Philippines: Week 3

My trip to the Philippines has come to an end, it all went by so fast. There have been so many experiences and places I’ve been that I’ll remember forever. The third week started out with a visit to my grandparents’ grave at the Holy Mary Memorial Park in Angeles City. I never was able to meet my grandparents on my father’s side, but it is nice to at least pay tribute to them by visiting their resting place.

As we were nearing Christmas we made sure to visit all the relatives we did not get to see in the previous weeks. We visited my mother’s side of the family again, this time I was able to see more of my other cousins. My sister’s husband is fond of playing basketball and was able to have a game with my cousins and other locals. Of course my mom’s side of the family put together another wonderful lunch and dinner. It was also interesting to have such fresh chicken, haha! We had a great time and I can’t get enough of their generous hospitality and kindness.

On another part of the week my sister, her husband and myself went on a two-day trip to Manila. We decided to save on travel costs and rode the local public transit bus that took us there. We ended up staying at the Hyatt Hotel which was first class and I was very impressed at the view of the ocean from outside our bedroom window. We took a stroll along the boardwalk along Roxas Blvd and caught a shuttle to the Mall of Asia. We ate at a Filipino buffet restaurant, visited numerous stores, and then caught a 3D IMAX screening of Tron, which was very cool. When we arrived back at the hotel we visited the music bar which was very hip and had a really cool bartender that gave us tours through their private club rooms and even hooked us up with free shots of Patron! The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast buffet at the hotel and lounged out at the pool, it was very relaxing.

The last day of our trip was Christmas day in which we had a big family gathering at my aunt Aida’s beautiful house in Villa Teresa, Angeles City. Once again I met family members I’ve never met before but was happy to meet and had lots of food. Christmas is an important time of the year for family and so a lot of other relatives who live outside of the Philippines were able to attend the celebration which made it all the more special. Being around so much family warms my heart and I will miss everyone.

The next morning we set out for the airport and I said my goodbyes to my parents. I got the same flight out of Manila as my sister and her husband so we said our goodbyes once we arrived in Beijing, after which I continued my journey alone and was able to reflect on my whole trip during the long flight home.

This year has been a really exciting year for me as so much has happened and I’ve experienced so much, all the while being able to capture such great moments with my new hobby of photography. This will be my final post of the year and I think it is a great way to end it. I look forward to all the new experiences and photos the future brings and I want to thank everyone who visits my page, without you I would have no reason to do any of this!

Philippines: Week 2

Week 2 was great; it started out with a visit to my mother’s side of the family who were all very happy to see us. The house that they had been working on when I last visited is now finished and the young cousins I met before have all grown. There have also been new additions to the family, my cousin Ren Ren and Goddaughter/cousin Margaux. It will be interesting to see how they’ve grown the next time I make a visit to the Philippines. My aunts and grandmother prepared a terrific lunch and dinner, which included Miki; a favorite dish of mine that I had for the first time on my last visit and one that I hope to have in future visits to come.

My parents during our stay here hired a driver to take us around, one of the locations was a visit to Baguio City, which is located in the mountains of northern Luzon. There were beautiful views and interesting little shops to visit. Souvenirs in this part of the country had a phallic theme as seen through their wood carvings, which I found funny. Kids here don't seem to be afraid of heights as I would see many of them walking the road barriers on the edges of the road where the hillside drops off steeply. In traveling through Baguio we were able to visit the Korean War memorial, the Philippine Military Academy, and the Mansion House which is home to the president of the Philippines.

On another day our driver took us to Subic Bay, which has beautiful beaches and resorts. This was really great for me considering I’ve never been to a beach before. There were many other attractions as well, one of which was a tree top tour where you can bungee from the tall trees or zip line across them. I was tempted to try it but thought otherwise once I watched other people do it; I figure I'd like to make it back home in one piece. While there was a zoo that we were able to visit, the wildlife was present outside the zoo as well during our encounter with monkeys hanging out on the side of the road that we stopped to feed bananas.

My uncle Dick invited us over to his home for dinner on another night. He lives in the same subdivision as my parents so he was within walking distance to visit. We brought over a popular Philippine beer called San Miguel, which I tried for the first time and didn’t think was bad. The dinner at my uncle’s however was terrific! He cooked goat stew, squid with spinach, fish balls, sinigang and a fish called Dori which I thought was the greatest thing I’ve eaten on the trip so far. Once the San Miguel was kicking in we partook in my uncle’s karaoke system. I thought I sounded horrible but I had fun nonetheless. My sister and myself's rendition of Enigma's "Return to Innocence" was priceless.

