Mike Peñaranda Blog

Vague, but not really.

2012-01-30T01:18:00.001+08:00

Marina Bay, Singapura | Time-lapse from Mike Peñaranda on Vimeo.

This video just means so much to me right now. I found myself watching this video again tonight and I never - not for once, thought, that one day I'd watch this with such a heavy chest.

Mount Batulao in Batangas, my first summit.

2012-01-18T12:23:00.001+08:00

Experiencing my first summit was surreal. Mt. Pinatubo was, as experienced trekkers would call it, a walk in the park. And the crater being your end point, there's no feeling of being on top of everything in sight. With Mt. Pulag however, due to unfavorable weather, the one hour trek to the summit was impossible. But with Mt. Batulao, my third mountain, we were blessed with good weather all throughout the night - thank You Lord for that. We were supposed to wait for the sunrise on the summit, trek early and rely solely on our head lamps, but after having our breakfast we decided to just wait for the sunrise from the camp site of Peak 7. We trekked to the summit before 7:00 AM. Which was just about right, we got there before eight - stayed for awhile and had to leave after savoring the view and of course, photo-ops. You don't really want to stay long as the sun is rising fast, unless sunburn is your thing. Haha!

Here's a photo of Mount Batulao with the stars.

And lastly, here's a time-lapse clip I captured at around 4:00 AM, we had a clearing at that time. Which was what we really hoped for. Me and my friends are much into shooting the stars. Moisture is a huge concern when shooting at this time outdoors, it's scary for it might do our cameras harm. Yes, it's risky, but after completing one full set and the final clip has been rendered - everything just fades into black as I view these clips again and again, I'm always left in awe. Not to, as we put it in our language nagbubuhat ng sariling bangko, but I see myself as just but another medium to capture what our eyes don't normally see. Anyway, I hope you like the clip below.

That's just about it for this post, cheers! :)

2011 In Retrospect: My Videos

2012-01-10T21:16:00.008+08:00

2011 was the year where I really rekindled my love for creating videos. I could still remember from way back my college days where I would edit clips out of my mobile phone with 3gp native file formats on Windows Movie Maker. Most of these files went down with my hard drive that crashed, so I'm pretty much left with this one video up on YouTube from 2006, shot with a Canon home video camera on standard definition. This passion for videos came back when I made this video during one of my trips back to my hometown, Surigao City. And grew even more when I acquired a Lumix fz35 camera mid-2010. Came up with a few couple of videos that year - Ilocos trip, a weekend in Laguna, our trip to Cagbalete island, and my very first time-lapse clip with mt. Makiling. Lost my mojo for the first part of 2011 but I was able to pick up when I joined this outreach program dubbed Kariton Klasrum. Join me as I journey through the year that was in retrospect through my videos. My videos in 2011 after the jump, continue reading post.

As mentioned, the Kariton Klasrum - this was truly a humbling experience for myself. I was with my friend Khel Banzon who's into videos as well. He helped me in capturing clips throughout the experience. These kids go through a hard knock life and this program by Efren Penaflorida that I was able to take part in around May of last year was one I would cherish. Glad I was able to somehow document the entire experience. Although this is more like a music video than a shot at documentary, I'm proud with this one.

Only my second trip of the many more to come to this lovely island of Boracay - hah! My first time was back in 2010, didn't bother to take photos nor shoot a video back then for I thought I'd just enjoy the first time experience and make the most out of my first time in the island. I was pretty sure that I will be going back and thought I'd definitely come up with a video by then, hence, this video right here.

Came up with a couple more videos from that trip to Boracay - a skimboarding clip with this local kid I met in station one, and from riding the ATV's. Before making this trip I wanted to venture on underwater videos, so prior the trip I acquired a GoPro HD Hero - with the capability of shooting videos in 720p resolution at 60fps, and of course 1080p at 24/30fps. Both video captured using this beloved toy.

My first trip to Singapore - such lovely place to be a tourist. To work or live there? I wouldn't know. I have friends who work there already, and I've heard a fair amount of pros and cons. :-) But anyway, this clip here is a time-lapse around sun down. I left my GoPro shooting behind the hotel window of our room at the Marina Bay Sands - such amazing structure to begin with. I can go on an on... I didn't expect much from it, I just thought of the idea as I was about to head out and meet a friend. And man was I surprised with how well it performed to capture images come sundown. The music here by the way is by tide/edit, a band I admire for the great vibe that their music has - one to look out for.

