FullFrame Photography Magazine Issue 7

Volume 1 | Issue 7 | Middle East

NEW LOOK! m

ore artic more tips, mles, inspirationsore

Gear Up

Janine Khouri Elias

The Changing Picture of Photography Jay Alonzo

Why Do You Need to Convert Your photo from RGB to CMYK? Post Production Essential Skills

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photography magazine

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FULLFRAME MAGAZINE

Alex Jeffries

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 Feature, Performance & User Experience

NIKON D600 Exclusive launch event held at The Armani Hotel

11/25/12 12:54 PM

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Photography Magazine

Photography Magazine

Photography Magazine

Issue 2 | December 2011 | Middle East

Issue 1 | November 2011 | Middle East

Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Middle East

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Cover Story

Meiji Sangalang

Behind the Lens PJ Tiongson

A Desert Surprise

World’s Top Selling Stock Photographer

Toy Photography

Behind The Lens

The Challenge

15 Quick Tips To Better Photos After Dark

Yuri Arcurs

Osama Al Zubaidi

Do’s & Don’ts

of Photography in UAE

Discover Obscura

Depth Of Focus

Engr. Milo Torres

Find out how

Work Flow Exposed

The Challenge

Off Camera Lighting

Man with Simple Dreams

9 Ways To Beat The High Cost Of Photography

Mike Malate

Eugene Santos / Michael Cruz

Jay Morales

Donnell Gumiran

Edwin Allan Riguer

Jay Calaguian / Noel Garcia

Jophel Botero Ybiosa

Depth Of Focus

A Manny Librodo Exclusive

Beyond Passion

Edwin Loyola

Small Things Big Result Chris Calumberan

What’s Inside

Gadget Review

Post Processing Tutorials

Do It Yourself

Workshop Schedules

Group Profile

What’s Inside

Extreme Post Processing Tutorials

Camera Guide

Tips & Tricks

Get the Most Out of your Point and Shoot Camera

Issue 2 “Point & shoot”

Issue 1 “Pilot” Photography Magazine

Gadgets Review

Basic Tutorials

Workshops

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Photography Magazine

Volume 1 | Issue 5 | Middle East

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Photo Gallery

Issue 3 “Outdoor”

Photography Magazine

Volume 1 | Issue 4 | Middle East

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What’s Inside

Volume 1 | Issue 6 | Middle East

Why Men Are Into Fashion Photography?!

Jhoel Valenzo

Portrait Photography Tips And Methods

Guidelines for Travel Photography

“Role Reversal”

10 Travel Photography Tips

Richard Schneider Rocky Gathercole

Depth of Focus

Focal Points

Depth of Focus

Jay Alonzo What’s Inside

Tips on How to Shoot on Low Light

Questions From The Readers

Basic Tutorials

Workshops

Issue 4 “Fashion”

Photo Gallery

Group Profile

What’s Inside

Camera Review

Tutorials

Issue 5 “Travel”

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The Art of Black and White Photography

Depth of Focus

Mario Cardenas

Ethics of a Photographer

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Progressive Tips on Black & White Imagery

FULLFRAME MAGAZINE

Mosh Lafuente

Camera Review

Black and White Photography; The World Without Color

Workshops

Photo Gallery

Group Profile 5/22/12 12:19 AM

What’s Inside

Camera Review

Tips Tutorials

Workshops

Issue 6 “Black & White” issue 5 cover.indd 1

FullFrame, is a Photography magazine not just for photo enthusiasts but for those who have tastes for art, beauty and creativity. It is designed to look into photography’s modern photographic world, the team behind it is taking photography in a different ground. Indeed, an impact that also encourages society in looking unto the glamorous and not so famous side of photography – an irony that lure the curious mind.

Editorial is intended to demystify the use of modern equipment by emphasizing practical use of the camera in the field, highlighting the technique rather than the technical. It has been conceptualized to stimulate the photo enthusiasts to enhance their recreational enjoyment through photography and to satisfy the needs of amateur and professional photographers.

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Photo Gallery

Group Profile 9/3/12 11:42 AM

Volume 1 | Issue 7 | Middle East

Editor:

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Paz Calaguian

Art Director: Bogart

Writer / Photographer:

Gear Up

Arnold Pasillas II

Janine Khouri Elias

The Changing Picture of Photography

Graphic Designer / Photographer:

Jay Alonzo

Jeff inocencio

Why Do You Need to Convert Your photo from RGB to CMYK?

I.T. Manager:

Photographers:

Myk Reyes | Dennis Ong

Writer Contributors: Jay Alonzo | Janine Khouri Elias | Michael Cruz | Alex Jeffries | Ruben Aranda Mirabel | Emil Latumbo | Phil Page

Photographer Contributors: Phil Page | Mabelle Orias Ramos

Alex Jeffries

FULLFRAME MAGAZINE

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PR & Events: Deo Macaraig

Post Production Essential Skills

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Derick Venzon

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Olympus OM-D E-M5 Feature, Performance & User Experience

NIKON D600 Exclusive launch event held at The Armani Hotel

11/25/12 12:54 PM

“[Goth] is the ability to find the art where art seems to be lacking; to find the light in the darkness and embrace it for all it’s worth...”

Jennifer Mason Not so many people would get the concept of using Gothic theme for their wedding. It is far from traditional, as a typical misconception with several cultures, the Gothic wedding ceremony concept likened to ghosts and haunted spots and activities.

The Gothic wedding concept is quite popular and very much fashionable nowadays. Medieval wedding dresses aren’t about being good and prim and correct, they are regarding being wicked and showing off your look quotient. Gothic fashion is all about becoming dark and dramatic. In our cover story, we have formed the team to create our Wedding Gothic Concept for our cover…we have commissioned the beautiful gowns of Mr. Jimi Buenconsejo, one of the famous Filipino Designers in town whose down to earth persona is a joy to work with, and to create the right look, Ms. Ivy Kep Peralta our favorite make-up artists in the industry always supportive and full of ideas, and of course our featured cover photographer, Mr. Kashif Joosub together with his in-house team members the whole shoot was a success! Kudos to everybody and to all who was there to show their support!

info@fullframemag.com Mob: +971 56 276. 1179

FFM has turned its new leaf, we have reached our 1st year of operation it was not an easy ride, and we are still in the process of perfecting our system. We would like to thank everybody who’s been with us through our ups and downs whose words of wisdom has never failed and helped us to fight the battle that comes our way.

To our advertisers, subscribers, colleagues, contributors, family and friends with all sincerity THANK YOU! Because of you, FFM will be opening its new office/studio in Business Bay soon and everybody are invited to visit us and with our new office comes our new logo… we are expanding so we have decided to change the look of FullFrame to make it more commercial and international. We hope that with all these changes we will be able to serve you better!

info@fullframemag.com www.fullframemag.com

Once again keep on clicking, dream high, be inspired and keep your eyes wide open!!!

For Advertising:

Team

38 Depth Of Focus Simon Charlton

Content Volume 1 Issue 7

8 Cover Story OM-D E-M5 12 OLYMPUS Michael Cruz Collection 14 Yen Yen Red Focus 20 On Photographers Profile The Frame 24 On Ali Zain

28 Harry Cruz Up 32 Gear Janine Khouri Elias

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Harry Cruz

34 Techniques Emil Latumbo of Focus 38 Depth Simon Charlton

44 TIPS FullFrame Production 46 Post Alex Jeffries Points 50 Focal Jay Alonzo

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On focus

Artist 52 The Dia Saleh

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Ali Zain

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Techniques by: Emil Latumbo

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Role Reversal Rocky Gathercole

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D600 Launching

Dia Saleh

58 TIPS Ruben Aranda Mirabel on D800 / D600 60 Review Phil Page

64 Alvin Mark Buen 68 NEWS Nikon D600 Launching

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Review

70 Dino Kintanar 74 OPPPS Photographers Society Click 76 Random Photographers Profile

79 Classifieds Community Sevice

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Alvin Mark Buen

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Gear Up

THE COVER STORY |

Photographer: Mohamed Kashif Joosub owner and CEO of Light House Studio | www.lighthouse.ae

Tell us a bit about you?

I’m from South Africa, been living in Dubai for 9 years, established the company Light House Studio more than a year ago, with a thorough interest in new photography technology that I can put into use in my projects. My aim is also to share the gear I find useful in this industry with fellow photography enthusiasts through my company, so that’s how the photography equipment rental started.

Did you go to school to study photography?

Photography started as a hobby, while I was studying Computer Engineering but had a change of heart and decided to focus on my true passion which is photography.

How long have you been a photographer?

I’ve been doing photography for 6 years, half of it was just part-time and freelance jobs.

How would you differentiate wedding photography with the other forms of photography?

Wedding photography has a certain charm to it as a genre as it is about documenting a once in a lifetime experience for a couple.

Weddings need preparation and a good team to successfully capture the occasion without missing any moment within the event. However what makes wedding photography different from other forms of photography is that it involves a mixture of glamour, fashion, romance and sentimentality that is a rare combination of factors to find all in one place in other forms of photography.

What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?

My tripod, which I have for 3 years, it’s compact and light. It’s always kept in my car, and very easy to travel with. It’s such a usual tool.

In our cover story, what type of camera do you shoot with?

I used 2 cameras the Canon 5D Mark III and Hasselblad H4D-50, basically just to compare the quality of the results afterwards.

What lighting equipment did you use for the shoot?

Most of the shoot was done using Continuous lights (Profoto Tungsten & Dedo lights). I had also used in some shots the Profoto Ring Flash.

