I re-edited the photo, this time in color, enhancing the tones and saturation, particularly the reds and yellows, which I always enjoy highlighting in my urban photography. These vibrant tones add energy and warmth to the scene, drawing attention to the details I love to capture in city life.

If you’re wondering why the caption might seem inaccurate, specifically regarding the jeepney route displayed on the side, it’s because the jeepney is actually operating outside its designated route. For this updated version, I also adjusted the crop to reveal a bit more of the out-of-focus background. For those who know the area, you’ll recognize parts of the facade of Robinson’s Manila.

This is the originally edit I did and that was shared on my Instagram in July of 2017. Unfortunately, I no longer have the RAW file because at the time, I was experimenting with Lightroom Mobile and would upload photos directly from my camera using the Sony app. It was an exciting phase of mobile editing, but it also meant some original files weren’t properly backed up.

I enjoy revisiting and re-editing photos I took years ago, comparing the original versions with new interpretations. It’s always interesting to see how my editing choices have evolved over time. The colors I emphasize, the way I crop, and the overall mood I aim for often shifts as my skills grow and my perspective changes.

Looking at both versions side by side reveals more than just technical differences. It reflects my state of mind during each period, including what I was drawn to creatively, the tools I preferred, and the kind of feeling I wanted the image to convey. These edits serve as a visual timeline that highlights how both my approach and aesthetic sensibilities have developed through the years.

The post Jeepney along Pedro Gil Street and more on old edits appeared first on Archon Digital.

One photo stood out to me. I remembered that captured it just as a Korean girl unexpectedly stepped into the frame. She struck a spontaneous pose, right fist raised mid-jump, facing the Manila Bay sunset. The timing was uncanny, almost cinematic. She wasn’t part of the plan, but somehow she became the perfect subject against the glowing horizon.

Looking back, this was during a phase when I was completely immersed in creating motion timelapses. I would spend hours setting up my gear, obsessing over movement and light transitions, always chasing the perfect sequence. The girl in the main photo wasn’t part of the timelapse, yet it became one of those accidental gems that only reveal their worth years later.

The post Harbour Square and revisiting old photographs appeared first on Archon Digital.

I should make it a point to take more walks in the morning, for health reasons and to make an effort to burn more and keep my weight down. The summer heat makes walking around after 7:00am like a forced march. The unusual heat reminds me of the heat waves I encountered in New Delhi around 2007 and in Dubai around 2009. Maybe this is just how things are moving forward unless we all, and I mean all goverments everywhere around the globe, pay more attention to climate change.

The post Morning rush along Lubiran Street appeared first on Archon Digital.

“How beautiful life is, and how sad. There is no past and no future, only a limitless now”

James Clavel, Shogun

When I learned that James Clavell’s Shōgun would have a mini-series adaptation and it was going to be streamed on family-friendly Disney+, in the Philippines, because FX is under its wing here, I had a really good laugh.

This is going to be a trip, I told myself.

My mind immediately drifted into how Disney would adapt the gore (spoiler: lots of people’s heads getting chopped off) while they navigate through (or maybe omit) all the cock references in the book. I mean, if it was HBO instead of Disney, they would’ve made an adaptation that would’ve made Euphoria’s dick count seem like a TV series for prudes.

I remember then innocent me reading the novel while in 4th (or maybe 5th) grade in the late 80’s and remember immersing myself in its narrative on Japanese culture, on Bushido, and on of all things… how the Japanese women in the story were so in awe of the white man’s huge cock, and expanding the vocabulary of a young and clueless me, when I learned of the words flaccid and taut which somehow found its way into the book from the first chapter to the last.

I was nine, or maybe 10 at the time, dick and Uranus jokes were the norm with all the other kids my age, you know with the Boy Bastos jokes, and the fun games during fiestas where boys would be conscripted by the elders to compete against each other in palayuan ng ihi, all-boys summer camps, etc…

Of course back then, I was oblivious to the fact it was written from a white man’s point-of-view and made to appeal to the people of that time when the book was written (in the 70s). It was a bestseller, I mean we had two copies of it in the 80’s, a white paperback one that was always in the banyo for some reason, that’s where I first found it, and another that had a more colorful cover and in a more pristine shape in the shelves along with the other Asian saga books.

The book remains on my list of favorites in spite of what every woke person now says of the book’s flaws and misrepresentation, but only because of the fond memories of playtime and make believe that I enjoyed as a child at that time with my Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes action figures, and Shintaro! Fond memories of me running up and down three flights of stairs with my plastic katana wearing nothing but shorts and a dirty bathrobe, a sweaty shirt covering my face to make me ninja.

Kanina, I saw the first two episodes of the mini-series and loved it. I can see myself enjoying watching the rest of it. Bitin nga lang was all I could think of, as I wish I waited longer so I could’ve binge watched the entire thing.

Now I have to wait for the next episode. Tite.

The post Shōgun appeared first on Archon Digital.

Walking along Ongpin Street in Binondo (Chinatown) in Manila, I almost missed this shot because I remembered having to quickly step back to not get myself hit by the motorbike that I captured in the foreground.

Reminding myself that awareness of your surroundings and reflexes matter. Keep safe while taking pictures on the street.

I’ve seen too many Final Destination movies so I’d somewhat consider myself a pro at being a paranoid freak when it comes to what could go horribly wrong.

Anyway all this talk is just me trying to fill in this post with a bunch of copy so it wouldn’t look so empty and void of context. People these days rely on AI for that and I find that iffy, unnatural, very fake. Imagine if I actually asked AI to fill this in with some text by coining some prompt about motorcycles and street photography on ChatGPT? I always wondered if one can pull that off, having AI write in your style… or not — without losing one’s own voice.

Again, just me manually filling in this post with copy. No AI used. Just plain, boring me.

The post Tsambatography 101: Avoid getting hit by bikes. appeared first on Archon Digital.

I took this photo when me and my friends were asked by these street kids to have their pictures taken. Normally I’d shy away if kids were asking as I would not want to draw too much attention to myself, but these kids were persuasive enough and this particular time it didn’t make me look like a giant creep since I have friends with me, so what the hell, let’s take some pictures.

When people come up to me to ask for a picture, I would often gladly oblige. Some of the people who would ask for photos taken are couples, the typical tambay, nosy street kids, etc… But a lot of times when my gut tells me “NO”, I would follow my gut and shy away or come up with some excuse.

If I could just be a fly-in-the-wall, in this case, a 300-pound fly-in-the-wall, I swear I could take photos all-day.

The post Carriedo Street and me walking around this 2024 appeared first on Archon Digital.

So I tried streaming my gameplay on Twitch on a new city. Seems everything went well, no crashes. I haven’t used OBS in a while for these things and had to figure out my audio filters again for compression, ducking, etc…

Anyway, to the other boring nerds out there like me, this is my city of Santa Mesa. I’ve been trying out terraforming and playing with dams and water just to get a feel of the new game as I really don’t want to get into serious builds until mods come out. I really wish Move-it and some road tools would be the first mods that they will add when modding is released.

The post hooked on playing Cities: Skylines 2 appeared first on Archon Digital.

The post Status update | 9 November 2023 appeared first on Archon Digital.

Let’s see how long I can last before going for a double quarter pounder…

#medyohealthy

The post Status update | 8 November 2023 appeared first on Archon Digital.

It’s amazing to see how Armored Core VI, Starfield and Cities Skylines II are catching up given they’ve only recently launched.

I’ve also started recording my gameplay footage for Cities Skylines II. Let’s if this gets anywhere this time around.

The post Long halloween weekend, You are what you play appeared first on Archon Digital.