First trip to Palawan - yeah! I was really excited for this one, although Puerto Princesa didn't really live up to what I had expected. The tour package was alright, having the opportunity to experience the underground river which is now part of the seven wonders of the world was really exhilarating.

The Bataan trip, this was more of a photoshoot with my buddies than a video project trip. We visited Mt. Samat and the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Shot a few time-lapse clips, tihs time I became more versed with the proper work-flow on rendering time-lapse videos - it's the start of something great for me - time-lapsing.

As I said, time-lapse has steadily grown in me. Watching videos online of the many time-lapse videos available, I was really inspired to produce more. "The Highlands" is a project I started last year on November. Started shooting for a couple of nights at the balcony of our hotel room in Tagaytay, roughly I captured somwhere around ten clips for those two nights - I barely slept, I was on a high. Most of these clips are on my hard drive. I intended to have it ready by this month, in time to kick-off the new year. But looking at what I have, I decided to make it a long term project. Gathering more clips and planning more trips to shoot from the highlands. This year I said to myself I will be hitting the great outdoors more, exploring the mountains - the highlands. So "The Highlands" project will not be released anytime soon. I look forward to capturing more clips this year, and hopefully be able to finish the whole thing - soon as I see fit. Anywyay, here are a couple of clips from last November, one using my iPhone, and the other my 60D with the supposedly (teaser). :-)

Spent a couple of nights at Marriott hotel some time in November. Our room had a great view of the Makati Skyline. I decided to shoot a short time-lapse reel of that view, hence, the video you'll find below.

The ISD band - this was in celebration of the Octoberfest. Pretty much filmed their entire set, I was excited having my new audio recorder at hand.

Stay Together

Love Song

Highway to Hell

No Touch

Huling El Bimbo

Singapura, once again. Yup, went to Singapore twice last year. This time I thought I'd come up with a time-lapse reel rather than a one setting full-length clip. Spent a good 30 minutes to an hour on one location just to shoot a clip. Nevertheless it was all worth it, and the cityscape never gets old in my book.

My first ever mountain to conquer. Despite not reaching the summit for the reason you'll see upon watching the video, it still turned out to be a positive climb for the group. Pretty much shot with my GoPro, I'm very proud of this video edit. After taking up a few class on digital video, I got to apply some technicalities on this one. The three-act structure, a bit of color correction, and playing around more with the sound. I'd say my best edit yet - haha!

And of course, my "Last Sunset of 2011" time-lapse. It's just a short clip. Didn't really turn out as I had hoped but, it is what it is. I got it right on January 1st though, first sunset of the year 2012. :-)

I ended 2011 on a high note, and I look forward to keep the pace for 2012. More trips, more plans - I'm really stoked! More videos, of course. I hope reading this post was worth your time, better yet if you watched all my videos - thank you very much. Still, I'm a novice shooter hungry for experience. I want to learn more, I want to produce shorts and all that stuff. I'll work on that this year, hopefully all will turn out well. I got future projects lined up, and please do follow me on Twitter to be up to date with my work. :-) Happy new year ahead, cheers!

Off to the Great Outdoors

2012-01-09T15:56:00.001+08:00

Late last year I went on to conquer Mt. Pulag, 'twas on the 3rd of December - that weekend. It wasn't really a success since we didn't get to the summit. But all-in-all everyone was safe despite the unfavorable weather so the climb was positive. If you haven't seen my video for that trip you can view it in HD here.

I've been invited by my friends numerous times to climb mountains, last year's Pulag wasn't the first. The other year's (2010) invitation to Mt. Pulag was. Hah! Took me a year to finally hit the outdoors. I was more of a beach bum, the mountains isn't really my thing - well during that time at least. This year I look forward to hit the outdoors more. I've had enough of beaches - well actually not really, I just look forward to add this to my list of activities this year. During the Mt. Pulag climb last year I already invested on my gears - pretty much the basics to keep yourself warm on top of the mountain at night. With Pulag being the highest peak in Luzon, it gets really cold over there. If you go the easy route, it's not really the terrain that you should worry about, it's the temperature.

Mt. Batulao

Here's a couple time-lapse clip I captured on December 31st and January 1st from Tagaytay. The last sunset for 2011, and the first sunset of the year, both with the silhouette of Mt. Batulao.

