It was raining hard when we reached Tagaytay. With this uncooperative weather, an outdoor wedding is definitely out of the picture. The new venue was equally awesome, the foyer of Midlands Golf Clubhouse with the Taal Volcano in full view. As soon as we arrived in Tagaytay Highlands, we immediately went to Karl’s cabin for some shots. As soon as the mandatory shots were done, it was Gaye’s turn. We were quite early since the wedding wouldn’t start till 4:30 pm but we were triggering away as early as half past noon. Gaye is a natural charmer and very relaxed in front of the camera. We took countless preparation shots not only inside the cabin but outside
as well.

Clear blue skies greeted us at the start of the wedding. Until the end of the ceremony, the weather has been very cooperative which allowed us to take several dramatic portraiture shots. It was quite necessary to have remote lighting for these shots since ambient light was already too low which will result to blurry photograph. Even a tripod will not solve it since the camera might be steady but not the subject.

The reception was a really party participated in by Karl and Gaye’s closest friends. Our movingpictures slideshow summarized the entire event using Daughtry’s Feels Like Tonight.

The welcoming sky of Tagaytay Midlands.

The many moods of Gaye.

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Reprinted from Selle and Dyoks Blog.

Thick, heavy and you can easily recognize it from a mile away. that’s what a typical wedding album is. Then photographers started offering “coffetable” albums. They’re a bit thinner with pages pasted on thin cardboards. they look more like baby books than coffeetable books.

And then there is the ArtBook.

The ArtBook is a unique product offered by Fol Rana, Jr. It has the look and feel of a true coffeetable book. A unique product indeed that’s why we wanted one for our wedding. It took a while but we finally got ours just today.

Even though we already knew what it would like (layouts are pre-approved before printing), it’s just different seeing the layouts printed and bound together in a book. Heck, even the smell is different.

The printing quality is exquisite, giving justice to the elegant layouting done.

Besides absolutely loving the album, we love the way it was packaged too. To protect the artbook, it has:

* a classy leather case
* a printed hard case
* and a book jacket

The front and back cover layout couldn’t have been more perfect. To top it off, our love story is printed at the back.

Just to give you an idea how thin our ArtBook is, that’s 6 five-peso coins stacked beside our ArtBook. Even my phone is twice as thick as our ArtBook. We haven’t seen a 50-page wedding album this thin other than the ArtBook.

Browsing through the pages of our ArtBook brings back memories of our wedding day. That’s more than enough to bring a smile off our faces.

Looks like every wedding seems to be the same….. the bride walks down the aisle, listen to the homily, vows and then the kiss. Everything seems to looks scripted. What are the simple gestures that you can do to make it extra special?

Here are my suggestions.

1. If the church has a swivel door, always do a dramatic entrance — ALONE.

2. You are exchanging vows — MEMORIZE IT.

3. Once your fiance finishes his statement during the giving of ring, always kiss the hand of the bride — TRULY ROMANTIC.

4. Always interact with your partner — ENGAGING.

5. Your first kiss is the highlight of the ceremony — DO MORE THAN THAT (hug, dip, cry, etc.)

Why do you need to do this? A wedding usually happens only once in your lifetime (unless you do your renewal), make it memorable not only to your guests but most importantly for both of you.

Once you take note of the above, ensure that your photographer is ready to capture these wonderful memories.

Doctors are really busy people, Jay and Mench, were no exception. Two months ago, they contacted me to do their wedding which I thought it will be next year. To my surprise, the date of their wedding is 08.08.08, without hesitation I already told them that I am booked. They asked me to look at my schedule again since their wedding will be late in the afternoon, luckily our original wedding that day will be very early and most likely be finished right after lunch.

Of course, my heel was still a concern. But at least if something really goes wrong with it, I know there will be a quite a good number of doctors that will be available to render first aid .

Mench Echiverri came in her Filipiniana inspired wedding gown. As expected, she was crying as she walks down the aisle. It was a very tearful moment since this was another case of a first born daughter being given away in marriage.

