Giant Lantern Festival 2015 Schedule

I’m looking forward to this – Giant Lantern Festival 2015! Here’s the schedule of activities:

Exhibition Dates:

December 20-21, 2015 – 6PM at Robinsons Starmills

December 22, 2015 – 6PM at Essel Park, Telebastagan

December 23, 2015 – 7PM at Greenfields, Sindalan

December 24, 2015 – 11PM infront of San Fernando (Pampanga) City Hall

December 26-27, 2015 – 6PM at Marquee Mall

December 25-30, 2015 – 7PM at Robinsons Starmills

December 31, 2015 – 6PM at Clarkfield, Pampanga

January 1-6, 2016 – 7PM at Robinsons Starmills

Competition Proper

December 19, 2015 (Saturday) – 6PM onwards at Robinsons Starmills, Pampanga.

Technorati Tags: Giant Lantern Festival 2015,San Fernando Pampanga

FPPF 26th Anniversary & Reunion

The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) will have it’s 26th Anniversary Celebration (and Reunion) on October 26, 2013 at the Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. It would be a whole day of fun, contest, photo-shoot, camaraderie and bonding between the different photography clubs affiliated with the FPPF.

This would be my 2nd time to attend the anniversary of the FPPF and I definitely enjoyed the first time I attended. I’m pretty sure that this would be a very worthwhile event.

Technorati Tags: FPPF,26th Anniversary and Reunion,Intramuros

Blogapalooza 2013

After more than a year since I applied to be part of the Blogapalooza Bloggers’ Group, I was finally accepted! It’s such an honor to be part of this Elite Group of Bloggers.

Now, I’m excited to attend the Blogapalooza 2013 event. It’s the biggest business-to-blogger networking event. It will be on November 16, 2013 at Function Room 1 of SM Aura, Taguig City. It’s a whole day event from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

This event is presented by Our Awesome Planet, When In Manila and Go Negosyo.

Technorati Tags: Blogapalooza 2013,SM Aura,Taguig City,Bloggers

The 7th Christmas Toy Fair

Mark your calendar guys! The 7th Christmas Toy Fair is happening on December 14-16, 2012 at the Megatrade Hall 1 of SM Megamall. This would be a great opportunity for newbie photographers like me to practice macro photography.

See you at this event!

Technorati Tags: 7th Christmas Toy Fair,TOYCON,SM Megamall

Happy 9th Anniversary Ragnarok Online!

I can’t believe that I’ve been continuously playing this online game for 9 years now! Time truly flies so fast. Level Up! Games (LUG), the distributor of this Korean game, is celebrating this momentous event with a bang!

Let’s watch Kamikaze and Moonstar88 at the SM North EDSA Skydome on September 30, 2012 as we celebrate the 9^th Anniversary Celebration of Ragnarok Online in the Philippines.

There would be (the usual) Early Bird Promo, which has the Hair of the Strong Headgear a.k.a. Super Saiyan Headgear as reward. There’s also a Door Prize for all the attendees, Headgear Festival, Cosplay Competition, Zeny o Bayong, Mr., Ms. and Chixilog Ragnarok of the Year 2012 and the RPC 2012 Final 8 Tournament.

Like in the previous Ragnarok events held at the Skydome, I’m sure that the tickets would once again be sold out and it would be a jam-packed event. So let’s be early and enjoy this Rok On event! See you there!

Technorati Tags: Happy 9th Anniversary Ragnarok Online,Valhalla,LUG

The 3rd Olongapo No-Gi Grappling Competition

I was at Subic Bay Freeport during the weekends. I have reserved a hotel room a few weeks ago but I didn’t realize that it would be a very wet experience. I booked the hotel using Agoda and as much as I wanted to cancel the hotel accommodation because of the rains, it was already charged to my credit card and cancelling it would still incur some fees. So I just made the most out of my weekend escapade.

I use to go to Olongapo a few years ago but ever since I worked in the call center industry, my visit to this city had become lesser. My first love lives in Olongapo and he’s the sole reason why I visit this place. Olongapo and Subic Bay Freeport always brings back good memories of my friendship with my first love. I’ll probably talk about this some other time. Let’s just focus on the 3^rd Olongapo No-Gi Grappling Competition.

I was surprised to learn that there is an Ayala Mall inside the Subic Bay Freeport just a few meters away from the newly-opened SM Olongapo. The mall’s name is Harbor Point and it’s HUGE when it comes to floor area. It’s only 3 stories tall but it’s wide and there are a lot of stalls that aren’t opened yet. I stumbled upon the 3^rd Olongapo No-Gi Grappling Competition and I got curious on what it is.