In less that a week we'll be doing Mt. Batulao, located somewhere in the northern part of Batangas. For this I thought I'd get myself a decent back pack more suitable for the the activity. With my TNF daypack in Pulag it was tough - not enough support to carry the load, the weight of my pack relied solely on my shoulders. And also I intend to bring this camping tent we had in the family for over ten years now. I just found it recently. I can't even remember when we exactly got it but my mom says we had it way back '98. I was only in grade school then! This was our second tent, my dad got us two when we (me and my brother) were young. We used to camp outside the house with our cousins at my grandmother's garden lawn. We barely made it through the night. Eventually we'd just head back inside the house and sleep through the rest of the night n our rooms. So ya, if you got the drift, this will pretty much be its first time to be put to the test. This pack of sealant of some sort that came with still wasn't opened even. So I guess I'd have to check the linings of this tent before I really decide to take it with me this weekend. Photos of the tent seen below.

Eureka! Indeed.

Every piece - complete, unharmed.Tweet.

I didn't even know it was this huge! Tweet.

Over the weekend the weather wasn't really favorable, although today's better - the sun is out. Hopefully this goes well through this weekend. I'll be blogging about the climb probably next week, so do come back for that one. And hopefully I get to document the entire trip best way I know how, a video. Cheers!

First Sunset of the Year 2012 [photo]

2012-01-03T09:43:00.001+08:00

One of my first photos for the year, and my favorite subject amongst the many - the sunset. Spent the weekend at the highlands of Tagaytay with the family, as you may have read on this post. Having filmed the last sunset of the year that was - 2011, this was pretty much a given. Of course I'm filming the first of the year 2012 as well. :-) So ya, if you want to watch the time-lapse clip of the photo above, click here.

http://www.timelapseph.com

I look forward on shooting more sunsets, or sunrise this year. These sort will most likely be short clippings, it's kind of scary pointing your camera directly to the sun. If I do, I more often than not point it at a time when the ray isn't that harsh - say ten to five minutes before sundown. So ya, I hope you like the clip. I'd appreciate a thumbs up below if you do.

Cheers!

Shooting Taal Lake at Night

2012-01-01T22:08:00.005+08:00

I'm out in the cold tonight. With a bottle of beer, pack of chips while star gazing as I listen to the sound of my 60D's shutter. Flick! Flick! Ah, good times!

Posted using Blogger App for iPhone

Last sunset of 2011 and some fireworks.

2012-01-01T16:02:00.063+08:00

Last Sunset 2011 (+8 hours GMT) from Mike Peñaranda on Vimeo.

Shot yesterday's sunset and rendered it into a time-lapse clip. Had the countdown here at Tagaytay, stayed in Taal Vista Hotel. If you're familiar with the place it has a beautiful view of the Taal Lake. (I'm shooting a time-lapse clip of it as I write this.) :-) Facing west around sun down is a sight for awe. With mount Batulao in the view, and the sight of the sun setting just behind it was really amazing. Now it's just an hour or so for the first sunset of the year, I won't let that pass since we'll be staying one more night here.

The Countdown: Fireworks

This was my first time to actually shoot photos in a fireworks display - and what a learning experience it was. Haha! I was all set thirty minutes before the countdown hits zero. I thought I was all good, only to find out my 24mm lens was a tight squeeze. I had to back up a couple of times - hah! Wish I had my 18mm kit lens on instead of my L lens. This will definitely be noted for next year - or any fireworks display I'll be in within the year.

As you may notice those last couple of photos, those were part of the finale. Yes, even the aspect ratio setting was wrong - I used 3:2 when I should have set it to 4:3. If in case you don't know the difference, with 4:3 on a portrait photo the width is wider than those photos you see above. And as I mentioned above, had I had an 18mm lens, I would've had better coverage area.

That would be all for this one. Happy new year everyone!

I'll be out shooting Taal lake with the stars later tonight. :)

Mount Pulag [video]: A Weekend of Firsts

2011-12-26T01:37:00.002+08:00

***As I always say, watch it in HD. Loading takes awhile, but it makes viewing worthwhile. :-)

The night of December 2nd, we were in a bus en route to Baguio. It was my first time to actually be in Baguio, as well as for the event I was about to take part in that weekend - which were to actually camp outdoors, and sleep in a tent on the top of a mountain. Away from the comfort of your comfortable mattress you got used to sleeping for years. Upon arrival at the bus terminal at Baguio, we immediate headed off to Kabayan, Benguet - the jump-off site to mount Pulag. Widely known for the great view of a sea of clouds, Pulag National Park reaches 2,922 meters above sea level when you're at the summit. The trek I'd say is alright, anyone can handle it. Although I encountered cramping of my legs high up nearing the camp site. I guess it was the cold temperature, and not to mention I wasn't really in my best shape - I mean stamina-wise. By the way did I mention it was raining - well not really, drizzling would be more appropriate. But we got pretty wet by the time we got to erect our tents and settle down in it. Not long from from then, night time came upon us. With the non-stop drizzle outside, we were forced to stay inside the tent. I only got out of it to have dinner. We had tinola, and man was it really good. We were with this group of guys who dubbed themselves "Outdoor Addicts", which I believe are worthy of the title - real talk. You've seen the video up top, how say you? I hope you enjoyed it. :)

