Sample 27 - Meralco Avenue At Night (050911)

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 26 - Summit Lake, Mount Evans (Colorado '08)

It's been exactly 4 years since my brother treated my parents and I to a drive to Mount Evans, Colorado. Though it's been so long, I could remember exactly how exhilarated I felt with my handy-dandy Nikon D40, prancing around in the near-freezing weather going shot-crazy. We were pressed for time, so most of the 'stops' we had were more of my brother just hitting the brakes while I took a few shots from the car window. Here in Summit Lake, however, we had the chance to step out of the car to move around a little bit.
 
I remember taking shots of my first glimpses of snow - I remember feeling really excited to be so close to the stuff as compared to just seeing it in a book! This was my first time to see it for real, and I was the last one in the family to be in it. 

Just before I made a mad dash back to the car I saw this puddle, and I took these pictures.

Oh, and here's a panoramic shot of Mount Evans from a spot between Summit Lake and our car:

More to come. To God be the glory! Thank God for these opportunities to shoot in such beautiful locations... God bless you!



*These shots were proudly edited with Adobe Camera Raw, instead of throwing them into Photomatix Pro. :)


_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Checkpoint 2.5

So here's what the blog looks like in Flipcard format - Looks dark. Print screened, opened in Photoshop, and here's the histogram:

A 'mountain' closer to the left side of the histogram indicates there is more black in the overall picture. Now it technically looks darker. I look forward to balancing this out in the future posts. 

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 25 - 'Watering Hole', Baguio 082012

I missed shooting lately so I've been using what's probably the latest piece of camera gear I got - The Toyota Revo - to go around to places around the city to shoot some updated 'scapes. I just had to stop in this particular area. It's funny because it was the view to the right of the off-yellow and black barrier that initially prompted me to park in this spot, but when  I saw how plain the shots I took looked, I decided to turn around, and lo and behold - a scene different yet shootable in my book was waiting to be captured. 

Well, I said it was shootable but not necessarily something I would really, really sell. When I think about it I wouldn't actually know what to 'sell' and what to 'keep'. I guess that's another reason why I got this blog going again. Anyway, here's an alternate view - a crop of the above shot placing the focus on the drivers taking advantage of free-flowing rain water to wash their cars.  

 
Which shot looks better? You tell me.

Okay. I just remembered that I've begun opening the raw version of these shots and editing from there. I couldn't say there was anything that could have been done on a NEF here that couldn't have been done on its JPEG equivalent. But I'm just saying. Perhaps I've begun doing this to tell myself that there's more fun in raw besides making them HDRs.

God bless you.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 24 - A Delicate Farewell, Set 2 (Chula Vista '11)

A few hours ago I was writing about how down I felt in a blog, considering all the issues I've been facing over the past weeks. There's crisis here and there, and I'm not talking in the general sense, but in my own personal life. Though I thought I was going on the right track in saying that I may not see the light at the end of the tunnel but I know for a fact that in darkness or light my Savior, Jesus Christ, will never leave me.

As I was waiting to lead prayer for this evening's dinner, I decided to post this set, part 2 of the 'Delicate Farewell' series. Then I decided to post a line from set 1, and I found this:

"...As He is my foundation, no matter how I am pushed or prodded, I will not be shaken. That's another thing beautiful about being in fog. Though you may not be able to see too far off - though what is ahead may be uncertain, the solitude to be felt reminds us of that fact that He will never leave nor forsake us." - JB, "Sample 20 - A Delicate Farewell, Set 1 (Chula Vista '11)" 

 I just... thank God for being so faithful. Indeed, indeed, in fog we may not know what lies ahead, but it also serves as a reminder for us to keep in mind that it is not what we see but who we believe is with us - Jesus Christ - it's Him that matters. To God be all the glory and praise, indeed!

Shalom.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 23 - Ortigas Overpass, Night and Day

It's the return of the dreaded HDR... Well, at least what I hope are competent reasons to still do that processing approach. These used to be in my flickr photostream until I deleted them a few hours ago. I got some feedback regarding that first shot, that there was some barrel distortion going on. It's because I'm using the 18-200mm lens. There's a reason they call this specific lens a 'Swiss Knife' - you can do so much of it but if you have a separate dedicated knife, screwdriver, scissor, lightsaber (?), etc., you'd probably use those instead.

