slice Magazine as a double truck spread, where we shot a couple Bertazzoni ranges as art pieces displayed in a gallery. It was great working with this bunch of models, including Natalia, along side these Italian masterpieces.

Cheers!

Diego

HENANN BORACAY RESORTS

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 07:48:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of working with the Henann Resorts Philippines and we shot their resorts at Boracay, namely the Boracay Regency, Boracay Lagoon and Boracay Garden. We had a blast shooting the amenities like their pools and new rooms, as well as some of their food. Here's some of the resulting work:

Boracay Regency Resort

Boracay Lagoon Resort

The view from a Boracay Lagoon room

Boracay Garden Resort

[CONTINUE READING...]

A SLICE OF EVOLVED LIVING

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:30:00 +0000

Some new work for a new magazine called Slice. Great bunch of guys and I love the overall feel and palette used. It's got a lot of great stuff on art, interiors and architecture. I shot the cover, the portrait of Steve and Malou (the magazine's publishers) and some still life with furniture pieces. I shot more work for them which I'll post soon.

Diego

VACATION TIME - SYDNEY

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:17:00 +0000

I just came from an awesome 1-month vacation trip to Sydney. Spent time with my sister and mom, and a lot of time exploring the city. I really liked Sydney, it's a sprawling city with a little bit of everything. People are very friendly and it was my first time to experience winter. The quality of the food and produce in Australia is amazing. Lemme first share some photos I took while in Sydney.

Trying the different kinds of beer at the local bottle shop

My sister picking edible flowers for her desserts - she's a pastry chef

My sister graduating at the top of her class

Grilling at the backyard

[CONTINUE READING...]

EYES ON THE PRIZE? THINK AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:53:00 +0000

I've always told myself "Eyes on the prize" when I want something. This works for me, but after reading the following article, it makes me realize that this isn't for everyone. Maybe it worked for me because I have a background in football and training. Apparently though, for most people, staying too focused on the end goals can detract from the process itself.

"Revel in the process and you're more likely

to make it to the finishing line."

Check out the excellent read from the guys over at 99%, now known as 99U: How Goals and Good Intentions Can Hold Us Back

Cheers!
Diego

WHY PHOTOGRAPHY IS AWESOME

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:26:00 +0000

I think it's pretty obvious that photography is awesome. I often get asked WHY I love photography and I usually give the easy-to-digest answers like "I love being in the process of creating beautiful work" or "It's a great creative outlet and I get to make a living out of it". While these are true, it's kind of hard to answer why photographs are awesome.

Aside from the creative energy and excitement in the process of creating images, I love photography because it's the single most awesome visual way of freezing moments. Moments are VERY easy to take for granted. They literally happen in fractions of a second. It's through photographs that we get to really study and appreciate all the little details of moments.

Take the photo in the above for example: the way my mom is smiling, the way her hair is slowly turning white, my dad with his eyeglasses and his sando shirt that he uses at home, the way he's biting the ice cream bar, my dad's hair and the way he shaves his beard, the kitchen I grew up in, and the beautiful and graceful way my parents are aging. All these details came together for that perfect little moment that happened in a fraction of a second. Without that photo, it would have been just "when my mom gave my dad a bite off her ice cream bar".

Let me share a few more very special moments that I am so thankful that I was able to capture:

How my dad loves to learn and experiment with his cooking

How my dad loves nature and taking care of our little farm

How our dogs cuddle with me after I go jogging

How my mom laughs with her curlers on

How we decorate the house when Christmas is nearing

How my dad's siblings regale us young ones with stories and photos of their childhoods

How my parents still surprise each other with parents after spending more than 25 Christmases together

Everyday I am so thankful that I get to not only create beautiful images through work, but also capture moments like these. I'm also super thankful that my family supports me in this. I love my job!

Cheers!

