Speechless

Tags

berlin, boy, children, history, kids, photography, Street Photography, travel, wall

My son was utterly speechless when our guide showed him the bullet holes on the wall, somewhere in Jewish quarter in Berlin.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF-S 10 – 22mm f/3.5 – 4.5 USM, shot in AV @ 1/40, f/4, focal length 22mm, ISO 400

 

 

Somewhere in Jewish Quarter

Tags

berlin, germany, pedestrian, photography, Street Photography, travel, walking, woman

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF-S 10 – 22mm f/3.5 – 4.5 USM, shot in AV @ 1/320, f/4, focal length 17mm, ISO 400

 

 

Russian section

Tags

berlin, black and white, car, crossing, germany, history, photography, Street Photography, travel

One can clearly see that this used to be part of Russian section when one sees the shape of buildings, which is like rows of gigantic blocks.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/400, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 400

 

 

Checkpoint Charlie

Tags

berlin, checkpoint charlie, germany, history, man, military, photography, Street Photography, travel

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Trabi

Tags

automotive, berlin, car, germany, photography, Street Photography, trabi, trabi car, transportation, travel

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Hotel Adlon

Tags

berlin, building, germany, historical building, hotel, hotel adlon, photography, street, Street Photography

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Berliner Dom

Tags

abstract, berlin, berlin cathedral, berliner dom, bridge, germany, historical building, old building, photography, river, spree river, Street Photography

Taken from the river cruise on Spree River, this my shot of Berlin Cathedral.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/3200, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 400

 

 

A couple

Tags

animal, bicycle, black and white, cycling, cyclist, dog, matching, pet, photography, Street Photography, woman

As we drove through the city of Berlin looking for our hotel, I caught a glimpse of the cutest couple on the road and quickly grabbed my camera. Taking the shot from the moving car, I unfortunately could not get a proper frame of the dog. But I still love this shot 🙂

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/2500, f/4, focal length 47mm, ISO 500

 

 

Passing by the Kaiserthermen

Tags

boy, building, children, germany, historical building, history, kaiserthermen, kids, monument, roman, roman bath, Street Photography, travel, trier

Another well-preserved building in Trier is the Imperial bath.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/6400, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 500

 

 

No vendors allowed

Tags

cebu, philippines, Street Photography, street vendor

Perfect spot

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

Sari sari

Tags

cebu, convenience stores, iPhone, philippines, sari sari, sari sari store, shop, store, Street Photography

The “regulars” in front of a sari sari store

Sari sari (in Tagalog means variety) is small convenience stores which can be found in neighbourhoods all around Philippines. They are mostly privately owned. Some of the them are free-standing huts, while some are operated from inside the shop owner’s house, as it’s actually occupy 1 room of the house.

They sells basic / everyday necessities, from cooking oil to soap, candies to cigarettes, etc. The goods are normally displayed by the large plastic-covered windows or metal-barred window.

Rather than selling a whole package, in sari sari stores customers can buy the commodities in small amount. Therefore you can see small sachets of shampoo, 3-in-1 coffee, etc. The average spending per person in this kind of shop is around 8 pesos (around 2 US cents).

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

Walking in the rain

Tags

rain, Street Photography, umbrella, weather

A girl with red umbrella

It has been raining non-stop since yesterday and the forecast said that it will continue until the end of the week. The kids are so happy that the school is even suspended today, due to bad weather and typhoon warning in some areas of the Philippines.

I took this shot yesterday from inside the car. My initial aim is actually to take a shot of that girl with red umbrella. But what surprised me was the water drops on the picture. It took me several shots after this one, until I realised that actually it was the effect of flash firing onto the water drops on the outside of the glass (DANG!). I never expected it would be like this. (My sons said, it looks like a glow-in-the-dark coins are attacking the girl who is using umbrella as protection :-))

Shot with Canon PowerShot G12, shot @ 1/60, f/2.8, ISO 250

 

 

Drunk

Tags

black and white, drunk, poverty, Street Photography

The traffic situation to / from the kids’ school is getting worse these days due to some roadworks. Yesterday was the worst I have ever experienced, spending double the time on the road than I normally do. But then I’ve got a chance to make a clear shot of him.

Almost every morning this guy is completely wasted, always laying down on the same spot. Next to him is always a bottle of local rhum and a bottle of water.

