Manila Bay

Manila Bay Boat_HDR
Originally uploaded by sbalani

And so here it is, the blog post of the week. Not that I have much to post about these days, however thats something i hope to change...soon. It seems I may have an impending buyer from my camera extracting shrilling screams of joy from my masculine voicebox. I am just that step closer to a D300 and flash goodness. Oh all the things I have planned....I hope not to dissapoint. Anywho this picture is from my previous trek with my D40, when I went off to Manila Bay! Much to my surprise it was quite a pleaseant walk-about adn with the sun just starting to set created a virtue of oportunities to shoot all sorts of things.....if only I had flash xD.

Anywho this was at around 5PM with probably the best setting sun I was going to get as the sun was promptly setting, and whilst it created a nice sillhouwhette I felt the picture told more of a story and drama if it were properly exposed. Without the aid of a tripod or an able fash system I was forced to handheld a series of shots and pray for photoshop to do its thing. And as always, it delivered in beautifull HDR my rendition of this Image. However it doesnt end there. I DID manage to get some nicer sillouwhettes of when the sun was a bit higher and more orangy, especially closeups which I am quite happy with. Something to reassure me that as I await my new toy my skill has little but deteriorated. My biggest fear. Hopefully I will be able to quell such fears and resume shooting on a weekly basis once I get my equipment in order but for now I leave you this lovely picture to enjoy . And if you're lucky There may be a second post this week. If not! see you next week!


oh and as usual the rest of the pics from manila bay can be found hencewith:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbalani/sets/72157622384859460/

or by simply clicking on the image.

New Site on the way!

For those of you who might have recently logged on to my main site, sbalaniphotography.com may have noticed a bit of a makeover has occurred recently. Now I warn you the site is only 90% Finished. It should be free of bugs and quirks, the only thing missing is my Texts which continue to remain in draft format. Aditionally my quest to rid myself of my Canon 40D in exchange for true flash simpleness remains at a standstill, with listings beeing placed on AyosDitto, Ebay & Facebook marketplace...its Seems I may have to think about selling the pieces seperately....ugh effort, but what to do, my lack of shooting is starting to get horribly annoying.

Some people have asked me what I think about the new 7D and Canon's first step towards flash goodness. Hmm for some reason I'm not particularly convinced about the workings of this, as what makes Nikon beatifull is in adition to its flash trigger system is also its flashes, the actual light bursting, blinding devices coupled wth TTL goodness. After having so recently released the 580EXII are they really going to bring out a MK III so soon flagshipping a new flash system? I highly doubt it, and with Nikon having caught up in terms of lens quality with their Nikkor brand it seems just silly for me not to switch over to Nikon. Although I have gotten attached to my lenses & Camera, I dont think their worth the headaches.

As for today's Images I'll be uploading a batch I took from last week when I was down at Mall of Asia, shooting around Manila bay (Got some hopefully nice HDR's) aswell as some very late Japan Images from my backlog so Enjoy!

And as usual, the full batch of photo's can be accessed directly in Flickr.

I'm back

Okay, so I realise that it's been a while since my last blog, but however in my defence there really hasnt been much for me to blog. I've moved to the Philippines and life has pretty much come to a stand, with the exception of two uses of my camera, once shortly during a photoshoot done by my uncle for his clothing, of which the Images are un-release-able at such a time, and the other, the other day at Manila bay, which I'm presently working on at the moment. Now I realise this could be a good time to get my Flickr up to date with Images from Japan and whatnot, however with my Mac acting up, my WoW addiction returning, work and an incredibly horrid internet connection the going has been well....quite slow. However I have been working heavily on design and my website, and so the fruits of one of my labours I present to you for judgement. Please dont judge harshly. My new upcomming logo of my site which is going to be very promptly undergoing a complete makeover and re-imaging. Tell me what you think folks!

Salon Del Comic Benalmadena Pics Part 2!

So! Minus a few exceptions this is about 90% of the Salon pics! Enjoy! :D. I'll also be making the pics available on Photobucket where they can be downloaded, due to the fact that the Images on flickr are unlabelled and thus undownloadable due to security reasons. :)

Aqui estan las ultimas fotos del salon de comic, con la excepcion de algunas son mas o menos el noventa-noventa y cinco porciento de las fotos! que disfruten! Ademas tambien estare subiendo las fotos al Fotobucket donde si se podran bajar, como sabran en flickr tengo desactivado que se pueda bajar mis fotos por razones de seguridad :)

I'd also appreciate it if you all could point me in the direction of getting in touch with the following cosplayers as I'd like to make sure that they get images of their cosplays as well as arranging private photoshoots with the cosplays. Thanks all!