It's Christmas day, a few more days and it will be a new year for all of us. I wish you all the best if you happen to be reading this, whoever you are. If you're a friend let it be known to me, drop me a response below. Ah, I plan to climb more mountains by 2012, which was one reason why I pretty much had no second thoughts buying all the stuff that I bought to prepare myself for mount Pulag. Temperature drops close to a negative at the top so warmers are a must. So ah, ya. Hopefully more climbs by 2012 and hopefully I can document them well so I can share the experience here on my blog. For a more detailed information on what cameras I used and what-not - there's not much really, but you can visit my vimeo for that. It's in the description.

Anyway, cheers!

Hello world.

2011-12-17T02:34:00.002+08:00

Another hello world post since I haven't really blogged in awhile, apparently - well, not that you would notice, and for that matter care. Ah.. Year's about to end, as expected yearly. And why do I sound like Sheldon Cooper? Haha. Too much TV series. They're good, ya? The creators of that TV series I mean. So anyway apart from pointing out that I've been watching this for the past few weeks or so, ah.. not much. No new videos as of late, although I'm currently recoding some clips from mount Pulag due for editing tomorrow. Yes, I've gone mountain climbing - not really "climbing" hand grappling to rocks. Hiking, would be rather appropriate. About a couple of weeks back we went to mount Pulag, which is the highest peak in Luzon, Philippines. It was a weekend of firsts for me - first time to be in Baguio (Pathetic, I know), ah first time to go out camping on top of a mountain - and it had to be on Pulag. This post will just be a bunch of chit chat from my end, just a head's up. If you made it this far anyway that is - haha! But if you did hey thank you, I appreciate you paying attention. Now I'll go back to my talking, you can choose to leave - although I hope you read through. :-)

Great, you're still reading. So, anyway as I said I got a few clips from Pulag. The events didn't really turn out as I had hoped. I was looking forward to shooting clips during our hike up to the camp site but the weather didn't favor. It was drizzling the entire time and it was getting colder as you ascend. I brought along with me my Canon 60D, which by the way had me sleepless for a couple of nights contemplating on whether I should bring it with me or not - apparently I did. And the whole time from ranger camp until we got back to Baguio - mind you that's over 24 hours - I never took it out of its bag which was, to boot, inside a dry bag. That's how bad the weather was the whole time during the climb - or hike, to some who are particular about it. It rained all throughout. The good part though was that I had my GoPro with me - man it sure is one of my best buys this year. Back at the camp, well, thanks to paracetamol I had a good night's sleep despite that windy night. It was really cold, but I really invested on my gears after I had to asked around on the what-to-bring's. I plan to do this activity more often by next year - granting that the world don't end.. . . :-) I kid. So anyway, the experience I say was fairly rewarding. Not what we wanted in terms of weather condition but ya, I enjoyed the experience and I would be stoked to do it again. Of course hopefully by then the weather gods of mount Pulag will be on our side.

So ah.. I've been thinking on what to get myself for Christmas.. Oh shit! Right, that L lens was supposed to be it, right.. . . OK. So new year's gift? Yes, new year's gift to me self. I need to justify my expenses - at least for myself, and at times for my mom. Haha! Who keeps on nagging me to save up. Moms. :-) Although yes, they know better - they always do. We just tend to be stubborn, right? So, anyway, I was looking into a photo printer so I could print my photos. Everything has gone digital these days and sometimes I think it's just good to hold on onto a photo that you took on a fine print. Don't you think? Have it on the wall or maybe keep it as a collection, and not on a folder in your computer. One thing I had in mind was an instant camera, although I've gone past that idea. I'm sure the experience of owning one would be great granting the challenge to make every press of that shutter button worth it. Print films are pretty darn expensive - Php 600 for what? 20 shots?! Yikes! But ya, that's the beauty of it and that's the reason why they're there. Maybe when you got a lot of extra cash to spend for it, cool, by all means grab one. But I've invested pretty much on digital gears so might as well stick with my guns. Not to mention the extra load on my bag if I had to carry it with me. Of course you can't carry one over the other, well if you ask me if I had both I'd have to have both of them with me - or else the other would be useless. Anyway so ya, guess I'll go with the photo printer. I'm not really knowledgeable about those so I'll have to read up online on which one to get.