Special Acknowledgement: Female Model: Chinyere Male Model: Jad Abi Ali Fashion Designer: Jimi Buenconsejo Assistant Fashion Designer: Edgar Sulit & Kim Gorospe Make-Up and Hair Stylist: Ivy Kep Peralta Asst. Make-Up Artist: Maki Valenzuela

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Can you describe the workflow of the cover shoot step by step?

My team set-up a black backdrop, arranged the continuous lighting according to a modern gothic theme. I had done some test shots to get the right adjustments and exposure settings. Once the Models were dressed and make-up & hair was done, we arranged the position of the models into different poses that satisfied my artistic viewpoint as well as coincided with the Art Director’s concept. The lighting had to be adjusted with the single and couple shoots, the great thing about shooting with continuous lighting is that you see exactly how the lighting is on the subject before shooting. The models, make-up artist and designer were all fantastic, and it made the shoot very easy to complete. Once the shoot was completed, we filtered through the images from the shoot with Chris and Paz from FullFrame, and decided which the best images were for publishing.

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THE COVER STORY |

Photographer: Mohamed Kashif Joosub owner and CEO of Light House Studio | www.lighthouse.ae

Make-Up and Hair Stylist: Ivy Kep Peralta

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Fashion Designer: Jimi Buenconsejo

REVIEW | Michael Cruz

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5 BACKSTORY I was on a hunt for a mirrorless camera after selling my favorite Fujifilm X100. I just wanted more versatility and the only way I could get it is by getting a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. I love shooting landscapes and I am always fond of using Ultra Wide Angle (UWA) lenses. It would be great if I could have a small camera with an UWA lens on it. I must confess, I was not really a big fan of the Micro-Four-Thirds (MFT) System because of the sensor size, which is smaller than APS-C based mirrorless cameras in the market.

FEATURES, PERFORMANCE & USER EXPERIENCE Feature Highlights:

•16MP MOS Four Thirds format sensor •Weather-sealed body •Twin control dials •New, ‘5-axis’ image stabilization (IBIS) •Shoot at up to ISO 25,600 •Up to 9fps shooting (4.2 fps with continuous AF) •1.44M dot LCD electronic viewfinder •VGA-equivalent 3” OLED touchscreen display - tilts 80° upwards and 50° downwards •Micro Four Thirds System (MFT)

Michael R. Cruz Is a Photographer / Photo-Enthusiast / Digital Artist / Gadget Geek based in Dubai, UAE. His photographs have been published in newspapers, magazines including Conde Nast Traveler London and other architectural and travel books. Michael also conducts workshops that teach photography and post-processing.

To view Michaels’ photography, you can visit his blog: www.michaelrcruz.com and photo stream in: www.cruzm.com.

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When I tested the Fujifilm X-Pro1, I immediately fell in love with it. I love the Fuji colors and the IQ is even better than X100, including the fact that I can change lenses; it’s almost a done deal. Until, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 came out.

The feature-packed camera everyone is raving about. I put on hold my X-Pro1 purchase and eagerly watched Youtube videos of the OM-D, from unboxing to first impressions. There are two things that caught my attention; first is the fact that it is weather-sealed and second, the availability of lenses - ultra wide angle lenses included! It turns out that it has more features that I needed, compared to the X-Pro1. So I bit the bullet and went with the OM-D. I purchased my OM-D back in Manila where surprisingly the price is much better than anywhere else.

I took it with me to the streets of Manila, Palawan, Hong Kong, Singapore and now Dubai; no regrets so far, I think it is one of my best camera purchases so far.

I have been using this camera for around five months at the time of this writing and I feel that I have used the camera quite a lot and can provide others some good insight about this camera.

Any camera features are pretty much useless if they don’t suit your shooting style and don’t work well. It all comes down to the usability and how well these features work in the real-world applications. I had a few heartbreaks with other mirrorless cameras that I owned from the past.

I like shooting landscapes and I always use my DRI workflow, which requires me to get multiple exposures at least 2EV most of the time. Most of the mirrorless cameras I owned don’t even offer a 1 EV AEB bracketing, what more for 2EV. The OM-D solves that by shooting five photos in 1 EV AEB, giving me the exposures I need and it is capturing them fast, 9fps - faster than my Canon 5D Mark III. That feature works like a charm and I used it quite a lot.

One feature I always look for in a mirrorless camera is the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) or OVF (Optical Viewfinder); in the beginning, I was leaning towards OVF and when Fuji started the hybrid viewfinders I really applauded them for doing so. In time, I started appreciating the use of EVF. The Olympus OM-D doesn’t have the hybrid view finders like the X100 or X-Pro1 but it does have a fairly decent EVF. The 1.44 Million dots EVF is very usable especially if you are shooting in bright environments in which the LCD screen is not usable. It is not as good as the Sony NEX-7 but it is good enough to capture anything that tickles your photography fancies. I like the fact that Olympus includes the option of having the stabilization on the EVF enabled which is good when using telephoto lenses.

The 5-axis In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) is no gimmick, it works really well and I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, since usually in-body stabilization is not as good as in-lens stabilization, but Olympus did a great job on this.

But the best feature of this camera is its insanely fast Auto-Focus. Point it at anything and the focus locks down quickly. I am not exaggerating here; it’s really lightning fast, almost high-end DSLR fast, if not even faster. It works well, not just in good lighting but also in poor lighting conditions. It is simply a remarkable achievement for a mirrorless camera. They really have come a long way.

There is one bonus feature, which I thought I would never use, the Real-Time Bulb mode. Olympus calls it Live Bulb. Unlike the traditional Bulb mode, the Live Bulb updates in real time so you can see the ongoing exposure of your shot progress on the rear screen. This is how you do long exposure with style! This is a really clever feature from Olympus.

One of the key factors to look for when going for a new camera system is the availability of lenses.

Micro-Four-Thirds have been around for a long time. The two companies who started it, namely Olympus and Panasonic, have among themselves accumulated lenses to improve their own lens lineup, so there are a lot of native lenses to choose from. Not to mention the 3rd party lens makers and lens adapters available for a good price, which expands the usability of this system.

BUILD QUALITY It is well built and weather-sealed when coupled with the M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens. I have never tested the weather-sealing part but, living in Dubai, it can get quite dusty here and I have had no problems so far (fingers crossed).

I like the looks of it, I personally like the silver and I find it to be well-made. There are some uneven gaps here and there which are really not noticeable at all. It is not as good as the X100’s finishing built but it’s pretty close. It will all come down to personal preferences.

In terms of handling, for shooting in long hours, the additional grip (HLD-6) really helps but it comes at a price (a big one). There are other 3rd party grips to improve the handling but for me, it is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have, so I didn’t get the HLD-6.

IMPRESSIONS & COMPARISONS So far, I have been raving on pretty much everything Olympus did to the OM-D E-M5. Well, it is a great camera but like everything else, there a few things that I am not so excited about, but only small things, like for example I wish that the buttons were a bit bigger but due to the size limitation. I guess that’s a compromise. Another feature I wish they would put on the next firmware release is the ability to use the AEB quicker; there are some workarounds out there but not as effective. The menu system needs some time to get used to. I feel that the Panasonic menu is more organized compared to other mirrorless systems like Sony and Fuji.

Compared to the Sony NEX-7 or to the entire NEX product line, the OM-D gives you a better lens line-up and the sizes of the lenses are quite small compared to NEX lenses, which are almost the same size as DSLR lenses. Native NEX lenses are also not as good as the top of the line MFT lenses. Although the NEX system has a bigger sensor, the sensor on the OM-D can challenge the best APS-C sensors out there, including high-end crop sensor DSLRs. Compared to X-Pro1; feature by feature, I think the

OM-D wins in terms of usability. Especially when it comes to Auto-Focus speed, which I think the OM-D is currently leading against other mirrorless cameras. The X-Pro1 files (jpegs) are just superb and the colors are really mouth-watering. I think the OM-D’s image quality is very good, but the sensor + lens combo of the X-Pro1 is simply tough to beat. I think the X-Pro1’s sensor can rival Full-Frame sensor cameras especially on high ISO settings. Although, I feel that the OM-D’s dynamic range is better than the one from the X-Pro1.

CONCLUSION So who is this camera for? I think if you have a DSLR and you want a very capable camera that can serve as a backup to do professional work, I think the OM-D might be that camera for you. If you want a portable camera which you can bring every day without breaking your back or sacrificing image quality, this camera might be the one you are looking for.

If you want a cheap camera, this one is definitely not for you. It is quite pricey compared to other Micro-Four-Thirds and other mirrorless cameras.

But I can echo what most of the reviewers are saying, that the Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the best Micro-Four-Thirds camera out there. At least for shooting stills - video is another story. I am not a videographer so I cannot dwell too much on its video capabilities; I’ll leave that part for video experts.

It is quite refreshing to know that I can go anywhere, and take pictures of pretty much whatever I want in a small bag that doesn’t weigh me down. I can take my OM-D with 9-18mm, 20mm f1.7 and 45mm f1.8 every day without breaking a sweat and damaging my spine and I can go shoot without thinking that I should have brought my full-frame DSLR. Don’t get me wrong, I still use my big DSLR camera on serious and paid-for work but as for some “photographyme-time” and on-the-go photo assignments, the OM-D is the kit to go.

It is a really great and exciting time to be a photographer (or a photography enthusiast) right now. Technology is evolving and the coming of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 reminds us that the promise of a smaller camera without compromises in image quality and usability is finally coming true.

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

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Y E N In spite of his packed schedule we were able to catch up with Yen AB the founder of Yen Design. This talented young designer chose FFM to launch his latest SS2013 collection, Steel Bride.

