the Glimpse, part 2

(continued from The Glimpse part 1)

There are two exhibits being displayed this week at Parkmall in Mandaue City. One is by Images, Cebu’s oldest camera club. The other one is by our group, which being basically a nameless aggrupation of photographers, was, by a funny twist of fate, dubbed by the Park Mall as “Cebu’s Top Photographers”. The tag, which probably and unwittingly would raise other photographers’ eyebrows, made me smile.




The exhibit runs from Nov 15 to Nov 21, and sits at the south entrance of the mall (the one facing the direction of SM Cebu). Each of us contributed 8 pictures that are in 12x18” full color prints.


My daughter Cacing seems to have made her choice as to which is her favorite (the one she can reach! LOL)


I don’t do this often but for posterity, here is my mugshot taken by my wife

For those who could not come, here are the 8 photos I chose. As a challenge to me, I picked out photographs which had no or little post-processing. All are uncropped and corrections were mostly on some sharpening and lightening.


Damgo, the Good Friday procession in Bantayan Island, Cebu
I am afraid this is fast becoming my staple, the number one photo that I would pimp. This has to be my best photo yet and has garnered 1st place in the nightscapes competition of Canon’s SMILES photocontest in the Philippines last year.


incantation, Ta Prohm temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia
I submitted the original unedited version. No post-processing is necessary.



Tirta Empul, Tampaksiring, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Of my countless Bali pictures, this must be one of my best as it has an emotional punch. Technically, this also was difficult to achieve (natural lighting, timing, positioning, the unchoreographed worshippers). The only postprocessing was some lightening and color correction.



after 6 months, Zanzibar, Tanzania
The picture continues to haunt me: a gorgeous beach with a scene showing abject poverty. The woman was harvesting coconut husks she buried for 6 months. The softened coir is sold for a mere handful of dollars as mattress fill. This has no editing save for the removal of spots (sensor dust).



row, Mekong Delta, Vietnam
This was a risky shot as I had to stand on my feet, trying to maintain the balance of the small boat I was on. I only saturated the colors to bring out the brown hue of the river.



breathless, Ramena Beach, Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Madagascar
After “Damgo” (above) which has >1,100 favorites in flickr, this comes second with >800. The pure unbridled joy on the children’s faces was priceless. I lightened the color to bring out the details of their smiles.



imbang, Sukawati, Bali, Indonesia
This is special as I took this the day after our wedding in Bali. My wife and I led the tour of some 50 guests when our car was interrupted by a procession. The photo was sharpened.



Bantimurung, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
This is not color-corrected in any way. I only lightened the photo. The orange tint came from incandescent lighting which contrasted sharply with the bluish tint of the fluorescent lamps on the waterfalls. Early dusk provided the rest of the effect.

the Glimpse

It was totally unexpected. Last November 9, Peter Ryan Go, a good friend from Cebu-Sugbo, the “mother group” of Cebu-based Flickr pools, called to invite me as one of the five featured photographers for a photo exhibition that his photography equipment store, the Photoshop will be sponsoring. The exhibit was to run at the newly opened Parkmall in Mandaue City, from November 15 to November 21.

Unfortunately for me, I had a pre-scheduled trip to Vietnam from November 11 to 15 so I was pressed for time, to put it mildly. Quickly I went through my pictures and selected my top 10 in my flickr gallery and emailed Peter the links of the high resolution versions. Then came the realization that the Canon 350D I am using only could only produce a maximum resolution of 3,456 x 2,304pixels, which would have been fine if the print is 14” wide. This would make the resolution near 250 dpi (divide 3,456 by 14). The quandary is that my photos might come out grainy as the exhibit size is 12x18”.

To the drawing board I came back. I needed to reexamine the choices I made. I had to rule out any crop photos. This was the easy part. In my original list were just two downsized photographs. A majority of my selection were reprocessed using picasa3, the lazy man’s free editing too, which tends to reduce the final resolution. I re-edited the pics using Canon’s free software, ArcSort Photo Studio, just some sharpening or lightening here and there. I did not apply any major changes for fear of downgrading the quality. One photo I even submitted as-is.

