About a month ago, I didn't even know what a photo walk was. Then I attended a basic photography course at UP, which exposed (pun intended) me to a whole new world. Through it, I relearned some of the rudiments of the craft, like ISO and aperture settings, which I had informally studied before, online. But what I really valued about the course is that it taught me a whole slew of new technical things, shooting tips, and helpful acronyms--TAE, WHIMS, bokeh, star trails, the Hail Mary shot, light painting, and so on. I even got to learn about lenses, filters and other photography gear which I knew next to nothing about. (Not only did I learn what a hygrometer was, but I actually got a free one in the course.)
Before I forget to properly acknowledge it, the course is Nathaniel Salang's 3-Day Basic Photography Course. It can easily be found online, and I recommend that anyone interested in photography should take it.
So, I took the course, and when it was done, I thought, now what? Although my d-SLR is old and hopelessly passe (it's a modest Olympus model), I didn't want to put it back into some drawer, where it had gathered dust for two years before I thought of taking up photography (somewhat) seriously. And I didn't want to put to waste what I had learned in the course.
The next step seems to be to join a photography group or a photo walk. I've been on the lookout for these, but people seem to be too busy these days to go on a photo walk. It's Christmas season, after all.
So I thought I'd try to go on a photo walk alone. It shouldn't be that hard, right? I told myself that the important thing is to just get some shooting practice, period. For this, I thought I'd go to UP, because it's familiar and safe, and because the people there don't really care what you do. I did bring along my good friend Cris for company. I haven't seen her for a long time, and this is as good a chance to get together as any. Like shooting two birds with one stone. (Pun intended, again.)
As expected, I learned a lot from the experience. Well, that's putting it nicely. What I mean is that I made a lot of mistakes on this supposed photo walk... but from those mistakes, I am now wiser (hopefully). Next time, I should remember to:
Hmmmm....
This may be my favorite pic of the bunch. I think it helped that I made it B&W.
Push! Push!
Exhibit A: The photographer was slow, and the subject has missing body parts. Tsk! Tsk!
Another of my favorite pics in the bunch.
Again, missing body parts!
This really should have been sharper. Sayang.
I love this picture. Good thing the student and the riders weren't on a collision course.
The red stood out for me.
Patterns.
The oblation. I wanted the flag to look like his cape, ala-Superman, but it didn't happen.
A skateboarder ... in the noonday heat.
Cris, using a point-and-shoot.
Okay, I should have used f/22 here. Lesson learned. Kapag landscape, dapat higher f-stop.
I like this pic :-)
The carillon (?)
The academic oval. I feel it's mandatory to get a shot of these acacias (and of the Oblation) when you're in UP.
Cris, holding my useless tripod :-)
My alma mater, the College of Engineering. I borrowed here the "tilting" style of Sir Thaniel.
Before I forget to properly acknowledge it, the course is Nathaniel Salang's 3-Day Basic Photography Course. It can easily be found online, and I recommend that anyone interested in photography should take it.
So, I took the course, and when it was done, I thought, now what? Although my d-SLR is old and hopelessly passe (it's a modest Olympus model), I didn't want to put it back into some drawer, where it had gathered dust for two years before I thought of taking up photography (somewhat) seriously. And I didn't want to put to waste what I had learned in the course.
The next step seems to be to join a photography group or a photo walk. I've been on the lookout for these, but people seem to be too busy these days to go on a photo walk. It's Christmas season, after all.
So I thought I'd try to go on a photo walk alone. It shouldn't be that hard, right? I told myself that the important thing is to just get some shooting practice, period. For this, I thought I'd go to UP, because it's familiar and safe, and because the people there don't really care what you do. I did bring along my good friend Cris for company. I haven't seen her for a long time, and this is as good a chance to get together as any. Like shooting two birds with one stone. (Pun intended, again.)
As expected, I learned a lot from the experience. Well, that's putting it nicely. What I mean is that I made a lot of mistakes on this supposed photo walk... but from those mistakes, I am now wiser (hopefully). Next time, I should remember to:
- check my materials more thoroughly. I did bring a tripod, but I left home the base/port/thingy that attaches the camera to the tripod. As a result, I didn't get to use the tripod at all.
- include people's feet in the frame. I took many shots of people with missing body parts (usually the feet and fingers).
- move faster! OMG, I'm such a slowpoke! I missed a lot of "good shots," like colorful motorists or bikers passing me by before I even got to raise my camera.
- shoot earlier--or later--in the day. It was around 10 a.m. when I started taking pictures. I shot away until about 1 p.m. Everyone knows that the noonday sun isn't a great light source. And it was HOT!
The pictures I took aren't that great, but I wasn't expecting them to be. At least I got to go on a trip that was solely intended for picture-taking. And I got to learn and grow some.
The oblation. Brings to my mind this line from Bohemian Rhapsody: "I look to the sky and see / I'm just a poor boy."
This runner made at least three laps around the oval (6.6 km!) while we were there.
Hmmmm.... 
I love shooting people... If only they'd make eye contact.
This may be my favorite pic of the bunch. I think it helped that I made it B&W.
Push! Push!
Exhibit A: The photographer was slow, and the subject has missing body parts. Tsk! Tsk!
Another of my favorite pics in the bunch.
Again, missing body parts!
This really should have been sharper. Sayang.
I love this picture. Good thing the student and the riders weren't on a collision course.
The red stood out for me.
I like the foreground, but not the rest of the picture.
Patterns.
The oblation. I wanted the flag to look like his cape, ala-Superman, but it didn't happen.
A skateboarder ... in the noonday heat.
Cris, using a point-and-shoot.
Okay, I should have used f/22 here. Lesson learned. Kapag landscape, dapat higher f-stop.
I like this pic :-)
The carillon (?)
The academic oval. I feel it's mandatory to get a shot of these acacias (and of the Oblation) when you're in UP.
Cris, holding my useless tripod :-)
My alma mater, the College of Engineering. I borrowed here the "tilting" style of Sir Thaniel. 
2 comments:
You have some keepers there. Pretty good for a first photowalk! --- Nathaniel S.
use the words "bigger" or "smaller" para less confusing.
"Kapag landscape, dapat higher f-stop." --- Nathaniel S. ulit
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