Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Taking macro photos in a garden in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija

My parents live in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, in a quaint bungalow surrounded by rice paddy fields.

To reach the house, one needs to take a 2-kilometer dirt road. The house is also 
about 7 kilometers away from the town center and it is understandable that some may consider it "remote."

I love going home to Sta. Rosa not just to spend time with my parents but also to take pictures, particularly macro (or close up) photos using an entry level camera and a few extension tubes.

One of my favorite spots to take macro photos is at a nearby garden where Mama Evie's orchids and other flowering plants are found.


Macro photography is not easy. It is not the lack of subjects, but more the challenge of controlling my shaky hands. I learned the hard way that in macro photography, the smallest of movements can distort and reduce the sharpness of the photos.

So far, this method of photography has been the most rewarding for me. With my modest gear, I had to crouch, sneak up and concentrate a lot to focus on the subject or subjects. 

The crouching is particularly uncomfortable and not good for the knees, but the satisfaction comes after I am able to take a photo that I like after trying to get it several times. 

Monday, February 18, 2019

Into photography

Photography as a hobby

I recently took up photography as a hobby. I bought an entry level camera, a Canon 1300D, and also completed a short online course on photography.

I am not into reviewing camera gear, but so far, I find the Canon 1300D a great choice for beginners like me. My modest gear includes the entry level camera, a kit lens, a 50mm prime lens, some extension tubes, and a 18-200mm zoom lens.

My photos

For my photos, I also started another blog (more of a portfolio type of a website called "The Lighter Side Photography Blog"). Aside from storing my photos, I also write about my experiences as an amateur photographer. It is a modest blog site that I intend to share with family and friends.

I am envisioning this travel blog and the photography website as avenues whenever I need to be creative, and "being creative" for me is being able to generate my own content by uploading my photos and doing some writing.


Macrophotography

My first photographs are mostly nature-related, such as insects and water droplets. To be honest, I find macrophotography to be very fulfilling and the variety of subjects that I can focus on is amazingly vast. 

But aside from macrophotography, I do intend to post more travel photos in the future and perhaps go into portraiture or landscape photography. But for now, macrophotography satisfies my cravings whenever I need to relax and take a break from work. 

As a beginner, the Canon 1300D is proving to be very useful for me. I do plan to upgrade my gear but that can wait.


Here are some photos.



Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Reviving my travel diary

Reviving my blog

It is difficult to revive a blog after so many years of not updating it.

At first, I wanted this to be a simple journal and a way for me to write about places I have been to. The goal  back then was to have an avenue to write and gather my thoughts.

I started this blog during the time that I was leaving the Philippines to work and live abroad way back in 2009. I thought back then that writing was also a way to fend off boredom, and to make it easier for me to transition as an overseas worker.

Diary of a journalist

Also, a majority of what I wrote here came from my travels as a journalist. I never fancy myself as a travel writer and most of the previous posts were written from my perspective as a journalist.

A lot has changed since then. I am now based in Manila, and will probably won't go out of the country again to work. I still write (and edit) for a living, and from time to time, I still pitch news stories as a contributor. The bulk of my time is spent as a freelance worker, juggling a few writing and editing jobs.

A continuing journey

I guess the reason I want to revive this blog is to continue writing about my travels (and everything in between) beyond the perspective of a journalist. The dynamics have changed through the years. I now have three (almost) grown up children with my wife of 20-plus years.

I am fortunate that most of the travelling I have been doing now is with the family and close friends. I no longer see myself travelling alone or leaving the country to work abroad anytime soon.