Tambien lo agradeceria si alguien conociese algunas de las siguentes cosplayers que se pongan en contacto conmigo por favor, me gustaria entregarle las fotos en calidad alta, y ver si les interesa unas sessiones de fotos privadas con sus cosplays. Seria una gran ayuda si me podriais ayudar! Gracias :)

Salon De Comic Pics!

At long last here they are, the pics (most of them anyways) of the Salon de comic de Benalmadena 09. Due to the number I have they will be uploaded in two batches, the first having made their way online yesterday (if you keep an eye on my flickr you may have gotten a sneak preview of them already!) and the rest will probably find their way to flickr over the coming weekend, leaving only the few stragglers that require that little extra time to make sure their presentable, or exceptionally impressive rather than just cool!

As for the Salon, I'm sure most of the folks have already blogged bout it, but no harm in putting down my own thoughts on it. 

This year the Salon (Comicon) Makes its way into its fourth Iteration, and appears to be picking up momentum and supporters by the year!. The main hall was found to be considerably larger this year despite many stalls and presenters having cut back on the "glam" due to the economic downturn. This however resulted in ample space to move about in, making it incredibly easy to speak to and take pictures of the multitudes of cosplayers around. One of the most prominent groups last year also had their stand cut down considerably, Radikal 3D, who understandably chose to spend the majority of their Salon budget on a new book they have published starring Mister Mystery. 

(the technical side)

All in all it was  good turnout! Especially with the increased number of quality cosplayers this  made it a shooting heaven for me, only to be quickly downturned by the clunky Canon Flash System (or lack thereof). Being unable to shoot TTL because of the flash's inability to speak to each other left me going totally manual thanks to my trusty pocket wizards guarantying any kind of off camera light, however having to constantly adjust my manual power on the flash whilst compensating for F stop and balancing shutter speeds so that any outdoor shots would result in a pleasing fill in effect + Highlighting effect without burning out the background (In fact if anything I wanted it in most cases to remain one to two stops below my subject) was an absolute nightmare resulting in over excessive post production (hence my long publishing time). As I continue to use this system more and more, every shot sends me a little more in the direction of Nikon and their lovely CLF system. Something I hope to correct in the coming month. And now for the Images (Batch 1)

En Espanol (esta vez la traduci con el google translator asi que pido disculpas por un espanol malisimo)

Por fin aquí están las fotos (la mayoría de ellos de todos modos) del Salón de cómic de Benalmádena 09. Debido a el número que tengo, se han subido en dos grupos, el primero de ellos ya se encuentra oline(Los que estan suscrito a mi Flickr ya los habran visto :P) Y el resto probablemente se encontraran en flickr duranto los próximos dias, dejando sólo los pocos extras que requieren un poco más de tiempo para asegurarme de que son presentable, o excepcionales en lugar de simplemente una foto impresionante.

Me Imagino que la mayoria ya habeis leido los reportajes sobre el salon, pero bueno aki pongo el mio. 

Este año, el Salón  hace su camino en su cuarta iteración, y parece estar creciendo cada año! La sala principal era bastante mas grande  este año a pesar de los puestos de venta y los presentadores habiendo reducido su "glamour", debido a la recesión económica. Sin embargo, esto dio lugar a un amplio espacio para moverse, por lo que hizo increíblemente fácil de hablar y tomar fotos de la multitud de de cosplayers. Uno de los grupos mas destacados del año pasado también tuvo que reducir su stand considerablemente(Radikal 3D), que, comprensiblemente, optó por pasar la mayor parte de su presupuesto de Salón en un nuevo libro que han publicado protagonizada Mister Misterio. 

(la parte técnica no la pude traducir asi que esta arriba en Ingles xD. Al que no le importe si lo traduces dejalo en un Post aki abajo para el que lo quiera leer xD)

Scott Kelby 2009 Photowalk

Version Española abajo

Hey Guys! Thanks to all who voted on my images in the SK Photo walk to help me choose which to submit! Its very much appreciated! For those who are Interested the Images I posted up are the following two.

Now for a little information on the photowalk. As many of you know Scott Kelby (The Photoshop Messiah), began organising this yearly worldwide event last year to which I was not able to take part in due to the lack of time and resources available to me at the time (Travelling is not particularly a great time to organise oneself for a photowalk like this). However this year with the prior knowledge that I would be in the Philippines I already began looking ahead of time at which groups I could sign up with. However I did this a little late and was limited to which groups I could join with. I ended up joining one which was touring one of the many Manila Malls, Greenbelt. To be honest I was initially dissapointed that this was the only group I could attend, however it turned out to be more of a promising photo-walk than I had Imagined. I'd visited the mall but never as a photographer, and running around with a camera shots just kept jumping out at me. Had it not been for jet lag tiredness and the dropping light and my lack of an easy to use flash system and tripod I could have spent another few hours roaming and shooting. The rain made it especially interesting as for the longest time i've been wanting to shoot post rain Images of subjects with droplets and puddles and whatnot, but strangely enough I didnt get that many oportunities whilst in London (fancy that) although that may have been due to the lack of grenery which is what photographs exceptionally well after or during rain.

