My Canon Story

In June 2010 I created a blog for my lover who went to Saudi Arabia to work. The blog was named Elmer Loves Oreo and my lover’s name is Oreo. When I got my SSS loan that year, I purchased a new digital camera – the Canon PowerShot A495. I’m hoping to improve the quality of the pictures on my blog by using a digital camera by Canon.

The latest historical place I’ve visited – the Aguinaldo Shrine

I love the color of my first digital camera – red! I began using it on my blog and I noticed that my pageviews increase from a mere 100-200 pageviews to 1,000-10,000 pageviews. I got so excited with my new digital camera that I ended up taking pictures of just about everything from churches to buildings and foods.

When I got my 13^th month pay last year, I decided to invest it on a DSLR – the Canon EOS 1100D. It brought a lot of changes to my first blog and I even created this second blog, el toro bumingo.

I purchased the red 1100D DSLR since it resembles my A495, making the transition from digital camera (point and shoot) to DSLR a lot easier. It has the same red color and familiar icons that the A495 has – night shots, macro, landscape and portrait modes.

My first blog, Elmer Loves Oreo, eventually reached 100,000 pageviews and I became more active with Nuffnang Philippines. I’ve attended more events and movie screenings including a close encounter with John Lloyd Cruz and John Spainhour. I also met and became friends with a lot of bloggers through my love of photography and my Canon EOS 1100D.

The very successful Lloydie

This year, I was able to attend the basic photography workshop of Winston Baltazar and almost all the Canon PhotoSkwela workshops. I’ve also met a lot of the Canon Brand Ambassadors including one of my favorite bloggers, David Guison.

On top of all these events, I was able to attend the Luzon and Metro Manila Leg of the annual Canon PhotoMarathon held in Villa Escudero and Intramuros respectively. I also took pictures of the Panagbenga Festival in Baguio, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Nueva Vizcaya, and almost all the major National Parks here in Metro Manila.

My favorite building in Subic Bay Freeport Zone

SM City Baguio

My pictures taken using the Canon EOS 1100D were also featured on Wikipedia when I participated in the Wiki Loves Monument event. I consider it as my greatest photography achievement so far.

Right now, I’ve made money using my DSLR through online ads by Nuffnang Philippines. I’m also a regular member of one of the country’s oldest photography club. Elmer Loves Oreo has a pageviews of 143,061 while this blog, el toro bumingo, has 134,381 pageviews as of today. Most of these pageviews are achieved through beautiful pictures taken using my Canon cameras. This is how Canon made an impact to my life.

How about you, what’s your Canon story?

This is the picture of SM Mall of Asia that was included in the Wikipedia article about this famous mall.

Technorati Tags: My Canon Story,SM Mall of Asia,Aguinaldo Shrine

Click, Print & Treat by Canon

I would definitely go to this event in Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, Manila. The last time I was here, Canon and Phottix organized the Quiapo Goes Anime event. Jay Tablante and Ricky Ladia where the speakers of that event held in June 2012.

This time, famous cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao will be in this event called Click, Print & Treat. This would definitely be another fun-filled event. See you guys on October 27, 2012 at the famous photographers’ haven, Hidalgo Street.

There are two ways to join this event – through the photo contest / workshop or by joining the cosplay contest. Here are the steps on how to join these events (taken from the Facebook page of Canon Marketing Philippines).

PHOTO CONTEST/WORKSHOP
• To register, the participant must email the following details to register.photoskwela2012@gmail.com

• Email Subject Head must be, "Print and Treat PHOTOGRAPHER"
• In the body, include the following:
  - Full Name
  - Contact Details (Mobile Number, Landline)
• Only 200 slots are open for the photography contest/workshop.
• A confirmation email will be sent to those who are eligible to join the workshop/contest.

COSPLAY CONTEST
• To register, the cosplayer must email the following details to register.photoskwela2012@gmail.com

• Email Subject Head must be, "Print and Treat COSPLAYER”
• In the body, include the following:
  - Full Name
  - Contact Details (Mobile Number|Landline)
• Only 50 slots are open for the cosplay contest.
• A confirmation email will be sent to those who are eligible to join the workshop/contest.

So what are you waiting for? Send them an email now and let’s all enjoy a fun-filled day at Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, Manila.

Technorati Tags: Click,Print & Treat by Canon,Cosplayers,Jay Tablante,Alodia

Mark Lee: Canon’s Fashion Icon

I first saw Mark Lee in the Canon PhotoSkwela held at SM City Annex a few months ago. Since then, he’s always present in all the Canon PhotoSkwela series together with another Canon Fashion Icon, Margarita Lopez. His full name is Mark Emilio Malantic Lee.

