Philippine Vacation

It has been a while since I last posted a blog.  A lot of things have happened since my last blog.  I took a break and went back to the Philippines during the Moslem holidays.  My 10 day vacation to the Philippines was a memorable one for me.  It is an annual thing that I do but this year it was quite special for two reasons.  First, I spent my birthday with my family after 3 years of spending it alone.  It is the first time that my vacation coincided with my birthday.  Second, this is the only vacation I took which didn't include any work or socializing with relatives and friends.  I spent the whole 10 days only with my family.  I just hung around with them wherever they went.


First weekend when all of my kids were free from school, we went to Tagaytay.  We spent one night there.  That's a picture of them on the left.  You can see Taal Volcano in the background. And those are my kids and wife.  From the left is Kathleen, Diane, Alex, Kathreen and Ritz.

It was hot in Tagaytay.  I suppose that was better than rain.  At least we got to see Picnic Grove with a nice view of the volcano.  I had a chance to take portrait shots of all of them using a borrowed DSLR camera.  There were several nice spots to take portrait shots.  I also had bulalo several times because Tagaytay reputedly served one of the best bulalos.  I was just worried my cholesterol would go up and give me a headache.  Fortunately, I didn't get a headache so I enjoyed the trip.

After the weekend, I just spent my time taking my kids to school or wherever they had to go and then picking them up again in the evenings.  Come to think of it, I did spend most of my time with them in the car.  Well at least I got the chance to optimize utilization of the car while I was there.

So during the weekdays I stayed in Manila.  Then the following weekend we went to Baguio.  It's been ages since I last went there.  Nothing much has changed though.  We went to Burnham Park and the Mines View Park.  Also went to church on Sunday morning, not without a lot of egging from Kathreen.  I believe she's the saving grace of the family.

So it was a fulfilling vacation for me.

Photo Session at Museum Mandiri

Last weekend I joined at photo hunting session at Museum Mandiri.  My first to join a photo hunting session.  The session was quite cheap at Rp.170.000 with four models.  The organizer opened two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Considering how late I get up on the weekends, I took the afternoon session.  Besides, the morning session was crowded with a photo model ratio of 1:10.  The afternoon session photo model ratio was only 1:3.  The models were young college girls.  Most of the photographers were also in their age group.  I came with Philip, my officemate's son.  He arrived late though.  There I bumped into one guy who also joined the photo workshop I joined a month before.  The others were unfamiliar faces.

I shot Sovia first.  She was very friendly and had a cute dimple when she smiles.  We started around 1:30 pm right after lunch.  We were on the second floor of the museum and fortunately there were few people around.  My problem was that I still have not bought a decent external flash so I had to do with my internal flash and major ISO adjustments on my camera.  One of the better shots is on the left.

After Sovia, I shot the three other models.  There was Anita, Shannon and Meytha.  This is Anita on the right.  The problem was that the models were quite tired already at around 2:30 pm.  It showed on the shots.  Also, it was quite hot inside the museum and the models were sweating and ruining their make up.  I myself was starting to sweat heavily.  I just realized that I need an 18-105 mm lens for situations like this.  It was just tiring having to switch lenses everytime I wanted a close up shot.

We wrapped up around 4:00 pm because the museum was closing.

It was quite a learning experience for me.  I need to be able to coach the model and be more communicative with them.  I also need a flash badly!

A free workshop by Olympus

Olympus sponsored a free photography workshop in Kelapa Gading Mall 3 two weeks ago.  It was a 3 day event which featured notable Indonesian photographers as well as a guest Japanese photographer.  The workshop included a photography contest with the winner going home with a brand new pocket camera.  Who could resist?

I came Friday.  I was a bit late and when I got there, there was this Indonesian photographer explaining the latest features of the new Olympus camera.  Well, what can you expect?  It is a sponsored event after all.  Good thing was that he also gave photography tips while showing his portfolio.  There was no photo contest on Friday so nothing exciting happened.

Saturday was different.  Again there was another speaker, another famous Indonesian photographer whose name slips my mind right now.  Like the other day, the speaker gave photography tips while showcasing his portfolio.  There was also a question and answer session after the workshop.  Then after the question and answer session came the photography contest.  There were no models to shoot at though.  Instead, there were a  dancing trio.  Well it was something different for a change to shoot dancers.  Of course, it was quite difficult because of their constant movement.  But it was a welcome change.  It was difficult to jockey for a good shooting position due to the number of amateur photographers who came.  Nevertheless, I had a good time shooting away.

