What I learned from the workshop

The first talk was about Basic Photography. Nervously clutching my camera, I listen intently to the speaker. I was immersed on the topic, Composition in Photography because I know that's my weak spot. These are 5 things that we need to consider before taking a shot: Balancing elements, Framing, Viewpoint, Depth of Field and Lines. So aside from considering lighting, I have to take into consideration these 5. Wow, I observed how little I know about photography.


These 5 are helpful in getting the best perspective for your shot. They did discuss about aperture, ISO and shutter speed. They also gave out some tips and figures for the combinations of the three when taking indoor and outdoor shot. I was jotting down everything because I know that combining these three aspects have been my struggle, especially when I'm trying manually taken shots.

Second Talk was with Azrael about Blog publishing. I've known Azrael since last year when I started attending blogger events. He was a nice dude who told us newbies that the blogging community is a whole lot of fun. I can say that He was right!


Azrael shared how he started blogging and gave us a lot of tips on how to maintain a blog. He did mentioned a few tools he's using for his blogposts. I picked up Photoscape since watermarking my photos have been a setback for me, especially when you have tons of pictures to watermark. I've been using the app Snapseed for all my photos taken using my iphone but the new Instagram interface is helpful also because it has added features which are similar to Snapseed.

After the workshop, we went to Olive Tree Kitchen and Bar which was just a few meters away from Fully Booked. We were given a chance to test out what we learned from the photography workshop.

Here are some shots that I made:



At the workshop, they mentioned that it will take a hundred of test shots before you get that perfect shot more or less, and I believe they were right. I took almost a hundred (both camera and iphone) and these are the only decent shots I was able to work with. There were A LOT of blurry shots. Sadly, my difficulty was with my hand. I have shaky hands so getting that focused and stable shot always takes a huge amount of effort.

With all the things I acquired from the workshop, I had a better understanding about the basics of photography. I may be miles from being an amateur photographer, but I'm taking baby steps so I could learn some skills to make me a better one.

Join me in my journey to making my shots better (and perfect too!).

Leave your tips and suggestions (in the comments) on how to make my shots better. I'd greatly appreciate it!

It's a good thing that with the boom of Japanese Ramen, there's a lot of  shops that carry a good bowl of  ramen. I was fortunate to try Ryu Ramen and Curry's newest Tantanmen varieties at their SM Jazz branch, a branch just one short ride away from where I work.

Niner Ichi Nana is one (of the many) restaurants that Erwan Heussaff owns. Erwan is known for his blog, The Fat Kid Inside and also the beau of famous celebrity, Anne Curtis. Erwan usess a hands-on in terms of managing his restaurants. And Niner Ichi Nana turned out to be an interesting cocktail bar with a wide array of unique ingredients.

What caught my eyes were the bottles perfectly lined in their shelves. Most of the labels they have are new to me and the jars reminded me of the stuff that often preserved in the provinces(lambanog, preserved with fruits and exotic animals)

A combination of different types of bitters, unique ingredients like dried (hydrogenized) fruits, herbs, flowers and barks will welcome you at the bar. All liquor base are top shelf so they'll be crafting your drinks based on the best liquors available.

Last October 16, I was able to try the Craft Series: Pulutan. We were served a combination of "panulak" and "pambara" that resembles to what the people are accustom to every "inuman" session.

Tipple and Slaw recently opened at the Forum, BGC near The Fort Strip. It serves artisan and unique sandwiches, placing all ingredients you can imagine between those two slices of thick bread.

Here's some of the things we tried that night:

Appetizers

Eastwood had a special spot in my heart for the city complex offers a wide variety of places to eat, particularly specialty stores that focuses on healthy eating. My favorite healthy joint go-to places, Go Salads, Detoxify Bar and Juju Eats are among the stores that promotes healthy eating. 

A new store joins in as it opens their store in Eastwood Mall recently. Pott's Point Cafe prides itself as one of the very few who offers a whole menu of organic food. 

Why Go Organic?

With the boom of population, the agricultural sector have been having a hard time keeping up with our food sources. In order to sustain human's need to eat and survive, Genetically Modified (GM) food have conquered the food industry. GM food are produced by using chemical enhancers that are hazardous to our health. That is why health sectors have been promoting organic products. Organic products are produced using the natural way with less use of chemicals and pesticides. 

Pott's Point Cafe is located at second floor veranda of Eastwood Mall. Its facade resembles of a quaint coffee shop with wall decor of books and chalkboard menu. But the store offers more than the home-y and cozy ambiance and good Delano coffee. Here are some items you can try:

Starters

Venice Piazza branch

Luckily, I was invited to try their dishes at their Venice Piazza branch. We met up with Chef Lau himself and his wife, Chef Jac along with Robert, their Marketing and Operations Manager. They discussed with us how they started and their goals. Here are some of the dishes we tried that afternoon:

Metro Vigan Inn is a budget friendly hotel situated at Bayubay Norte, San Vicente. They provide clean, affordable and quality accommodation with notable Ilocano hospitality. It is located right beside the heart of Vigan's rich historic culture.

Metro Vigan Inn started operation a year ago, renovating its former hostel facade. They are aiming for a clean and affordable accommodations for backpackers and budget travelers who wanted to explore the Ilocandia region in the most comfortable way possible while still having their wallet and budget in check.

Kuse specializes in Traditional Filipino Cuisine. Their menu had a lot of our Filipino favorites like Liempo, Bagnet, Kare Kare and even Paco Salad from Laguna. All their dishes are good for sharing. 

Here's what we ordered:

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you'll know how I love fried rice. Even though rice automatically cancells all my crunches and hardwork at the gym, I still love to devour fried rice whenevr I got a chance to get a hold of them. 

My friends decided to try Yabu out to celebrate Ephraim's success in passing the broker exam. All of us are first timers at Yabu so we were all giddy and excited.