I really find him gorgeous and mysterious. I guess all male models are. It was just recently at the Canon PhotoSkwela held in SM Pampanga that I asked for his name and email address. His handwriting is good and he’s very friendly. I really love his smile.

I found out from his Facebook page that he’s from Lipa City, Batangas. He’s a graduate of De La Salle University (Computer Science Major), played for DLSU Men’s Volleyball Team and worked for SGV & Co. I’m a bit surprised to know though that he’s still single! Isn’t it that good guys usually are taken? He’s probably just picky with girls.

About his career, he’s one of the models that participated in the Philippine Fashion Week. He was also a model for brands like Dockers, BUM, Wrangler, Antonov Vodka, and appeared on magazines like Manual and Cosmo Philippines.

He’s 6’ tall, wears size 10 shoes and is a Cancer. He has a tattoo on his shoulders which appears to be the old Tagalog alphabet Alibata. I would love to know what it means. I’m looking forward to see him again in the next Canon PhotoSkwela or probably the Manila Leg of the Canon PhotoMarathon.

I’m truly delighted that Canon chose him to be their Fashion Icon. Like Canon, Mark Lee is indeed delighting us always.

Technorati Tags: Mark Lee,Canon Philippines,Male Models

Canon A495 vs. Nikon Coolpix S205

I stumbled upon these old pictures of my first digicam, the Canon A495, and my brother’s Nikon Coolpix S205. These pictures were taken in February 2011 at The Linden Suites when my aunt from the United States went for a vacation here in the Philippines.

This is my way of comparing the two popular brands when it comes to quality of pictures. I set both digital cameras to their default settings and took some pictures. Back then, I was convinced that I purchased the better one.

This test is one of the several comparisons I did with the Canon and Nikon brand which led me to purchase a Canon DSLR. At the time that I took these pictures, I felt that the Canon A495 captured a more realistic color of the place. Not to mention that my brother’s Nikon Coolpix S205 was broken a few months after my aunt gave it to him (from normal wear and tear).

Yup, the Nikon digicam was from the US. They tried to have it repaired at the Nikon service center (at Megamall I believe) and they were advised that there are no parts available here in the country. They need to import parts abroad and the cost of the repair is not economical. They ended up buying a new digital camera.

Moral of the story is that both Canon and Nikon cameras are great brands. The other factors that would come along in considering which one to purchase is the availability of service centers, concept stores, the price of the units, ease of use (interface), guides, after sales support, among others. This is the same principle in buying a DSLR.

For someone that is new to DSLR, the first thing that comes into one’s mind is the eternal debate: should I go for Canon or Nikon? I hope this comparison that I did would add to your decision.

Shots using the Nikon Coolpix S205.

Shots taken using the Canon A495.

Technorati Tags: Canon vs Nikon,Canon A495,Nikon Coolpix S205

Portraiture Workshop by Pat Dy

Pat Dy is fashion, celebrity and wedding photographer. His works were already featured in magazines like Preview, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Chalk, Metro, Weddings, Good Housekeeping and others. He’s also a Canon Brand Ambassador and one of the Crusaders of Light.

After the workshop conducted by David Guison and Lissa Kahayon, came the Portraiture Workshop by Pat Dy. It was held yesterday at the Cyberzone, SM City North EDSA Annex. This is still part of the Canon PhotoSkwela series of workshops aimed at empowering Canon Users, like me, to do more with our cameras.

He gave some basic tips on how to shoot headshots and portraits and he also answered my question on how to crop pictures for portraits. He demonstrated some of the most basic pose and how to shoot people with different body types.

Here are some of Pat Dy’s tips on how to prepare our subjects (models and clients):

• Establish your friendship
• Talk to them to get them warmed up to you to get them more relaxed
• Cracked a joke and capture that fun, laughing moments.

His camera tips to flatter our subjects:

• For tight facial shots, shoot at eye level or a bit higher with the camera pointing down.
• For full body shots, shoot at eye level, camera base parallel to the ground
• Don’t use the widest angle setting on your lenses. Try to zoom in.
• Make them wear tighter clothes

After the lecture and demo part of the workshop, he entertained several questions from the audience. Some of the questions answered by Pat Dy was related to:

• Camera settings when doing backlit portraits – Minimum of 50 shutter speed (if using 50 mm lens), 1.8 aperture and 200-400 ISO.
• Tips on how to shoot outdoors using natural light – Shoot under the shade.
• How to shoot babies and pets – Use high shutter speeds and bells (or other stimuli) to get the attention of the subject.
• How to use reflectors when shooting outdoors – Never put it on the bottom because it will reflect the sun’s ray upwards and may cause shadows on the nose, upwards.
• Use off-camera flash when shooting outdoors if needed – Use ambient light as much as possible. Pat Dy said that he’s not much of a strobist (using off-camera flash).
• Rule of thirds still apply on portraiture
• When doing a wedding photography, use spot metering on the gown to capture the details. Prioritize the bride since most of the time, they pay for the shoot
• Shoot with friends, with stylist, establish portfolio, submit it to editors and hope for the best.
• RAW or JPEG? – Magazine editors prefer RAW but to an ordinary person, he won’t be able to tell the difference of a picture shot in RAW or JPEG

Thank you Pat Dy for the wonderful tips, practical tips on how to shoot portraits. Thank you Canon Philippines for these PhotoSkwela series of workshops and thank you to the sponsors like SanDisk, Black Rapid and Greenwich.