There were days to relax and hang around also, which was nice. Since not many people have washer and dryers here, we washed our clothes by hand and set them out to dry. Having my mother’s cooking again was nice as she prepared various foods I loved eating growing up. To stay active we started running at a nearby cemetery, I feel I can run much harder here with the lower altitude, I love it. I've been enjoying hanging out outside and soaking up the sun and forgetting all the stresses I left behind on the other side of the world. I feel that I can really relax here and it is nice to get a taste of a simpler life.

Philippines: Week 1

Yay, I’m back in the Philippines! I managed to survive 23 hours of traveling to the opposite side of the world. I was a little nervous about traveling internationally by myself for the first time but it all went very smoothly. I unfortunately wasn’t able to get any sleep on the plane; I was so bored! Finally landing in the Philippines and meeting my parents at the airport was such a relief and it was so great to see them.

All of the things I remember about the Philippines haven’t changed since I was last here. All of the memories I had from my trip before are all coming back to me. The only thing lacking is the rain, but fortunately during this time of year the weather is much better. Temperatures have been ranging between 80 and 90 degrees, I love it.

So far on the trip we've done a lot of shopping, visiting the local mall and street vendors. A new mall very close to where my parents live holds various events, one of which was a car show. We also have been meeting a lot of my family members, so far just on my father's side of the family; tomorrow we will be visiting my mother's side. We of course have been eating tons of food that I'm taking advantage of while I can. My sister and her husband have been helping me keep active with running, so hopefully I won't gain too much weight!

Bags All Packed!

Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for the Philippines! I'll be there for three weeks to visit family, have a great time, get a few pictures and eat tons of food! Because it's very important that I capture the great moments on this trip and hopefully update my blog while I am there, I ordered this sweet bag you see here. It's a Crumpler Karachi Outpost that can hold all my photo gear and my laptop while still being no bigger than a normal size backpack, I love it.

My journey to the Philippines starts with a flight to San Fransisco, from there to Beijing, then finally to Manila. It will be a 23 hour journey and I've been trying to adjust my sleeping schedule since yesterday so I can prepare for the time difference and hopefully sleep most of the time on the plane. My sister and her husband will be arriving the day after I do, but I was fortunate to get the same flight with them on the way back.

I'm really excited to be seeing my parents again, they sold their house and moved to the Philippines earlier this year and I haven't seen them since. It will also be nice to see relatives again that I had met on my first trip to the Philippines back in 2003. I'm sure it will be a wonderful trip that I'll remember forever.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love this time of year. It is a time when all the family gets together and everyone is happy. I've had my share of great Christmases and I look forward to all the great ones to come.

Photo was taken in front of the Denver City and County building.

Things to be Thankful For

As a toast to the coming Thanksgiving holiday my fellow coworkers decided to go out for drinks after work at the Tilted Kilt. I wasn't sure if I was going to go at first but my friend Ken's encouragement made all the difference in my night and I'm glad I did.

I think it's important to have friends because they make life a much more enjoyable experience. I think a lot of the great times I've had in my life would not have been possible without them. So, one thing I can say I'm very thankful for this Thanksgiving are my friends.

Special thanks to Ken, Mark, and Russell for sticking around with me at the Tilted Kilt; I wouldn't have been able to get the opportunity to capture these photos without them. Also a very special thanks to Tonya, Keilani, Tera and Ally for modeling for me!

Photos were taken using my new Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens I bought off a hippy/stoner in Boulder. So, I'm also thankful to that guy because this lens is awesome.

For the Love of My Parents

So, I've been keeping a little secret from my family for a while now, but I think it's time to finally let the cat out of the bag! Since the beginning of this year I have been thinking about the idea of getting a tattoo and two months ago finally decided I would.

The initial thought process of what I would get was very challenging, but I knew whatever I decided on would have to mean something to me because I wouldn't want to ever regret it. To me there is nothing in the world that means more to me than my parents. I think they did a great job of raising me and I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. So once I set my focus on that the ideas came very easily. I developed the concept in a night, slept on it, and woke up with the realization that what I had come up with the night before was perfect and then next step was finding an artist.