Ah, hmm.. I guess that's pretty much it for now. I've unloaded pretty much what's in my head for now. Recoding is not done yet so I guess I'm up for a couple of Big Bang Theory episodes of season four.

I'm such a genius.. . . :-) Bazingga!

Makati Skyline [video]

2011-11-29T13:14:00.001+08:00

I just realized that I never really posted the video of this three-series-clip of the Makati Central Business District here on my personal blog. Anyway, here it is if you haven't seen it yet. :-)

***Note: Watch it in HD. Loading takes awhile, but it makes viewing worthwhile. :-)

Makati CBD Skyline Timelapse from Mike Peñaranda on Vimeo.

This was originally posted on timelapseph.com, for a lengthier read and BTS photos please do check it out as well and follow our work on time lapsing there.

Cheers! :-)

A Series of Changing Lights

2011-11-16T14:53:00.005+08:00

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore.

Here's a time-lapse video of the Marina Bay area, you can view it only at timelapseph.com :-)

More Songs from ISD Band, Stay Together & Everlong [video]

2011-11-09T04:59:00.010+08:00

ISD Band - Stay Together from Mike Peñaranda on Vimeo.

Here's a couple more videos from the Octoberfest event which I was part of about a couple of weeks back. If you haven't seen the first set, click here. It'd be great if you check that set as well. Took me awhile to work on this couple of videos, although I'd say these two are pretty much the cream of the crop. Not speaking relative to the band's performance, but in terms of edit. I'd say with this two, I had more angles to play with. Thanks to my second shooter, co-worker and a good friend who willingly geared up with me that night - Tony Santos. And I think I was able to handle well with my shots, like my zoom-ins, solo shots and whatnot. Well, at least for mer. Anyway, you already watched Stay Together by Mr. Big (video above).

Here's Everlong by the Foo Fighters. I think this is, hands down, the best song performed by the band that night. Started slow, especially the lighting in the club not much happening in the earlier part of the performance. But later it picks up the pace and pretty much just ripped the place. Haha. Anyway, enjoy!

ISD Band - Everlong from Mike Peñaranda on Vimeo.

Like my videos? Let me know, drop me a comment or give me a thumbs up below. Cheers!

Makati, Metro Manila Skyline Timelapse Video

2011-11-08T14:04:00.001+08:00

I've mentioned about my The Highlands time-lapse reel, it's taking me awhile to finish that one. But, here's a timelapse video I shot just over the weekend. The photo above is a scene from the video, like what you see? Would you like to watch those clouds move? :-) Click here to watch the video and read up on how it all went down.

Here's another photo of a scene from the video.

To know which cameras I used for these shots, visit the post for more info.

Cheers! :-)

Zoom H4N Test w/ ISD Band - Octoberfest 2011 [video]

2011-11-03T10:41:00.004+08:00

***Watch in HD 720p for best quality.

The video you just watch was shot about a couple of weeks back from an event in my workplace. I was pretty excited to do one of these sorts of shoot since I got my Zoom H4N. It's a pasalubong from my parents when my mom went outside of the country just a few months back. For those who don't know, the Zoom H4N is a nifty device which you can use to record sound. It's perfect for band performances as such, it's for the pros basically with its extended capabilities - although I'm not a pro. I asked for the Zoom H1, but that's how awesome my parents are, they got me this instead. Hah! The H4N is great for recording ambient sound as well - you will hear an example of this in my upcoming timelapse reel "The Highlands".

Here's another video by the ISD Band. Still, recorded using the Zoom H4N.

***Watch in HD 720p for best quality.

I used a Canon 60D for these videos, and as you may know one of the features of the 60D is its manual settings for recording audio. This is good for it allows you to lower you microphone level so the audio you record won't clip. For comparison, here's another video of the band, this time it comes with its raw audio recorded on the Canon 60D. Not much difference, but obviously the Zoom H4N is "smoother" - I guess that's the best way to describe it. I'm no expert, just talking through personal opinion. :-)

***Watch in HD 720p for best quality.

If you enjoyed these set of videos, I'd appreciate a thumbs up below. I still have a few more videos from the event, the band played Everlong by the Foo Fighters - I'm excited to edit that one and share it with you guys. Yup, I'm saving the best for last here. :-)

Cheers!

