The national flag of the Philippines is a horizontal bicolor with equal bands of blue and red, and with a white equilateral triangle based at the hoist side; in the center of the triangle is a golden yellow sun with eight primary rays, each containing three individual rays; and at each corner of the triangle is a five-pointed golden yellow star. The flag is displayed with the blue field on top in times of peace, and with the red field on top in times of war.

The Philippine flag was first conceptualized by General Emilio Aguinaldo in 1897 during his exile in Hong Kong, drawing inspiration from the flags used by the Katipunan and the Cuban revolutionaries. The first flag was sewn by Marcela Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza, and Doña Delfina Herbosa de Natividad, niece of José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero.

The flag was formally unfurled during the proclamation of independence on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. However, a Manila Times article by Augusto de Viana, Chief History Researcher, National Historical Institute, mentions assertions in history textbooks and commemorative rites that the flag was first raised in Alapan, Imus, Cavite, on May 28, 1898, citing Presidential Proclamation No. 374, issued by then-President Diosdado Macapagal on March 6, 1965.

And the colors will once again fly high in Imus, Cavite this May as the Wagayway Festival is celebrated on it's second year. Photography enthusiasts of all skill, tech and age level are invited to capture the essence of the event with the Litrato Imuseño Photo Contest with the theme: "Imus, Flag Capital of the Philippines"

Standard photo contest rules apply... ya know, 8x10 color or BW prints framed or mounted taken by any kind of camera (Digital or Film) during the Wagayway Festival (23-24May 2009). Standard darkroom techniques only such as dodging, burning in and cropping are allowed. Any creative effects must be done in-camera at the time of exposure, such as multiple exposure, flash fill, light painting, filtration, etc... ya know? the works... Anyway, other rules (like those most photogs frown upon) apply such as raw digital files or negatives must be submitted and all prints become property of the municipality. The greatest of 'em all will be rewarded PhP10,000.00 plus bragging rights and the other 2 winners will recieve PhP7,000 and PhP5,000 respectively. All winners will recieve certificates (yay!)

Submit your entries with a duly accomplished registration form (one registration form for each entry) together with 2x2 ID photo and your CTC No. at PAIA Office 2/F Imus Municipal Bldg. Look for Ohbet or Ojay. Registration forms may also be downloaded here

Make sure you submit your entries by noon of 25May 2009 or all is lost.

For more inquiries you can call:
PAIA Office – (046) 472-2564
Look for Ohbet Topacio or Ojay Ordoñez

*text in gray taken from wikipedia. Have a nice day...

Calling all photography hobbyists! A FASHION SHOOT On the Spot Photo Contest sponsored by the Federation of Philippine Photographer's Foundation (FPPF) and YKL Color Lab through Photoworld Asia 2009 is happening this weekend at the Glorietta Center. Details as follows:

• Fashion shoot happens on January 30 (Friday) & Feb. 1 (Sunday) 2009 from 6:00 pm to 8:00pm. at the Makati Mall Area.
• Register at Photoworld Asia Secretariat located at the Activity Center
• Registration fee is PhP150/day which entitles the participant to three (3) 5R (5" x 7") FREE color prints and one (1) registration envelop only from the YKL booth
• Deadline of submission of prints is on Feb. 2, 2009 (Monday) 1pm at the Glorietta Secretariat
• maximum of (3) entries per day, per participant.
• Inkjet printouts not allowed. (Get a color lab for pete's sake... Give your photos some respect) Print without borders. Submit prints with the following data attached at the back of each entry:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Contact number/s
4. Date
5. Camera Club
6. I agree to comply with all rules of the contest. Signature________________