I've been giving little hints about getting my tattoo, the first being my "Unique by Design" post. The week of that post was the week I had visited tattoo shops recommended by friends to review portfolios and find who I would have do the job. This was an important piece for me and having an artistic eye myself I wasn't going to let just anyone tattoo me. The first shop I visited I ended up scheduling an appointment with one of their most experienced guys. But after sleeping on it I realized I was going against what I was saying before and decided that the guy I had scheduled with just wasn't my style and I would have to find someone else.

That morning I went to another shop called Th'ink Tank my buddy Jason recommended and I immediately loved the vibe of the place and was impressed by their group of talent. While I would have loved to have been tattooed by the owner or ex-co-owner of the shop, their waiting lists are 6 months to a year respectively; that gives you an idea of how good they are! I really wanted to have this tattoo done in time for my upcoming trip to the Philippines so that I could show my parents, so I found an artist who I not only was very impressed by but was also able to schedule me in a lot sooner, his name was Ryan Willard.

Luckily the shop I went to the day before didn't require a down payment, a good indicator of their lack of professionalism, and I was able to cancel that appointment and schedule one with Ryan instead. I first got tattooed the weekend of my second hint post titled "Work in Progress" which my buddy Alex was able to accompany me on and take pictures. I've never posted photos done by someone else but I have an appreciation for Alex's photography and I thank him for capturing an important moment in my life for me. The watermark isn't his official logo, just something I put together but hopefully he likes it.

I know this is going to be the most shocking for my parents and I hope they'll be accepting of it and understand why I did it. There will be a lot of people who will also frown upon it and disapprove, but I didn't do it for those people. This tattoo is something personal and means a lot to me and I don't want to share it with just anyone. I didn't understand it until I decided to get a tattoo that not everyone wants to show off their tattoo and it can be disrespectful to ask to see someone's tattoo. Also you should never judge someone's tattoo because you have no idea what it means to that person!

So, you're probably wondering what it is I got tattooed? What's the meaning behind it? Well sorry to disappoint but all I can say is that while it incorporates simple elements, they have multiple meanings which involves tributes to both my parents, incorporates significance of my siblings, my views on life and spirituality, and finally the timing of my trip to the Philippines.

I won't be posting pictures of it here on my blog. I'll save the photos for a more private location that I'll share with my family. However pictures will be in a while because you see, I actually scheduled three appointments the second of which was today so it isn't quite done. Getting tattooed is also a painful process and my skin right now is red and swollen, so I'm going to give it a while to heal before I take any pictures of it.

I love you Mom and Dad!!!

Skills on Display

It's been a while since I've done an artsy photo, hopefully this will make up for the time off. For this I was able to utilize methods learned from my "Pieces of Art" post but had to learn some new tricks as well for color adjustments due to the lighting and exposure of the original photo. I also experimented using a fractal frame editor called Apophysis for the background.

Photo was taken last weekend at the Driftoberfest event I shot for my buddy Alex who was able to get me access to take photos out on the track at the Colorado National Speedway. Total time in Photoshop was 5 1/2 hours. To the left is the original photo for the skeptics.

The Mac Daddy

So yeah, I wasn't able to update my blog in a timely manner this past weekend because the internet decided to take a dump on Sunday. I'm only able to post today thanks to my MacBook Pro that I love so much, because apparently today it will connect to the internet but my PC won't. My PC has done me some good over the years but it has caused me a lot of issues as well, more so lately. However when it comes to my Mac, I've had zero issues since I've had it. People like to think Mac users are snobs but people shouldn't hate on something that works and does its job the way it is supposed to.

Photo was taken at Driftoberfest, Dacono, CO.

Work in Progress

I appreciate the style of well done graffiti art, there's something about the freedom and attitude of it that I like.

My watermark logo is matter of fact influenced by graffiti style art I used to do when I was in high school.

I don't like however the defacing of public property and the lack of skill of the lowly amateurs who have no respect for the owners. The best graffiti I see are the ones where someone is making money from it and has permission from the owner.

This photo is No. 2...

Ninja Rule #51

"Always formulate an exit strategy"

Not all exits are as obvious as this, so keep your eyes open at all times and be creative if you have to. No point in sticking around somewhere there's a potential threat. Shady folks are like ninjas, they're everywhere.

Photo was taken at the Neusteters Lofts, Downtown Denver, CO and believe it or not this sign was already here.

