Scribe and Green Apple notebooks - sexy Moleskine alternatives

Scribe and Green Apple - Sleek and sexy notebooks
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

When I first saw a Scribe notebook at National Bookstore, I thought it was a Moleskine. I was surprised to learn that it costs much less (Php199 or about USD $4) than the popular notebook yet looked generally the same.

I've yet to compare the Scribe to an actual Moleskine though, but Jessica Zafra makes a detailed analysis of both brands.

Later on, I discovered that Green Apple was also producing this kind of notebook. And it costs even less.

The Moleskine and it's clones come in several varieties and will make great gifts for writers, artists, and GTD practitioners.

Nouveaute Fashion Show

Nouveaute Fashion Show
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

Nouveaute The Breakthrough 2009 was held at the PETA Theater in New Manila Quezon City on November 28, 2009. I was invited by my make-up artist friend Anne Sentillas to help take some pictures for her portfolio. Check out some scenes from the catwalk.

This is actually the first fashion show I attended as a behind-the-scenes photographer and it was quite an interesting experience. I've had several photo shoots already, but in terms of efficiency, this takes the cake: I only had about one minute to shoot headshots because the models had to rush to wardrobe after makeup. Fortunately, my setup was simple, the makeup work was beautiful, and the models were talented so the pictures came out perfect.

After the job was finished, I had enough time to take some pictures on the ramp. My takeaway from this experience is that I should really bring a tripod or monopod for events like this where I have virtually no control over the lights or the models on the ramp.

Overall, it was fun to have met some new friends and it was a great way to test out my new lens for some portraiture and low light shots.

Lomo Fashion

Lomo Fashion Barbie 02
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

My Lomo photos surprise me because of the inherent randomness of this medium. Lack of absolute control of the final image goes against the attention to detail that fashion photography demands (or so I've been told).

However, I love taking risks with a lomo camera and when I manage to get it right, I just fall in love with the image.

Check out the other Lomo Fashion images at my Flickr account.

got blood? - a Twilight and Got Milk? ad spoof

got blood?
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

"A creature of the night lives a life full of passion and adventure. But without the sweet elixir of life that intoxicates me, I feel... mortal."

The Twilight marketing machine is nothing short of magical. While I personally feel vampires are soulless undead creatures that should burst into flames rather than glitter and shimmer when exposed to the sun, I can understand why Stephanie Meyer's Twilight is such a hit for its target demographic.

My interest for Twilight is based solely on the first movie's poster shot and edited by Joey Lawrence. A superstar photographer at such a young age, his work (particularly his Africa series), is amazing and inspiring. Check out what goes through Joey L's mind as a guest blog at Scott Kelby's.

Since I've always been a fan of creative movie and ad posters, I wanted to try making one too.

The original photo for this mock commercial ad was original composed for a beauty editorial portfolio. The makeup artist wanted a look focusing on the model's rich red lips. Lighting setup used was a standard clam shell (key light above the model, reflector under her for fill). I wish I had a beauty dish when I took this photo, though.

While looking at the raw photo, a bit of inspiration from vampire movies and a glass of milk hit me and post-processing transformed this photo to become what it is now. For intermediate Photoshop users, it's mostly curves and masks. The vignette was created using Photoshop's Lighting filter.

Writing the blurb was more challenging since I wanted it to be as effective and connected as the "got milk?" ads (which, along with the Absolut Vodka ads, I'm a big fan of).

The end result is thus.Check out the larger version on black.

lomo lc-a+

lomo lc-a+
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

When I shoot with my LC-A+ (Lomo Kompakt Automat), I'm never completely sure if I've captured a moment properly. The results I get when the film rolls have been processed are usually somewhere between "WOW" and "WTF". I think that's what I like best about Lomography.

Lomography's "The Ten Golden Rules" encourages one to have fun. With photography being the most inexact of sciences already loaded with jargons like f-stops and "the inverse square law", lomography just encourages one to "Don't Think" and just shoot.

I'm not completely sold on that. I suppose that rule is great if you just want to let go and have fun. Depending on what kind of pictures you want to take, a more academic path to photography is still worth considering. "Learn the rules before you break them", or so I've heard. Besides, when you know how to shoot like a pro, imagine what wonders you can do with a lomo cam.

Nonetheless, I love my LC-A+ and thoroughly enjoy having it by my side when I don't want to bring my DSLR. It is lightweight, elegant, and durable. People are also less likely to think I'm a professional photographer (a big advantage when taking pictures of my friends at the local park).

In my almost-semi-professional career as a photographer, I've used the LC-A+ for portrait and fashion, but my creative preferences lean towards using it for editorial and landscape photography. The blurred effects and over-saturated colors results seem to visually resonate better with me when the photographic subject just needs to be as real as possible.

To find out what kind of results you may want, here's a snippet of tips on choosing film for lomography that I learned from Daniel Y. Go, one of my favorite photographers. Check out his incredible photostream.

as for film, I buy and use expired film simply because it is cheaper :D

You need to know what type of images you prefer. When cross processed, different slide films give different results. For example, Velvia and Sensia, (35mm) gives off a pinkish/reddish/orangy color tint. Provia/Kodak elitechromes/Agfa CT Precisa gives off greenish/bluish tint naman and more often than not expired film will give off funky color shifts and added grain. But it all depends. Kaya I agree, expired film is not that crucial, more crucial is the film brand and the developing process.

If you want vignetting. Shoot in bright condition, using slower film. I find ASA 50 to ASA 100 to gives off more vignettes, But if you want vignettes regardless of the light condition, invest in a Holga 135BC, the lens there has a mask that "forces" vignetting regardless of the light condition.

If you want to see the different effect and looks of different films. Do a search in my photostream for the following keywords. Sensia, Velvia, Provia, Kodak Elitechrome, Agfa CT Precisa, Holga 135bc :)

One final thought on the subject of lomography. As with all fields of photography, lomography is expensive and often quite a lot of fun.

I believe that's the only thing you can be sure of. :)


Strobist lighting setup explained at my flickr account.

Wall-E

Wall-E
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

Wall-E has to be one of the most interesting and memorable 3D-animation films I've ever seen. For a character that expresses emotions (ignoring the fact that Wall-E is a robot) through eyes and body language is a testimony to the unparalleled geniuses behind Pixar Animation Studios.

Aside from a very touching love story, I like the way the movie raises some environmental issues without being preachy.

7 of 52 from the Plastic 52 Toy Photography group.

This image is also an exercise in a strobist technique of balancing ambient with flash.

fairy godmother and photoshop retouching

fairy godmother
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

Photoshop is like a magic wand for digital photographers who need "a thing-a-ma-bob to do the job" of improving or rescuing an image. For beauty retouching portraits, I like my Photoshop magic invisible.

I'm looking for a reasonable critique here: Can you guess where I used Photoshop in this image?


Read more details after the jump.