• Prizes at stake
  1st place - PhP 10,000.00
  2nd Place-PhP 7,000.00
  3rd place- PhP 5,000.00
  4th to 10th place PhP 1,000.00 each
• The Top 10 entries will be chosen and will be notified by photo contest committee, via phone immediately after judging which shall be done starting on Feb. 2, 2009 Monday 2:00 pm in a place in AIM conference center. These finalists will be asked to be present at the awarding of prizes on Feb. 3, 2009 Tuesday 6:30 pm.
• As in any Photo contest: only normal darkroom techniques such as dodging, burning in and cropping are allowed. Any creative effects must be done in-camera at the time of exposure, such as multiple exposure, flash fill, light painting, filtration, etc.
• All the prints will be donated to the models

For more information, log on to photoworldcup.ning.com or
Contact Tristan Yap cell 0917 807 77 61 email tyap61@yahoo.com
FPPF email fotoatwork@gmail.com
Tells 5247576 or 5280371

Here's one for us, younguns... Photographers 16 to 35 years old are invited to participate in Outlooke Pointe Foundation's Moving Stills | Shoot to move the Nation.

Entries may fall in either B&W or full color categories (you know which is which, right?). The theme for the contest is "The Filipino Worker: Capture the dignity of the Filipino worker in one frame." Print and submit your best contest entry (8" x 10" borderless) photo at any Islandphoto branch nationwide along with your official entry form downloadable here. You can send up to three (3) entries. Deadline for submission of entries is on 31 December 2008

There will be five (5) winners for each category who will each take home PhP25,000.00 in cash, giftpacks from the sponsors and a trophy while the Top 100 (including the ten winners, of course) will receive a certificate and will be featured in a coffee table book. HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Hey! Before you go off shooting like crazy, take note of this little fineprint:
"Minor post-production tweaking to enhance color, contrast and brightness is allowed. Composite images and major manipulation will merit disqualification. Entrants must declare if the image was manipulated"

Now GO!

Exercise on motion freeze... need more practice on getting the right focal distance, though. Major thanks to James (James, right?) for that mad ollie.

But the real purpose of today's post is to talk about shooting complete strangers. For me, it's a non-debate whether I should randomly shoot anyone in public and publish their photo. Other photographers may argue otherwise but that is not an option for me. Now, the problem was I had some reservations about approaching other people because I have very poor first impression ratings. My wifey said I have this "aura" that makes me seem "disagreeable" and "unpleasant" at first. I cannot say I disagree about this assessment. What I do now is I "acclimatize" the subject to my presence and keep the camera in their view to let them get used to the camera being there. For this purpose, try walking around the area without shooting. I also try to engage the subject in some small talk but sometimes it gets awkward when you can't find a common ground to talk about or sometimes it goes on and on and on... but that is for another post entirely.

What do you do to make your subject (complete stranger) comfortable about letting you shoot them?

"The juggernaut jeepney" is an individual assignment on motion with panning from the first week of the Basic Photography Workshop at the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF). It was raining for the most part of the week and it was difficult to find an opportunity to shoot. It was cloudy and all so I figured I have to compensate by bumping up the exposure. WRONG!!! The hood got blown-out and the image is generally over exposed but you have to admit I got that panning right... patience is a virtue, after all. This must have been the 20th jeepney I shot.

"Nail on the wall" is part of the group assignment on composition for the second week of the Basic Photography Workshop at the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF). The class held a practice shoot at Fort Santiago and this was one my favorite shots. It kind of became a little joke in the group that the most interesting subject I captured was a bent nail... I figured if I can get your attention with a bent nail, I would say I did a good job.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand is holding its second annual FCCT Photojournalism Awards for any pro or amateur photographer in Southeast Asia (defined as: Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei). Photographers do NOT need to be members of the FCCT. All photos must be taken in Southeast Asia. The FCCT will accept submissions in four categories:

• Spot news - for the best photos taken at news events in Asia
• Feature photography - for the best non-news “feature” photos taken in Asia
• Photo essay - for the best collection of up to 12 photos on a single topic taken in Asia.
• "Environmental" photography - for the best photos focusing on the environment, climate change, or natural resources in Asia.