Diego

GANSO SHABUWAY

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 09:00:00 +0000

While I primarily shoot people - portraiture, beauty and fashion - I continuously shoot food. It's something I think I'll always enjoy because being near food makes me happy. It's also a nice breather where I get to focus on the technical side of my photography, brushing up and fine-tuning my lighting skills.

Here's some work I did recently for a great restaurant in Manila called Ganso Shabuway, a Japanese kind of hot-pot. I like it there, and in fact I had a small dinner there for my last birthday.

Do check them out over on Facebook! A must-try is their mushroom platter :-) Have an awesome Sunday, folks!

Diego

10 LAWS OF PRODUCTIVITY

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 08:29:00 +0000

From the awesome guys over at The 99 Percent:

1. Break the seal of hesitation.
A bias toward action is the most common trait we’ve found across the hundreds of creative professionals and entrepreneurs we’ve interviewed. While preparing properly as you start a new project is certainly valuable, it’s also easy to lose yourself in planning (and dreaming) indefinitely. We must challenge ourselves to take action sooner rather than later. The minute that you start acting (e.g. building a physical prototype, sharing a nascent concept with your community), you start getting valuable feedback that will help refine your original idea – and move forward with a more informed perspective.

2. Start small.
When our ideas are still in our head, we tend to think big, blue sky concepts. The downside is that such thinking makes the barrier to entry – and action – quite high. To avoid “blue sky paralysis,” pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept. Can you trial the idea of a multi-day festival with a smaller performance series? Take an idea for a skyscraper and model it in miniature? Work out the flow of an iPhone app by sketching on paper? Once you’ve road-tested your idea on a small scale, you’ll have loads more insight on how to take it to the next level.

Read the rest over at - 10 Laws of Productivity

PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEURS

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:40:00 +0000

"The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps.
To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it's his vocation.
The amateur plays part-time, the professional full-time.
The amateur is a weekend warrior. The professional is there seven days a week."

Steven Pressfield
The War Of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

MAXINE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 06:23:00 +0000

Here's some more work with Carmie and Alex (makeup and hair respectively) with Maxine as our model. You may remember her from the awesome impromptu shoot that I blogged about recently. As usual, she worked the camera with ease and totally killed the looks. Carmie and Alex were spot-on with the concepts and execution.

We started off with a very clean look, emphasizing Maxine's features, working up towards some wicked eyelashes and colors:

Along with her arrestingly-beautiful-eye-contact photos, I opted for some happy and smiling photos. She's got a great smile and she delivered in aces:

[CONTINUE READING...]

NATALIA

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 01:49:00 +0000

Here are some photos from a shoot I put together recently. I wanted some great beauty shots with clean makeup and some very creative art from makeup as well. Our model for the shoot was Natalia Diniz, makeup is by Carmie Locsin and Hair by Alex Leyson. Enjoy!

Carmie and Alex did an excellent job with the makeup and hair, and I had a blast listening to the upbeat music on Carmie's iPod!

[CONTINUE READING...]

REASONS WHY FAILURE IS NOT FATAL

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 03:23:00 +0000

Here's a must-read/watch about failure from the awesome guys over at The 99 Percent: Read about it at

Illustration: Oscar Ramos Orozco via The 99 Percent

"Failure. Fear of it is universal, experiencing it is inevitable, and running from it is dependably routine. As a culture we can’t seem to shake the negativity of the term - even though most success stories have a shared foundation in some kind of accidental realization, wrong-footed first attempt, or outright error. Here, we pool our favorite videos and articles on the subject as a gentle reminder that our only real failure is to live life without it."

Read the rest at - http://the99percent.com/articles/7057/9-Reasons-Why-Failure-Is-Not-Fatal

Cheers!
Diego

A SPLASH OF COLOR

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 03:17:00 +0000

French makeup artist Nadia Bouhou was back in town and we decided to do another photo shoot together. After some brainstorming, we decided to focus on color - a layout with 1 main color and another with loads of color. I then went on a hunt for the right models that I thought would be great for this shoot.