Of course, Jay, not be outdone, was also crying as Mench approached him . I guess just like in any other wedding emotions can really run high. However, the teary episode was just ephemeral and was replaced by joyous celebration as the ceremony ended. Almost everybody was already in the party mood as the reception starts.

To capped the evening, we played the movingpictures slideshow. I think Jay really enjoyed it — “Ang Pinakamandang Lalaki sa Mundo sang by Janno Gibbs.

Done with a low shutter speed while twirling the camera as I press the shutter.

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This seems to be the longest week (week of August 3). The start of the week, Sunday, was spent with my two boys in the driving range. I started picking up golf again because of the constant invitations from business colleagues and friends. After being more than a year away from this game, here I am again and I like my two kids to be with me. I believe once they are involved it will be more difficult for me to quit . My kids and I have engaged a professional to teach us again the basics. I have to say that except for a few corrections on my backswing, I am ready to play again.

Too early for me to say…. by Thursday, I can’t even take a single step. I was diagnosed of having a heel spur which rendered my left foot immobilized.

Why I am telling you this… just to narrate you how difficult it is to cover a wedding with one leg. Daniel is the son of a co-worker and they definitely want me to be in the wedding, not only to cover it but as a guest as well. In all my weddings, I am present all the time, unless I am dying (when I had dengue) there is no time that I wouldn’t be there to personally call the shots. So this is no exception, even if I know that Edong and Russ were more than capable to pull this off I made sure that I was also there.

The wedding was our earliest so far in San Agustin slated 7:45 in the morning. As you know this church is massive and with an aching left heel the entire place became even larger. It was a very good thing that Daniel and Eloisa took all the pointers I impressed on them last Wednesday. The entire wedding went smoothly and the shoot was even made memorable how understanding the couple were on my situation.

Even if the wedding is just a hobby, never will I let down a client. I always believe that every wedding is special. It is not only a labor of love but one of the most special events that can happen to any couple. As days pass, as years pile up, only these photographs shall remind the couple of that fateful day — we promise that we are always ready to capture these memories.

For their movingpictures slideshow, we chose David Cooke’s rendition of Maria Carey’s “You’re Always Be My Baby”.

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I can attest that today is one of the most hectic days for all wedding suppliers. Being an auspicious date, most couples, believe that this is the luckiest date to get married. I read it in the papers that around 9,000 couples shall get married in the country today. This date means “a new beginning”. So if you are still planning to get married and looking at these dates:

09.09.09
10.10.10
11.11.11
12.12.12

you might as well book all your suppliers now .

Jon and Maria got married last Friday, July 25 and I was chosen as one of their principal sponsors. Jon, of course, is known as one of the people behind Threelogy and admittedly one of our favorite videographers in the wedding industry. Eversince, I told myself that I will not be a ninong especially for a wedding. I guess its still clinging to whatever is left in my younger years . Being a ninong is just like a debut, it is to show society — hey I am old. However, just like all first times, I am really looking forward to this day. Walking down the aisle made me reminisce the day I got married. This time the walk was more vivid and at least you don’t feel the usual jitter of being a groom. Attending this wedding as a ninong gave me a different perspective. The principal sponsors are there not just to witness the event but to set an example to the couple to make their wedding what it ought to be….. happily ever after.

We are again in Don Bosco to cover the very intimate wedding of Phillip and Theresa. Typical Australian, Phillip is a natural comic. He is very comfortable in front of the camera and could pose all day long. This is the total reverse of Theresa, who really needed a warming up. But we will not allow her to miss this grand opportunity to be the center of attention. True enough, after a couple clicks and several flashes, she is raring to go. The lobby of Peninsula Manila is as impeccable as ever and provided a grand backdrop to our portraits. We used to remote flashes to achieve three dimensional lighting.

Meanwhile, the church, Don Bosco is a break from the usual Hispanic churches we cover. The diamond shaped ceiling design is made even more dramatic with a 10mm fish-eye lens. Again, we maximized the use of remote lighting to make scenes more cinematic — as I said before, using the Pocket Wizard is like having the sun at the palm of your hand.

