Sample 131 - Luis' Last Night

Mansion 'Lake'

Test Shot

The Knowledge of Good and Evil

First things first - the Mextures formula for this series of shots is 'Kalmaegi' (International name for Tropical Depression Luis). Code is RPKZCDM. Simple Landscape Enhance, more stress on Exposure and Contrast, I just had to go with Cross-Process type simulation for this one. 

The rain was hard but the mist and the fog was absolutely wonderful on the way home last night. I just had to whip out the camera and use it with yet another expensive photographic accessory - my beloved car. Thank God for this camera. Thank God for this car. 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Sample 120 - Light Shines In The Darkness

These are perilous times we live in. But the fact of the matter is that light still remains and shines brighter than ever before, even if the darkness grows darker. The lines are being drawn. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being revealed more than ever. The enemy is becoming more desperate, his tactics becoming more brazen and brutal. Yet nothing can stop the fact that these days, more and more people are being set free by God's amazing and absolutely perfect love.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow. Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be all the glory!

Sample 93 - Spectators

Shot May 2008 with the Nikon D40; ISO 1600. 

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. - Proverbs 15:22

In Christ, everyone watching you can say what they want but it is only what God has to say that matters.

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 92 - As The Sun Sets

Shot on May 2008 with the Nikon D40, from the balconies of SM Baguio. ISO Auto had the most interesting results. 

The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. - Proverbs 15:7

It helps to share what you shoot. The more you shoot, the more you're likely to share, the more you shoot.

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 91 - Vortex

Shot on April 2008 with the Nikon D40, 18-55mm lens

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. - 1 Corinthians 3:18

There's always something new to try. I remember that I spent a whole session shooting this way - slow shutter, zooming the lens out as it resolved. This looked like the only shot that was nice out of the camera.

God bless you.

Burnham Park, as of 2008. Shot on the same day. I must have gotten all dizzy.

_________________________
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 90 - Baguio Alley Through A Fisheye Lens

Shot on April 2008 with the Nikon D40, with a Nikkor Fisheye lens (Forgot the focal length, not really willing to check EXIF right now) borrowed from a good friend, Dawin. 

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
- Proverbs 18:1

Photography is a tool, not a status symbol. The moment you realize that you aren't taking pictures for yourself, rather, FROM yourself.. I believe that's a step forward.

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 77 - Step Up

'Do not be afraid of moving slowly
 be afraid of standing still.'

- Seen on a car sticker


_________________________
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 74 - Playing By The Shore

'Scene At The Beach 032813, Shot One

I miss my camera. But at the same time, I thank God for the inspiration and motivation to just keep on shooting, even with whatever's on hand.

I was with our men's fellowship group at the beach yesterday. We cooked and ate and had fellowship. We worshipped and broke bread and shared the Word of God.

I praise God for trials. They really put us in our place - surrendered and depending solely on Jesus. The trials I've had as of late were pinning me down in a sense but it also brought me to desire a word, a revelation from the Lord.

Ask, and you shall receive, indeed. I'm posting again, starting off with this shot and this verse. It is true that our God is forever faithful, even when we are unfaithful. The fact that He addresses our problems one by one in such precision adds to my faith in His being an almighty God who really cares for and loves me.

I pray that you see the love of Jesus in your own life. God bless you.

Sample 69 - Self-Portrait

Mansion House Lake, October 2010

A House Divided Cannot Stand

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."

- Matthew 12:22-30

 

I haven't felt so attached to a picture for the longest time.

Conflict exists in all levels; from the deepest personal thoughts to the highest forms of human government. If not addressed, all conflict leads to desolation, as Christ mentioned.

Introspection may prove counterproductive in the sense that we would see so much conflict in ourselves... But for those of us who believe, we have the option to choose to take what filth we see beneath the surface as a stern reminder of our humanity, and the futility of our flesh. That what we do of our own strength and power is done in vain, and it is God's strength that is made perfect in our weakness.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we would do well to continually call out on the name of the Lord, for His strength to be made perfect in our own personal lives, through all the highs and lows, through times of silence and of great anguish. We are able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to behold the Lord's strength to be made perfect in our own lives - and, eventually, as we continue to declare God's will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven, we will see the Lord's goodness manifest in our own houses, our communities, our cities, our countries, our world!

Truly, everything will be put in its rightful place, everything will be in order, when we give EVERYTHING to Jesus Christ.