FFM: Can you give us an overview of Yen Design?

YEN: My atelier covers contemporary caftans, couture pieces and wedding dresses.

Catering to exclusive clienteles like diplomats, film and TV stars, royal families and elite Europeans.

FFM: So far what have you accomplished to establish your brand in the market?

YEN: We are the first Fil brand that was featured in over 100 billboards in the capital. In over a year we launched branches in Doha and Kuwait. Plus, before the year ends our wedding pieces will be available in a boutique chain in the UK. FFM: What makes this collection different and define Steel Bride.

YEN: I did not use any crystals; instead I tried rubber, water silicone, fusing of different materials, played with the fabrics in bias and handmade metal accessories. Steel bride is my desire to pay homage to the strong women who have a flare for the unfamiliar.

FFM: In your new collection can why did you choose to showcase it in this form of concept?

YEN: FFM editor and project manager Paz have given me full creative freedom, so I opted to attack the idea the unconventional way. No models and hanging the mannequins, who else better to capture and bring to realization than the brilliant Gabby Yap. FFM: Your message to our photographer readers who want to specialize in fashion photography.

YEN: Have a rocking concept and be sensitive to the anatomy of the dress.

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Organza bias cones composed to appear like a layered piece styled with handmade metallic belt and necklace.

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

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YEN COLLECTION | YEN

Water silicone sheets in asymmetrical pattern laced with matte sequence.

Rubber pieces cut in symmetrical 3D pattern, placed with matte pearls.

Born with an eye for detail professional photographer Gaby Yap is the founder of Shomani Studio a premier wedding photography studio in the UAE and the gulf. He has done collaboration with various Gulf stars for their media portfolio.

His work has been featured in various local publications, billboards and media events. Plus he has been handling projects for selected UAE ministries for the whole region.

Lighting Specialist Don’t let his shy exterior fool you for the innate cinematographer is in his true core, the mood specialist that is Vilmore Camacho. Currently employed at Wasle, he is a rising star in the photography world. A premier technical artist when it comes to lighting. Gaby Yap | Photographer

YEN COLLECTION | YEN

Waterfall of voluminous layers of tulle with silk hemline, styled with Mayan inspired necklace and metal belt.

Circular cones constructed in an exaggerated hip line structure, with Kayan inspired necklace and sphinxlike metal corset.

ON FOCUS | Dominique Panos

Dominique Panos

Wedding Photographer San José, Costa Rica & Dubai, United Arab Emirates. www.weddingemirates.com info@weddingemirates.com + (506) 8957 4435

C

osta Rica is known as the Switzerland of Central America and is one of the ten best tropical destinations in the world and is among the top five destinations for exotic weddings and elopements. People I do weddings here are from the U.S., Canada and Europe. I lived for several years in Dubai before I established in 2010 here in Costa Rica, yet to this day couples from the UAE are contacting me for their weddings and I travel several times a year to the Middle East to respond to their request.

After completing my master degree’s in photography I moved to Paris in 1988 and worked for two years as a technician for a photography laboratory named ”Pictorial Service” a place specialized in serving the needs of world renowned photographers such as Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz and Pulitzer Prize winner Sébastiao Salgado to name a few. After spending four years in the French capital I moved to Vancouver in Western Canada and started to shoot weddings and events. However, I began to seek warmer weather than the rainy one that British Columbia was offering me. I traveled twice to the Middle East during holidays and finally settled permanently in Dubai in February of 2007. I registered with Tecom in Dubai Media City and soon I started covering the full spectrum of photography: grand openings of facilities, product launches, hotel and resort marketing, Dubai and Abu Dhabi royal family sittings and of course weddings.

In January 2010, during a trip to Costa Rica, I met my future wife Adriana and we got married. I am now the proud father of a two-year-old daughter named Emilie and we live in the capital San Jose.

Being in many places has opened my photography views in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to weddings.

The Middle East contains some of the oldest civilizations on Earth, and so it is little wonder that many of their wedding traditions have been passed down for several centuries.

The Arabic culture is rich with tradition and the weddings are beautiful, colorful and sparkling events.

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Hindu weddings are steeped in important rituals and customs. Some couples choose to have the typical Hindu ceremony that spans several days, while others have a condensed version that lasts only a few hours, while the central, traditional theme of all Latin American wedding traditions is family. Family is at the core of Latin American life and so it goes for weddings. Weddings in Central America tend to be large and boisterous, filled with friends and family. Children are always welcomed with open arms at these weddings.

Western European weddings are very similar to Latin Americans weddings often influenced by the Spanish, French and Italian culture.

Each of the photo sessions I’ve done are important for me, however there are two of them that I would label as accomplishments: one was having the privilege to be one of the portrait photographers of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and another one was being the first to officially photograph the former First Lady of France, H.E. Cecilia Sarkozy, almost a year after divorcing former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The photoshoot took place in Dubai in September 2008.

After being a photographer for over twenty years I believe that I have covered almost the full spectrum of photography with the exception of sport photography.

Nevertheless, I am happy today just by concentrating on corporate events and destination wedding photography; it keeps me busy and makes me travel quite often as well.

Dubai’s market is more competitive now; there are more photographers compared to six years ago when I first arrived in the UAE and significantly more challenging.

However competition can be also helpful for several reasons: it teaches us diversity; it promotes taking chances with the unknown and challenges us to be more creative. With the market being so competitive, one often needs to work under pressure to meet customer demands.

It is not always a glamorous profession but it makes life more entertaining!

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ON FOCUS | Muzna Butt

Muzna Butt (UNITED KINGDOM)

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s a fact, I wasn’t always a homegrown photographer. I spent the first 15 years of my life growing up in Zambia, and then moved to United Kingdom to start school, receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and finally completing my Masters Degree in Manufacturing Engineering. I pursued my career to all parts of the world travelling to Bahrain, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, and Dubai and finally back in United Kingdom.

I started photography in the summer of 2009 after I finished a major turnaround project in the United States. I knew I wasn’t be doing anything for awhile and decided to pick up a camera before I left the country. Initially I was doing stock photography to companies that sell your images to magazines and newspapers. These companies were very strict about the quality of the photos and it was through this medium that I learnt most of photography’s technicalities.

It is in Dubai where I really expanded my skills. I joined workshops like Manny Librodo’s “Desert Radiance” in 2010 and “Oasis of Colors” in 2011. I used my apartment in JBR as my private studio because it was spacey and allows a few photographer friends to join me. Lighting was also sufficient and the view is perfect. I collaborated with some designers, given them the images that they wanted and expand my portfolio at the same time, all this while developing my knowledge in make-up styles, model imagery and fashion. During that period I still send my photos to stock companies, especially of Dubai’s landscape and architecture, most of which, I am proud to say, have been used in magazines

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Moving back to UK didn’t stop me from continuing photography but it became limited to some extent. My apartment is smaller and could only accommodate a few people, plus UK lacks the fashion extravagance that Dubai possesses. But it is in London that I began to benefit from being a photographer. I identified a market of Make-up Artists who are in constant need to update their portfolio and I began to concentrate on Indian bridal shoots, a traditional fashion that remains a staple among the India and Pakistani community. I began to form a base of professional models and invested on ethnic, bridal jewelry collection which I buy from a jeweler in India and have the models wear it for shoots along with native Indian bridal couture and extensive make-up. Having MUA’s as clients, I need to make sure that I will deliver the perfect headshots that will show off the model’s make-up colors that blend with my lighting. All the element has to mesh together that will satisfy my client’s desires and will help them generate more business.

I still missed the Avant-Garde make-up style that I used to shoot in Dubai, working with some of the top fashion designers and make-up artists in the country has helped me enhance my knowledge in colors, fashion and texture. If given the chance, I would like to do what I am doing now and what I was doing before. Sticking to one style of photography can get monotonous and even a photographer need a breath of fresh air.

Photography will always be a hobby that I enjoy. Some people have the skills in photography, they just need the right opportunity and if I can help them find the right platform for them, then I have achieved a feeling of fulfillment of helping other photographers to start off their passion.

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ALI ZAIN | Photographer

Ali Zain

M

aybe like most photographers, I grew up with photography. My dad took pictures of our family as we grew. There were even a few times when he would ask me to click photos with him. I always found it fascinating to be able to capture an image of something that I saw with my own eyes, something I could always look at whether it was still there or not.

In 1999, I began to pursue photography.

It was a time when I had moved to Dubai to work and wanted to start a hobby that was totally different from my career. I wanted to start something I would enjoy and find rewarding. Since I already had a background in photography I decided to buy my first camera-an Olympus film SLR. For 11 years, I took pleasure being a hobbyist, but in 2010, I upgraded to Canon 5D Mark II and give photography a go, but this time as a profession specializing in fashion, portraiture, wedding and events.

Being a photographer has seen the better of me. It gave me a sense of accomplishment of my work being published in UAE magazines and digital billboards, as well as getting the chance of taking pictures of prestigious people. Still, I would love to see more of my photos in magazines and better yet, be able to open up my very own studio in the near future.

ALI ZAIN | Photographer

a

ali

Jay Alonzo

| THE ARTST

HARRY CRUZ | Wedding Photographer www.harrycruz.com

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

H

arry Cruz, a name synonymous in the Photography scenes among the Filipino Photographers in Dubai. I first heard his name when we were just starting the magazine. That time we were contemplating who are the photography aces that we can include in our first issue and his came up, having been new in the industry I personally do not know him but I was tasked to call him, after several phone calls I got turned down because his schedule won’t allow him to.

Over the months, I got to know him and chatted a few times with him finally after six issues Harry gave us the opportunity to showcase his photos.