Sunday night, the Japanese photographer showcased his portfolio but didn't really give any shooting tips.  The fun part was that he had a Japanese model with him who we shot.  First part of the model shoot was in a Kimono outfit.  Very traditional Japanese.  The model moved very slowly and posed in very subtle cute poses.  Images of a geisha were running in my head while shooting her.  After the kimono outfit, she changed into a very skimpy mini skirt.  That put the crowd into life.  The model was quite professional in her poses.

After the Japanese model, there were dancers again to shoot.  This time, the dancers were a different pair than Saturday.  I got a bit bored with the dancers so I didn't shoot as much as the other night.  Besides, there were too many people jockeying for postion that it was almost impossible to get a decent shot.

I enjoyed the weekend just for being able to shoot for free.

My First Photography Workshop

Last month somebody sent me a message inviting me to join a photography workshop.  Naturally, I looked at what they had to offer.  Much to my surprise, the workshop was in Bekasi.  So close to where I live and work.  That got me interested.  Then I saw how much it cost and it was only Rp.250.000.-.  Well after reading that I just signed up.  It didn't matter much what the workshop was about, what mattered was that it was close by and cheap!  Plus it started at 10 am on a Sunday...I didn't even have to get up early!!!  Lunch included too.

As it turned out, the workshop was all about lighting.  High key and low key lighting and an introduction to all the studio lighting equipment.  It was fun all in all.  There were about 20 of us and we spent the morning listening to the tutorial and then had lunch.

The photo session started after lunch.  There were two models, Tara and Dhani.  Both were young.  Tara was the looker but her braces sort of ruined her looks.  Dhani was cute too but too skinny for my taste...plus it turned out her eyes were not symmetrical.  Well I had a great time nevertheless.  The photo session started with shooting Tara in available light.  I did poorly here because all my shots were blurred like hell.  My hands just were not steady enough.  Then came the high key takes with Dhani.  The photo here is the only good shot I took of her.  Finally we did a low key take of Tara.  Below is my best take of her.

After the shoot we had a group picture of all attendees and the certificate of attendance was distributed.

I went home satisfied and uploaded my shots to the workshop website for the photo contest of the best shot in the workshop.  I came in 9th but what the hell...I just enjoyed myself.

Ragunan Zoo

Another weekend with no ideas what to do or where to go.  Well I decided to go someplace within the city where I haven't been to for ages...the zoo!

I did have this idea to shoot the Komodo dragon and the Orangutan there.  These animals being specially of Indonesian origins, I thought I should have a keepsake of them.  Well, there were the usual fishes, deers, giraffes and elephants in the zoo.  Nothing special about them.

Fortunately for me, when I got around to the Komodo dragon den, the dragon was in a good position facing me.  The light was perfect and the background was also good.  So I just started shooting away.  This pic here is the best shot I got of the Komodo dragon.  The pose, lighting and background were all perfect.

After the Komodo dragon, I went around to the Orangutan area.  Unfortunately for me, it started to rain and I had to stop shooting.  Anyway, the Orangutan area wasn't that good to shoot also because the background was a high paved wall.  It didn't look natural at all to shoot.  So I just waited for the rain to stop and then went home.

Orchids in Bloom

Last Saturday, 1 May 2010, was Labor Day.  As usual, there were the usual rallies and demonstrations held by various labor unions in the city.  The usual places were the Presidential Palace and the National Monument.

Trying to avoid the demonstration areas, I went to the Orchid Park.  It was an old park established by the late Mrs. Tien Suharto, wife of the late Pres. Suharto.  I have been wanting to shoot colorful flowers for the past month but always got too lazy to do it.  Well, I finally did.  And I was so pleased by what I shot there.

As it turned out, the park was no longer a park at all.  It had turned into an Orchid Market.  I think the government had run out of funds to maintain the place so they leased the space to orchid vendors.  Fortunately, the vendors were all very kind enough to allow me to take photographs of their orchids.

It was a very colorful experience.  As I found out, orchids had pretty much the same shape.  But they had so many variant colors.  As you can see from the two photos here, they can be dramatically different in color combinations.