Español

Hola Gente! Gracias a todos vosotros los que votasteis mis mejores imagenes para el SK PhotoWalk. Para aquellos que esteis interesados en saber cuales son las imagenes que elegí para el concurso, son las siguientes dos:

Ahora, un poco de información sobre el PhotoWalk: como muchos de vosotros sabreis, Scott Kelby (el mesias del Photoshop), empezó organizando este evento mundial el año pasado al que no pude asistir debido a la falta de tiempo y recursos en ese momento (al estar viajando, no era el mejor momento para organizar un PhotoWalk de este tipo). De todas formas, este año, sabiendo que iba a estar en Filipinas ya empecé a ver en que grupos podía apuntarme. Acabé apuntándome al grupo que hacia los tours por uno de los centros comerciales de Manila, Greenbelt. Sinceramente, al principio estaba un poco decepcionado ya que este era el único grupo al que me podía unir, sin embargo, resultó ser mejor de lo que me había imaginado. Ya había visitado este centro comercial, pero nunca como fotógrafo. Si no hubiese sido por el cansancio del viaje y del jet-lag, la luz y mi falta de experiencia para usar el sistema del flash y el tripode, podria haber estado un par de horas más sacando fotos. La lluvia hizo que fuese más interesante ya que desde hace un tiempo he querido fotografiar imagenes post-lluvia, temas con las gotas de lluvia, etc.. aunque suene extraño, no tuve estas oportunidades en Londres aunque puede ser porque allí no hay tanto "verdor" que es lo que los fotógrafos suelen buscar después de un día lluvioso.

Sbalaniphotography.com Needs your help!- Sbalaniphotography.com Nescesita tu ayuda!

Para leer en espanol pujar aqui

Hey Gang! I'm back! I must firstly beg for forgiveness (nothing new here) in the delay of the Images from the Salon de Comic of Benalmadena but I have a legitimate excuse! After the show I was incessatly preparing to leave the country and head over to the Phillipines (where I am no located and working) only to arrive to find myself with an internet so meagerly horrifying dial up seemed like a cheetah on speed (it was a "dsl" connection capped at 40 kbps but functioning at 5kbps). however after some incessant rewiring yesterday I was able to optimise the connection to its 40kb cap, and have filed through for an upgrade  :D. However during the night I did manage to upload the Images from the recent Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk which occurred on Saturday, and now I need your help! I have selected the best of the Images taken on the day and uploaded them to my flickr, however! I can only submit two to the SC Photowalk page, and I need your help to pick which two you my avid readers feel are your fave's. SO If you ever had to leave a comment, or mark upon my images or site to prove that you actually visit it and appreciate my photography, it would be for this post! 

The two images with the most comments, posts and fave selections will be the ones I submit to the site, so get commenting and fave-ing :D (and of course this is much appreciated!)

Sample images at the bottom

to view the full set of images click here

Espanol

Tengo que pedir disculpas por el atraso de las fotos del salon, ya que desde el finde pasado, he estado preparandome para irme de viaje, y desde que he llegado en las Filipinas me he quedado practicamente sin internet (bueno he tenido pero a velocidades de 5kbps que practicamente significa zero). Desde entonces he atendido el photowalk mundial de Scott Kelby, donde grupos de fotografos por todo el mundo se reunieron este sabado pasado para ir de paseo a sacar fotos! Ahora lo interesante es que las mejores fotos entregadas a la web del señor Kelby seran partidiario a mogollonadas de premios! Con el gran premio teniendo un valor aproximado en 12 mil dolares en equipo fotografico! Ahora se que la competicion es dura (mas de 35 mil fotografos mundiales) por ese premio, pero no hay que perder confianza en que tenga la posibilidad de ganar! (ademas del primer premio hay otros diez premios secundarios que tampoco me importarian  :D). Asi que nescesito vuestra ayuda en elegir las fotos para entregar a la web! Las fotos ahora estan en Flickr que se podra acceder de esta pagina web! Y os pido que os paseis y eligir vuestras fotos favoritas o por haciendolas como favoritoss o dejando un comentario aki en el blog o ahi mismo en la zona d comentarios de la foto, y las dos fotos que tengan el mayor numero de votos o commentarios seran los que subire! asi que os ruego si disfrutais de mi fotografia y os gustaria ver me mejorar comentad y votar! 

Votos cierran el viernes, y las fotos las entrego el sabado Gracias a todos!!! :D

Ver todas las fotos pujar aqui