I later found out that Grappling is a style in martial arts that comprises techniques that relies on grabbing and controlling your opponent using body leverage to achieve supremacy. It’s very similar to Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and the Olympic Wrestling. It’s the opposite of “striking” martial arts like Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo or Kickboxing. Grapping seems to be less dangerous than the “striking” martial arts. Thanks to Rio Grappling Club for clearing this out for me.

I don’t know why the straight guys are into this sport but for a gay guy like me, it looks very intimate and sexy and I swear my mind is thinking something else when I saw these guys on the competition mat.

How about you, what do you see?

Technorati Tags: The 3rd Olongapo No-Gi Grappling Competition,Harbor Point,Subic Bay Freeport

Imagination by Plet Bolipata

I stumbled upon this open-air art exhibit yesterday when I went for a photo-walk near the Nuffnang Philippines office at Bonifacio High Street. It’s called “Imagination” done by artist Plet Bolipata. It’s an exhibit that features animals in pairs.

You can find the details of this art exhibit from Snippets From The Manila Art Scene. To a simply call center guy like me, it’s a perfect place for a romantic date without breaking the bank. So if you’re shopping at Bonifacio High Street, you might as well walk your way to this open-air art exhibit, sit down, relax, take a picture, and appreciate the beauty of open-spaces in a city as busy as Bonifacio Global City.

This art exhibit will run until the end of July 2012. It’s located at 28^th Street corner 7^th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City. It’s near the Tierra 28^th park and Bonifacio High Street. It’s worth visiting.

BuzzNet Tags: Imagination by Plet Bolipata,Noah's Ark,Open-Air Art Gallery

Two Great Events Coming This June 15-17, 2012

This coming weekend will surely be very busy for me. There are two great events coming this June 15-17 and will happen in two of the largest malls in the country.

The first one is the All For Him: The 1st Lifestyle Event for Men This event will take place at SMX Convention Center, Function Room 5, SM Mall of Asia (MoA) in Pasay City.

Pinoy Guy Guide is the primary blog that co-sponsor this event. Ticket is priced at P50.00 which is affordable and “sulit” (value for money) with all the things that you can do on the venue.

There would be speed dating, photography contest, sale, fashion show, arcadia events (I don’t have an idea what that is), and more! I sure hope one of the organizers could see this blog post and gives me a VIP pass to cover the event.

The other one is the TOYCON PH 2012: The Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention which will be held at the SM Megatrade Halls 1,2 , 3 & Conference Rooms A & B, 5th Level Bldg. B, SM Megamall, , Mandaluyong City.

There is the usual cosplay competition in this event as well as endless comics, action figures, games, doll dress up contest, toy design contest, DVDs of anime and other toys for the big boys (as well as girls).

I will definitely attend both events. Good thing it’s my rest days (RD) on Saturday and Sunday. I’ll probably go to the “All For Him” event on Saturday and to the “TOYCON 2012” event on Sunday. Good thing it’s Payday Friday!

What attracts me to the “All For Him” event is the photography contest, the sale and the fashion show while the “TOYCON 2012” offers cosplay (which I enjoy watching and taking pictures), action figures, comics and the DVDs of anime.

This will definitely be a very busy weekend for me and to a lot of guys out there, both straight and gay guys. Who among you are attending? Let’s meet! :)

BuzzNet Tags: TOYCON 2012,All For Him,MoA,Megamall

Canon Speedlite Photography Workshop

I received the confirmation email today about the Canon Speedlite Photography Workshop and I was very lucky to be included in the list of 30 workshop participants.

This is a free workshop for Canon EOS users like me and would be conducted by no other than photographers Jiggie Alejandrino and Noel Puyat.

The venue would be the Canon Customer Care Centre at Paseo de Magallanes Commercial Center along EDSA (corner Pres. Sergio Osmeña Sr. Highway). It’s a whole day of activity and I’m sure it’s very useful in improving my photography skills.

I hope the sponsors – Benro, Transcend, Team OSS, Echo Store, Xfiniti and Think Tank Photo – have a lot of items for us workshop participants.

Are you also a Canon user who’s included in the list? What’s your name? Let’s meet on Saturday!

BuzzNet Tags: Canon Speedlite Photography Workshop,Jiggie Alejandrino,Noel Puyat,Benro,Transcend

Happy 5th Birthday, Nuffnang!