I must have spent a good two hours shooting around the place.  There were just so many flowers to shoot.  I just feel bad that I can't post all of them here.  At any rate, I guess you can see what I mean.

Now I'm thinking it would be nice to go to this flower park in Puncak area and shoot a model there.  But then again that's still wishful thinking.  I never imagined myself as the flower type of guy.  Well at least I can now photograph them if I can't grow them.

Fishpond Sunset

I am all out of ideas right now.  I don't know where to go for a photo shoot again.  Last Sunday my friend asked me to go fishing.  I really don't enjoy fishing that much because I have to sit around and wait the whole time for the fish to take the bait.  But then, I thought there might be something interesting in the fishpond I could photograph.  So I came along and brought my camera and tripod with me.

Well I got there around 1:30 pm.  I brought along 2 kebabs, 2 cokes and 2 empanadas for lunch. My friend arrived much earlier.  As it turned out, bringing food along was a good idea as we both have not had our lunch yet.  So we ate the kebabs in a jiffy.

The sun was hot that day and I was afraid the heat might affect my camera.  But I set up my tripod along side my friend who still had not caught anything until 3 pm.  I just shot away at everything I could think of in the area.  There wasn't much to shoot at but when the sunset finally came I had an object to shoot.  There were few clouds in the air so the sunset didn't look as dramatic as I wanted it to be.  Well you can see my shot in the picture here.

Well it got pretty dark after 6 pm so we finally called it quits.  Oh where to go again next week.....

Hot Air Balloons

A first in Indonesia.  A hot air balloon show in Sentul City...less than an hour away from Jakarta.  I got there late.  The balloons were already in the air and it was already soaring hot.  The ride was expensive at Rp.5 million or approximately $500.  There was a $10 ride which will take you up 20 meters only.  Since I got there quite late, I didn't get a chance to ride.


It really didn't matter because all I really wanted was to see the balloons.  I haven't seen one yet.  So I just took these pictures and had something to eat before I went back to Jakarta.  I wasn't able to get a good shot as the balloons already left when I arrived.  The only shot I was able to get was when they returned from their trip.  They were prepping them up for the afternoon flights I think.  But I wasn't in the mood to wait until the afternoon as the sun was really hot.  Well at least I can now say that I have seen a hot air balloon.

Back to sleep.....zzzzzzzzzzz

Ancol Sunset

What a hectic week!

I had planned on going home to the Philippines in the last week of March up to early April for the Holy Week.  I also wanted to celebrate the graduation of three of my four kids as well.  My wife was insisting I go there end April because that would be when the actual graduation ceremonies would be.  Due to work conflicts, I insisted going end March.

Well, excited as I was to see my family after so long, I started shopping for presents.  I spent the weekend going around town and out of town to do my shopping.  I asked my girls what they wanted and they asked for some Korean dresses.  I had no idea whatever what Korean dresses are supposed to look like.  So I went in a shop and took a picture of what I thought would be a Korean dress and sent the picture to my girls.  Well, they liked the dress but didn't tell me whether it was a Korean dress.  Anyway, I just bought it.

I was starting to stress myself out thinking about what to get for presents and at the same time, if we were going to have a good time.  So I decided to drop by Ancol to do some shooting to relieve myself of the stress.  Well I got lucky because I took some very nice shots there.  I had to wait for the sunset but it was all worth the wait for what I got.  Well sunsets are always great no matter where you are.  I was so eager to upload the shots I took.  Before I uploaded them, I got curious if anybody else had taken the same shots.  So I checked.  I was right.  Someone else had taken the same shots I did, from the same angle and also during sunset.  I uploaded my shots anyway.

Then, Monday came and I just learned that I couldn't leave end March also due to work.  I was so pissed off with myself for not knowing it.  So I just had to cancel.  It was a good thing we haven't paid for our hotel bookings in the Philippines.  We had planned on going out of town the whole time I was supposed to be there.  That really got me down the whole week.  But what can you do.  So I am stuck here again for the Holy Week and I will be missing my girls' graduations.  What a life.