Blogger App for iPhone

2011-11-01T23:17:00.001+08:00

Finally! I used to search for this in App store, and now it's here. This is great for sharing something while on the go; like photos while you're traveling and you don't have immediate access to WiFi, you can just go online via 3G through your phone. It still has room for improvements though, can't wait on further updates for this app.

I used the App writing this post. :-) Sweet!

The Highlands time-lapse reel.. . . coming soon!

2011-10-26T23:23:00.004+08:00

This video is a teaser of my time-lapse reel which I shot during our recent weekend trip to Tagaytay some two weeks back. The full reel isn't done yet, I've been wanting to finish it, this being first time-lapse reel - really excited on the final output. Took me awhile to find the right music to go with my clips. It's currently in the works, so please follow timelapseph.com - it will be published there.

Thanks!

Gimme a thumbs up below if you like the video.. :-)

When the lights are out..

2011-10-19T11:16:00.007+08:00

As for some who may know, yesterday was my birthday. I didn't display my birth date on Facebook, had it like that since last year - I have reasons. So anyway, for awhile yesterday I thought barely anyone remembered my birthday. I'm not bitter or anything like that, although I have to admit it kinda brings you down. Haha! I blame no one but myself for that. Haha! But anyway, so there I was, got a few greetings here and there - by few I meant somewhere from three to five - mostly from family and those most dear to me. On my wall, the first people to greet were family. Now, I did this not to test anyone, nor my friendship with the people I know, - or to feel special if people would actually remember. I just want to prove a point to myself (it's a personal thing really - that I'm openly sharing now) that once in awhile, it's just best to detach. Not from people, but with technology. No hate or anything, I'm huge on how technology has brought about changes in my life and to everybody else' lives. But I just think that sometimes we get caught up so much with it that we tend to rely everything to technology. I'll say it - reminders. I suck at remembering birth dates myself so please don't get me wrong, this is a good thing. Advancements in technology is a good thing, but cliche as it may sound - nothing's perfect. Everything has its pros and cons. It's good, yes - at some point/aspect. But not everybody drinks the same cup of tea, yes?

When all else fails, always remember that you're never alone. Your family is always, and will always, be there for you. At the height of my "self-inflicted loneliness" yesterday - 'twas brief really. Haha! I received a call from family back in my hometown. Man! It almost brought a tear down my cheek - I was able to hold it up though. :-) Yes, I'm emotional like that. Haha! It just felt right, the feeling was perfect. I miss being home and be with the family in the compound. I miss sitting at the veranda of my grandparent's house with my cousins just about after noon time, or sitting at the benches we have at our "mini-park" (Haha!) by the mango tree that turned sideways after a typhoon brought it down - it offers a comfortable shade from the sun.

I haven't really spent a week in my hometown (Surigao City) since I graduated from college. Thinking about it now, it sucks! But that's yesterday. It is what it is. I'm 25 now, and not getting any younger. I'm emotional - there, I said it. 'twas my birthday yesterday forgive me. Haha. Life goes on, and as should we all. No other way but forward, but never ever forget to glance at your rear-view mirror once in awhile. Look back, reminisce the good times, learn from the bad times.

I'll be visiting home soon. I'm looking forward to that. Anyway, this post's getting a bit too long. I hope somehow I was able to make my point across and that it made sense to you. I would like to say thank you to everyone who greeted on my Facebook wall (if you happen to be reading this post that is), those who sent me a text message and those who bothered to call - salamat talaga. If you're still reading, thank you for paying attention. Cheers to life! God bless humanity. :-)

HBtM

2011-10-18T10:25:00.015+08:00

Hello.. . . world!

I just want to make this quick post here on my blog today since it's a special one for me, personally. I just want to make a quick shout out to God, I just want to thank Him for this very exact day some 25 years back. Had it not been for Him, I wouldn't be writing this post. I've always believed that we're all here for a purpose, with each different from the other - that's what makes us unique, especially in the eyes of our Creator. I haven't really figured out mine yet, maybe someday. :-)

Once again, thank You, Lord.

That's about it for now, I'll thank the rest after today. Currently brewing thoughts inside my head which I can't really fathom, or rather organize, as of the time being.

Cheers! And may all of you have a great day today. :-)

I was up all-night, last night.

2011-10-16T08:16:00.006+08:00

Nice photo, ya?

Why was I up all night?