They Must Really Like E

A recent photo venture through an alley led Alex and I to tour the Equitable Building in Downtown Denver as random as that is. The nice lady who looked over the building during after hours showed us all around the building which was built in 1891 through 1892. The layout of the building is also in the shape of back to back "E's" and was made to be as fire proof as technology would allow at the time. We were able to view the different lobbies and rooms, one of which was through a hidden marble door in a conference room; talk about ninja trickery! We left promptly as the lady then proceeded to offer us some sort of candy...

This photo was taken with my new 50mm. I'm loving the subject separation of this fast lens!

Unique by Design

Art is something I've always loved and appreciated for as long as I can remember. Whether it be someone else's work or my own I get a lot of enjoyment from it. I like things that are out of the ordinary that are tastefully done and took a good amount of dedication to accomplish. Meeting different artists is also interesting to me as everyone has their own unique style which can be good for inspiration.

This photo was taken outside the Equitable Building in Downtown Denver, CO. This VW Jetta was completely covered in designs which caught my eye. For this photo I used my new Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens the day that I finally got it. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 was sold to fund the purchase of Chinese triggers for my flash, as the built in system on the 7D isn't the greatest. The new 50 would be perfect on a full frame camera body, but I have to be careful what I start setting my sights on because once I have an idea about something it tends to consume me.

Ninja Rule #37

"Make discipline and sacrifice elements of your everyday life."

I'm always curious about things and my curiosity tends to lead me to do and try a lot of different things. I always wonder if I'd be good at something or what I could learn from it, it's how I started photography and I'm pleased I did.

My latest curiosity is vegetarianism after having read the book "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell, PhD which I would recommend people check out. The book and it's findings actually promote a vegan diet, but as I've learned is a big challenge as a lot of foods contain dairy and eggs and I'd rather do things in steps.

So far I've been on a meatless diet for the past two weeks and my experience with it has been very interesting. The first three days were the hardest as my stomach was getting used to not having any meat which was a big part of my previous diet. Some of the benefits I've already experienced are that I never feel bloated, I can control food cravings, I sleep better, and I've been consistently losing weight and decreasing my body fat percentage. While there is a possibility I may not continue to be a vegetarian, it is at least good to know I have the discipline to try something challenging and out of the ordinary despite what other people think.

This photo was taken using an on camera flash, an external flash, and a strobe that my brother gave to me for my birthday. I donated blood earlier this week and I wanted to incorporate that into a photo and my buddy Matt's son showed me some fake blood he was playing with so I thought it would work well for this. Knife look familiar?

Kings with Queens

To show you how much of a dork I am, in high school I was part of a chess club that met after school that was held by my Trigonometry teacher. There weren't that many of us who attended but I liked it because it was the only place I could go to play it since all of my other friends never cared for it.

Out of all the pieces my favorite was the Queen. She was the most useful and she would be the one I'd always want to protect and think of first. Even if I didn't have much else, as long as I had my Queen I'd feel in control and if I ended up losing her I'd feel like there was no way of winning. It is always a good idea to keep your Queen for as long as you can, but sometimes you have to let her go if it is for the better good.

This photo was taken using my newly acquired Canon 580EX II flash with a homemade snoot. While I love my new flash, it does come with a price and therefore I will be selling the Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens; it will be missed.

Still Running

Woohoo, another photo of my car! I hardly take pictures of my car despite how much I love it, it's just one of those things that's not always easy to do. Luckily I was able to get some gear help from my buddy Alex and had used two off camera flash units to light this. The more experience I get with flash, the more I want one. The results almost make you think I used HDR processing, but I didn't.

Photo was taken near Bear Creek, Lakewood, CO. I know about this area because there's a trail that wraps around this that I used to ride and run when I lived in Lakewood that was just seconds from my door step. I've started riding and running a lot more lately. In the past two weeks I've lost 3 lbs!

Random Thought #162

I think bubble baths as a means to get yourself clean is a terrible idea because you're just sitting in your own dirtiness. I think the only people who enjoy them are kids, women...and the guy watching the woman. ^_^

This photo was taken using an extension tube made from a teleconverter which was borrowed from Alex, a fellow photographer. Text was added to experiment with another commercial type photo.

Smoke Ninjutsu

So, I think I know what happened to those smoke bombs I'd been missing...just messing, this is actually not a joking matter. Unfortunately this is the result of a fire that broke out this morning on Fourmile Canyon Road in Boulder and has grown to 3,000 acres today. Many homes have been evacuated and around 100 firefighters have been involved in the effort to put it to a stop.

