The Ultralight Philosophy

I love the great outdoors and being with nature, be it swimming with the fishes, scuba diving or just being in the forest backpacking on my favorite trails. The freedom of being one with nature, just being absorbed by your environment, your mind goes inward and the heart beats slowly to the rhythm of the blowing wind.

I have been an avid backpacker, and my hiking habits changed when a guy name Ray Jardine introduced a backpacking philosophy called ultralight backpacking, where you only bring the essentials that you need for your trip and not be bogged down by unnecessary gear. A tarp instead of a tent, a shorter and lighter sleeping pad, summer weight sleeping bags, a small knife instead of a multitool, cotton balls as firestarters etc. He advocated that the reward of hiking is the journey as much as the destination.

I kept that philosophy with me and applied it even to my daily life and my photography. I used to be one of those guys that would salivate every time a new camera model or the latest gear comes in, because I would tell myself it could make my pictures better when I knew all along that it’s the photographer that makes the picture, not the camera. The great Ansel Adams took his legendary pictures with a square wood box camera, right? In martial arts, my teacher would tell me, "It's the warrior not the weapon".




















Photo Tip: To lighten your camera load in backpacking, you do not need to bring a 2 lb slr (unless it is a photoshoot hike). Instead bring a compact point and shoot that has a wide angle to moderate telephoto lens, sharp and has great colors and saturation. An optical image stabilizer is a big plus, since you can leave the tripod behind. Do not focus so much on the technique but instead focus on your composition and vision.

Cape May

Last Thanksgiving, we wanted to do something different than staying at home slaving in front of the oven and cooking a 15lb turkey. This time, I wanted to be fed and just relax for a couple of days.

We looked around where to go, we wanted to go somewhere that is relatively near us and where there are good restaurants that are open that time of the year and could offer something different from the city.

We decided to go to Cape May, my wife and I haven't been there and I have heard of some really great restaurants, plus I miss the smell of the ocean. So off we go, booked a hotel and drove 2.5 hours to the cape.

Cape May is a rather charming town with the colorful Victorian houses lining the street and rustic restaurants. The best thing about going there at that time of the year was that the crowds were all gone and you get transported back in time with the Island almost to ourselves.



In the afternoon, we walked along the beach, with the wind blowing through our hair and watched as the sun went down.





We ended the day with a glass of wine, great food and thankful to God for all the blessings that we have.

I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive - Heaven Lyrics by Live


















Photo Tip: To take photos of a sunset, set your camera to aperture or manual mode, select an aperture of 5.6 or higher and meter on the sky beside the sun but do not include the sun, take note of your shutter speed. Lock the exposure and recompose your shot. This will cause a silhouette of your foreground and will render the amazing color of the sky.

Warning! Be careful not to look at the viewfinder too long as the sun can burn your eye.

Capture the Moment

As photographers, we are given the task to "Capture the Moment". But what is a moment? It has nothing to do with time. It is about being in the present. When you are fully absorbed in that "Now".

"Eternity isn’t some later time. Eternity isn’t even a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time. Eternity is that dimension of here and now that all thinking in temporal terms cuts off. " - Joseph Campbell

Peer into the viewfinder of your camera, it is dark in there, save for that little box which is your window to the world outside. Inside your viewfinder there are focus points and whichever focus point you pick and aim towards an object you will see that the object nearest that focus point will be clear and sharp, hence the term "in focus". While the rest of the picture will fade away in the background. Again breathe, focus, click the shutter and time will stop and that moment will be captured forever.

As in the cacophony of our daily lives we too can be in focus, stop time and live in the moment. Without dwelling on the past and worry about the mysterious future.

Stand on a corner of a busy street and watch as cars pass by, honking their horns. Observe the people rushing on to the street, talking, shouting. There is a certain chaos. Breathe deeply and slowly and focus on one point on the street, be it a person or a red fire hydrant, focus on it while being aware of your breathing. In a brief moment your mind will be calm, time will stop and the world will be in focus. Blink! You have just captured the moment.

By having your mind free of thoughts your photos will flow with life itself.

"Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free Stay centered by accepting
whatever you are doing, This is the ultimate" -- Zen Saying

Tip: Pick your focus points carefully, study your subjects whether it is a person, a rock or a flower. The correct focus point can make or break a picture and will even affect exposure. When taking portraits, a good rule of thumb is to focus on the eyes. The eyes are the window into the soul and thus will let your images speak for themselves.

Paraiso

I have been fortunate last night, to have been able to take intimate photographs of the concert of a great Filipino composer and all around musical genius, Maestro Ryan Cayabyab. It was always one of my dreams to be able to shoot concerts or musicals up close, last night was the first step and I loved every bit of it.

