The Dog in action

It's been a while since I practice my photography on the Dog.
So when the sun came up, along with some free time and a few inspiration,
We went outside, armed with the camera and a bit of doggy snack, and took a few snaps away.

I'd say all those reading photography articles really help.
But then again, given the serious camera upgrade, it would absolutely disgraceful if the photos do not improve as well, don't you think?
And the tips that I got include, for example: getting up close, going outside for better lighting, as well as using large aperture for the glorious out-of-focus (bokeh) background.
The doggy snack part was my own brilliance, haha..., added to some previous trial and error.
It works really well to get the Dog's undivided attention, I can assure you!

I have to admit, however, that my weakness in styling still comes up.
That red bit on the Dog's head? Oh dear! It looks as if the Dog was going through an incomplete transformation into Lucifer or something.
I can't quite believe I did not notice that until I got the pics in my computer!
So... yeah, note to self: styling, styling, styling!!!!
Watch out for unnecessary 'props' lying around everywhere.

You see how it works when there are no 'extra props' caught by the camera?

Anyway, these two below are actually taken on a different day.
The Dog loves to sun herself outside. It would seem like she does not really like cold, so that whenever the sun is shining, she would pick a spot and sun herself until she feels warm (or hot!) enough.

Penny is one gorgeous dog. I am glad I finally have a set of roughly decent shots of her.
The Mister and I looked in vain for such shots of her puppyhood. Penny was almost our 'first kid', you see. But back in the days, neither of us had the skill nor the equipment to create something like this.

Now as for the things learnt through the process:

• Photographing short subjects is better when done at the same level with the said subject rather than always from the top


• Get close. Like... really close


• Cleaning up the surrounding area before taking pictures helps to ensure there are no 'extra prop' in the frame


• A treat works wonders in getting the subject's undivided attention, especially when the said subject happens to be either a pet or a small kid (more on that some other time)


• Taking pics under the shade might mean some extra work for post-processing due to non-uniform lighting and shadows


• Lastly, doing your homework by researching more techniques in photography does work in improving the quality of your pics

For the budding photographers among you, I do find Digital Photography School an extremely useful resource in learning about photography. There are definitely many other resources out there, but DPS is currently my main one.

All the best!

Roadworks Ahead

Image via Wikipedia

You might notice some changes on the blog as I do some serious re-aligning, repositioning, branding, and whatever stuff I learn through my 3rd term in school. Haha!
You have been forewarned.
Let us all hope that it will be for the better.

Inspirational Eye Candy on the cheap: IKEA catalogue

I was hoping to be able to write something useful everyday during this 'celebration' period.
But over-thinking the possible array of useful topics kind of kill the momentum.
Until this one landed on my (figurative) doorstep:

When I finally graduated from living in students' accommodation to sharing a bonafide apartment with friends in Singapore a few years back, this catalogue came into the mail box very much to my delight.
I had heard of the store then, but had never been there.
This catalogue was actually sent out to every single mail addresses in Singapore free of charge.
In fact, if you don't receive yours, you can actually register your address at the shop to ensure that you'll get a copy the next time they do the distribution.
All discussion about costs, marketing effectiveness yada yada yada aside, I adored having my own (well... shared) free interior design magazine in the house.
Not to mention the fact that back in Singapore, should you find something you like, you can just take the most convenient form of transport to the nearest branch to grab them.

Now that I am no longer living within easy reach of one (4 hours by plane to the nearest branch, either in HongKong or Singapore does NOT qualify as easy, yes?), I guess I'm stuck with drooling all over the pages.
Not that I even get a hardcopy of the said catalogue.

So here's the thing. These catalogues are actually available online!
By simply going to the IKEA website, you can either ... well... you can view it online, you can download the pdf file, or you can even download a mobile version of it for your ipod or ipad (lucky you).