My first photo shoot with a model

What a week that was last week.  I just stressed myself out over work the whole week until the weekend.  I wasn't sleeping well, I wasn't eating well....hell I wasn't even shitting well!  I could not concentrate on anything the whole damn week.  I was like floating aimlessly through the days.  The worst day was Saturday night when I literally couldn't shit myself and I didn't sleep until 4 a.m. Sunday.  And then, to top it all off, I had to get up at 6 a.m. Sunday because I had a photo shoot to go to.  It was my first time to shoot a model.

Even at the photo shoot, I still was not focused.  Our model, Putri, turned out to be a tall, tan and slim woman.  I had this notion that she would be a small petite young girl.  But it was a pleasant surprise and she was really very nice.  She was accompanied by her friend, Astrid.  We shot at Sunda Kelapa Port.  Although I wasn't really keen on shooting there, my friend Freddin was insistent on shooting there out of curiousity.  So we all got there at 7 a.m. and started shooting immediately.

I was really nervous at first and I didn't know what to tell Putri to do.  My hands were practically shaking while holding the camera and I was fumbling with the controls.  I wasn't even checking my exposures and focusing.  Lucky for us, Putri had experience modelling in front of the camera and she just posed away.  After a few shots, I got comfortable but I still wasn't focused well due to my stress.  Amateurs that we were at shooting models, Astrid gave us a hand by telling us how to angle and frame our shots.  For the first time in my life I understood why shooting and photo modelling was a job and why people get paid to do it.  It was hard work.  It was hot and Putri was perspiring after just 15 minutes of shooting.  She had to retouch her make-up so her face wouldn't give that shiny look.  She had to hold her poses until we finished out shots...and amateurs that we were, we were not telling her that we were done shooting until we put down our cameras.  After shooting a couple of hundred shots at Sunda Kelapa Port, we all agreed it was getting too hot there for all of us.  So around 8:30 am we moved to the Old City which was close by.

First thing we did upon reaching the Old City was find a shaded spot to shoot in.  There were quite a number of amateur photographers in the area as usual and we were the only ones with a model to shoot.  Putri changed into a green outfit to have a different look.  Fortunately there were lots of spots with nice cool shades we could shoot.  After retouching her make up for the nth time, Putri posed away.  What I like about her is that she enjoys posing for the camera.  Her smile shows it although she looks better when she's not showing her big grin.  After a couple hundred of shots at the Old City, we all agreed to get something to eat.  It was just almost 10:00am.

Brunch would be Chinese food. Everyone was famished and we had quite a heavy meal for brunch.  All in all it was a good learning experience for me.  I need a good flash to compensate for the shadows in the face....if my budget will allow it.

Hopefully, next time I shoot a model I will do better.

The Old City

Restless again.  Where can I go to shoot some photographs with my new DSLR camera?  Then someone asked me if I'd seen the Old City in Jakarta.  There you go!

So off I went to look for the Old City last weekend.  Fortunately it was a long weekend as Friday was a public holiday here.  Well I went around looking for the place and to my pleasant surprise, I used to pass by the place regularly when we were still using Bank Niaga as our banker.  It was near the old Railroad Station at the end of the Glodok area.  There were several museums in the area, most notable of which is the Fatahilah Museum.  There were also a Ceramic Museum and a Puppet Museum.  In front of the Fatahilah Museum is a park where people can hang around or ride a rented bike with.  The building in the photo is not the Fatahilah Museum.  It is just one of the old buildings in the area.  But as you can see, there are bikes for rent in front of the building.

They called it the Old City (Kota Tua) precisely because it was the origin of Jakarta as a city or Batavia as Jakarta was then called.  Some of the buildings were built during the Dutch regime while others were modern ones which were simply dilapidated.

What surprised me was how crowded the area was on a holiday.  I asked some of the hawkers there and they confirmed that it is usually the case on weekends.  My problem is that the crowd and the hawkers ruined the view of the old buildings I wanted to take pictures of.  So I had no choice but to shoot the buildings with all the crowd in front of them.  I was glad to know that the place was a favorite for photographers both professionals and amateurs.  There were a number of professional looking photographers walking all over the place, shooting here and there, some with models others just shooting anything in sight.

Then, there were these old buildings such as the one I shot, which were rented out per hour.  You can rent a room in the building to shoot a model for Rp. 75,000.  Quite pricey.  There was even a vintage car to rent also for photo shoot purposes.  Evidently, the place became popular among photographers about two years ago.  So they rehabilitated parts of the area and it became a tourist attraction.