An accountant by profession and a father of two beautiful kids and a husband to his lovely wife, also a photography enthusiast who because of her made Harry pursue the hobby.

How did you end up with Photography?

My firsthand experience with a DSLR (Canon 350D) was in a race weekend event at Dubai Autodrome in 2008 while I was an active member of a Pinoy car club in Dubai the experience left me a feeling of awe so I decided to learn more about photography. I also met this girl who owns a Nikon D40 having wanted to impress her I got hooked deeper into the passion of photography and ended up marrying the same girl.

Who inspired you or helped you appreciate the art of Photography?

It was not easy for me to learn photography with a Finance background as well as not having the natural talent for the arts I have to struggle my way up. Good thing my wife always encourages me to go on and compete to the highest level.

Describe to us how you did your very first shot (with DSLR or point-and-shoot camera)?

I was shooting fast cars and birds. It felt so good. I felt reborn!

Did you have formal studies in photography, if yes?

Where and when?

Yes, I was a member of Lightform up to Advance Level 2 from to 2008 to 2009.

What are your Photography achievements to date?

I was awarded the Most Outstanding Student in my batch, Travel Photographer winner for a National newspaper. 3rd place winner for the 8th Environmental Awareness photo competition, 1st Panorama Photo category (Lightform), and 3rd Best Street Photographer (Lightform).

How advanced are you in terms of Photography know-how?

I consider myself intermediate in comparison to the others I look up to and to the new photographers with their natural talent.

What is the most challenging Photography experience you had ‘til now?

There was this job where I was hired but I did not research on the theme of the shoot so I got replaced the 2nd day and never got paid. That will never happen again!

What are the best and worst things about Photography?

The best this is when people appreciate and compliment my work and then pointed to me what are the things that I still need to improve. I consider the worst thing about photography is that it has affected my time and attention towards my day job and my family time at some point.

PARC. I would like to meet and attend the workshop of Jerry Ghionis. He is considered as one of the top 3 wedding photographers in the world today. He is also a good educator. His work serves as a good inspiration to me. Also Keda Z. Which lens you cannot live without?

My all around Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 (a.k.a. The Beast) and my 50 1.4G and 85mm 1.4G. If you will be leaving Photography, what other things you’d like to do?

I wish to pursue an MBA from a good university like University of London, a client of mine also or Edinburgh School of Business or from one of the top business schools in Manila if have the funds. I will still probably be travelling the world shooting street photography and landscapes after I retire from Photography.

How would you like to be remembered as a photographer?

I want to be remembered as the person who inspired people based on the photos I produced. I want to create a photograph that will move a human’s emotion into tears and will rekindle the same feeling again after 20 years of marriage.

How long have you been doing Photography?

I’ve been doing it 4 years If long enough, can you describe the difference of your Photography from then to now?

My photography has become more challenging for me, there’s the need for me to produce a better photo than the one I took yesterday.

Which famous photographer would you like to meet and why that person?

I have met a few of the famous photographers I look up to the the likes of Joe McNally, Zack Arias, Joey L (assisted him in 1 shoot), Louis Pang, Lito Sy, Ryan Schembri, Manny Librodo, Oly Ruiz, Toufic Araman, Edwin Martinez, Jay Jallorina, Xander Angeles and

Harry Cruz

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

29

HARRY CRUZ | Wedding Photographer www.harrycruz.com

I want to create a photograph that will move a human’s emotion into tears and will rekindle the same feeling again after 20 years of marriage.

HIGHLIGHTS | Janine Khouri Elias

Janine Khouri Elias Photographer and Blogger a Filipino and Lebanese descent who grew up in Dubai. She specializes in fine arts weddings, portraits and lifestyle photography and loves to bring more creative and luminous photos into the world. You can find her blog and photos at www.janineske.com

Gear up Standfirst:

P

reparation is key to good wedding photography.

Gear up and go through every single item before heading out for the day.

Gone are the days when brides wished to be married in the month of June. In the Middle East, especially when the scorching heat is at its highest by that month, brides-to-be prefer to get married in the cooler season. Now that the wedding season has clocked in, wedding photographers are getting ready to gear up for the occasion. The wedding day is one of the most important events a bride and groom will never forget; it’s a pretty big deal. A lot of people spend a huge amount of money on their special day, so they look forward to be able to re-live the moments as often as they like to. That responsibility lies on the shoulders of the photographers and videographers.

Our job as photographers is to capture the spirit of the event, the tears and laughter, and the raw emotions that spontaneously arrive whenever two people get married. Gearing up for that special day is part of the battle. You wouldn’t want to picture yourself in a fight with a few bullets on hand, or grenades missing, would you? A professional wedding photographer is always prepared, no matter what.

Gear Checklist Before you head out of home, you must have already ticked the boxes you have on your check list. The night before the big day, you must charge all your needed batteries (for camera, flash and other equipment), clean all lenses to be used, empty all memory cards and make sure that you have backed everything up before hitting the format button and pack up all the gears you would use for the next day, including some snacks and if you wish, a first aid-kit (for unforeseen events things that may happen). Every wedding

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

photographer should have a checklist of gears they must bring along (see box). Make sure that you don’t miss a thing; a missing item can cost you a lot more than you think.

Agenda and Location Some photographers pre-visualize a few shots they’d like to get when documenting a wedding. This may be a good thing, but being a wedding photographer, you know that you cannot plan everything, this type of photography is full of surprises and you must be ready to overcome every hurdle that comes your way. One thing you can do to plan ahead is know your location.

If you have not been to the location before, or have not shot any wedding at the same venue, it would be a good move to visit beforehand. Take a look around, see how the lighting works, and imagine a couple of shots you would like to do, in your head. It would also be nice to speak to the event coordinator, ask them for the itinerary and timing of the whole day, from the preparation to the reception. This would give you a heads up on how much time you have for each part of the wedding. You want to have a good understanding of the program to help you anticipate what happens next.

Know who’s who I am pretty sure every photographer knows who the bride and groom is, the question is, do you know who the VIPs are? The important people such as the bride and groom’s parents? Their siblings? Any celebrity in the guest list? These are the people you should be familiar of. Do your assignment ahead of the wedding and ask the bride and groom of a VIP list with names and probably pictures. Do your best to know the major key players of the wedding, and put the list in your pocket for later reference. Familiarize yourself with their names and faces, they would be surprised if you

called them by their name and would feel special that you took the courtesy to know them. Knowing who’s who and being able to call them by name is a business skill you would want to cultivate. Make the assumption that all those people are going to be in the market for a professional photographer in the next year. Treat them like they are already your clients. If you do, it is more likely they will be in the near future.

Dress to Impress If you want to be considered as a professional, you should dress professionally as well. It is sad to see people who call themselves photographers and show up on weddings with a plain shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Remember, you are at someone else’s wedding; you are not there to stroll around a mall to wear casual clothes. The key is to blend in with the guests, you would not like everyone staring at you as you arrive, or else you would not be able to snap that “candid moment”. Do not dress too sartorially eloquent, you need to wear something comfortable as you will do a lot of running, kneeling and bending, but not like a slob either. Do not wear jeans, regardless of how casual the wedding is. A more preferred option is to wear a black polo or blouse. Avoid fussy outfits, big accessories, or high heels (for women), anything that will hinder you from performing your job must not be worn. Most importantly, wear comfortable shoes as you will be standing 99.9 per cent of the time. Dress smart as if you are a guest personally invited by the bride or groom. Your attire speaks volumes about your business.

Not too late for inspiration

wonderful creations and get inspired. You don’t need to memorize what specific framing or posing the photographer used but take inspiration from their pictures. Do not necessarily copy everything, you might offend a fellow photographer for doing that, but take ideas and apply with subtlety. Now is also a good time to browse your own portfolio or your most recent wedding photos. Reviewing your past work should help give you a boost of confidence to perform at your best and get you pumped for the work you are about to do.

It is always best to be prepared for the long day ahead, may it be your first wedding photography gig, or one of the many you have already done. Weddings are crazy. It is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, moments and surprises, so have a good rest, be wellequipped and enjoy every minute of it.

Wedding Photographer’s Checklist Here’s a set of things you would need to go through before heading out of the door: · Camera · Batteries · Lenses · Flash · Lighting and accessories · Tripod · Light stand · Memory cards · Light Remotes and Receivers · Business cards · Itinerary · Location Map and Directions to venue/s · Water and snack

A day before the wedding, I make sure that I take a dose of my favorite photographers’ works. I visit their websites and take my time to take in their

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

33

TECHNIQUES | Emil Latumbo

Create a scene in your mind and carefully select the images that would compliment that scene. Use your imagination. the Road image and drag it on top of the background image. Set your 02| Open foreground color to white and the backround color to black. (Shortcut keys

press D to set it to black and white, press x to interchange the colors) Click the Add Vector Mask icon from the Layers Palette. Select the Brush Tool, and set to atleast 80% Opacity (adjust also the size and hardness of the brush accordingly by right clicking inside the image) Select the Mask and brush the sky in the road image.

Prepare all the images and take the backgrounds off of the subjects.

You can use the Quick Selection tool in doing this but with complex images you can use the Pen Tool for a smoother selection.

01|

Create a New File by pressing File > New or Press CTRL + N. I used these settings: Width = 1000 px Height = 668 px Resolution = 100 px

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

Open the Buildings image and drag it on top of the Road layer. Follow the masking technique in step two, Mask out unwanted part of the Buildings Layer revealing only the buildings.

Emil Latumbo

| TECHNIQUES

the Clouds image and place it on top of the buildings layer.