When I left for Vietnam, I was anxious that some, if not all photos, would be left out but when I saw on flickr the poster that still shows up my face, then I was relieved. I made it after all.




Yesterday, just a few hours after arriving from Vietnam, unpacking and taking a short siesta, I checked out the exhibit. I was in a hurry, so I only shot a few pictures. I would take some more pictures in my next visit.


My gallery of eight pictures






Do try to visit, if you are in Cebu. The exhibit runs until this Friday, November 21. With me are some of Cebu’s most promising photographers. I am in good company:

Jan Gonzales. Jan’s genre is conceptual portraiture. His expertise in lighting, styling and post-processing makes him a popular figure in commercial photography in Cebu, especially in his mastery of the famous Dave Hill effect. For the curious, the crying model below is Cebu’s speed racer, Matt Guidicelli.




Gerald Yuvallos. A good friend, Gerald is the acknowledged master of the macros in our Cebu-Sugbo flickr group. Nobody has more skill and patience to wait on the fly to blow a bubble than he does.




Joseph Ong. In a little more than two years, Joseph has carved a niche in glamour photography in Cebu. His works are featured in local and national glossy publications. Below is his photo of top Cebuana model Nikki Taylor.




Lito Inso. Having won honors in the recent Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), Lito is one of the in-demand wedding photographers in Cebu.



Next: the pictures that I chose in The Glimpse, part 2.

About Me

I am Farl, born, raised and still living in Cebu. A chemist by trade, I travel frequently on business so photography became an easy fit. Like most people, I started with a point and shoot and until 2005, I preferred the ultracompact Canon Powershot S40 that is small enough to fit inside my pocket.

In May 2005, I joined flickr and got hooked in photography quickly and irrevocably. I learned the basics of photography on my own. Voraciously, I studied pictures in flickr (especially those which have EXIF data), browsed to-do threads in flick pools like Technique and asked tips from hobbyist friends in meetups in our Cebu-Sugbo flickr group.

I was not planning to make the jump to dSLR until my p&s unexpectedly quit on me a week before a trip to Africa in November 2005. So I relented and bought a Canon Rebel XT 350D which I still use up to now. I never looked back. Today, I have 3 lenses: the kit lens 18-55mm, a telephoto 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 II USM and a prime 50mm f/1.8.

Visual arts, particularly classical painting, influence me heavily in my photographic compositions. I don’t have any book in photography nor do I consciously follow someone else’s style. Sometimes, I felt that I get afflicted by the postcard photography syndrome so I try to push myself and veer out of the stock photo style. Easier said than done.

I am keenly interested in landscapes, photojournalistic portraiture, culture and traditions. I’m still trying to learn how to use my Speedlite flash properly and wish that someday I can study artificial studio lighting. Onwards, I also hope that I find the time to study photoshop as I believe that post-processing is an entirely different monster necessary to advance oneself photographically. (Meantime, I use free software like picasa2.)

Occasionally I get stumped and endure weeks wherein I don’t touch my camera. This definitely means I may never be a professional photographer. However, photography will never get old for me as there is always something to learn. My best photos are still yet to come.


Here are some pics of me in flickr


me and my Mom at the WTC, September 10, 2001, a day before 911, taken by my sister Lall



me at Capepoint, South Africa, 2001, taken by a fellow tourist



me at Arc d’Triomphe, Paris, 2004, taken by my former boss



me and my wife, April 23, 2007, taken by my good friend Salvador


... and some unposted pics from the archives.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/3200s, f/5.6, 300mm, ISO 100, +2/3 EV, (uncropped)
This shot that I took at Tibubeneng, Bali, Indonesia makes me wistful. Too bad that it is almost impossible to make a self portrait like this for me, my wife and my daughter.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/60s, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO 400, +1/3 EV
The profile and upswept hair reminds me of Nefertiti. I had a hard time angling the shot to get a complete sideview profile but I know that I have to try. The lighting conditions were perfect especially that her sweat, as if choreographed, were gracefully cascading down her face.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 6.0s, f/22, 18mm, ISO 100
I admit that I am a sunrise and sunset hound. Photographically, the light is perfect in exposing the colors and nuances of the landscape.