The Outtakes Strike Back

As my DPP 0811 nearly comes to a close, I am once again presenting a number of pictures that I was able to make along the way. Once again, these images are not necessarily flawed for them not to make the cut, but often one has to weigh a number of factors in selecting picks.

If you’re a music buff, just think of these as B-sides. :-)#

Rachel

DPP 0811, Day 24 – Aying

Aying to me initially was the young lady with the infectious grin. I rarely see a picture of her not up to her goofball antics. And yet during the exhibit, I saw a different side to her when Ms. Ising put her on crowd control — mostly adamant (Not on the list? Walk through!) and towards the end a bit subdued (sitting quietly in contemplation).

Where it is true that I may not know Aying as well as her family and friends do, I do have a ‘gift’ for catching glimpses of sides of people that they often conceal from the rest of the world. She could’ve been just tired from a day of directing traffic ushering people, but I am quite glad to have made a picture of her that showed her quiet side nonetheless.

DPP 0811, Day 23 – Bronwyn

Bronwyn, a name of Welsh origin, is uncommon in these parts of the world. It is as if her parents already had an inkling that she was going to be exceptional the moment they gave her that name. And true to form, ‘wyn does not disappoint. I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing and also speak in front of a crowd, and I must say that she does both with an equal measure of confidence. On top of that, she has also taken an interest in photography and has quite the eye.

I suppose our names do play substantial roles in identifying us in more ways than we’d like to think. Hmm, I wonder how I would’ve turned out if my parents named me Conan. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 22 – Renee

Renee. I’ve always had an affinity for that name. It’s also why I have this nagging notion that Renée (Zelwegger) doesn’t look like a Renee. For a name that bears its origins from water lilies (Japanese) and rebirth (Latin), she doesn’t seem to do justice to any of the two.

But, I digress.

I had noticed that Renee, who was quite the effervescent hostess at the start of the day’s exhibits, looked a bit glum. And so, I asked if I could make a picture of her in the hope of raising her flagging spirits. She said yes and was all smiles in front of my camera even before I could finish my question. It’s a powerful and wonderful thing this asking people for pictures.

I should definitely do it more often.

DPP 0811, Day 21 – Venz

To start, let me commend Venz for being the only one with the confidence and daring to actually tell me that he was ready for his shot when he saw me in the hallway with my camera. I was actually waiting for someone to take me on my offer, which I had posted online a few days before, to volunteer themselves for a portrait. If it is any indication, I am sure that this level of kabonggahan fearlessness will get him far.

Watching the World Go By

Consequences

DPP 0811, Day 20 – Dale

I use a number of color filters (also called gels) in lighting portraits. I mainly use CTO’s for warming the skin tones or to match the color of the late afternoon sun. From time to time, I also use other filters (such as a Tough Plus Green) to color balance with existing ambient or simply to add colored light to a shot.

Having prepared and worked with various colored solutions in the lab, I’ve always wondered about their use as filters. They’re not as handy as their solid counterparts, but one can actually modify their concentration to alter the wavelength and the intensity of the light transmitted. I got my chance when a couple of third years were preparing fluorescein dye for their exhibit on forensics.

I already had the shot pre-visualized. However, it took a number of tries and tweaks before I got the effect I wanted from the solution. Looking at it now, I think of the other things I could’ve improved, but I believe that’s why one must keep shooting and learn from pictures past.

DPP 0811, Day 19 – Dyonne

Often in the making of a picture, I have to decide whether to apply a bit of hyper-realism or to stay as faithful as possible to the subject as possible. However, even faithful is a highly subjective term when it comes to photography. An image, for me, is always an amalgam of reality and the photographer’s interpretation of the subject. Not everyone may agree with me, but the picture above is how I will remember Dyonne.

DPP 0811, Day 18 – Daisy

On my way to shooting Jiji, I happened upon Daisy in her practicum uniform. She’s been teased about it by a number of people in the department because it’s quite a departure from what she normally wears on a washday.

I was going to ask her if she had time for a quick portrait, but thought twice because I didn’t want to oblige her to stay beyond her work hours given that it was already starting to rain. But, as luck would have it, she showed up at the lab where I was shooting Jiji when I was about to wrap up. I asked her on the spot and she agreed to spend a few minutes of her time, which was all I needed since my lights were already set up and I just needed to reconfigure them for the shot I had in mind.