04| Open Place the Clouds on upper part of the image. , Create a mask layer

and follow the masking technique, Brush the unwanted areas of the clouds layer (i removed only the lower part of clouds layer revealing only the buildings and creating the effect that the buildings are part of the clouds) reduced the opacity of the Clouds layer to 63% Select the Clouds layer and set the blending mode to Multiply

06|

Open the Car1 image and drag on top of the Cracked layer. Press Image > Adjustments > Hue and Saturation (Saturation = -63) Mask the layer and brush just the shadow of the Car1 layer to blend it with the Road.

Car2 and drag on top of Car1 Layer, mask and brush only the 07| Open part where the grass is. This will blend the car with the background.

the Cracked Texture and drag on top of the clouds layer Press 05| Open Edit > Transform > Warp , I reshaped the Cracked layer following the shape of the Road. Mask the Craked Layer then press Select > Inverse (With inverse masking use white as your foreground color) Brush the part of the road where you want the cracks to appear.

Select the Cracked layer and set the blending mode to Multiply

08|

Open the Bride Image and drag on top of Car2 Layer. Press Image > Adjustments > Hue and Saturation (Saturation = -52) Mask the layer and with a brush Opacity of 50% brush only part of the dress to blend.

09|

Open Chopper1 image and drag it on top of Bride layer, Check the Show Transformation Controls, Hover your mouse cursor to the right side of the layer and tilt towards the left. Reduce the opacity of the layer to 68%

TECHNIQUES | Emil Latumbo

10|

Duplicate CTRL + J chopper1 and name it Chopper2. Press Image > Transform > Flip Horizontal, Check the Show Transformation Controls, Press SHIFT + click and drag the right side part to resize the chopper2, reduce the opacity of the layer to 70%

11|

Click the Text Tool, Select a Script FontType the “Just Married�, be sure that the foreground color is white. Press Edit > Transform > Warp (adjust accordingly), Press Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur Blur = 2.8 px, Reduce opacity to 67%

12|

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon and select Hue and Saturation. Use a Hue of o, Saturation of -30 and Lightness of -1

Emil Latumbo

| TECHNIQUES

13|

Change your Foreground color to green (#15872d). Select the Rectangle Tool and create a rectangle as big as the canvass.change the Blending mode to Color, Lower the Opacity to 19%

14|

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + E, Press Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask, Amount = 140, Radius = 1.0, Threshold = 0, Mask the Layer then press Select > Inverse, (With inverse masking use white as your foreground color). Brush the part of the image you want to sharpen (The Bride, Car1 and part of the Road)

STOCK PHOTOS

Emil Latumbo

(Graphic Designer/Web Designer/ Internet Marketer/Photographer) A Graphic Designer by Profession. His love for photos was influenced by his father. The passion ignited a year ago when he had a chance to own a Canon 600D. His journey started with Solo Photowalks in parks and finally joined by friends in Facebook to whom he shared his Photoshop Skills.

Noticing that a lot of people need help in post processing and compositing, he started to craft easy to follow Tutorials that eventually lead to the creation of the www.secretworkflow.com (a website where he can share his Post Processing secrets).

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

37

Depth of Focus

Simon Charlton (United Kingdom) www.simoncharltonphotography.com

G

rowing up, I was always interested in art and design. When I went to university I studied graphic design of which photography was a part of the course. It then became a serious hobby, especially since I traveled the world for a couple of years. Eventually, I began working in my spare time for different events and parties honing my skills. Afterwards, a stock library commissioned me for numerous photo shoots and from then on, things took off for the better.

I took wedding and travel photography as my expertise, and although I have tried different types of photography there are still some subdivisions of photography that I’d like to try or do more in the future like underwater and fashion photography.

As a professional photographer, I do reportagestyle weddings; it is much like a news agency/ newspaper photographer covering a story and he gets only one chance to get the image he wants as the action is simultaneous, spontaneous and cannot be reenacted. The difference I make is to get that one shot and be original and creative and get that eye-catching angle or twist that will make my images stand out. Apart from that, a massive part of my duty is my personality and how I deal with people. This makes a photographer different from among the rest.

Travel has always been a part of my repertoire as it gives me more scenic and ethnic opportunities.

One of the places I went was Cuba. It was just a general two-week holiday. I backpacked in lieu of staying in a luxury hotel for two weeks. Old Havana and Trinidad were places I really enjoyed because of the vibrant colors, the rundown buildings and vintage automobiles passing by on cobblestone streets that gave this distinct feeling of time being rewound back into the 1950’s. The locals were amazing, friendly and generous and it was unquestionably a photographer’s dream.

Another trip I made was in Nepal. I did every explorers and most photographers dream of trekking the Himalayas for 10 solid days.

The people there were once again friendly, welcoming and fantastic. Just by giving a thumbsup or engaging in a polite conversation would guarantee me a few seconds to get priceless photos of them in their own surroundings.

If you take a glimpse on my website, you will see a section called “Industrial”. This is branch of photography that is very rare. It just so happened that I love taking pictures of people working in their natural environment. I was commissioned by Mitsubishi to cover the construction of the Dubai metro and several other property developers to document the progress of their sites from day 1 until end.

I love photography. For me it is an amazing and fantastic feeling to be one and I think that any genuine photographer who loves the craft would agree. Perhaps the only dragging aspect of it is that one has to work on most weekends and on call for a lot of last minute jobs, thus affecting a photographer’s social life. Still, this is what appeals to me; the randomness, the lack of routine and never knowing what my next job will be and where.

There will also always be criticism, and personally, I think destructive criticism given in an articulate manner is the best since it helps me improve. I just don’t take it personally and I always ask for reasons why.

Dubai has given a lot of opportunities to photographers for its landscape, its customs, its way of life, its being a melting pot of east, west north and south and the fact that all these people can meld into peaceful harmony in one place. But here, to be a photographer, one has to be skilled enough and offer something that stands out from the rest. It is very easy to put up a website and claim that you are a photographer. Clients have to be smart in their decisions as to whether a photographer is indeed one and the images on his website are indeed his. Nonetheless, work here is never sparse and clients never lacking.

Depth of Focus

Simon Charlton (United Kingdom) www.simoncharltonphotography.com

I think destructive criticism given in an articulate manner is the best since it helps me improve.

Depth of Focus

Simon Charlton (United Kingdom) www.simoncharltonphotography.com

TIPS

Why do you need to convert photos from RGB to CMYK for commercial “Full Color Process Printing”?

W

hen you took a photograph with a digital camera or scan an image using a digital scanner, the resulting file will use the RGB (Red Green Blue) colour space. You can then view it on your computer monitor and print it out using your desktop printer and get a good representation of the colour in the original image; this is because your monitor and printer use the same RGB colour space.

If you need to have your photograph printed by a commercial printer using ‘full colour process printing’, you will have to covert RGB files to CMYK, as a printing press uses the CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow blacK) colour space.

The problem is; the range of colours, referred to as gamut, that can be produced using CMYK colour inks on paper, is a lot smaller than what can be represented using RGB. This can result in a photograph printing with some of the colours changing hue and looking dull. This often happens to the bright rich blue found in sky areas of an image. The image below left is the original RGB, to the right, the image has been converted to CMYK. Notice the colour shift. The larger photo has been adjusted slightly to bring out the colour.

We have a further problem. There is no standard fixed CMYK gamut; so the same percentages of CMYK inks will not always produce the same colour. There are variations in the inks, the absorbency of the paper, the printing conditions, and different press setups which vary in different parts of the world. The black ink in CMYK printing is used because the CMY inks do not produce a pure black when added together: they produce a brown colour due to impurities in the inks. The black ink when added gives more contrast to the image with darker shadow areas. It is possible to replace any grey areas of an image (represented by equal amounts of CMY inks) with an equivalent percentage of black ink, thus reducing the amount of ink used. This is referred to as undercolour removal (UCR).

Therefore, there are many possible combinations of CMYK to achieve the same image as in the original RGB file.

RGB

How to convert RGB to CMYK

Photo by: Mabelle Orias Ramos

CMYK 44

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

f2.8, 1/25sec, ISO800 @11mm Š2012 Jay Alonzo

You have that way of knowing what to capture in what you see.

The world looks great through your view.

You want to free your imagination.

In this magical world we call photography.

Shoot it.

The light is yours alone.

J

ayAlonzoPhotoworkshop.com Tr u e k n o w l ed ge. Real wor ks hop s .

Email us at inquiry@jayalonzophotoworkshop.com

POST PRODUCTION | Alex Jeffries

WEDDING POST PRODUCTION ESSENTIAL SKILLS

WELCOME TO OUR NEW POST-PRODUCTION ESSENTIAL SKILLS PAGES WITH PHOTOGRAPHER AND TRAINER ALEX JEFFRIES I THIS MONTH - WEDDINGS Learning how to edit your images in post production is an essential skill that all photographers should master. With the software available today, we can now turn

snap shots into great shots, or simply fix small problems in an image easily and quickly.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 are essential tools for your camera bag.

In these pages, we’ll help to answer questions and provide hints and tips to give you the skills to dig deeper into the programmes whilst also helping with workflow queries and confusions.

Show highlight clipping

Turn on highlight clipping - essential for white wedding dresses.

Shoot RAW

Don’t forget to shoot RAW! Any white balance issues can be fixed in LR.

Customise

Use solo mode to keep your LR interface tidy.

Edit

Jump into Photoshop to remove unwanted parts of your image.

TIP

Close your LR catalogs when backing up with Time Machine.

Mac users - catalogs have been known to become corrupted if open, whilst backing up with Apples Time Machine.

