Veronica's Wedding Details

Veronica's wedding is actually one of the few weddings that I really found special and beautiful. It was held in a nature resort in Valencia near Dumaguete, Philippines.

Hello, D90

Last week, aside from throwing a surprise bridal party for a friend, I also had my first camera, a Nikon D60 fixed at Nikon Service Center in Cebu. It's located at BTC - Banilad Town Center. I heard there are only two Nikon Service Centers in the countr, one in Megamall in Manila and the second one in Cebu.

As expected, my camera's gear motor has to be replaced. It requires about 3-5 weeks before i could get it back. Though it only takes a week to repair, the parts to replace the old one have to be ordered abroad and will arrive in 3-4 weeks.

One thing worth noting is if your camera was purchased under Columbia Tristar. According to the tech guy, if you purchased your camera from them, you get a huge discount for repairs and other services (maybe around 40%-50%). I got mine from Henry's at Hidalgo about two and a half years ago. Not sure if they are under Columbia dealers, so i have a feeling i'm not getting the discount.

By the way, I found out that my camera reached a little over 44,000 shutter fires before it stopped working. That's for usage since September 2009.

I also have long decided to upgrade my gear since I'm starting to accept wedding photography this year. I'm starting with just small intimate weddings, nothing grand. I need more people and equipment to do that and that's too much pressure for me right now. Getting a new camera would allow me to have a backup camera in shooting events.

So here it is, a Nikon D90. I have researched beforehand about what this camera can do and I also know it's no longer a new model. They have actually phased-out this one but there are some still sold so I got it as I feel that it's functions and features would be practical to me. It was a choice between the D90 and the new D5100. I was hesitant about the latter because it doesn't have an AF motor in the body, so I still can't use AF lenses.

Along with the D90, i picked up an AF 50mm, very cheap lens but very happy it autofocuses on the D90.

I am also starting to explore doing videos (glad D90 also has HD video). Now working on a surprise video presentation for Roselle and Nabi's wedding on the last day of March. I hope they like it.

I hope this is the start of a wonderful and lasting photographic journey for you and me. I hope you make more beautiful memories, better-composed images and last longer than my D60 (which i already miss).

First sale on Etsy

Yay! My first sale on Etsy! It may not be such a big deal to most but to me this is something. Now i'm inspired to make more handmade stuff.

I promised myself I would make extra effort on wrapping any purchased items on Etsy, so here's my first one. It's just plain brown pattern paper tied with black rope twine, with a thank you note handwritten by me. This one will be shipped to UK. Right now, my concern is shipping, so i wish it arrives in one piece, undamaged.

Clouds

Last weekend, i visited Cebu to throw and attend a bridal party for a good friend of mine, Roselle. From Dumaguete, anyone can travel to Cebu via bus, boat or fast craft or airline. By bus, it would take around 5-6 hours to arrive in the city, overnight (8-10 hrs) if you'll take the boat. Riding a plane will take only 35 minutes (about the same amount of time that took me to travel from Roselle's apartment to the airport).

Flying has always been exciting for me. My favorite part is that moment when the plane takes off from the ground. I think that's one of the best feelings in the world. Taking off. Landing isn't as exciting.

Anyway, another thing i look forward to is seeing the beautiful clouds. I only get to see them when i'm traveling domestic flights. International flights i'd taken in the past have always been sale prices so those usually fly in the middle of the night, so no view to look forward to.

So, in my last trip, i allowed myself to admire and be fascinated by those white puffy clouds. I love every moment of it, and I especially love morning flights. The sunlight is so beautiful i could imagine heaven could be as beautiful like it. When i look out the window with a view like that, it always feels like i'm riding a plane for the first time.

Some snapshots below. I also tried double exposing a few frames.

Vivitar PN2011
Solid Gold 200

6 am

I recently started biking for an hour around town. I’m actually not a morning person but I thought it’s about time to get a little exercise every now and then. Here are some snapshots I took with my mobile phone’s camera, added some enhancement effects in Pixlr-o-matic to pump up the contrast and colors a bit.

playing with photo effects

I came across an desktop app called Lo-Fi which adds effects to your photos, very similar to Instagram but it's not a phone app. It's sold for approx 15 bucks but you can try it out. 

I have an android phone and i also recently discovered a cool photo effects app called Pixlr-o-matic. It's pretty cool, effects are good. In my opinion, i'd say it could be a contender to Vignette App. What's even cooler is that i can also use Pixlr-o-matic online!

Here are my sample photos. Here i used a mix of camera phone images and previously shot photos using my D60.

Pixlr-o-matic

Lo-Fi App