After reading countless boys and girls praise and complain about the 18-200mm, I just have to say this - it does the job. It may disappoint some 'pixel peepers', but I'm enjoying it. Though I've been trying to make the 'Nifty Fifty' (50mm f1.8) the main lens on my D80, I always find myself coming back to using the 18-200mm when I need to take some 'safety shots', especially during events. 

About these shots - well, they're of the overpasses on the junction of Emerald Avenue and Dona Julia Vargas over at Ortigas. Enjoy. :)

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 22 - Faux Frost (Carmen 101110)

Add caption

Close-Up Grass

I'm downloading some tutorials on how to use Lightroom right now. While waiting I decided to go ahead and try playing with one of the many RAW files I have backed up here. No HDRs here, people. I ignored the Photomatix icon and opened the NEF file with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), something like a branch of Photoshop. 

Here's the original file:

This is one of the many pictures I took from the window seat of a bus during my many trips back and forth between Manila and Baguio from 2009 - 2010. In this particular shot I liked how the tops of the tall grass together in the distance looked like a white blanket. I'm not so sure what sort of metering I used here but as you can see the sky was 'murdered' with highlights. I don't think you can recover any detail by playing with levels, brightness and contrast, and curves on this JPEG equivalent. 

It was a totally different experience with ACR. I simply opened the NEF file and brought the exposure down 2 stops. I was wrong to think that the 'blinkies' (highlights) were impossible to fix - the clouds popped out as I dragged the Exposure pointed to the left.

Well, that was something to remember - but I wanted to emphasize the 'white blanket' so I eventually cropped out most of the sky, as you can see in the finished picture. I thought the grass zoomed in looked a little painterly so I thought I'd post that too. 

I hope to watch that Lightroom tutorial soon to see what else I've been missing. 

God bless you!

 

_________________________

jb.redeemed

email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Checkpoint 2

Hunter//Gatherer

20 Plus posts so far. I've been pretty lazy in the sense that I don't even look at the raw equivalents of the shots I've been taking, choosing to do very minimal post-processing techniques (mostly resizing) on JPEGs instead. So that's one thing I plan on doing moving forward - I've always been told to shoot RAW but I haven't really looked into them, so I will be reading and working on more of the accumulated NEF files I have here. 

God bless you.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 21 - The Menacing Sun (Pensacola '08)

Death Ray over Red Lobster

Thundercracker

Yup, we're going back to HDR-Land for a bit. I will leave these shots edited as they were whenever I spent time on them, which could be years ago. 

One of the best ways to end a day in my book is a good meal followed by a relaxed shot. Last 2008, I had the opportunity to enjoy this combination during one evening in Pensacola. My cousin Nelia treated us to a local 'super-buffet' (pay $10-$15 depending on which specific all-you-can-eat restaurant to dive into their good-enough spreads), and as we walked to the parking lot we were treated to this sight: the descending sun trying desperately to make its light known through some pretty thick clouds.

These are some of the shots I've been meaning to post in some way or form, but one thing kept stumbling into the way - my pride. I wanted these shots to be in some portfolio of my 'greatest' shots but for years I've been thinking about how to define a 'great' shot in my book. 

I intend to answer that and get so much more deeper in a message I've also been intending to write about for the longest time (hindered by procrastination) and present in a small book. There will probably be some shots in the book, and I suppose a way to start 'selection' is by posting all of the shots I appreciate on this humble blog. By God's grace I will see what to put. 

"Commit all your ways to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established." - Proverbs 3:6

Father, this blog is for Your glory. I lift it all up to You for Your Name and Your Name alone to be praised.. In Jesus Christ's Name I pray, Amen.