I just hope that this picture means that people won’t be giving her grief about her uniform anymore.

DPP 0811, Day 17 – Jiji

When I make a portrait of someone, I always remind myself that wherever it may be shot and however I may decide to light it, in the end, it should first tell a story about the person in the picture. I asked to photograph Jiji on a rainy Friday and she readily obliged. Since I had about an hour to prep, I got right down to the task of working out the details.

I wanted the shot to be simple, so I went for an uncluttered background. I wanted to focus on her fascinating eyes, so I had a gridded kicker light accentuate that part of her face. But, I didn’t just want a shot of her eyes, so I brought in another light to create fill. I ended up using three hot shoes flashes to get the shot above, but was happy to have gotten the look that I wanted.

When I showed Jiji the picture from the back of the camera, she said one thing that made my day — Imba. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 16 – Nestor

Nestor expressed hesitation over having me shoot him for this project because he had such short hair (he used to sport it longer before classes started), but I told him that one of the very reasons why I asked him to be my subject was because of how his hair was cut. He eventually agreed, but asked to be shot last (and volunteered to assist me with all the pictures that day except his) when there were only a few people left.

For his portrait, I wanted to reveal his introspective side because I believe people rarely see that because he is often so child-like. I’ve seen him grow since his first year in the program and I must say that he has become so much mature over the course of his studies.

Nestor, mature?

Yes, because being mature doesn’t necessarily require one to be serious at the same time. I hope Nestor does not lose this quality as he goes through life. The ability to laugh at one’s mistakes is usually one of the first casualties of ‘adulthood’.

DPP 0811, Day 15 – Claurice

If you’ve been to the Talamban Campus of USC, you’ve most certainly walked by the Arnoldus Science Building. The structure is nestled at the base of a small hill, which is home to a number of trees.

I dragged convinced Claire (as Claurice is fondly called) to get her photo taken in front of one of the largest trees on that hill. Light was fading fast, so I was struggling to find a balance with available light. I was about to move her to another location when the floodlights (the light behind the tree on the grass) came on, which allowed me to frame and make the picture above. Just in the nick of time too because I didn’t want the subject to think that I made her walk all the way up there for nothing.

I never did agree with the administration cutting off the tops and sides of the trees just so that these lights can ‘beautifully’ illuminate the building at night (when nearly everyone has gone home). At least now, I can say, that although the cost of installing and operating them isn’t justified they’re good for use as kicker lights.

DPP 0811, Day 14 – Rachel

I have had the wonderful opportunity of working with Rachel before. She can somehow translate my often cryptic instructions into far better poses than I could have ever imagined. And having just told you this, you might be wondering why I went for what appears to be a portrait done in a studio. I did have other great shots of her in an outdoor setting, but none of them had a greater story than the one above.

I’ve shot in a cramped space before, but this picture was made using a space in the ChemSA lounge that was probably a little smaller than my cell cubicle in the department. But, that’s only half of what makes the story behind this picture significant. On top of the claustrophobia-inducing workspace, everything was handheld — from the beauty dish (key light) on upper camera right, to the gridded flash (hair light) on upper camera left (behind the subject), and finally to the black side of a circular reflector that served as the background.

Why did I have to make the shot in the manner described above?

Well, I had four great people willing to go on a limb and help me see one of my crazy ideas through. Thanks to Rachel, Nestor, Joy and Queenie.

DPP 0811, Day 13 – Nikki

There is a confidence in the way that Nikki poses that could only have been gained from years of performing in front of people. If I must borrow an adjective to describe it, I would have to pick the word fierce. Thank you, Ate Tyra. ;-)#

I have seen her dance a number of times, and she does so with much strength and grace. This further supports my assertion that dancers make excellent subjects. They know exactly how to position their limbs and consequently the shape their bodies will make with each motion.

And this got me thinking that the next project I work on should be of various people in motion. Dynamic portraits, so to speak. If I decide to push through with it, Nikki is already on the list of people I plan to shoot.

Taking Out the Outtakes

Outtakes, especially in video, after often perceived, albeit inaccurately, as bloopers. By definition, outtakes are simply stills or scenes that didn’t make it to the final edit. In photography, one has to make the hard decision of selecting which image (or images) to present, so it is only natural that only a few images make the cut.