It was a really great experience. The new singing group of Maestro Ryan after his previous hit group the Smokey Mountain was amazing. They are dubbed the RCS (Ryan Cayabyab Singers). Classics from the maestro, new compositions, "Kundiman", Christmas and some "APO" songs have been sung as well.


Stephanie Reese stunned the crowd with her soprano voice and dynamic performance. She starred in Miss Saigon in Germany, played Esmeralda in Disney's World premiere of "The hunchback of Notre dame" she also played the Princess Tuptim in "The King and I" in London among others.

Her journey from the spotlight of the stage, to a powerful voice for the slums of the Philippines, warms the heart.

The most important thing of course last night are the plight of my countrymen who have found new homes and rebuilt their lives through the generosity of a group called Gawad Kalinga . It is a touching tribute knowing that the private sector has more impact than the government in building homes for the poor. There is still work to be done and the best part is... we could help.

I will let Maestro Ryan's lyrics tell us the story of the plight of the homeless in the Philippines and all over the world.

Excerpt from the song Paraiso, sung by Smokey Mountain, lyrics by Ryan Cayabyab


I live in this land called paraiso,
In a house made of cardboard floors and walls.
I learned to be free in paraiso,
Free to claim anything I see.
Matching rags for my clothes,Plastic bags for the cold.
And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy.
I never fight to take someone else's coins
and live with fear like the rest of the boys.

Paraiso, help me make a stand.
Paraiso, take me by the hand
Paraiso, make the world understand
That if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
This tired and hungry land could expect
Some truth and hope and respect
From the rest of the world.






























Proud to be Pinoy!

Additional pictures on my site, sorry if there is no direct link.

go to www.sachivillareal.net
enter the wedding site
navigate to the: featured gallery tab

Photo Tip: In low light situations such as concerts, you will need a fast lens and a camera capable of producing clean images at a high ISO. So I took out my trusty 5D and my fast telephoto lens Canon's venerable 135 F2 to get the shots. I needed the fast lens and high ISO to get my shutter speed to the point that I can stop the motion of the performing artists and also to prevent camera shake from my long telephoto.

Setting: Camera set on manual f2.0 at 160/Sec ISO 1600

Spirit of Place

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom - Greek Proverb

For an artist, the world is his palette, and adventure his brush. We all yearn for a little adventure in our lives, the sense of something new excites us. We are all born to a life of adventure. The moment we got out of our mothers womb, we are introduced to the sights, sounds, smells and touch of the world. Everything is new, everything is exciting.

But when we grow older this excitement takes a backseat, we engulf ourselves in the monotonous currents of our lives and the simple joys become mundane. We want something bigger, we strive for something better and we work very hard for it, then we get tired of working, then it is back to square one. Our sense of wonder does not go away, it is just under there somewhere tucked under the covers.

Let's get away, pick a favorite place you have always dreamed of going, take your camera and capture life.

How do we capture the Spirit of a Place? By taking a pause, breathe and Feel the gentle breeze of the ocean. Listen to the music played on the street, Smell the wonderful aroma from that little french kitchen, Gaze upon the giant monoliths of the Swiss alps and Laugh with the people who live in there. This is the spirit of the place, by being one with your environment. After you absorb all that, then and only then can you take the picture.

With all your senses heightened and your sense of wonder back in you, you will unleash your creative self and with the camera stop time and capture life's essence. It is with deep passion can our photographs be alive. Like our mothers cooking made with patient preparation, the right ingredients and gentle care can the food be so memorable.

Try taking a picture of a mountain at sunrise, wake up early, prepare your gear, visualize your shot and find your spot. Once there listen to sounds of the birds and the smell of the morning dew and once the sun finally kiss those peaks you will feel a joy so profound it is beyond words and then breathe, compose and press the shutter.

The rich and varied journey of life, encompassing all opposites, connecting all things.
The Great Journey is full of blessings for the person who has eyes to see. Tao - The Great Way.

Tip: When taking pictures of your travels, tell a story. Think of how the story begins and how it will end. You can start with photos of you at the airport and end it walking away from the camera at a beach at sunset.

A good story needs a good backdrop to work with, grab your tripod and wide angle lens and take pictures of the place, the mountains, the monuments. Zoom in and grab the details that make the place unique. Vary your angles, shoot at different times of the day. Night shots of city lights, sunsets at the beach or the drama of the rainy day. A good rule of thumb when shooting landscapes is to be mindful of the horizon and that it is horizontally straight and shoot with a smaller aperture.