Photo was taken from Superior Point, Superior, CO.

The Daily Grind

I think most people would agree with me when I say working sucks! Yeah there are some people who are all like "oh, I love my job, blah blah blah". Whatever!! You know dang well you'd rather be doing something else, I could probably come up with a list of 20 different things I'd rather do in a heart beat. But the problem is we all have bills, well at least the ones not mooching off of someone else. So we all get jobs, hopefully ones we all can at least tolerate most of the time and get paid decently in the process. I'm actually grateful for my job and where I am in my career, but it's always nice to constantly dream of improving your life and think that where you are now is not where you will be in the future; hopefully you'll be somewhere better.

One of the great things about my job are the fun people I work with. They make my day easier and it's good to joke around once in a while as long as the job gets done. My buddy Dan was so gracious to help me out with this photo. We've worked together at two companies since I graduated college and he's always been a fun guy to have around the office.

PS: Thanks to all my friends that I've made from work who attended my night out last Friday in celebration of my on coming birthday this Wednesday, I had a fun time! The morning after was another story, haha.

For the Love of Music

I've always had an interest in music since I was young. Growing up with older siblings, during the 80's I was exposed to all sorts of music ranging anywhere from Madonna, to Def Leppard, to Depeche Mode. It was all great but once they all moved out and I was able to get my own music I started to discover things for myself. I started out buying singles because I was broke and eventually moved on to buying albums. My brother later introduced me to other ways of getting music, but that's a whole other topic.

In middle school since I was around a lot of hoodlums and hood-rats I listened to artists like The Fugees, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Cypress Hill. In high school I started listening to more alternative rock music and some of my favorites consisted of 311, Incubus, Green Day and Radiohead. Toward my senior year of high school I started listening to trance as well listening to artists like Dj Tiesto, BT, Dj Micro, and Dj Icey. In college I started listening to harder rock music and listened to a lot of Deftones, Korn, Tool, and System of a Down.

While I certainly have gone through phases, I still enjoy all the various artists I've listened to over the years, some more than others but a lot of them have a special place in my heart because of the times they remind me of. Since college I've had growing interests in indie rock, progressive metal and more recently reggae and dub-step. I don't have a favorite album because there are too many that I like to choose just one, but my all time favorite song will always be "High & Dry" by Radiohead.

This photo was actually going to be part of a more elaborate project, however time, skill, and patience are low and so I'll have to pursue my original intentions at a later time.

Burst of Sunshine

I hadn't seen my niece Ava in a while so I thought it would be a good idea to babysit her for a while. With my parents gone to the Philippines there aren't many relatives on our side of the family that she gets to see. She was very shy at first but she warmed up and we had a lot of fun together. Watching her also put things into new perspective and reminded me of what's really important in life. I'm glad my brother decided to have her and I hope one day to have a kid as well.

Ava is a very playful kid who likes to move around a lot so it is definitely a challenge to catch the perfect moment and credit should be given to anyone that can, my brother especially included. I've been wanting to try shooting into the sun and this was a great moment to try it out and I think it worked great.

Moment of My Time

Alright so here is a total spare of the moment post. It's seriously getting challenging finding new things to post every week. It took me no more than an hour to set up, shoot and process this. Sure I have tons of pictures that are old that I could post but that would be lame. Posting a photo of my watch isn't that far from lame but I've had this watch for 10 years come this December. It was a Christmas gift from my mother and it means a lot to me. Thanks mom, it still works great!

My Playstation 3 made for a nice reflective surface to take the photo on which I've started playing again. It probably is the reason for lack of photography time. Super Street Fighter IV is just so awesome!

Pieces of Art

Here is another artistic piece that I've been working on that has to be the most involved use of Photoshop to date. A total of 124 layers were made to create it and at least 8 hours to get it to the point you see here. There are still some things I'd like to tweak and experiment with, but the process is very time consuming and I think it currently looks good enough to post.

I've learned a lot about Photoshop by working on this and I think the skills developed will be evident it future posts. The learning experience has also motivated me to pursue other advanced techniques and given me a lot of confidence in the techniques I already know. The small photo does not do the work involved justice so I included enlarged views as well.

The original photo was taken at a Capoeira demonstration at the Dragon Boat Festival, Denver, CO.