Click here to read full story on TimeLapse PH. :-)

The Overcast Killed It - Potipot Island Trip 2011

2011-10-11T15:10:00.004+08:00

So.. . . our Potipot Island trip didn't really go well as I had hoped. A tad bit lengthy trip than I expected, and the weather sure was a bummer (as you can see on the photo above), but 'twas fun. Not in the usual way that I thought it would be, being at the beach. Overcast and constant drizzling really killed it. We managed to enjoy ourselves later that day though, making use of the hoop that the resort had in place, and the usual karaoke while each having their surmount dose of alcohol.

I was really hoping for some sunshine that day. I planned to come up with a video of the island, and possibly a short video with the gang. But that's a no go now that neither of the two plans were executed on my end. I was even planning on getting a lens, a memory card and an extra battery. I would've been pretty devastated by now had I prepped to that extent. Haha! I kid - or maybe not. For more info, read on after the break.

To talk a little bit about the island, Potipot is more or less a kilometer away from the mainland shore of Candelaria, Zambales. There are a few resorts where you can stay for the night in the mainland, however you can opt to sleep on the island if you have a tent with you. The latter seems fun doesn't it? But on this trip we spent the night at one of the few resorts available from the mainland.

It's roughly about 240 plus kilometers drive from Manila - that's about five to six hours of travel time by land. We rented a van to take us there, which I think is the best option than to drive yourself to get there - unless you're up for a bit lengthy of a road trip then you should be good. But if you want to relax and have fun with your friends, then consider renting a van.

Weather is a huge thing, as for any beach outings, it's always a bummer if there is no sunshine. So you might want to consider going here during summer time in the Philippines - that's some time from March to May, or at least be aware of the weather situation. In our case we didn't really expect such overcast that day, and non stop drizzling to make matters worse. The weather was fine the past few days, and only during the weekend that it turned against our favor. But we had no choice but to push through since everything was already planned out - the van and all that.

Anyway, I hope somehow this post was able to give you and idea about the island. I don't have that much photos for as I said, 'twas drizzling the whole time. That's about it for this one - I guess. Thanks for keeping up with me. Cheers!

Who among you here expected an iPhone 5 and is disappointed that Apple only released a souped-up iPhone 4?

2011-10-05T08:36:00.006+08:00

I thought so.

Honestly, as with the majority, I am disappointed. Well for one, I think Apple failed to live up to the height of the hype that's been circulating for the highly anticipated iPhone 5. The rumors of the iPhone 5 has been well close to a year, if not a year now. We've only heard of the iPhone 4S in this past few months. Could this have been something Apple stirred to manage the hype on talks pertaining to the iPhone 5? Well that's something we'll never know. One thing I know though, the majority is disappointed. How can Apple not not consider the idea that with all the upgrades that they've souped up this newly release iPhone 4S, had it been redesigned - somehow, and dubbed as iPhone 5 - this day easily could have been one of those historic ones where people would remember Apple with their claim "This changes everything. Again." Remember this one from last year?

Although I'd say this only spares iPhone 4 owners the burden of having to consider upgrading. Truth be told, why buy an upgrade when no one can tell the difference? Just saying.

Photo nicked from DealBreaker.com

Learning how to make waffles.

2011-10-05T05:03:00.006+08:00

Been quiet for 'bout a week now if you may notice. I've been busy learning how to make waffles - don't take that literally. It's October! (Yes, nice shift of topic) My birth month, wow! (Not much interesting to say) I'm turning 20-something-ish. (If that ever makes any sense) So, ah, things to expect this month - a lot. Apart from my birthday, that's a given. I'll be flying back to Singapore - as if it weren't just a few months back that I was there, right? Haven't seen my awesome (Yes, promoting my awesome (I'm so vain) self - lol!) photos? (Still following?) Click here. Well, this time I'm going with my brother - hopefully my mom will be with us as well. I really miss the place, that said I really loved the place. Even more so now that... ah. Ok where was I? Haha. Right, Singapore. Looking forward to visiting it again this month.

Another trip to look forward to would be the weekend following our trip to Sg, that would be our trip to Surigao - my hometown. I've never spent a week there since I graduated from college. Only about four days tops! And this trip's no different. I'll be there for only about three days? Leaving on a Saturday, and back to Manila by Tuesday, right, three days. Originally four but, well, sucks to be a corporate slave doesn't it? Anyway, better than not having to visit, ya?

About my videos, ya... ah. I got a few edits going right now. Mostly some old materials, which makes it rather boring to work on since they're still captured from my old Lumix at 720p and everything auto. Boring on grade, lower quality at only 720p. This weekend I'll be out with my friends onto an island somewhere up north in Zambales. That should be interesting, after which I should have s few clips with me to toy around with - that's for sure. Photos as well.

