2012

2012 was a year of chasing dreams.

Dreams of becoming a teacher...

...and a real academic.

I met some pretty awesome people along the way too.

I also watched people I love chase their own dreams.

In between, I experienced new things,

revisited my childhood,

 

and saw new sights from nearer

 

and farther places.

 

Of course, seeing the world is a lot more awesome with friends,

family,

   

and my personal cheeseballs photographer.

2012 also had its share of goodbyes (and my, did I cry).

 

But it was also filled with love and new beginnings.

 

The love of friends who will always, always be there through the best and worst points of my life.

 

The love of a crazy, clingy family

that learns to overcome challenges and differences.

And of course, the love of this curious koala...

 

who has joined me for this wonderful ride.

So thank you, 2012. I am now ready to jump,

and finish what I've started

so I can play a greater role in the bigger picture.

Crosspost: Some things from Philippine Fashion Week.

MOA Arena cleans up good. At the Lesley Mobo Gala, Cibo catered the black tie event with hors d'oeuvres and free flowing champagne, sangria and vodka. How could you go wrong? As the guests went to their pre-assigned chairs, the photographers scrambled to look for a spot to shoot. Alas, there were none. We looked for chairs to prop ourselves up, or some just settled at an obscure corner just to appease the floor directors and video crane operators. I used my 200 mm f/2.8 lens and I found it difficult to get a proper exposure because of the lousy lighting done. Too many blank spots and colored lights. Why is it too hard to get some plain white light in Philippine events? And why are photographers just shoved into an area and treated like second class citizens? All we ask for are good light and a spot to take advantage of it. It's always important for events to have an area for photographers. Always. But I'll stop griping for now. I had a terrific time sitting beside renowned designer Jerry Katigbak during the Mens' Wear collection presentation. He was commenting on how slow some of the shows went, how he would want to hear an applause at some point. I didn't know he was a student of photography. He also asked for some advice regarding how to correct his white balance. He had some decent photos from a photo shoot and asked me how to make his shots better. I hope I gave some valuable insight. PS: a polka-dot man purse. why. Honestly, there were times when the models looked so similar to each other. I couldn't differentiate them when they were walking. Only did I realize they looked different when I looked at my shots with my computer. What I enjoyed shooting the most were some womens' collection. Sure it was late at night, but the designs and looks looked great. And thankfully, while I was there, no models tripped and fell over.