I had a good time looking around the place.  I just wish the place was deserted so I could take better pictures.

Prasasti Cemetery

Still very eager to find a good place to shoot with my new camera, I joined this Indonesian photography group in Yahoo groups hoping to have a fresh idea for a photo shoot.  The guys at the group were planning a photo shoot at one of the historic cemeteries in Jakarta, the Prasasti Cemetery.  I was hesitant to join the photo shoot for fear of being too amateurish but the location for the shoot caught my curiosity because of its proximity.  It was less than an hour from my place.

So without much thought, I decided to visit Prasasti Cemetery last 30 January 2010 and see what's so interesting about the place.  Well, to my surprise, the place was indeed quite historic.  There were tombstones dating way back in the 1800s.  What was curious was that there were not only Dutch buried in the place but also Englishmen and Americans.  It was simply amazing to see such a variety of people in Indonesia at the time.

The only disappointment was that the place was not maintained well enough.  Dry leaves were evidently swept regularly as there was no visible pile up but the tombstones and statuettes were not cleaned nor maintained.  It is such a waste of heritage to see the condition of the place.  At any rate, it seems that the place is a favorite of Indonesian photographers for photo shoots including pre-wedding shoots.  Well that actually puzzles me.  Why would someone want to have a pre-wedding photo shoot in a cemetery?

Now I am racking my brains again for another place to shoot within Jakarta.  I hope something comes up again.

Bekasi Nights

Still very much excited to take pictures, I decided to take a snap shot of part of the commercial area in Bekasi.  That is Bekasi Square in the picture.  It is the latest mall in town.  The building under construction is one the first apartments to rise in Bekasi.  The traffic at the bottom of the picture is the Bekasi Barat Toll Gate.

A town of surprises indeed.  With a population of more than 3 million, Bekasi is fast developing into a commercial hub.  It is a suburb of Jakarta and mainly an industrial area at the moment.  But with such a huge population and still growing, it wont be long now before it turns itself into a commercial hub.

Having stayed in the area for more than 20 years now, I am fortunate to see its growth from being a far flung area into a city.

Port of Sunda Kelapa

Out of curiosity and with nothing much to do, my friend and I wandered on a sight seeing tour to the Port of Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta.  The place is a historic place where the Dutch colonizers first docked in Indonesia.  The area is well maintained and in fact is being improved.  As you can see from the photo I took, all the ships are lined up and docked as was the practice during the old days.

Our intention was really to take pictures of the place owing to the fact that we just got ourselves our first DSLR cameras.  Amateur photographers.  There were already several people with cameras taking shots of the place when we got there.  As it turned out, the place is a favorite place for photography enthusiasts.  At first, we were quite shy about taking pictures because the others taking pictures seemed so professional with expensive equipment.  We eventually relaxed and enjoyed shooting after the first few shots.  I wanted to be there during the sunrise or sunset but we got there just a bit after noon.  The noontime sun was quite scorching but provided good lighting opportunities for photography.  And then, we got too hungry to wait for the sunset.  So we left before sunset.

Krakatau - West of Java

The year end holidays in December 2009 fell quite nicely on Fridays for three consecutive weeks.  Indeed an opportune time to get away from the daily routine of the year.  This year I hit a milestone in my stay here in Indonesia.  I crossed over to Sumatra by ferry in a car.  How about that.  To my pleasant surprise, Sumatra turned out to be very beautiful...well at least the part where I got to.  I got as far as Bandar Lampung.  I saw Pasir Puith on the way there too.  Plus, the road was also surprisingly well maintained and devoid of heavy traffic.

The white sandy beaches in Pasir Putih was nice but poorly maintained.  Well in fairness, it might have been because I went there right after the New Year celebrations.  It might explain the dirty condition it was in.  The beaches fronting Krakatau were cleaner but maybe only because they had fewer visitors there during the New Year.

The ferry ride was bearable.  I was lucky on the first crossing, getting myself a clean and spacious ferry.  I took a noon ferry which afforded me a nice view of the islands and sunny skies.  The ferry back home late in the afternoon wasn't as good.  I got on a cramped and poorly maintained ferry and waves were higher than the morning trip.

All in all I enjoyed the cross over.