Life In A Snapshot

January 25

Ace’ first day of work with his road bike I call his second wife.LOL. If it’s taking him long to prepare for work, much more now that he has to make sure the road bike is okay, his helmet is properly worn, put on his jacket and everything. That Saturday that we got his road bike, we’re supposed to be at the mall looking for tv stands for our LCD TV should it be repaired. Since the road bike is now the priority, the TV stand has to be pushed aside. Better luck next time, TV stand.LOL

Taken on January 24

Before I’d get busy looking around for basement dehumidifier, I’d better share this photo first before I’m hooked and will eventually forget about this.

Our first road trip with Ace’ road bike brought us to my sister Carol’s place. We stayed there for the rest of the afternoon until after dinner. Ella was playing dress-up with her barbie dolls using scrap cloth from Carol’s sewing projects and here’s one of Ella’s masterpieces. Isn’t that little girl have some eye for fashion? She just know how to combine colors and how to position the cloth so it would look fashionable.

Anyway, I’d get back to work now and check out

Flowers are one of my favorite subjects but I sometimes end up frustrated with my photos. Here’s 8 ways I find helpful in shooting flowers and will definitely bear those in mind the next time I go out and shoot flowers.

Eight Tips for Photographing Flowers:

1. Use a Tripod
2. Wait for an overcast or cloudy sky
3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the most important plane of the flower
4. Use shutter speed of 1/200 or faster
5. Find a good flower with a good background
6. Find a flower that’s good in shape
7. Use a telephoto lens with a minimum focusing distance
8. Use the RGB histogram to check exposure – not the LCD

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Taken on January 23

Finally, Ace got his road bike that he was dreaming of for a long time! He will use this Honda Wave Dash in going to work for his convenience. Hopefully this will shorten his travel time by almost half. Before we got this road bike, Ace was convincing me to get a scooter. For what? I don’t even know how to drive a bicycle!LOL. I would rather get a fitness equipment to help me keep fit even if I am at home. It’ll be of great help for me and even Ace though we don’t have time to go to the gym. Just a workout from home would do.

Taken on January 22

My daily supplement…the great thirst quencher! It seems I cannot live a week without drinking this beverage though I know it isn’t good for the health. I just can’t help, it’s too addicting! What’s in this beverage that I can’t live without? It doesn’t need so much promotional efforts because indeed people are craving for it from time to time unlike insurance marketing where there is a need for marketing efforts for appropriate target market. Guess I’d better stop here. I am already thirsty for Coke!

I finally made up my mind. I am going to buy a new phone before my birthday! What unit? I am still undecided. If He will allow me to get an iPhone or a Blackberry or the latest from Nokia, it’s okay. If I can only afford the not so expensive ones, then I’d also be happy as long as it is unlocked phone so I can switch networks. I am loyal with Smart because I’ve been a subscriber ever since the world began but who knows, I might need to shift to other network provider. So getting an unlocked phone is better for this purpose.

It isn’t that easy taking a family portrait especially if the family is big or the location is crowded but here are some things to keep in mind when creating family portraits:

1. Think in “mini-groups”. A family portrait is simply multiple “mini groups” within one large group. Use groups of two’s and three’s to compose your family shot.
2. Remember “levels”. One of the most important elements of a group shot is to vary the levels of your subjects. Placing some faces higher than others will allow you to make the shot more intimate in spacing.
3. Consider “color”. While color coordination is by no means necessary for group shots, it can help the overall flow. Have your subjects go by types of color, such as “vibrant”, “bold”, “pastels”, etc.
4. Watching even lighting, but don’t stress about it. So long as all the eyes are visible, and faces are lit relatively the same, your good to go.
5. Pick shade: As the sun doesn’t set until late in the evening, you’ll have to wait for good sidelight until about 5 pm. If your stuck shooting before this time, find awnings, the shaded back side of buildings, or tree cover to diffuse the harsh sunlight.
6. Move quickly: It’s very helpful to try story-boarding your group shots ahead of time according to the number of people you have. The more people you have in a shot, the less time you have to create it. Story-boarding is more about knowing what you want, than it is about formal posing.
7. Be fun and spontaneous! Plan to take shots of the families walking, striking a dance pose, linking arms, or jumping in the air. These shots capture genuine expressions among the entire group and help to keep your subjects happy and interested.
8. Background work: The larger the party, the less control you have with eliminating your background. Simplify as much as you can by changing the angle you take your shot. Taking the shot from the ground or directly down on your subjects may eliminate enough background to feature the group without distraction.

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Taken on January 20

My outdated yet ever reliable cellphone. I was contemplating on getting a replacement should budget permits in the next payouts but my “want” is too expensive. I want an iPhone. But Ace is convincing me to get a Blackberry instead. If only these things are just affordable, I won’t have problem weighing things out. You see, we have our monthly obligations, we have so many plans, we still have needs for the house, and we have our vacation plan come summer. No, not a Branson vacation but just a vacation at the beach. Uh..oh, it seems the vacation at Bantayan Island won’t push through but we will definitely go to the beach for a day or two.  Beach, here we come!

Need to maximize my time in blogging. And since I have a 24/7 internet connection, why not add more domains that I and Ace could monetize? Ace needs a little more prodding to blog, though. He wants, actually. But he’s not confident with his grammar and composition. Oh well, that’s too easy to manage. I could proofread his entries if he wants. Then in the long run he will gain confidence in writing. Also, if I add domains, I think I’ll go for health and tips blogs (as per Paula’s suggestion) so I could hire ghost writers to write blog posts. That’s it. I’ll have additional 2 domains for health and tips. Now I need some resources for those 2 niche blogs that I will be making and an entry on herpes simplex 2 might be one of the first blog posts that I’ll be making. Wish me luck then!

January 19

Thirdie at 3 months and 7 days. Our super little pup is now too big and too heavy to carry. If we can’t get a decent photo of him before, now he learned to be still everytime he sees the camera aimed on him.