This is Katja, a gorgeous girl I got to work with at another shoot and happens to do yoga at the same place I go to. She's got amazing eyes and lips, so we decided to focus on those with blue makeup.

[CONTINUE READING...]

PRESS PLAY FOR CHANGE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The CISV Asia Pacific Regional Workshop (APRW) 2012 was held in the Philippines and I took the opportunity to take portraits of these 150+ people from different parts of the world into a series of statements portraits. The theme of this year's APRW was "Press Play For Change" as a play on words of the PLAY button used in music players.

I had people complete the statement: "Press PLAY for/to ______________" with the blank as what change they feel strongly about or what they personally want to happen. I then supplied them with all sorts of paint and assorted brushes to paint it on a clear acrylic sheet with a large PLAY button to unify the portraits. After painting, I had them pose behind the acrylic sheet and "press the PLAY button" to start the change they want to make.

[CONTINUE READING...]

SEIZE THE MOMENT

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:30:00 +0000

How many times have you told yourself "It'd be great if.." or "What if I did.."? Next time you ask yourself that, STOP and ask yourself if it's possible to do it right then and there. If so, then what the hell is stopping you?

I was shooting for a client about a month ago and while preparing the set, our model Maxine was hanging out by some gorgeous light all prepped in her make-up, hair and outfit. I was like - holy crap - that would be a great shot so I had my assistant grab my 85L lens. I had the crew make some adjustments to the set (to buy me some time), quickly directed Maxine and took about a dozen shots before starting with the "real" work.

At one of the latter sets, Maxine was just a real stunner with the hair & makeup Karl did along with this beautiful black dress. I told myself then and there, I just HAD to shoot her against black. So after the set was done and I had all the lights set, I had my assistant set up a black studio setup right beside the set. Again, I bought some time by asking for a touchup on hair and makeup to tweak and set the lights in between poses. Once I had the client's layout in the can, I had Maxine do about dozen shots at the black setup and we came up with some killer shots.

[CONTINUE READING...]

GET UNCOMFORTABLE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:45:00 +0000

Uber high-tech drawing on a table napkin

Quick post today, been quite busy lately. Just want to say that you've gotta get out of your comfort zone to grow - it's just the way things are. Try something new, do something different, and get to awesome-ness :)

Cheers!
Diego

EARTH HOUR 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:13:00 +0000

Happy Sunday, folks! I'd like to share some photos of how I spent this year's Earth Hour with CISV Quezon City Chapter (Philippines) at the APRW (Asia Pacific Regional Workshop) with folks from all over the world. We killed all electricity, lit candles, issued challenges to each other and made pro-earth commitments (like not using styrofoam etc). We also did a cool lantern lighting thing for that and a set of blue lanterns for World Autism Awareness Day.

[CONTINUE READING...]

JUICE.PH - SUMMER CHASERS

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:30:00 +0000

It's been a while! Work's been non-stop for the past month and a half - which is awesome - but I've neglected my blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Anyway, I'm gonna play catch-up with the next couple of posts and show you guys what I've been up to.

Last month, I had the great experience of shooting a feature article for the awesome folks over at Juice.ph for their April issue. It was the summer issue and we had 3 great folks as our models who happen to be buddies of mine - Mika, Nicola and Lui. They're beach lovers and avid surfers, dubbed "summer chasers" with their constant golden tan and non-stop search for waves.

Mika is a really good friend, one that I've known my whole life

Mika and Nicola enjoying some soda Pinoy-style

We got to our beach location and I spotted some huts with some gorgeous light in some areas. I then suggested to the team that we take some profiles here and some lifestyle / "chilling out" shots with some apparel and accessories by Roxy and Quiksilver.

[CONTINUE READING...]

INVISIBLE NO MORE

noreply@blogger.com (Diego Lorenzo Jose) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:23:00 +0000

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Jason Russel, you are AWESOME. Our world needs more people like you.

Now that you've seen this, what are YOU going to do?

Diego