Father, let Your Kingdom come, and let Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

To You be all the glory, and praise, and worship, forever and ever. In Jesus Christ's Name, 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 40 - Transition (Baguio '12)

Nikon D80, 18-200mm @ 55mm, f/8, 25 second shutter (-0.3EV, Center-weighted metering), ISO 125

Nikon D80, 18-200mm @ 36mm, f/8, 1/800 second shutter (-0.3EV, Center-weighted metering), ISO 100

Transition - From the lights of the night to the light of day. As the night fades and as dawn looms, the glow of many lights gives way to the slow yet pronounced ushering in of the brightness of the sun.

This is the second time I shot the sunrise with some good friends in photography up in Kabuyao, an area you would pass as you climb Mt. Sto. Tomas. You'd have to wake up really early to make sure you're up there, all set up and ready before sunrise. As I go through these shots I'm reminded of some very important lessons.

You need to be prepared - well rested, fully charged, with all equipment accounted for. Also, sometimes you need to do some travelling to get to some good spots to shoot.

I have to be honest; The reason why I posted these shots is because I took some shots from my iPhone during the same shoot, and I posted that shot on Facebook first. Here it is:

iPhone, Auto-all Settings (Like I had a choice), Instagram filter (Forgot which one)

Now I figure, posting this shot on Facebook was an accidental challenge I gave myself - is it possible for the pictures I took with the D80 to look at least a bit better than what I took from my iPhone?

I'll leave you to decide on which pictures look better. Of course, constructive feedback is always welcome.

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 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 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 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 14 - Decrepit

“Old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."


This was shot along Gen. Luna Rd., right beside Casa Generosa. It's gone, replaced with something better: Rose Bowl Restaurant!


Thanks to Dawin for lending me his Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens for that wide shot. 

_________________________
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 13 - Raw Flash

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." - Matthew 24:27

There is a certain joy to be felt when you're out in a gentle drizzle at dusk, waiting while your camera is properly perched, shutter open. That alone is thrilling in itself; exhilaration follows when the night turns to day for a split second, resulting in these images.

During these times I feel blessed to have been with fellow MWC's (Men With Cameras): Waffy, Dawin, and RJ. Visit Waffy's site here, and Dawin's collection here.



_________________________
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 11 - As The Sun Sets (Binatangan, Itogon 040412)

 
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." - Deuteronomy 6:5-7





_________________________
jb.redeemed
for full resolution pictures, 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 9 - 'Tower of Peace'

We all cry for peace

But our actions every day

they say something else

_________________________
jb.redeemed
for full resolution pictures, 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 8 - The Outskirts of Baguio

Views on the road to Philex

Itogon

Reposted from my original blog and featured on http://www.explorephilippines.net/. 

During those times when I was still fine-tuning what I learned from driving lessons around a year and a half ago, we opted to take on the remote areas surrounding Baguio. As you  can see, the urge to stop and shoot when we drove to Philex and Itogon was too great to resist. 

I remember that last shot in particular; I felt like I was in another country when we got down to shoot around that place. Note to self: Go back there some time. When the sun isn't as harsh. 

Pardon my crude attempts at watermarking. Comments and feedback are welcome. God bless you and Shalom.

_________________________

jb.redeemed
for full resolution pictures, 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 7 - Burnham Park at night, January 2011

I was blessed to have shot these pictures with a good friend, Karl. I was also blessed to have a friend like Dawin who was gracious enough to lend me his 17-55mm f2.8 lens, therefore giving me a small taste of Nikon's 'higher-level' glass - didn't know how to deal with the flare you see in the Panorama, but I'm pretty sure I'll be learning along the way.

God is gracious enough to remind us to keep our priorities straight in His very unique ways. It's always been on my mind to shoot for His glory, but when other agenda comes in the way, I end up in a pickle. That's what I learned later on in the evening, when, even if I had more than enough shots from Burnham, I thought I'd shoot with Dawin's lens a little bit more by taking a few shots of my house before I went inside. The camera fell and landed on the lens (!), but... I was blessed to find out that it was only the hood that was destroyed. I was blessed even more when I spoke to Dawin about it, and I was blessed yet again to see how calm he was when I returned the lens (with cash to pay for a replacement hood).

As I write this now, I'm thinking, 'I'm probably saying 'I'm blessed' too much'... But that's how our God is! If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us, and the blessings will follow! 

Shalom.

_________________________
jb.redeemed
for full resolution pictures, 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 1 - CJH in B&W

The beauty of uncertainty is it keeps our eyes towards God.



_________________________
jb.redeemed
for full resolution pictures, 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