Just some simple tips: the link I gave would actually bring you to the main Ikea page, in which you can chose your location. The pricing listed on the catalog would actually be published according to local currency, so.. if you maths is like mine, you'll go with the most convenient location for you.
I went with the US one, since the US dollars is used quite a lot here in the Philippines, and especially in the various Freeport Zones.
Here's how the US site looks like:

 To get the PDF catalog, you need to scroll all the way down until you see this part shown below:

 You see the right bottom corner there? It says catalog & brochures. Gold mine!
At the viewing page, there will be an option to save the said catalog into your computer.
If you're a hoarder like me, I guess you'll do that.

Alternatively, strewn around the main US page is the advertisement for the mobile catalog, which you might want to download instead of the PDF version. Just don't ask me about that one.
Not only I don't know much about mobile internet (mostly stuck at home with my computer here), I might just not be able to contain my jealous side about you owning iPad/iPod/such mobile gadgets. Haha...

On a last note, if you are a fan, do grab a copy of the catalog while they are available. The catalogs are only downloadable in full from the Ikea website until the launch of the following year's catalog. I still have my old copies from 2008 and 2009 as hardcopy, but I do wish I had the softcopy since the Little One had made a fast work of one of the covers. Arr!

That's it for my today useful content. I hope you find it useful.
Now go and enjoy your new 'free' interior design magazine cum catalog!

1 year blogging

One year on, despite the dearth of content here, I would say that I've gained LOTS!
In term of just sheer knowledge of the blogosphere in general, in terms of some blog-related know how, in terms of photography.
Of course, for the latter, it helps that I have since moved on to a much better gear, haha!
Still, I am reading so much more nowadays, and not only limited to stories in story books, but also a lot on photography techniques, home improvements, business startup, the occasional economic stories, even some graphic design and typography stuff!

Unfortunately, just like this blog, I still have not found a definite direction with all my wandering.
And so I have decided, that in celebration of the "blogversary", I would devote the rest of the month with discussions on technical bloggy stuff: content creation, content management, design, some extra link recommendation and discussions.
The point is that it has been a great 1 year of learning experience (one that is still continuing, I'd say. I am forever learning!).
Somewhere around my reasoning there is also this tiny little hope that through this 'celebration', I would be able to finally find a direction, both for my personal life and the blog.

So cheers for the celebration! There is going to be a lot of self-discipline involved if I were to really do what I have in my vision, on top of regular day-to-day living.
I think I am going to need a lot of luck (especially with that self-discipline thingy), and loads of coffee.
We will start tomorrow, hope to see you then!

Why I am not a "foodie"

One of my pastime activities include browsing through 'foodie blogs', both in the interest of finding inspiration for my own cooking as well as for the sheer enjoyment.
Great photography, fantastic sense of humor... oh there are so many gems out there.
And of course, some of them are bound to make you feel ooh so hungry.
And sometimes... even put the crazy idea in your mind to come up with your own 'foodie blog'
Until you realize, that is, that there is no way you're going to make it work.

Why? Well... I guess I am simply not passionate enough about food to ever come up with enough motivation to write on regular basis.
And then there is the photography... taking pics of step by step process? Uhmm... let me think about it.
Or even of the final result!
I have to admit that most of my food photographs are .... pretty lame, more on disastrous rather than good, with just the occasional 'decent' ones. I don't really think that they are good enough. Still, it's quite fun just to take the occasional food photo and try to improve on my technique in general.

Here's just some of the better photos, those that I am not ashamed to share with you.
I should try and take more.
How about yourself? Are you a 'foodie'?

Week 7: Sunflare!

Oh, so serious....

Ahahaha... whooops.
Well... that's me, trying to balance the camera on extended arm, figuring out an angle that would likely catch some flare while also holding the dog leash.
I am currently somewhat obsessed with 'lens flare'.
Still have not quite gotten a good method to get a good one.
As for a good photo with a good flare? Hahaha... just look at my expression, ya?

Well.. here's to trying new things, I suppose.

How about you? Trying anything new, recently?

Week 6: Just for fun

Kecil was sleeping this afternoon when it was time for the Dog's walkies.
Since it's Solly's day to work, I can go for walkies with the Dog, leaving Kecil sleeping at home with Solly. Ah, happiness!
Been wanting to use that reflective surface near the playground.

Self-portraits are hard! I keep coming back to the easy ones: shadows, my favorite. Hmmpph!