This selection process, of course, is highly subjective. Most of the time, there is nothing technically wrong with the images. It is just that often one has to weigh being technically correct versus being creatively wonderful. The choice is always never easy, but you have to pick one in the end.

I made the above picture of Ising a few months back. I didn’t plan on having a water curtain on the site, so it sort of caught me off guard. I struggled a bit with getting the look I wanted, but was lucky able to get this shot towards the end. I have nits to pick about this image, but I am happy to have gone through the challenge. I now have a better idea on how to deal with these sort of shooting conditions the next time around.

A couple more outtakes from my DPP 0811 after the jump …

The World is My Lab

Plans.

It seems that everyone either has a number of them or is asking me about mine. Honestly, I try not to plan too much. I’ve since subscribed to living my life on a day-to-day basis. It is not terribly efficient or effective, but it works for me.

However, it seems that my own insights and sentiments regarding my ‘career’ have brought me to a point where I need to make an escape plan of sorts. I’m a little new to this exercise, so a lot of things are still in their initial stages; but, my hopes are high that I will be able to carry them out.

I am yet unsure of where I will be by the end of this semester or of this school year. But, I am certain that I want to put my non-chemistry talents and skills to good use while I’m still here. I believe that I’ve been too afraid all these years, when having survived phenomenal failures should’ve stripped me of that fear.

Seeing my life as becoming too formulaic, I have decided to put the ‘procedures’ down and do some probative research of my own. It’s time to experiment. And this is the inspiration behind the draft of the promo poster that I’ve made for the department. You can click on the image to view a larger version on my Flickr page.

It is still a draft, so your comments are more than welcome and highly appreciated.

DPP 0811, Day 12 – Chen

Chen is in her first year of the B.S. Chemistry program. She is also her year level’s representative to ChemSA. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot her before. From the brief time that I’ve known this young woman, I can say that she is quite photo-ready. What I mean by this is that she is quite aware of where her good angles are and that she already has a number of poses in her repertoire, whether she’s standing or sitting or whether it’s a full body or a head and shoulders shot. I was quite lucky to have her indulge my request for a photo for my project.

Thanks, Chen, sa uulitin. :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 11 – Karren

Karren is one of our working scholars. She was unfortunate enough to be on duty yesterday while I was making preparations for the ChemSA shoot. I approached her and asked if I could make a picture of her, and she hesitantly agreed. I could tell that she was quite uncomfortable for a good part of the shoot. I did my very best to put her at ease, but I guess my people skills aren’t at the silver-tongue level yet. I had to shoot quite a number of frames before I made the picture above. I’m certain that it isn’t her best side; but I am hopeful that I will get another chance at shooting her, and maybe then she will be more comfortable in front of the lens.

Thank you, Karren, for your time.

The Unending (?) Lab Affair …

With my exam-making days nearly behind me, I made time to work on these images from the ChemSA officers shoot. The instrumentation lab was cozily claustrophobic didn’t give me much space to work with, but I found a couple of ways to improvise (thanks in part to my tallest VAL so far).

Claurice

More pictures after the jump …

DPP 0811, Day 10 – (My) Susan

There are some people who try to please you as a poor excuse for loving you. If we are surrounded by nothing but this sort of people, then our view of reality becomes skewed. We either become self-righteous or self-entitled, neither of which is a good character trait to have. As my younger brother would say, you’d start smelling punch-y because a whole lot of people would want to punch you in the face.

But, I digress.

There are, however, a select few who do accept us for all our frailties, but slowly shove nudge us to better ourselves. It’s not that they want us to turn our bad into good as many of us initially suspect. But, rather it is to grow the good in us such that there comes a point where it will actually blanket and bury the bad. Susan is one of these extraordinarily pushy people in my life. Growth is never an easy process, but I am truly happy to be truly loved.

DPP 0811, Day 9 – (Papa) Jesus

The last time I shot my Pop for my daily portrait project was the first day of my Lola’s (his mother’s) wake. It was a sad and poignant time. I debated with myself that day about whether I should make that picture at such a delicate time. Although I do not regret having shot that picture, I also wanted to make one that revealed the carefree nature of my Pa. I know it’s not your typical portrait, but that’s exactly why I’ll remember everything about that day when I look at it.