Just to clarify, in case you are questioning. No, he is not chained. The chain is just attached to the pole behind him.

Shot with Canon G12, shot @ 1/160, f/3.5, ISO 250

 

 

When did you fall in love for the first time?

Tags

black and white, film photography, france, photography, russia, Street Photography

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Like real love life, I believe there is THE moment when we fall in love with our hobby, our passion. Some of us realise that we enjoy doing one particular activity, falling in love with it, pursue it and practice it religiously, seriously, intensely until they become some sort of expert.

While others, falling in love with it, but then for some reasons put it on hold, until one day they realise, heyyy, how about?… Then they wake up from the hiatus.

In this post I’d like to share my photos which were taken back in ’95 (don’t do the math please!). I believe that was my moment. Those were the time when I equipped myself with a hand-me-down pocket cam of Nikon RD2, 2 rolls of colour and 2 rolls of BW films upon hearing that I would be travelling to Russia and France. I have always loved BW, and what could be more perfect for Russia trip than BW films? In that era, for me, Russia was like entering a black and white movie.

At that time, of course, I know zip about photography. No knowledge whatsoever about composition, rule of 1/3, leading line, frame within frame, etc. All I knew was I needed to record the moments, because I don’t know when will I have the chance again to return, if ever. But looking at these photos now, I think I wasn’t THAT bad. Considering that, unlike digital age, you can’t afford too many clicks, can you?

So here are my “Early Photography” photos, whose negatives are unfortunately lost. I only scanned the prints, unedited, except adding my watermarks.

Solitude

I must have shot this one in the city of Lavra. (?)

Through the glass

Staying in a converted convent accommodation in Suzdal, I took this picture from inside a wooden hut where I stayed.

Perspective

A shopping arcade in Suzdal. I remember loving the architectural style. Oh, I also remember how amazed I was looking at how bare the interior of every shop was. The amount of goods they were displaying seemed so minimum.

Crossing

Somewhere in St. Peterburg near Paul & Peter Fortress. (?)

Garden of Chateau de Versailles

Street artist in front of the palace

All were shot with Nikon RD2, which by the way, is still kept by my brother 😉

 

 

Indian mango vendor

Tags

cebu, Food, mango, philippines, snacks, Street Photography, street vendor

One of the most popular snacks here is Indian mango (I still don’t know why it’s called Indian? Maybe this special mango originally came from India? Have to do more homework on that). You can easily find it from stalls by the street, or from some vendors, like this one, who are going around offering it as snack-on-the-go.

Unlike what is known as sweet Philippine’s mango, this particular one is more crispy, with slightly tart and sour taste. It’s normally eaten accompanied by bagoong (shrimp paste).

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot @ 1/125, f/4, ISO 640

 

 

Put it out before it puts you out

Tags

black and white, old, photography, smoking, Street Photography

If you can’t stop smoking, cancer will

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot @ 1/200, f/4, ISO 640

 

 

Human nature

Tags

black and white, human nature, kids, sport photography, sports, Street Photography, triathlon

Gauging competitors

We look at others. We compare ourselves with others. We judge others. I believe we have this built-in system for gauging. It’s human nature.

Being gauged by competitors

We sometimes just don’t realise that others do the same to us. It’s a continuous circle :-).

All were shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Half full or half empty?

Tags

Street Photography, transportation, truck

A rather full truck in front of me, on my way from Dalaguete back to Cebu City.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot @ 1/250, f/4, ISO 100

 

 

Headless Men

Tags

labour, men, Street Photography

2 Workers on a street of Cebu

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot @ 1/200, f/4, ISO 100

 

 

Going home with habal habal

Tags

cebu, habal habal, kids, motor taxi, motorbike, philippines, photography, Street Photography, transportation

 

5-in-1

This is a very common view on the road here, particularly before and after school time. It’s around 4-5pm today, the time when kids come back from school. They could be one family. Or it’s also a common practice to share a motor taxi, called habal habal. Share the motorbike, share the cost. The more you can squeeze in, the less you need to pay. Very simple equation, safety aside.

I love the fact that the boy is looking straight to my lens. However, I dislike the fact that the road looks so empty at the point of time when I captured it, while actually it was rush hour. The motorbike just left the busy intersection, thus I didn’t manage to get the rumble jumble into the frame.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot @ 1/200, f/4, ISO 250