_________________________

jb.redeemed

email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 20 - A Delicate Farewell, Set 1 (Chula Vista '11)

I'm probably going to state this more than once in this blog: I love fog and mist, and I definitely love shooting in fog. I remember writing somewhere that one thing wonderful about flying is that you're above the clouds for once instead of being under them. Fog gives us a chance to walk among clouds as well. 

As I walk through the mist I notice a distinct smell which reminds me of better days and better places - I wouldn't be able to actually smell pure fog in busier areas. It makes you really recognize that you're in cold yet peaceful weather. I suppose that's what I like about it - there is a certain solitude, a certain peace to be felt in this weather.

I rarely see fog whenever I'm with my brother's family in sunny Chula Vista. And as if that didn't excite me enough, it showed up on - of all times - the last evening of the year 2011. Now that I think of it, the perfect way to end the year, and the perfect way to start a new one was in solitude. A beautiful message for me personally, considering how prone I used to be to match my attitude with whatever pressure comes my way. 

There is power in peace. And the only peace that can be found comes from the Prince of Peace - Jesus Christ. 

Now you may be thinking, 'did you have to throw in Jesus to the article?' 

Absolutely. As He is my foundation, no matter how I am pushed or prodded, I will not be shaken. That's another thing beautiful about being in fog. Though you may not be able to see too far off - though what is ahead may be uncertain, the solitude to be felt reminds us of that fact that He will never leave nor forsake us. 

Think about it. God bless you.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 19 - A Drop Of Golden Sun (Anilao '09)

Please accept my sincerest apologies for posting reruns and for not posting recently - I've been lazy, perhaps intimidated to keep uploading for some reason. 

God blesses us for us to bless others. Indeed, we love only because He loved us first. We are gracious because He has showed us grace first. The blessings we have, they are of no use if we keep it all to ourselves - it simply cannot be kept hidden! That being said, I must continue to clear my repository, sharing what I have seen to the world, for His glory! 

I want the pictures that I take to go far above the shallow and worldly intention of merely showing where I've been. I want to glorify God with every click of the camera.

May I always remember this whenever I shoot, and whenever I share. To God be all the glory and praise, forever and ever!

_________________________

jb.redeemed

email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 18 - [reposted] Trails, Take II

"Brent School Baguio Trail Area, 030809

Yes, here are the trails.

We used to smoke here. I stopped smoking for 3 years running. To God be the glory.

Many years earlier I used to take a golf club (sans head) and slashed the young ferns along the trails, thinking they were 'bad guys'. That's an example of a memory I have that, when breezing through my mind, leaves me with a sigh and a smile.

I posted this shot using a more pretentious (lazier) post-processing before and some dude commented, asking ever so eloquently, 'Where's HDR?'

Took that as feedback, did it again recently, spiced it up with Topaz Adjust, added a relevant verse, felt better.

Again, to God be all the glory and praise."

- Reposted from my first blog.
_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 17 - [reposted] The Emerald Plains of Oz

San Juan, May '09

 Originally posted in my first blog.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 16 - One Morning In Amparo... (031308)

These were taken one morning as I was on my way home using the Bakakeng Norte route. The smoke and the rays of light fascinated me for some reason... Now that I think about it I suppose what I like about it is that with smoke, we can see in detail how light pierces through where it can..

Do bear with me as I am going beyond describing why I appreciate the pictures I take and choose to post, beyond saying 'I thought it looked good.'

Shalom.


_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26

Sample 15 - Lily Pond & Botanical Building, Balboa Park, 090908

These shots were taken just as I was shifting from the handy-dandy Nikon D40 to a handier-dandier (and also then recently acquired) Nikon D80. I just took a quick peek at the data accompanying the exposures and saw I was shooting at 0 EV according to matrix metering - a recipe for highlights. 

As the years went by I slowly learned that it was easier to take underexposed shots and play with D-Lighting and Levels when needed. I also saw the need of taking the picture to my satisfaction as soon as I clicked the shutter - too many times have I been telling myself, "That'll look better with a bit of editing." True, there is fun in editing, but there's even more fun in finishing a shot in one go.

..."do not leave off for Photoshop what you can shoot right now" (?)

Enjoy.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
email me at jibee@rocketmail.com. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26