Looking at my calender, I still have the 3rd weekend free - that's the 15th and 16th. Ah, my brother will be in town by then so definitely going out of town by then as well. Tagaytay? Most probably - yet again. Haven't been there for awhile now. That should be fun. Might shoot him and his girlfriend then for a short film - lol! Given that he agrees, that is.

So ah, ya. Pretty much that's all for this month. Been immersing myself on different form of artwork - well mainly different genres of film/videos and whatnot. Trying to hype up my mojo some more and keeping myself inspired to create videos. Inspiration is everywhere you know, but sometimes you have to seek them. :)

That's about it for now I guess. If you're reading up to this point, then you most probably care. Thank you. Cheers!

I definitely need a beer buddy. (Why T.F. so random?!) Bye!

Bataan Trip [video]

2011-09-21T17:52:00.002+08:00

This is a short video I made in the past couple of days, spending a little over two hours a day on this one. Rendering clips sure eats up a lot of you time. Especially when you're only running on 2GB memory and you have three Adobe software and FCP running. Haha! Anyway as I said this is a short video, I'm looking forward to creating a few more timelapse clips in the future. So I hope you follow this blog and watch out for those.

Here's a couple of photos of me and my comrades from that day.

View my set of photos on location; Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

You can visit Khel and Tony on their website, KhelBanzon.com and PinoyPhotogs.com, respectively.

Gimme a thumbs up if you liked the video you just saw. Thank you. Cheers! :)

Depth of Field

2011-09-20T06:54:00.012+08:00

As Wikipedia puts it; Depth of field (DOF), is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image.

Relative to life; set your focus on what you think is most important. Leave the rest beyond it a blur - not lose sight, only set apart from your point of focus. That way, the moment you decide to give it a go and crack your shutter open, you'll get the output that you want to achieve.

Mind your settings, consider it as the challenges you face along the way as you try to reach your desired outcome in life. Random! Haha.

iPhone Daily Photostream via Instagr.am

Gimme a thumbs up if this made sense. And if you do, then you must be paying attention, thank you. :)

Be your own CV.

2011-09-18T02:25:00.003+08:00

I've recently uploaded this on my iPhone photo daily stream with the caption "Be your own CV." Having put a little bit more of thought to it, I decided to share a few of those thoughts here anyway. So, about the book - would you really consider buying one? I'm intrigued as to what your answer to that question would be. I'd have to admit that when I saw this book on the stands it struck me, precisely the reason I took a photo of it. But do you really need one? Will you really bother to read "100 winning CVs" of people you don't even know? No hate here, I'm just curious. Read on after the break, and feel free to respond.

I think this book is taking advantage of the jobless people, or those who lack confidence in themselves - easily that could be me. As I said it caught my attention. But I think it's the wham bam thank you ma'am of book publishing. Not to hate or anything, I'm just trying to make some sense here. If you disagree then I'd be glad to hear from you.

So anyway reason why this book caught my attention is because I think your CV should reflect yourself, and not just be patterned from some book which contains over a hundred CVs. I mean, how would you even do that? Sort out over a hundred CVs by yourself, seriously? Yes tips are good; trick of the trade, is good. Sure, it may land you that interview that you for so long wanted. But will it land you the job? I doubt. Well, maybe. But if you're confident that you can land a job, or you are capable of landing a job (There's a difference in there somewhere, right? Lol.), you wouldn't even bother to open a page of this book, right?

This is just an opinion, I don't know the author nor the publishing company. Out of respect I even had to blur parts of the photo, adds a certain effect to it as well - I think. Haha. I'm not paid by whoever to put this up here on my blog. (Although I wish I was - I kid.) Just one curious speck. As NatGeo coined it, "Live curious." :) So, my two cents? Don't fall for any of this. Be your own CV.

I do admire the person who authored this, or should I say compiled this - whichever applies. I mean, to a certain extent you'd have to have some sort of skill or a certain level of experience to determine the good ones from the bad. And for recognizing the fact that there is a potential market for such a book - it's good for business, right? Maybe he can help, or any other book pertaining to the subject may help you create an awesome CV. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to you. What is it that you think you have that will come as a commodity to your potential employer? That's what they're going to look for, and that is what's going to land you the job.

I hope that somehow this made sense to you. And if not, feel free to respond, nothing beats a good exchange of opinion. Peace.