Night photography: Intramuros, Manila

I have been trying to look for a place in the country where I can practice night photography for a while now. So far, the best place I have found is Intramuros.

While browsing the internet, Skydeck View restaurant, located on top of the Bayleaf Hotel, appeared in my search. As written in its website, “The unobstructed, 360 degrees view of the entire city including the world famous Manila sunset is simply stunning...”. Perfect!

Below are some of the shots I took there. At the center of the first image is the Manila City Hall.

 

I also walked around Intramuros to look for other possible subject then I reached the Manila Cathedral area.

Here is one of my photos of the church.

Then below are the photos of the Palacio del Gobernador.

 

As you can see there is a guard in one of the photos. There were, I think, around four guards in the area when I was taking picture that’s why it’s quite safe. I’m planning to go back again soon to take more pictures.

Shooting a Gig at Back to the 90s Bar

I was having dinner with Lisa and Agee when I mentioned that I want to shoot a rock performance. And presto! Lisa said there’s an upcoming gig where Driveway to Driveway (where Agee plays) is going to perform. I am sooo lucky!

Anticipating that the place would be really dark, I brought my 17-50 mm f/2.8 lens instead of the 18-135 f/3.5 so I can lower the ISO when using wide aperture. Here are my shots during the event.

Driveway to Driveway was the first to perform.

Below are the pictures of the other bands.

I also took some pictures of the set minus the artists and this is the one I like the most.

It was a challenge to shoot the gig because the set was too dark and even though the aperture was set at f/2.8, I had to go ISO 6400 because a very slow shutter speed wouldn’t work with the artists moving the whole time. Nevertheless, it was still fun. It always feels good when I'm able to capture the emotion of the artists when they perform.

Maker’s Market@Estancia Mall

Angela and I haven’t seen each other for quite a while. So what was supposed to be a quick catching up breakfast last September turned into a whole day hang-out at their bazaar at Estancia Mall. We arrived at around 9AM, early enough to set up the table of handmade goods.

For more samples of Likhangela’s handmade accessories, follow her on instragram at @likhangela. She's also in http://zalora.com.ph/.

Onay arrived a few minutes later and went straight to setting up her own stall. 

 

Other merchants at the makers’ market include Blissful Loops with endless variety of dreamcatcher bookmarks, bracelets and key chains.

There’s also pressednotcrushed

and MAIKala.

And my favorite that day was Creative Chaos.

Joyce arrived at lunch time and we pulled Onay and Angela away from their stalls for some pictures.

We went home at around 9:30 PM. I find it amazing how creative these people are and how much effort they put into their works. I guess it's because of their passion and their enjoyment in what they do.

Teachers Village restaurants: Van Gogh is Bipolar

Back in May, I thought of having dinner at some place where I can take pictures. The neighbourhood near my workplace provides a lot of options. After consulting restaurant reviews, I decided to eat at Van Gogh is Bipolar. I have heard of the place from a friend a few years ago but haven’t tried it. I recall her saying dining there was a nice experience.

When I opened the door I found a dimly lit room. Then a girl named Vi approached me and gave me a small booklet of the “VGIB rituals”. I missed this part in the reviews I have read so I thought ‘where the &@#$ am I?’ Then she handed me the menu (read: food price list). I thought ‘I better escape while I still can!’ But I decided to stay. It’s not every day that I shell out that much for a meal, anyway.

I asked Vi if it’s ok to take pictures. When she said it’s ok, I placed my order. Below is a picture of the counter. The jar on the left is where the customers put their payment and get their own change.

This picture below shows the list of rituals. It also shows where the coconut oil and alkaline water are.

But before performing the rituals, it would be nice to know the house rules.

For the tea drinking, customers can choose their tea pot from this corner.

This is my favorite picture of the place. I find the projector clock so appealing.

I stayed there for almost three hours, I think. The food was really good and I enjoyed taking pictures. Because they really limit the number of customers, it was very easy to move around and try different angles when taking photos. Vi seated near where I was and we got to chat a little as well. She also guided me in performing some of the rituals.  While trying out the place with a friend lets one to have somebody to share the experience with, eating there alone is an entirely different experience but no less exciting.