DPP 0811, Day 8 – (Mama) Joy

I know I started out with the premise that I wasn’t going to shoot anyone I’ve already featured in my previous daily portrait projects. However, if you’ve been following this blog, you know all too well how rarely I get a chance to make a decent picture of my own mother. All too familiar with our shared ‘love’ of travel, this is probably one of the last times we’ll both be in a forested area with a scenic view, so I’m quite happy to have this serene moment preserved.

The Lab Affair Continues …

I’ve just gotten around to working on the images that I shot for ChemSA and I am proud to present the gems that I unearthed from the shoot. I haven’t worked on all the portraits yet, but I’m releasing this partial update to give the other officers their time in the spotlight.

Venz

More pictures after the jump …

DPP 0811, Day 7 – Chandy

Chandy, or formally Chanda, is Susan’s aunt. Due to a barely-there age difference, they treat each other more like sisters. For me, this picture is a perfect example of the sort of magic that  a small flash off the camera can do — the grid on the flash highlights the face of the subject, the shade of the canopy of trees allow me to easily control ambient light without overworking the strobe, and underexposing ambient by about a stop allows me to make my subject pop out of the frame. My sincere thanks to a gracious and graceful subject, and to Mama Gaia for the breathtaking background.

DPP 0811, Day 6 – Jeff

Jeff is Susan’s uncle. Too young? Let me clarify. He is Susan’s uncle by virtue of marriage to an aunt close to her age. This was shot at The Forest Camp in the town of Valencia. I was actually shooting his wife when we caught him looking on already ‘posed’ like this, so it was just a matter of turning the light around (Susan was kind enough to be my VAL) to make this picture of him. I have come to realize that guys are much easier to pose because there are a few basic poses that will work for most men. Hmm ... does this mean I'll be shooting more men throughout the month? :-)#

DPP 0811, Day 5 – Ian

Ian, also Susan’s cousin, was assisting me while I was shooting Lloyd (who is featured in the previous post). He was the one who informed me of the balcony overlooking the street below where I ultimately made this picture of him. I wished for more pronounced light trails from the cars below, but 1/5 s with my elbow perched on the ledge was the slowest I was willing to go. In the end, I got enough of the street to show to make the image work, so I was quite happy with how this turned out.

DPP 0811, Day 4 – Lloyd

I attended a wedding last Friday. I don’t especially like weddings (or any gathering where the head count of attendees exceeds five), so I was quite happy to have shared a table with my wife’s cousin, Lloyd, who kept things lively with his banter. As the reception wound down, I asked him for a quick photo because he looked so dashing in his barong, and I did bring a ‘light’ pack of gear with me. Plus, I was eyeing the piano in the corner the whole night. There were all sorts of artificial lights inside the reception area, so I used a relatively fast shutter speed to minimize their effect on the image; but, not fast enough to remove details from the shadows.

DPP 0811, Day 3 – Paolo

It would be quite the understatement to say that Paolo is a natural in front of the camera. He’s one of those people who looks good at nearly every angle and seems to have the different degrees of his smile down to a science. I’m glad I was able to find a complementary balance between the ambient and flash exposures; flicking a tiny bit of light on Pao’s face to make it pop without casting a potentially distracting shadow anywhere else.

DPP 0811, Day 2 – Joy

The young woman in the photo is probably one of the few Joy’s I know who actually does justice to her name. Although she prefers behind-the-scenes work during a shoot, I am happy that I was able to coax her in front of the lens and make this picture of her. 

DPP 0811, Day 1 – James

There are a number of things I’m not really happy with in this photo (all praises for James though) and to think it took me a while to make this shot. But, when I look at it, to me, the good far outweighs the bad, so I decided to start off my DPP for this month with this shot. Because in any endeavor, we all really just need to make that first step.

More to come …

Daily Portrait Project 0811

I’ve been feeling under the weather (miserable actually) for the past few days, but I’m committed to doing my first shoot for my DPP 0811. As the great philosopher Jon Bon Jovi once said, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”.

This time around, I’ll adopt a looser interpretation of the word ‘daily’, since I won’t be shooting a portrait each day as my schedule simply would not allow it. Instead, I’ll be shooting twice or thrice a week, but will present a lit portrait for each day of the month.

To up the ante, I am going to present a different lighting theme for each week. For the first week, it’s going to be hard, ‘restricted’ light. I’m going to limit myself to one or two hot shoe flashes that will have either grids or snoots attached.

The picture below (which is one of my favorites) is an example of what restricting light coming from a flash can do for an image.

More to come … hopefully. Wish me luck!