In addition, the judges will select one Photo of the Year from all submissions to recognize the single most impressive photo of 2008. That photo will receive the year’s top prize: A new Canon EOS SLR camera (with lens kit), a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by Toyota, and a voucher for a 2 night stay in a luxurious Anantara Pool Villa at the soon to be opened Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa on Mai Kao beach in Thailand.

First-place winners in each category: A new Canon CP 760 mobile printer, a $250 cash prize sponsored by Toyota, and valuable vouchers for free dining at The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.

Selected winners will also receive round-trip tickets for economy-class air travel in Asia, courtesy of Star Alliance, the global airline network whose members include Thai Airways and other international carriers.

In addition, all winners will be recognized in a special edition of FCCT’s quarterly magazine, Dateline, published to profile their work. Also, FCCT will sponsor a two month-long exhibition of the prize-winning photos -- printed by Canon -- at its gallery in Bangkok, including a special Friday-night reception in late 2008, attended by local photographers and media. Additional prizes may be added later as sponsors sign on to the event.

Deadline for submission of entries is on 01 October 2008 and the winners will be announced before the end of the year. There's at least a week left before the deadline so better hurry up and send those photo entries. Oh, and uhmm.. Photos must be submitted on compact disc or DVD and should be 3 MB or greater in size. Submissions can be published or unpublished work taken over the last year. Photographers MUST provide their name, a brief biography and full contact information (including phone and email address) or submissions will not be considered. Photo submissions should be sent to the FCCT at:

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center
518/5 Ploenchit Road, Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330 Thailand

For more information, contact the FCCT at +66 (0)2 652 0580/1 or send an email to info@fccthai.com.

FCCT and Canon will retain the right to reproduce any photos submitted for the contest in the FCCT gallery, in Dateline magazine, and in other promotional work related to the contest. Prints of the winning photos will be produced by Canon and may be used by FCCT and Canon -- with attribution to the photographer -- for up to one year following the contest.

I am already 2 weeks into the Basic Photography Workshop of The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF.) I must say it did me well to be a cheapskate. I signed up for this workshop because it was the most affordable one around the metro at PhP3000 for 5 Sundays. In this case, you definitely get more than what you paid for. To say that the lectures were great is a gross understatement. After only 2 weeks, I have already gained much confidence in the quality of my shots and I am looking forward to more lessons.

The Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation (FPPF) was created in 1987 for the advancement of Philippine photography and the welfare of Filipino photographers. It is a non-stock, non-profit organization that encourages cooperation rather than competition among fractious photography associations—of which the Philippines has more than enough. Visit www.photoworldmanila.com to learn more about the FPPF and it's workshops.

PEMSEA and HP Philippines present the EAS Congress Regional Photo Contest with the theme, "The Coast, The Ocean, My Community."

Contest entries should demonstrate local actions/implementation and good practices in sustainable coastal and ocean protection, development and management. Entries can show local and national initiatives that address natural and man-made hazard prevention and management; habitat protection, restoration and management; water use and supply management; food security and livelihood management and pollution reduction and waste management.

The contest is open to nationals of the East Asian region, and is divided into three (3) categories:

• Youth category - for amateur practitioners who are college students or young professionals, between 18 and 25 years of age.
• Hobbyist/Amateur category - for amateur practitioners, beyond 25 years of age, who pursue photography outside of his/her regular occupation, engaged primarily for personal fulfillment.
• Professional category - professional practitioners who derive income from the sale of photographs and/or provision of photographic services.

Click here to download the complete contest mechanics.

The above information are taken from the Pemsea website. This blog claims no ownership of any images or text above this line.

The Nikon Photo Contest International has been held by Nikon Corporation since 1969 to provide an opportunity for photographers around the world to communicate and to enrich photographic culture for professionals and amateurs alike.