That’s David Guison wearing a jacket with a hood sitting in front of me. He’s so gorgeous and stylish.

Pat Dy

Some basic portrait crops.

Technorati Tags: Pat Dy,Canon Philippines,SanDisk,Greenwich,Portraiture Workshop

I Can’t Wait To Meet David Guison

David Guison is an outstanding blogger, model and fashion icon. He’s going to conduct a workshop at SM North EDSA Cyberzone on July 21, 2012 as part of the 2-days Canon PhotoSkwela.

Photo taken from his Tumblr page.

David Guison along with Lissa Kahayon will talk about Blog Photography and Styling Workshop on Day 1 of the Canon PhotoSkwela. That’s from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM of July 21, 2012.

Day 2 of the Canon PhotoSkwela (July 22, 2012) will be dedicated to Aly Reyes and Troy Monsod. They will discuss Everyday/Basic Photography and Videography respectively.

I received my confirmation email today and I’ll definitely come to this free workshop by Canon Philippines. Anyone else going to this wonderful event? Let’s meet.

Technorati Tags: David Guison,Canon PhotoSkwela,SM North EDSA Cyberzone

I Survived The Canon PhotoMarathon 2012 Luzon Leg

After much debate, I attended The Canon PhotoMarathon 2012 Luzon Leg at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort yesterday.

It was a very tiring yet worthy event. I left the bus station at LRT-Buendia around 5:00 AM and arrived at the resort 7:00 AM. It was my first time at Villa Escudero and Canon Marketing Philippines Inc. made a very good job in selecting it for the venue. It was a very nice place full of flora and fauna, friendly staff and very nice structures and facilities.

The event started around 9:30 AM with a cultural presentation by Villa Escudero (Ifugao dance). It was followed by group picture taking and presenting the first theme for the photo contest. It’s a whole day activity divided into 3 themes for the pictures to be taken. There are 3 categories: Point-and-Shoot, DSLR and Video. The Video category will take 2 more weeks to finish but the event’s highlight was the Point-and-Shoot and DSLR categories.

Each theme was given 2-3 hours duration before uploading (submitting) the pictures and each theme was given after the previous theme’s time is ended. The 3 Themes for this year’s Canon PhotoMarathon Luzon Leg competition are:

1. Structures are the meeting of shapes, lines, forms and towers when they touch housing dreams in their forms, playing tricks to imagination.
2. The wonder of His gifts is abundant in this Villa. It is a sanctuary to the rich flora and fauna. Capture the spirit of nature’s many faces. Show the beauty of our Master’s creation.
3. As light touches the horizon shadows and highlights dance. Capture this beautiful medley. As we witness the rich color of this world.

This event at Villa Escudero is the first of 4 Legs. The Visayas Leg would take place in Bacolod, followed by Cagayan de Oro and finally, Metro Manila. There is confusion whether the participants in the Luzon Leg can still join the 3 remaining legs since one person among the organizers is saying that it’s not allowed while another person is encouraging us, the Luzon Leg participants, to join the remaining 3 legs.

If I heard the speaker correctly, there were 300 expected participants in the Luzon Leg but only around 150 showed up at Villa Escudero. Those who didn’t showed up missed the goodies from Canon – a red T-shirt (I was expecting a polo shirt), a red cap, a red fan from Transcend, a magazine-supplement from HWM, and a lot of brochures from the sponsors.

I also heard that a day tour at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort cost P1,400/person. Wow! Canon also provided everyone a festive dinner and a print-out of 1 picture (letter-size) for the first 100 participants.

After the dinner, came a program which includes another performance by Villa Escudero (Pandanggo Sa Ilaw), bring-me game, raffle, Pinoy Henyo, dancing showdown (featuring Call Me Maybe) and the awarding of the winners from the DSLR and Point-and-Shoot categories.

Overall, I enjoyed my first Canon PhotoMarathon and I enjoyed my stay at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resorts. I would surely attend the next Canon PhotoMarathon.

I’ll post more pictures of Villa Escudero soon.

Technorati Tags: Villa Escudero,Canon PhotoMarathon 2012 Luzon Leg,Canon Marketing Philippines Inc