Customise

Make LR look the way YOU want, change colours, adjust panel sizes.

POST PRODUCTION ESSENTIAL SKILLS

Paint with light

Check for areas that are too dark and paint some light.

Noise

Check your darker areas for noise problems.

Metadata

Don’t forget to add your metadata to all your images.

Mask Overlay

Turn on ‘show selected Mask Overlay’ and ‘show edit pins’.

Don’t forget the power and all the tools available in Lightroom to help you get a great image.

Zoom into 1:1 view and scroll all around your file to check for ‘pockets’ of darkness, are they ok, or would they benefit from a little more exposure, if so, grab the adjustment brush and paint some light, sometimes an image will not benefit from a global change but will from a small change like this. Also, check for problems like dust spots and noise, sometimes you may have to look quite hard, check the shadow areas and again if necessary paint some noise reduction into the problem. Remember Lightroom is not just there to improve the look of your image, it can help ‘behind the scenes’ too. Have you named your file correctly, have you added metadata - ideally create your own metadata preset, per job if necessary and add that preset upon import, it will save you time later and add keywords, ‘wedding’, ‘dubai’ once your catalog becomes bigger and bigger, this will help you easily find your images.

Alex Jeffries is a Photographer and trainer living in Dubai, he teaches Lightroom and Photoshop and is an Adobe Partner, Alex has been using Adobe® software for more than fifteen years and teaching for more than ten years, if you have any questions you would like answered here, email essentialpostproduction@fullframemagazine.com

POST PRODUCTION | Alex Jeffries

Perfect your photography from shoot to finish Get everything you need beyond the camera with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software training with Gulf Photo Plus, Dubai. ®

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“Organise, perfect, and share - Lightroom combines all your digital photography tools in one fast, efficient application. Photoshop redefines digital imaging with breakthrough tools for photography editing, superior image selections, realistic painting, and more” - Alex

Join photographer and trainer Alex Jeffries as he shows you how turn your snapshots into great shots, whilst improving your workflow along the way, go to www.gulfphotoplus.com for details and how to register, 10% discount for Full Frame magazine readers!* *Please bring a copy of the advert.

FOCAL POINTS | Jay Alonzo

Photo by: Myk Reyes

O

ne time in a workshop of mine, one by one, my students submitted their assignment by handing over their memory card straight from the camera. Then this guy came with a card in one hand and a phone at the other. He used the phone to make his assignment.

If you ask me if I accepted his work made thru his cellphone cam, I did. My workshop focused on the contents of the photo rather than the technical aspect of picture taking and camera operation. If it was, definitely I wouldn’t.

A significant many of the images posted in Facebook and Twitter do not come anymore from humongous digital single lens reflex cameras. With more and more people getting connected online anywhere anytime, plus with the ease of use of mobile devices for taking pictures that can be directly uploaded, this will continue to be the trend.

These mobile device cameras are not only for “I was here” shots but also for artistic self expression. Just consider the popularity of Instagram. Actually there were photo workshops already held in the recent years that cater to mobile phone camera users only.

Let’s face it. The convenience and ease of mobile phone or tablet cams plus the proliferation of applications that turn a mere snapshot into a vintage style sepia picture, or a pin hole effect, or even acquire that cross-processed fashion photo style in an instant got more and more ordinary camera users hooked into the practice of picture taking. What only advanced hobbyists and pro photographers can do before, can now be replicated by a touch of a button.

Due to relatively poor quality of output and lack

50

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

The Changing Picture of Photography of controls, mobile phones and compact digital cameras are not employed in the professional realm. But for leisure and self expression, there is no strict minimum technical consideration.

but is knowledgeable in camera operation and can adjust the camera if need be and employ techniques to come up with a technically good and aesthetically pleasing set of images.

Therefore can it be said that photos taken with mobile phones be able to vie with photos from a DSLR in general? After all it is still a photo, right?

A lot of hobbyists and pros do not think you are serious enough in your art if you just use mobile phone cams. Is it because mobile phones do not provide a means of setting the ISO, shutter, aperture, focusing and all other “hard core photography” controls one can find in a DSLR? But some mobile devices do have settings that allow you to adjust the brightness of the photo, even its color as well.

So to define if someone is a photographer doesn’t stem out only from the use of a camera but what he does directly or indirectly with the gear itself in the process. By that, does a photographer cease to become one when he starts to use a mobile phone cam? If not, how come the photography community sneer at people who use a cellphone or a tablet in taking artistic photos?

Fact is, mobile phone cams give you more control than “instamatic” cameras of the 70s and 80s using 110 and 126 format film. And even if you have used an instamatic camera before, that was still photography. Thou we all know that regardless if film based “instamatics” or DSLRs, not everyone who uses them can automatically be called a photographer.

Who can then be called a photographer? By definition, it is someone who takes pictures, obviously uses a camera to capture an image, whether the finished picture will be sold, licensed or just for personal gratification. With that, then almost everyone is a photographer including your grandmother. Yet why don’t we consider some dude with a cellphone taking pictures of a breathtaking sunset as a serious photographer?

When we hear the word photographer, we think of someone not only who uses a camera to produce photos in a regular or long term basis,

When the camera was invented, painters looked lowly at photographers. For them, photography wasn’t real art. It is very life like and precise. It probably was viewed as cheating. Those who took into photography copied the styles of paintings prevailing then, like diffusing the lens, adding some blur and vignetting, even adding color to the print, just to look like a painting and be accepted as art.

It was exactly this reason that Ansel Adams, together with Williard Van Dyke, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston and four more started the group f64 in the 1920s with the aim to establish photography as an art by itself. Never mind its knife like sharpness and stark details; a photo is not a painting. The consequence was a wider acceptance of photography as another means of expression, different from painting; that it is okay to produce an image (photo) that is sharp, detailed and life like.

If the digital camera serves as a documentation tool such as for news and reporting, accuracy of facts is pertinent. The photos obviously must not have any alteration. The most would be adjustment of exposure and sharpness and

Jay Alonzo

Don’t get me wrong. Digital manipulation made it easy for us to produce images that are impossible to achieve with conventional and pure photography alone. It opened a whole new way of self expression for the ordinary person. Effects that only highly skilled graphic artists, retouchers and darkroom printers can do, can be now done at home using your notebook with Photoshop and without making a mess! And this will continue to be practiced, to be the norm, if not permanently, for the long haul.

As such, the photo has become just an ingredient, an input to a totally different final output. In the past, the resulting photos created by exposing the film or sensor to light was the objective, the final product. That is not the case anymore.

Photo by: Myk Reyes perhaps color to make the photo “readable” and replicate how it really was. Other than that any manipulation that might distort the facts or mislead the viewer is shunned.

But in the more relaxed art of say landscape or conceptual portrait, the photographers have free reign to alter the color drastically, add elements that were not in the original scene, and even remove some, as long as it goes with their interpretation.

In the film days, there were highly skilled people who specialized in just doing these. They were called retouchers and they were not photographers. What they have been doing with the negatives and prints were basically stone age version of what we do today with our computers and Photoshop.

When I first learned how to use Photoshop 4 in 1998, I immediately knew that the days of laboring in the dark under a red or dark green safe lamp is over. I call that the dark ages. What we had to do for hours can be done in seconds. During that time we still had to scan an analogue film or print to digitize it. Even then it was an earth shaking change. The process came to be blindingly faster when the industry shifted fully to digital.

When I took my very first exposure with my first digital camera, I found it hard to convince myself that the picture was a real photograph. I have always felt that real photography deals with film and photo paper washed with D76 and Dektol.

With Photoshop, it had never been easier to manipulate or mutilate photographs. You can now put a moon in a sky where there wasn’t. Models have become unrealistically flawless. The eyes have that marble like bluish glow in them even if the model had jet black eyes. The result is that even if there were really a flock of birds flying against the moon, a photo like this would surely earn comments of being “photoshopped”.

The photos from the camera will be mixed together with other elements (usually another photo, sometimes graphics) to form an almost entirely new image. The newly composited image is no longer a direct result from the camera, but an amalgam of different, manipulated images through the computer and a software. The question now is, is this photography still? This question will surely fire up heated arguments between photographers of the yes and no camps.

What is photography really? From the dictionary, it is an art form using light to paint with. It uses light to form an image on a sensitized material or a light receptor. And this you accomplish by using a tool called the camera. Take note, the silent emphasis here is a finished product coming out of the camera.

| FOCAL POINTS

group, photographers became photographers, not painters who practice photography or photographers who think they are also painters using a new medium then which was photography.

In the future as mobile or tablet cameras become more sophisticated and better, more ordinary people will be an amateur or hobbyist, nevertheless a photographer still, at a lesser effort.

Will we be ready and willing to accept these mobile device shooters as photographers in their own right? What if they will just be using these devices to capture images that will be combined to create an entirely different image, far from what originally came out of the camera? Will we consider this as photography still?

Actually this is happening already. However, the definition of what is a photographer has its parameters becoming wider, becoming obscure and changing. In the future, it will be taken for granted common to expect a photographer to be able to manipulate and composite images.

In that regard, it will be a rare photo, that has undergone no computer manipulation or editing at all. And there will perhaps be more people wanting to be called photographers using mobile phone cams and tablets.

Again maybe not. Only time can tell. For the landscape of the photography world is an ever changing picture.

But then again, even during the film days, photographers have been toying in the darkroom doing at least basic techniques such as burning in and dodging to achieve certain effects, with results somehow different if the negative was printed straight. Ansel Adams, thou advocated pure photography, still manipulated his negatives and prints in the darkroom.

It is not uncommon for photographers to do compositing as well in the darkroom, combining several images into one.