"At the heart of the image" is not only the brand statement of Nikon Imaging Company, but it is also the theme for the 32nd contest, in which entries are invited in two categories. The first category is free subject and the second is entitled "My Planet," and entries to each category are accepted as prints sent by conventional mail or as JPEG images sent via the Internet. With this theme and these categories, we look forward to receiving expressive images from around the world that are true to people's emotions.

The Nikon Photo Contest International aims to create an occasion for photographers around the world to communicate and exchange their photographic vision, irrespective of professional or amateur status. It is our hope that this event will further enrich and broaden global photographic culture.

The above information are taken from the Nikon website. This blog claims no ownership of any images or text above this line.

For more information, visit the official Nikon Photo Contest International microsite and read about the contest details.

I am a big fan of free stuff. Especially if its really good free stuff. I have already featured some in past entries and I wanted to kick myself for not posting this gem sooner. Jodie Coston's lessons over at morguefile.com is the perfect starter guide to newbie digital photographers. As a "newb" myself, who didn't even know what aperture means. I found Coston's lessons to be novice friendly and considerate of her readers skill level, practically breaking down each "Photographese" term into plain old English. The assignments at the end of each lesson also challenges the reader/student into applying her lessons in real world settings. There is also a discussion for each lessons. Even though this had been online three years ago, there are still a lot of new readers/students who discuss the lessons and critique each others assignments. Perfect for the budding digital photographer... at least for the cheap ones like me. Seriously, you can use this as a crash course and then pursue more serious training through real seminar workshops. More of that in the coming weeks. Now, if only i could find my assignment photos when I tried Jodie's lessons last year...

Following up on the last post and in response to a call to prayer and sobriety by Ding of Inkblots and Sir Eric Isaac of Wish you were here, I looked up this picture I took last easter and offer it to the families of the Glorietta 2 blast a few days ago. I hope that our sympathy somehow helps you get through these hard times. Nothing is as painful as the premature loss of a loved one. May God guide you to accept the loss and grant you peace in your heart.

Congratulations and Best wishes to our friends, Gerald and Celia for finally tying the knot at a church wedding last Saturday, 28 July 2007 at Sto. Sepulchro Parish Shrine at San Pedro, Laguna. You make a very beautiful couple.

We were cleaning out some old stuff a couple of days ago when I found this old guitar pick. It was THE first guitar pick I bought around 12 years ago during my garage band years. It was the one I learned the basics with. I had mixed feelings the moment I held it between my thumb and index fingers just like I would when I was playing. It's been years... I have not played the guitar in years. The last time I was in a band, I was singing... I was writing... I have given up on the ax long before I have given up on the music. Probably because like most of the things I do, I think I wasn't good enough to be taken seriously. Looking at this worn out guitar pick, It makes me wonder. Had I kept on believing... Had I kept on working on it... Had I not given up... Could things have gone a little differently?

"The Empty Crib" is featured as main visual for the article "Baby I'm-a-want you" for the August 2007 issue of Baby Magazine. The article speaks about a situation where one spouse want to have another child but the other prefers not to. Catch the August issue as soon as it hits the stands.

A high resolution copy of this photograph is available for FREE download at stock.xchange. I can also send it to you if you ask real nice. It is also available in my picasa web album but I prefer you get it from stock.xchange. It boosts up my download count.

Nobody bullies Dad... That is one lesson my little girl learned in an odd way. After quite a lengthy tantrum, I snapped a photo of my little girl and showed it to her. She was all smiles after that.

I was a bit too early (about an hour) for last Fridays seminar and I had some time to kill. I'm not a big fan of walking around malls so I opted to stay on the greener, less populated side of the Greenbelt. The first thing I saw when I got there was this pond with about a hundred kois and started shooting. A few minutes later... other guys began snapping as well. Before I knew it, it was already time for the seminar. I came in 5 minutes late.

A high resolution copy of this photograph is available for FREE download at stock.xchange. I can also send it to you if you ask real nice. It is also available in my picasa web album but I prefer you get it from stock.xchange. It boosts up my download count.