A good story will need actors, so take photos of the people in that area, learn their customs so you could shoot them in their environment. Use a long lens and be invisible, in that way they can act naturally. Once you get a good rapport with them, take a closer more intimate portrait to emphasize their eyes and face, which in themselves tell their own story.


And lastly don't forget to enjoy the moment.

The Tipping Point

I am taking a break today and not talk about Photography for a second.

I wanted to take this time to relish this moment in history, when America voted its first African-American President in the true sense of the word. Although I am not a citizen of this country, I feel indebted to it because it has provided me with a lot of opportunities and memories.

I have to admit, if I could vote I would've voted for the old warrior John McCain, because being a martial artist all my life I do have an affinity for the warrior and the code that embodies a warrior. But there was no question change is coming. It all pointed to it, 911, the Iraq war, the failed Bush administration and the worse economic downturn since the great depression. A Tipping point has been reached. All that is needed is a catalyst to facilitate that change.

Tipping points are "The levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.

- Malcolm Gladwell, from his book, The Tipping Point.

Back home in the Philippines in 1983, after years of brutal dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos, the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino, the killings of innocent lives and the suppression of freedom. The country had its Tipping Point. Masses of people stormed the streets, stood against the might of the government and eventually toppled it. They clamored for change and they got it.

Last night was the same it was a people powered revolution, albeit in a more civil and peaceful way. Americans young and old, black and white got in line in record numbers to cast their vote. Red states were turned blue as the evening moved on. The change was underway.

Obama's strategist recognized that the Tipping point is almost upon us. Like Clinton's slogan on his campaign "It's the economy stupid"! Obama's rally cry was "Hope and Change" and it worked, he made the people understand his message and the strategy was perfect.

What started as Rev. Martin Luther King's dream culminated last night and it was a moment to remember.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

America truly is now, a country of Red, White and Blue. White being…"The absence of color".

Perception

Some of you might have seen this picture already. For those of you who have not, please indulge me and let's play a game. Here goes, what is your first impression when you take a look at the picture?

tick..tock..tick..tock..brnngg time's up!

Ok, you got your impressions by now I assume. This is a classic optical illusion of an old woman or young woman image. There is really no right or wrong answer here, it all depends on how you perceive the image.

I ended my previous article with the phrase "Master the rules, before you break them". In photography once you master the technical aspects of it (aperture, shutter speed, exposure, reciprocal rule, composition etc.) then you can now move to the next step. Break the rules and try to find your own vision.

Because in photography as in any creative pursuit, there really are no rules. It is all based on how we perceive the world, and for each and everyone of us, it is unique. The only thing that hinders us from that process of freedom is the environment we belong to or the belief system of that era.

From infancy, we collect, correlate, and learn to transmit sensory data. The sum of these impressions make up our mind's internal model of the reality around us. With maturity, value judgments replace sensory data as primary factors determining our regard for someone or some thing. - from the book, The Warrior's Edge

Remember that before Columbus set sail for the new world, the belief system of that time was that the world is flat (thanks to Thomas Friedman, the world is flat again!) and that the horizon is the edge of the world. That is why fishermen or seafarers of that time hugged the coast for the fear of falling off the earth. So Columbus set sail, broke the rules and the rest is history.

This is more important now more than ever since here in the digital age we can access a library of thousands upon thousands of photographs and we can only ask ourselves, how can our photos look unique?

Tip:
When taking a picture of say a toy, try to resist the urge to take the same pictures you see on the postcards or the hundreds of the same photos you see on the web. Instead let your mind be free and capture the picture the way your mind and heart tells you to.

from this



to this

The Art of Seeing

The human eye is the perfect camera, it can adapt to instant shifts in light and can focus near and far almost instantly. It can even see in the dark as long as it gets the time to adjust, and can grab minute gradients in color.

The camera is nowhere near that, even the most expensive and advanced ones. It does have the camera body as the brain, where all the processing takes place, and the lens which serves as its eyes to the world. But even with all its processing power, it is still the human brain who will have to teach it how to see. The camera makes decisions based on levels of light. It does not know that you are shooting a sunset, but it knows that there is a light source in there with gradients of light mixed in.

So let's teach the camera how to see then, by understanding exposure, as it is the main building block of photography. I will not get into too much detail on it, because there are hundreds of articles written on them and books as well. Just Look at it as a guide that you can study in more detail later on.

Tip: A lot of people would ask me what camera to buy. my answer is I would rather invest in a decent cheap body and put the money towards a nice lens that you can afford. Because no matter how intelligent the brain is, if the eyes vision is blurred then it will only record a blurred image. A good lens is sharp, has great color and contrast and focuses fast.