We capped the reception with a movingpictures slideshow played by Goo Goo Dolls’ Before It’s Too Late.

F-stop is really dedicated to my endeavors particularly my photography. If you still don’t know photography is a hobby I am passionate about. I believe it is an outlet and depart from the left-brain thinking I usually do in my corporate function. I am very lucky that for the past eight years, I have been able to combine my hobby and my corporate hat. There are times that I feel too bad that I cannot accept as many weddings I can since I still have my corporate function. The latter is something I cannot give up. I love managing people, doing policies and setting day to day activities to ensure my department functions efficiently and effectively.

Late last year, I was given an opportunity to set-up and head the credit card department of a major universal bank. Together with a group of very professional officers and staff, from vision the entire thing became a reality and we launch our regular/core credit cards last October 2007. Slowly but surely, we increased our card numbers and gross billings. But the most exciting part was last June 27, when we launched our most prestigious Mabuhay Miles Mastercard. The cards that come in Platinum and World are one of the most exciting card products in the market. It gives you high credit limit with separate Peso and Dollar billings. It has the lowest point to mile conversion at Php38.00 only. Most importantly, the World card comes with a round the clock travel, medical and security assistance powered by international reknowned provider ISOS.

You know I have been passionate about my photography. But today, I am equally passionate about the launching of this product. The features of the cards are really designed with the consumer in mind. I strongly suggest that you get one. If you are interested, let me know and I will personally invite you to be one of our cardholders.

Here is the teaser and commercial you are now seeing in TV. This is directed by award winning director Mark Meily.

For related articles, click: Philippine Star

The Teaser

The Full Commercial

After a self-imposed blog hiatus, here I am again all excited in telling you about our latest prenup escapade. Last Friday, we went all the way to Naga to shoot BJ and Meann’s prenup. Of course, BJ being the owner of Penafrancia Tours and Travel helped a lot in bringing us safely to our destination. The air-suspension equipped Mercedes Benz Comfortec bus was definitely comfortable even after an 8 hour trip (from 9pm to 5am). Imagine, you are seated in an almost Lazyboy-like seat which you can recline almost 145 degrees (adjustable headrest, leg support and footrest). The pitch (legroom) from seat to seat can definitely compete with most airlines. You can view the latest DVD in their 32-inch well placed HDTV with individual audio/volume control (dont’ forget your earphones) and if nature calls the bus need not stop since you have your own lavatory inside …. beat that.

Around 7am (Saturday) we got ready to drive all the way to Legaspi. There was really no exact place to do the shoot but we all decided that we stop in places that we thought were interesting. And the places we stopped were quite picturesque. First stopover was in a derelict 1927 colonial house in a middle of a field. Admittedly, the place looked spooky and we would not have stopped if it was not 9am but the place was definitely superb backdrop for the shoot.

After that there were other several places we went to…. a cliff, a field (which necessitated us to do a bit of hiking), a beach and of course a hill with the majestic Mayon Volcano.

In between these shoots, the generosity of our hosts and their families were incomparable. The food and accommodation were to die for. I think me and my crew gained 20 pounds during our weekend stay.

The next day, Sunday, was a shoot mainly done in the Penafrancia port. The couple dressed in their overalls was a delight to see. Time to get dirty and adventurous going to the extent of going on top of the bus for a shoot.

We also went to the Archdiocese of Caceres and took photographs in the brick-laden old Spanish seminary. The old walls provided a nostalgic backdrop for more interesting photos.

Around 9pm, we need to catch our deluxe bus on the way back to Manila. It was one of the most difficult goodbyes we have to do since we really didn’t want to leave . The entire Bicol prenup was a welcome relief to the usual trite and common urban shoot in Metro Manila.

Ask us if we will do this again? ….. i tell you, in a heartbeat .

Again, thank you BJ, Meann, Lynette, Alvin and the entire Cu family.

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