Fundamentally the same way that you composite images today in Photoshop except that it was inconceivably difficult to do with traditional film and real photo paper (not inkjet photo paper). Yet the industry still called this dudes, photographers.

Photography has just completed a really wide circle. Here we are in an era wherein we are making digital photos look more like paintings just like when photography was at its early years. Partly because of the f64

Jay Alonzo is a commercial photographer from Manila, now based in Abu Dhabi and runs Keylite Studio. He has been conducting photo workshops for novices and pros alike for 16 years.

For more info visit www.jayalonzo.com www.jayalonzophotoworkshop.com www.jpegstories.com

Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

51

THE ARTIST | Dia Saleh

www.diaasalehphotography.com

THE ARTIST | Dia Saleh

www.diaasalehphotography.com

“ Dia’s wedding photography is refreshing, spontaneous, and emotional. His style is clean with a modern sensibility. He portrays special moments via a unique blend of photojournalism and fashion photography. His images have been features in renowned magazines and major ad campaigns”. – Living Well Wedding Magazine Dia Saleh is a published photographer with over 20 years of experience in the world of commercial and fashion photography. He is regarded as one of the photographers in his field. His assignments take him all over the world.

Dia is a General Member of American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP).

Only experienced, published photographers with outstanding portfolio can be accepted ad general members in this fine association.

THE ARTIST | Dia Saleh

www.diaasalehphotography.com

TIPS | Ruben Aranda Mirabel Photograph - Quick Fix using Photoshop curves.

After

Porto Del Sul, Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines Photo by: Ruben Aranda Mirabel

k fix c i u Q

Before

You dont have to be a rocket scientist or master of photoshop to have a perfect photo, just follow this simple steps and you will be amaze how easy to have a great photo.

your file in photoshop. Go to 1 Opens Image>Adjustment > Curves.

the “S” curve by clicking and dragging 2 Make then click OK. Viola! you’re finish.

For intermediate Photoshop user, can tweek every channel (RGB), click select the chanel and adjust it according to your taste.

Contributors Profile Ruben Aranda Mirabel

The result • Adjust the over-all contrast or tonal range • Adjust the local contrast or tonal range • Adjust the color

He is working in advertising company in Dubai as Art Director (Handling local and international accounts). A volounteer trainer at OPPPS (Overseas Pinoy Professional Photographers) for more than six years, teaching Digital Darkroom, Graphics Designing and Studio Photography.

www.gallery.mirabelonline.com

REVIEW | Phil Page

Phil Page Profession: Supply Chain Manager Camera: Nikon D700 www.philpage.zenfolio.com Street, Portrait, Real Estate, Architectural, Cityscape and Travel Photographer.

NIKON REVIEW D800 / D600 In 2007 Nikon introduced their first full frame digital SLR camera - the D3. The high ISO capabilities of this camera’s sensor were startling at the time. 2008 saw the introduction of the Nikon D700, which combined the full frame sensor of the D3 with a body and controls which were very similar to the DX D300. It was an instant hit as it provided the same image quality as the D3 yet was considerably cheaper.

Around the same time, Canon introduced their 5D Mark II as a direct competitor. The pixel count was double that of the D700 and a very successful HD video capability was thrown in.

Despite the lack of pixel count at 12MP, the D700 had the edge in picture quality at high ISO and its autofocus was far more reliable. It was, and still is, a fantastic all round camera.

Roll on to 2012 and Nikon and Canon both introduced replacements to the D700 and 5D Mark II. However they took slightly different routes in the evolution of the smaller bodied full frame digital camera. Canon opted to improve their high ISO capability, maintaining a similar pixel count while finally sorting out the focusing issues of the predecessor.

Nikon announced their long awaited D800 with full HD video and a whopping 36.3MP sensor. Could the increased resolution still give the same high ISO capability as before?

Recently announced and just shipping is another Nikon full frame offering - the D600. Interestingly it is smaller than the D800 yet still packs a 24MP sensor. Nikon users have waited for years for an update to the hugely successful D700 and then two potential replacements come along at once. So here I attempt to find out which one could be more suitable for you if your purse strings stretch that far! This is deliberately not a technical review of each camera’s features, but rather a glimpse at how useable the D600 and D800 are in the real world and what you can expect in terms of output and image quality.

Anyone familiar with a Nikon D300, D300s or D700 will instantly feel at home with the D800 camera body. The body itself has evolved a little and is comfortable to hold, and virtually all features are accessible in the same way without resorting to diving into the menu system. LCD resolution is unchanged but the screen is slightly larger at 3.2”. Focus modes are accessible in the same way as the D7000, live view now has its own dedicated button and switch and there is a separate record button for video capture. All good news.

Similarly anyone familiar with a Nikon D7000 will feel at home with the D600. The body is the same size as the D7000, but it is not quite as user friendly as the D800. Both the D600 and D800 have excellent bright viewfinders with 100% coverage - in terms of shooting, what you see is what you get.

Through that viewfinder you can see the first compromise with the D600. The focus points are weighted heavily in the centre of the frame, whereas the focus point coverage in the D800 is much larger. This may or may not be a deal breaker depending on how and what you shoot, but I missed a few shots on the D600 as a result. I rarely use focus tracking, but it worked well on both cameras in good light. The D800’s autofocus really locked on well at night which is a great improvement over its predecessor, which itself was no slouch.

Both cameras offer a virtual horizon showing pitch and roll which is very useful when shooting in a more considered style. If you shoot with a wide angle lens, you can be sure to reduce or eradicate converging verticals altogether. In camera HDR features on the D600 and D800 as

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D600, f/3.2 @ 50 mm, 1/160, ISO 100, No Flash

well as in camera Time Lapse - this creates HD quality movie clips at 30FPS, with a maximum shooting time of 8 hours (see the bottom of blog post for an example). For anything more serious, either the built in or a remote intervalometer is more useful but as a built in option it is a fun and creative additional feature.

Adding to their more professional credentials are dual memory cards the D600 accepts SD cards and the D800 accepts a single CF card and single SD/SDHC/SDXC card.

OK - so what are these cameras like to shoot? I’ll start with the D800.

The D800 is a beast. Where the D700 was a highly capable camera, the D800 needs careful handling. The old adage of taking the reciprocal of your focal length on full frame (e.g. shooting with a 50mm lens needs a minimum shutter speed of 1/50th second) when hand holding no longer rings true if you wish to make the most of the stunning resolution that this camera can offer at a pixel level. You have to watch your technique and really make the effort. If you do, you will be rewarded with amazing resolving power. You will need to have good lenses and a good tripod to make the most of this camera.

Image quality at low ISO is stunning. You can crop images heavily and still have sufficient pixels to create a highly detailed final image. High ISO files, on initial inspection, look noisy. However once resized to a comparable size and applying noise reduction software they are cleaner than D700 files. Nikon have managed to improve the D700’s low light capability while increasing the resolution successfully. Dynamic range is also greatly improved, which will benefit anyone processing images shot in high contrast scenes.

Now all that resolution comes a compromise file size. Importing RAW files through Lightroom 4.2 and creating .tif files yields files of over 200Mb. Without resizing, converted .jpg files are over 20Mb. You are going to not only need good technique and glass - add a very fast processor in your computer, large amounts of internal and external storage and fast writing high capacity memory

cards to the mix. Spec your next PC/Mac purchase wisely! The other flip side to the resolution is the frame rate, which is a maximum of 4fps in FX mode. Switching to DX mode increases this to 5.5fps, but you will lose a lot of resolution in doing so.

If you are willing to accept the tradeoffs that 36.3MP gives you then you will be rewarded with the ultimate in current DSLR image quality. But who is this camera for?

If you shoot portraiture, be prepared to sit in front of your computer a little longer after each shoot with your post processing. Every tiny blemish will be visible. Beautiful models will hate this camera! If you shoot sports this possibly isn’t the camera for you.

REVIEW | Phil Page

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D600, f/5 @ 50 mm, 1/500, ISO 100, No Flash

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D600, f/3.5 @ 50 mm, 1/250, ISO 1000, No Flash

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D600, f/3.2 @ 50 mm, 1/4000, ISO 100, No Flash

The low frame rate is not the be all and end all with sports photography, but the D800 takes time to write those large files and clear its buffer.

The flip side - you’ll have plenty of opportunity to crop. If you are a wildlife photographer, the ability to crop coupled with low light capability may make this camera ideal for you. If you shoot architecture and landscapes then the detail that this camera resolves will be enticing. If you shoot commercial then look no further. If you regularly make large prints then you will see benefits in terms of viewing your print from up close. If you have money to burn then you may just buy it because in marketing terms it has 36.3MP so it must be the best! 36.3MP really gives tangible benefits, but sadly many people that buy this camera will neither appreciate this nor have the technique and lenses to make the most of it, instead printing small or posting to social media. It truly is a specialist tool.

So where does the D600 fit in? A 24MP sensor coupled with a smaller body is a great thing. Low ISO image quality is again beautiful and noise

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D600, f/3.5 @ 50 mm, 1/250, ISO 1100, No Flash

control is as good or slightly cleaner than the D800 up to ISO6400.

Comparing with the D7000, which many potential owners will do, shows that the full frame sensor really benefits the High ISO capability of the D600 over its DX cousin. Compared to the D700 the High ISO image quality shows more than a 1 stop improvement, combined with double the resolution.

Physically the D600 is smaller than the D800, but is it also quieter.