The building blocks of correct exposure

Aperture:

Think of aperture as the pupil of your eye. It grows bigger or smaller depending on the light that it gets. That is why doctors shine a light on our eye to see if it reacts to light. So in the camera this applies to the opening of the lens. If you want more light to get to your film or sensor then you want it to grow bigger, a larger aperture and if you want less light to shine through then use a smaller aperture. Notice that when you look at the sun directly you squint because the light is too bright.

Aperture can be confusing because of the numbering system that they use. For example if you want a larger opening or aperture you generally set it to a smaller number like say F1.8 - f2.8. If you want to squint and need a smaller aperture, the number becomes bigger say f11 - f-22.

Tip: This can be confusing at first, so grab your camera set it to manual mode, pick a shutter speed of say 1/100 of a sec and take a picture of an object with different apertures. Observe how it affects your photo. Make sure that the flash is off when you are testing this out.

Aperture has a unique effect on the photo also not just control of light; it also creates Depth of Field .


Shutter Speed:

Shutter speed to put it simply controls the amount of time the shutter closes for the sensor to absorb light or it could also stop motion. For example if you want to control motion, you could slow a waterfall to a nice silky veil using a slow shutter speed or stop a racing car in a fraction of a second say 1/2000th. You could use a slow shutter speed too, to get beautiful night shots using lights from buildings, lampposts or even candlelight because a slower shutter speed will let the sensor absorb more light.

Tip: To practice set your camera to manual mode, select an aperture say f4 and adjust the shutter speed and take a photo. Observe how it affects the light on the image. Practice this on a moving object too and observe the results. Make sure that the flash is off when you are testing this out.

Exposure:

Exposure is the combination of both the aperture and the shutter speed. This is where you almost have total control of the light. Mix and match aperture and shutter speed and observe the results. Again exposure is an extensive topic, read more on it and practice, practice, practice.

Here is a good article on exposure if you want to get deep into it.
Exposure Basics

The Photographer's Mind

I have been asked a question once. What makes a good photographer? I am sure there are a lot of varied answers out there, but here is my take on it.

By studying other photographers out there and from my own humble experience. I noticed that before I even look at the viewfinder of the camera, I have a sense of what the photo would look like already. I would study the scene first, check my subject, foreground and background then take the picture. Or I would place myself in a place such that if a scene happens I will be in a best position for a shot.

A lot of new photographers would look at a scene and take a snapshot and hope they do get a good shot and delete it if they don’t and take another one. They did not have a sense of purpose in their shots. They just hope they get lucky and tell themselves "That's good enough".

Ansel Adams would look at the mountain on a dull gray day and say to himself "this would be better if there are a bit of clouds in the sky and an orange sunset would illuminate it from the side". He would wait for that moment, kept on coming back to that same spot when all the conditions are right, then take the picture.

Adams advocated the idea of visualization (which he often called ‘previsualization’, though he later acknowledged that term to be a redundancy) whereby the final image is “seen” in the mind’s eye before taking the photo - Wikipedia

But how about if its photojournalism where everything is happening so fast and you do not have time to study your subject or location. Well there is something that is faster than thought, and that is intuition. That is the secret of the Photographers Mind.

What is intuition? To me, it is a fraction of a second where mind and body become one. As Bruce Lee stated it "If a punch comes at you, you don’t have time to think what block you will use, by the time you decide the punch would hit you already, instead don't think just react".

There is a photographer who took a picture of a man jumping a puddle. At first there was no man, just the puddle. How did he take that picture? He waited until a man passed over the puddle and in a moment he took the picture. He called that the "Decisive moment". That photographer was the great Henri Cartier-Bresson the father of modern photojournalism. Take note he used the term "Decisive" it means that there is some sort of thought process involved not just luck but visualizing a scene and reacting to the moment.

Here is a quote from him

"There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

Tip: Take time to study the subject and the scene before you shoot. Like a great painter visualize how the photo would look like in your minds eye before you take the picture. Once you master that then your instincts will be honed and you can take the next step. Let go of your thought and grab the "Decisive Moment".

Master the Rules, before you break it.

Fall

Hello and Welcome,

This is my first time writing a blog and I am not sure yet where or how it will evolve. I do love to write, though the question of whether I am a good writer remains to be seen. I guess we all have to start somewhere. So let's start now... in fall when the leaves are at their apex.


I do love photography, it is a passion, a profession at times, a vision, a different glimpse of the world. Fall is also my favorite season to photograph. It is a time when each leaf becomes a flower and mountains a carpet of rainbows.

It is also for me a time to ponder impermanence. Like "Sakura" the cherry blossom. Fall comes fast, colors radiant in their beauty, then in a moment, a downpour of rain and the sting of winter air, it's all gone and replaced by black... and white.

But is it really gone?