I am very thankful to be associated with such a great name in the online advertising industry!

Happy 5th Birthday, Nuffnang! I sure hope to have more projects with you. Have a Nuffnang-bulous Birthday Celebration. Cheers!

To celebrate Nuffnang’s 5th Birthday, they're having a party on February 27, 2012, 8PM – 12MN at the Borough (The Podium Mall, 12 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City).

I sure hope to be invited to such prestigious event. BTW, this event is sponsored by:

 

BuzzNet Tags: Nuffnang,Happy 5th Birthday Nuffnang

Basic Photography with Ricky Ladia

Last Saturday, I attended an event organized by Epson. It’s a basic photography seminar with photographer Ricky Ladia.

Ricky Ladia explained the basic things about DSLR photography, from the parts of a typical DSLR camera, features, file types, essentials, types of lens, post process (using software like Adobe Photoshop to enhance a picture), etc.

Ricky Ladia is a Nikon enthusiast but I appreciate that he’s also familiar with the basic controls of a Canon DSLR. His slideshow are mostly based on the functions and features of a Nikon DSLR but Canon enthusiasts (like us) can still relate to the Power Point presentation.

What I like about this basic photography seminar is the lecture on composing the picture and post process. Here are some of his tips on how to take pictures:

1. Keep it simple – use 2 colors on your pictures
2. Lines, texture and direction – try to look for these things in your subject
3. Symmetrical – don’t be afraid to take pictures of the subject in a symmetrical way
4. Rule of thirds – the famous rule in photography
5. Colors – hot colors (red, orange, yellow) is first perceive by the eye. So focus on hot colors first before the cool colors (blue, green)
6. Background and foreground – it’s not always about the subject.
7. Try different angles – like Worm’s eye view
8. Use the whole frame – avoid cropping the picture during post production. As much as possible, use the whole resolution when taking your pictures
9. Sharpness and focus
10. Avoid camera shake (he taught us how to hold the camera properly)
11. Get the right focus – when taking portraits, focus on the nearer eye
12. Use higher shutter speed
13. Use tripod cable release timer

Other tips that I got from him is The Workflow. It’s a series of step to perform during post process:

1. Take photo / capture image
2. Download to your computer – being a photographer means having a computer
3. Backup the file before conversion
4. Post Process (conversion) – from RAW to JPEG
5. Backup the file again after making some changes using Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Picasa or other software
6. Upload or print (using Epson printers of course)

During Uploading and Printing, the processes involve are:

1. Resizing the picture
2. Sharpening the picture – preferably during Post Production and not on the camera itself
3. Saturation – to avoid “Disney colors” (too much color)
4. Adjusting levels and curves
5. Calibrating the monitor – it’s important to calibrate the colors of the monitor so that you don’t get surprise once the pictures are printed

I sure hope I could apply what I learn to my future shots. Here are the pictures of the event by the way. I’ll post the pictures of SM Annex and the famous “garden” of SM City North EDSA tomorrow.

BuzzNet Tags: Ricky Ladia,Epson,Basic Photography

Markki Stroem: “Make Me Sweat”

I just want to plug my crush’s concert. Yup, it’s Markki Stroem doing a concert with The G-Force on February 4, 2012 at the Music Museum.

BuzzNet Tags: Markki Stroem,Make Me Sweat

6th Christmas Toy Fair

While I’m still adjusting the settings and lay-out of my new photography blog, let me share with you some of the pictures I took of the recent 6^th Christmas Toy Fair and 1^st Philippine Die Cast and Custom Car Show. It was held at Megatrade Hall 1 of SM Megamall and I was there last Sunday, December 18.

Too bad I don’t have money during this event so I contend myself with taking pictures of the figurines, mugs, key chains, action figures, and car die casts. It’s fund seeing all the superheroes that I love and cartoon shows I enjoyed. There were a lot of items from the DC and Marvel Universe, anime, Coke memorabilia, comics, and other items. It’s great to see such characters as Lion-O of Thundercats, the Angry Birds cast, Robin, Green Lantern and Spiderman (some of my favorite characters), Spawn, One Piece, Star Wars, and lots of other anime series.

There were also a lot of car toys and die casts. Look at the wonderful pictures I have of this event. I’ve used Manual settings on all these pictures using the Canon EOS 1100D. I must admit, I have tons of things to know about this DSLR.

 

BuzzNet Tags: 6th Christmas Toy Fair,SM Megamall