Street photographers will appreciate the quieter shutter and smaller form factor, whilst still benefitting from full frame image quality. Frame rate, the Achilles heel of the D800, is improved at 5.5fps with the D600. The D800 can only match this while shooting in DX crop mode, negating its high mega pixel advantage in doing so. Flash max synch speed and a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000th second are both slower than the D800/D4, but that’s not a big issue. If you own larger and heavier ‘pro’ lenses then a battery grip will help balance your setup considerably.

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D800, f/5 @ 35 mm, 1/80, ISO 320, No Flash

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D800, f/8 @ 21 mm, 13s, ISO 100, No Flash

In terms of performance and image quality the D600 really is more of a spiritual successor to the D700. It’s more of an all rounder than the D800, is nearly as capable as the legendary D3S in low light, and produces beautifully crisp and clean files with 24MP resolution. Dynamic range is as impressive as the D800 and the file sizes won’t put so much strain on your home computer and storage requirements. My only gripes are the ergonomics, where dials and controls don’t fall as readily to hand, and the focusing system. Nikon owners coming from the D90/D7000 bodies will not feel any discomfort with either and not know what they are missing, but D700 owners may feel their workflow while shooting is affected.

In 1996 Porsche introduced the brilliant Boxster sports car but there was a feeling that they had not engineered the cars to be as good as they could be, for fear of stealing sales from their more prestigious and expensive 911. At the time the 911 was a difficult car to drive on the limit but once mastered the rewards were fantastic. The Boxster was less powerful,

Photo taken with NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D800, f/2.8 @ 20 mm, 1/30, ISO 6400, No Flash

easier to drive and handled just as brilliantly.

It’s a similar story with Nikon and the D600/D800. Give the D600 the same focusing system and ergonomic body as the D800 and D800 sales will definitely suffer. The D600 has been engineered to differentiate itself from the D800.

Still, Nikon’s hit a home run here. That differentiation has reduced cost - the D600 will surely become the volume seller in Nikon’s full frame range, be an excellent entry into full frame photography for many as well as a common back up body to D800 and D4 professional photographers.

ALVIN MARK BUEN | Wedding Photographer

Alvin Mark Buen

D

isparate from the early beginnings of most photographers, I began my forage into photography as a simple salesman selling cameras, accessories and other gadgets in one store in a mall in Abu Dhabi.

While working there, I was invited to do a pre-nuptial shoot of a friend also residing in Abu Dhabi; that was in July 2010‌and as the saying goes, “Everything is history.â€?

This moment in my life kick started my love for wedding shoots, engagements, pre-nuptials and events. I find it irresistible charm in seeing couples and lovers beginning a new chapter in their lives and documenting it with me; and the most pleasure I gain from it is seeing their overjoyed expressions once they behold the finished images and being told how they love my craft and the things I do. This gets me going and gives me confidence to do my best.

I have big plans for this upcoming year: to be involved in international shoots starting in the Philippines and also to have Lime Studio to get more publicity in the UAE for its outstanding reliability in terms of photography, videography, workshops, printing and rental services, and also for me to expand my horizons and dexterity in this art.

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

ALVIN MARK BUEN | Wedding Photographer

NEWS | Nikon Launching in UAE

Grand Stores Managing Director Mr. Mohamed Abu Issa [right] and Nikon Managing Director for the Middle East Takashi Yoshida [left]

N

Launched in UAE

ikon in association with Grand Stores has released its lightest and smallest FX Format DSLR camera in the UAE. Despite having the smallest and lightest body among Nikon FXformat cameras, the D600 offers advanced performance. It is equipped with a new FXformat CMOS image sensor with 24.3-million effective pixels and the same EXPEED 3 imageprocessing engine built into high-end Nikon DSLRs (D4, D800, D800E) for superior definition and image quality.

built air-ventilation replicating the iconic Marilyn Monroe image as the cameras fired off the flashes capturing the action. Depicting the FX functionality of the newly launched Nikon D600 SLR camera, ballerinas dressed-up in pearl white gowns presented an exuberant performance leaving the audience in absolute state of enthralment. Several units of Nikon D600 DLSRs were also exhibited enabling the photographers and well-wishers to take away hands-on experience of using the camera.

At the exclusive launch event held at The Armani Hotel in Dubai on 13th Sept 2012, Grand Stores Managing Director Mr. Mohamed Abu Issa and Nikon Managing Director for the Middle East Mr. Takashi Yoshida officially announced the arrival of NIKON D600. Mr. Mohamed Abu Issa said “Nikon has been in the optical camera business for about 100 years, and has built an unparalleled reputation for quality, reliability and innovation. Tonight is a special night for Nikon in the Middle East. For the first time, the UAE joins the worldwide announcement of a very special product. This product is set to redefine the photography paradigm at an affordable level. For the first time in the Middle East, this product will be available for sale immediately after its announcement.”

The newly launched Nikon D600 is extremely portable, yet it offers the superior image quality and rendering performance, operation, and durability of high-end FX-format D-SLRs. In addition to a new FX-format CMOS image sensor with 24.3-million effective pixels and the same EXPEED 3 image-processing engine built into high-end models, the D600 boasts a number of advanced features, including an optical viewfinder with 100% frame coverage, a large and clear 3.2-inch LCD monitor with wide angle viewing, and the same dust and waterresistance as the D800 and D800E. What’s more, this FX-format camera also supports the complete DX NIKKOR lens lineup for greater convenience with both still image shooting and movie recording. The D600 makes full use of its 24.3-million effective pixels with high-resolution, full-HD movie recording (1920 × 1080/30p). It is also equipped with the Multiarea mode Full-HD D-Movie function, which enables recording in either FX- or DX-based movie format for more creative freedom.

Adding to the glee of excitement, the launch event showcased two of the masterpiece DSLR cameras Nikon has gifted to the mankind. The Nikon D4 and The Nikon D800. Whilst young boys swayed and stunned the crowd by their swift acrobatic moves and bicycle stunts, a pair of chic models posed in front a yellow Lamborghini car at the D4 Studio. On the other side, highlighting the creative and video capabilities of Nikon D800, a female model posed over a purpose-

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

The newly launched Nikon D600 is available at all Grand Stores showrooms and leading power retailers across the UAE.

westerndigital.com

Available at:

DIVINO KINTANAR | Photographer

P

hotography and I go back a long time ago when I was only a kid. It was an influence my dad brought on me since he was also a photographer. He would bring me along during his shoots and so I grew up surrounded by people inclined to art like photographers and musicians. But during that time, I found music to be an easier way to express my feelings rather than photography. My interest in the latter only awakened with the coming of the digital format.

Divino Kintanar

My first DSLR was a Nikon D40 with an 18200 lens. Most of the times though, I kept using manual lenses such as the Nikon 50 f1.4 AIS and 100 f2.8E. This is the camera I fully utilized and I was confident to use it for wedding shoots. I found that as long as I knew and was familiar with how to use my equipment and I am in harmony with my surroundings and lighting, I could never go wrong with it.

In 2007, I joined the Gensan Camera Club (GCC). After a year, my friends and I opened a joint venture business, the Montage Digital Photography, which, soon after, I quit so I could focus on my own photography.

Shooting ethnic weddings excites me because it is new and different. It is just like a child

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

getting a new toy or plays in a different playground. It gives me the adrenaline rush that I would normally not have when shooting an ordinary wedding and brings out the creativity in me. If I had the chance I would shoot an Indian wedding in India; not only is it colorful but the culture and tradition is intact and well preserved.

Dubai’s photography scene is very competitive and there are a lot of good people out there who are serious with their craft, but I have been blessed to be involved in a lot of events during the past year. I did the premiere of Mission Impossible 4 and literally trailed every move of Tom Cruise.

I enjoyed competing in photography contest and won using my D40 and what led me to Dubai were actually the winnings of a photography contest! It was the “Postscripts from Mindanao”. My first win was a landscaped-themed contest in 2007. I also won the July 2010 contest in “PPSOP”, a US based photography contest based in Chicago, Illinois and I also was a finalist in the HIPA 2012 contest. These events definitely improved my skills and knowledge. “Practice makes perfect” as the saying goes. I am far from perfect, but I do learn every day.

DIVINO KINTANAR | Photographer

Overseas Pinoy Professional Photographers Society

T

hese Filipinos are not posing for a photo session; they are the Digital Photography training participants of Overseas Pinoy Professional Photographers Society (OPPPs) on their first outdoor shooting exercises.

Held every Friday at The Philippine School in Dubai, the training is part of the skills upgrading program held under the auspices of Philippine Consulate General (PCG), Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The Digital Photography course is offered virtually free to all Filipinos residing in the UAE. The course is designed to simplify shooting, framing, correcting, enhancing and printing images.

Six classes are currently being held at the Philippine school Every Friday from 10am to 4pm with two classes every two hours.

Those who are interested to enroll next term to start tentatively on second week of January are encouraged to always visit www.oppps.com for the announcements. Online reservation will be available as

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Volume 01 | Issue 07 | 2012

well at the website once the schedule is confirmed.

There are also other short training courses being offered by OPPPS like Digital Darkroom, Graphics Design using Photoshop, Fashion Photography using natural lights and studio lights and Photo Journalism among others. These courses are being offered alongside with Digital Photography during regular training season.

From October 26 to November 23, OPPPS have also lined up four 4-hour workshops in different topics such as: Oct 26: Product Photography Nov 2: Photojourn Master Class Nov 16, Make-up for Photographers Nov 23: Flash/Strobe Photography Techniques The objective the workshops was to introduce the principles of creating better pictures.

OPPPS trainers have many years experience in Photography and are professional trainers putting the information over in a clear, precise and enjoyable way.

OPPPS aim is to provide in-depth and quality training in photography to Filipino expatriates.

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