Around Asia with My Zenfone 3

I deviated myself from my humdrum by fleeing to four countries sometime October and November alone. This act was a personal award and at the same time a goal for my growth.

It is needless to say that in any trip, one packs up a camera to capture sights once seen naked and worth remembering. I relied most of the job to Olympus, my Asus Zenfone 3. It was a tough job and I must say it did really well. The shots were retrieved from my personal FB page and unfortunately the platform killed the quality nonetheless, the phone served more of its purpose. Please check my IG to truly appreciate the shots in better quality.

Phonetography

Wow! It's been three years since I last updated this page. I have school and work to blame but there's nothing to feel sad about it as over that course of time, I was able to save a stash of cash to satisfy my gadget desires.

I love Asus Zenfone. That statement is backed by a ton of reasons but mainly because it's run by Android and with that comes thousands of opportunities to make my life efficient including the field of photography.

It took me a while to own a smartphone. Even after a year since I graduated college, I never possessed one- the reason being I wanted to buy one for myself and not rely on my parents.

My Zenfone 3 is named Olympus. For new readers, you may find this weird but I actually name my gadgets after people and places that I admire. In this case, the home of the gods. Sleek huh? This is a pun by the way! Since Asus is named after the winged stallion in Greek Mythology. That's a trivia for you! You're welcome.

To this day, my phone is one year and two months with me. I can absolutely recount the day I purchased it.

Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk: People

Meet the faces of Opon, Lapu-Lapu City and have a glimpse of their daily grind through my lens.

I composed captions for each shot which I hope will give you a deeper perspective of my view of what they do and why they do it.

Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk: Places

This year's Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk marked my first photowalk experience. I really didn't expect that my first photowalk would be for a cause, participating in a contest, and pacing with professional photo shooters side by side, much less label it worldwide. But hey, it happened! Haha

Organized by one of Cebu's finest photographers whose work made it to the top ten best photographs of last year's Scott Kelby photowalk, Paul Gotiong set this year's event to a whole new level. It was a free registration event with fifty photographers aspiring to make it to the top.

Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk: Experience

A message popped out on my notification a few weeks ago inviting me to be part of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. It was from a good friend, Paul Gotiong, who is one of Cebu’s finest photographers.

I was overwhelmed by the fact that he made me his guest of honor and that the event was going to happen well, try to guess. It was going to happen the following day and not just the following day but at 7AM. So much for short notice Hahaha but it was fine, I’m a morning person anyway and I like spontaneous trips such as this.

Coffee Beans

I emptied a pack of fresh coffee beans yesterday and decided to make a mini-pictorial of it. I have no studio or a clean white table to use as background so I taped sheets of bond papers together and plated it on my study table.

Here's what I've came up with the beans.

Tribu Mangyan Sandals

Every photographer has to be comfortable of whatever he/she wears especially when shooting. That is why we shouldn't be surprised and we shouldn't judge photographers by the way they dress.

I for one am very liberated. I don't care what people think about what I wear because it is my safety and my comfort that I put to priority list top two.

Learning Make-up Application

It's hard to associate make-up with me. This is because I am the type of person who grew up loving sports and crafts. I'd rather splurge thousands of Pesos for my third pair of rubber shoes this year than buying face products.

Before you think about it, no, I don't hate make-up. But I don't get much of its essence. Maybe I understand why it's around but just couldn't accept the logic behind dabbing liquids on your face, covering your eyes with hues, putting pinkish glows on your cheeks and many other stuff.

Lunch at Ibiza Beach Club

Movenpick Cebu's Ibiza Beach Club invited me over together with media personalities and blogger friends to cover the launch of their Asian Fusion brunch menu. 

If you're fasting or on a diet, I suggest you continue reading this post some other day.

This Fork is Not for Eating

My youngest sister, a lover of classical music and player of piano left her notes nicely on her bed one morning. Her ultimate treasure, the tuning fork was set on some sheets. It was so appealing to my eyes for which I decided to use it as prime subject for this post.

Can you guess what sheet she's playing this week? It's pretty easy to tell if you're musically-inclined and focused on Classical music. If you're not. I bet you can't guess it. Haha

AI Servo to the Rescue!

On an eighty kilometer per hour running vehicle, it's hard to capture a subject without a single blur. Thankfully, there's AI Servo!

AI Servo is an auto-focus mode specifically made to address moving subjects. When you press the shutter button halfway, the subject will be focused continuously.

New Bag for Basty

My daily trips from one up to three cities have become more stressful. The reason for this is the Photoshop bag. I have come to realize that it's too big and heavy. And so I decided to buy one that's smaller, more sturdy and most importantly, light-weight.

After circling the stores of Ayala Center Cebu and SM City Cebu for one whole afternoon, I finally found the bag of my desire. 

Lake Balinsasayao

All of the activities that my friends and I did throughout the getaway were memorable but the Kayaking part was the most fun!

Alex and I partnered up to Kayak for an hour at the very beautiful Lake Balinsasayao. We rowed from one corner to the other in the hunt for monkeys, traitors, weapons and hideouts. No, wait, I'm sorry, I was thinking of the Hunger Games.

Manjuyud White Sand Bar

One of my best buddies, Alex hosted a summer getaway for our friend, Jean and I at Negros Oriental last week.

The highlight of the trip was swimming at Manjuyud White Sand Bar, a must when in Bais City.

Junior

The youngest and most adorable Labrador at Maravilla Beach Resort is Junior. For this reason I decided to flood my SD card with his images.

Here's why Junior is sooo adorable:

Mambacayao Island

I've been asking myself so many times throughout the trip as to why most of the shores in Tabuelan look so lonely. The place was undoubtedly beautiful, clean and safe.  

The turquoise water of the Visayan Sea is a glorious sight to behold. I enjoyed myself to this view for two hours upon heading to Mambacayao Island.

Maravilla Beach Club

A call from a magazine editor took me by surprise one Wednesday night. I was told to pack up by clothes and go to Bantayan (the tip of Cebu) the following day. She wanted me to write the cover story of their May issue. 

The next thing I knew was meeting my photographer friend Ian Javier and make-up artist and stylist Romero Vergara at the magazine's office. We were fetched by a car that took us a couple of hours tracking to a place called Tabuelan.

Why I Bought a DSLR

Prior to purchasing Sebastian, I consulted friends both thrift and extravagant, and amateur and professional photographers as to what type of camera fits me. Many of them answered a camera that is of a size of a point and shoot but with the power of a digital single reflex (DSLR).

Obviously, I didn't take their word. I bought a DSLR. But! I did considered their points.

Lesson Two: Focus

What fascinates me most about DSLR cameras is its ability to focus: sharpen and blur  subjects and backgrounds. And so today, I fed my hanker to learn the nitty-gritty of it.

With the many selections offered by a DSLR, one can easily manipulate which part of the scene to sharpen and blur.

Luigi D'Avola and Champ Pio at Ayala Center Cebu

Yesterday's visit to Cebu's  premier shopping, dining and entertainment destination Ayala Center Cebu was made extra-special for Champ Pio and Luigi D'Avola fans as the singers serenaded mall goers live at The Activity Center.

An avid fan of Hale vocalist Arthur, as I wish to call him because that is his name and I find it sweet, I immediately blocked my schedule for April 6 from 5 to 9PM as soon as I heard about the event.