Half Frame Diptychs

Window


School Desk


After the Snow Storm


Snowy Day


Olympus Pen EES

First test roll from my recently acquired Olympus Pen EES, half frame 35mm film camera.
Although I only paid $20 for this beauty, it is almost in mint condition. Everything, including the selenium meter is working well.

The Olympus Pen EES was launched in 1962. The camera has a 30mm f/2.8 zone focusing lens, equivalent to 45mm on a full-frame camera. It only has two shutter speeds; 1/40 and 1/200 second. Exposure is fully automatic, controlled by the selenium meter around the lens.
No batteries needed.

My Last Vacation to the Philippines

Hat Vendor, Bohol


Fisherman's Hut, Bohol

The best season to visit the Philippines is December to February. The climate is very pleasant these times of the year, not too hot and humid and the rainy season had mostly gone away.
It's been awhile since I visited my native country, the last time was after Christmas in 2005.
Above are a couple of my favorite shots taken in the island of Bohol.

Monster Bubbles

My studio shooting assignments are now slowly winding down for the season. Whew!!
I will have time to shoot more personal stuff.
The above image is an outtake that I took last year for a toy called Monster Bubbles. The toy actually produced these giant bubbles! The original shot was in color.

Todos los Santos

In my native country, the Philippines, we don’t celebrate Halloween like they do here in the United States but around this time we celebrate “Todos los Santos” (all saints/souls day) instead. Being predominantly Catholic, Filipinos celebrate this holiday by remembering friends and relatives who have passed on. It is similar to Mexico and Latin America’s day of the dead.
A few days before the holiday, Filipinos would clean and spruce up their cemeteries. They would re- paint the tombstones, mow the grass and remove the weeds around the grave sites. On the day itself, November first, families would visit the grave sites, bringing along candles and fresh flowers. The day is a mixture of solemn and merry occasion. It is a time to remember the departed love ones, to pray for them, conduct a vigil and at the same time to socialize with other relatives and neighbors who came to visit the grave sites.
And since Filipinos love to eat they usually bring food with them, not to offer them to the dead but to have a picnic along the site. The cemeteries would have a festive atmosphere; many flowers, candles and food stalls would be along the entrance.

1 Day Before Trick or Treat

2 Days to Halloween

3 Days Until Fright Night