Sunday, April 20

how does your garden grow?


Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.


that was interesting.

went and searched for that particular nursery rhyme and found such an interesting write-up on its history. things get real bloody in the garden, eh?


i'm not surprised. loads of plants which are real dangerous with their spears and other prickles and complications.

it seems as if the plants aren't the only dangers in the garden, as this article explains.

i mean, yes, ofcourse, the garden is such a source for little treasures and finds hidden underneath leaves...


or right by your knee


entwined on the branches above you


or on the vines themselves



or maybe on the petals like visiting fairies peeking in for a cup of tea


.
ofcourse they're beautiful and just waiting to be found.

sometimes they need some coaxing...


while at other times they simply unfold their gowns and let you admire their beauty


and sometimes the treasure-seeker has a camera with her and takes that moment along to share.

the flowers are not selfish at all. maybe even a bit disloyal in their wish to show their beauty off. they unfurl for almost any stranger on the street.


and sometimes they bring their friends along as entourage.


not just of the floral variety either


they're not self conscious and they don't put a lot of weight on labels. a weed? heck, that's just a plant where you don't want it thriving. but they want to thrive there... so they do. and they still show us their beauty in the midst of our loathing


.
and if you're patient enough. and look hard enough. sometimes even the Sun shows you his beauty as he aids the little jewels we often overlook.


(btw. that last one, i called it "Ring Around" in reference to another nursery rhyme. and boy, does that one have a story all of its own, too.)

Tuesday, April 15

people you meet on the streets



i often catch myself staring at people on the streets. wondering what kind of lives they live.




grabbing my camera and stealing their souls. perhaps for later inspection to find the answer to my endless questions.



do they take weekends off? do they sleep well at night? do they have someone to go home to?

and on the streets i ride through, i find people working on the rice fields lining its edges...


where and how do they spend their weekends?


what do they drink in the morning?



can they have seconds?




what's their retirement plan?




ever since all these self-help books found their niche in the market, we've started asking ourselves "what is the meaning of life?" "where do we fit in?" "how do we fit in?" "do we have to fit in?" "am i doing it right?"

when some people just push their wares, use their hands, bend their backs and do what must be done.

Sunday, April 13

stop and smell the flowers (motorcycle fumes included)




went out to the rice fields to try out my new lenses. only used
one. wanted to try making HDRi on the rice fields.



























shot flowers instead.





(27)


Saturday, April 12

little nudges in the right direction

on the night i made this self portrait of me, the katips cafe i was having dinner in was almost empty. two tables inside and one table outside out of maybe 15 tables all in all had guests having dinner. the rest was empty. so my friends and i took this opportunity to play studio! i mean, what else do you do when you are having dinner with three very gay friends, right? you primp and you pose and you take photos of each other doing crazy stuff. well, you do that even with non-gay friends, too, right? (98)








so i take a photo of one of my friends. set him all up with ciggie in hand looking like some hot piece of testosterone.
ha! testosterone indeed. he likes that you know... i mean in other people. so i think it's a good one but very raw and needed some post prod work to get it going. did a little microsoft work on it to make it black and white. results were ok but not as dramatic as i wanted it to be. so i leave it alone and think... one day i'll learn how to photoshop and then i'll create wonders with this one. (106)







and so one day i learned how to use photoshop. used desaturate (real basic, i know. =P) which i stumbled on when i was looking for another tutorial. cropped it and then ortonized it. i was quite happy with the result. a bit of drama, i thought. much better than a straight out black and white. so i posted it on my Flickr and sent it out to a group i really like for them to admire. haha! admire, right. turns out this wasn't as good as the pic could get. received suggestions and tried to follow them. (98)












so i went back to original and started to play. transformed into black and white, tried to use creative focus. hmmm. wasn't really what i wanted to do with it. saved that and played again.

change depth of field... looking good as the pitcher and glass weren't so much of a distraction. cropped it again... looks good. needs something else, though... and then toggled with the light. and viola! i think i finally did the image some justice. so went back to group and reposted the pic.

sent some mail to the people who initially commented on it, and got good feedback on repost. (94)





now i have to go and get ready for this interview for a teaching post in east timor. and i still have to read the website. sigh. (27)



Thursday, April 10

of packages and gifts


Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.
Leo Buscaglia (author)

Got the package today. Beautiful accessories. Well done, Sony, for making a point and shoot that can work with lenses and filters.

Also, received a very interesting message on my FlickrMail from a new friend. He gave me great ideas and instructions on how to work with my new Photoshop CS2 experience.

Went through loads of photos and comments in this Flickr group I belong to. That was more dizzying than taking my meds.

Went to work today. After so many days of staying home due to tummy problems.

Note: got me a wide angle and a tele lens for my camera.

Makes me want to give my talent back.

(110)

Wednesday, April 9

best gift so far


best gift so far, originally uploaded by purplbutrfly.

today’s my youngest brother’s birthday. eleven birthdays after and he’s still the best birthday gift I’ve received.

learned to put a frame onto my photos. and how to highlight some features and blur the rest. two new tricks up my sleeve.

accessories for my DSC-W30 are in the mail. eta: 4pm tomorrow at my house. i hope it’s good.

oh. and my other bro’s daughter celebrated her birthday a week ago. forgot all about it. which should tell you how my relationship with her mother is.

(86)

Tuesday, April 8

waiting for the mail to come



That's the thing about pictures: they seduce you.

David Byrne

I have succumbed to its enticements. Went in serious search for accessories like some explorer on a quest for pearls. Found them lying beneath some rock in the next island. Now waiting for the winds to turn so they can fly my way.

Also delving into some serious Photoshop magic. Learned to ortonize and to place watermarks. (All props of hidden boxes and secret rolls of cloth stashed inside the sleeve.)

And wondering at what all the ruckus over Explore is about.

Then again I'm on 3000mg of antibiotics. So I guess I'm safe from any risk this new attraction has for me. Or maybe not.

(116)



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