Made the trip to Macau last weekend to watch Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight against punching bag Brandon Rios. I'm a boxing fan first, Pacquiao follower second, but of course I'd only spend money rooting for my countryman. It was my third time to watch his fight live, but also my first time to be in Macau and, more importantly, the first time that I really didn't know what to expect. If the knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez signaled the end of his dominance, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a lackluster performance from Pacquiao. I've been cheering him on during victories, now I was rooting for him to recover from a savage setback.

Fortunately he looked really good against Rios, who's as fast as my Globe internet connection during peak hours (translation : awfully, hopelessly slow). It was fun to see Pacquiao doing his thing again, and it was fantastic to feel and hear the support of the crowd, which I'd estimate to be 95% pro-Pacquiao. Even the loud and brash Brits - who were against him the last time I watched live vs. Hatton - were now on our side. Everything seemed okay, it was a perfect fight, except for one nitpick : I wanted a knockout win to make his comeback even more dominant. Anyway, we can't have it all, so let's just be happy with it. A win is a win.

I sneaked my Canon EOS M into Cotai Arena to take some photos. I wanted to shoot more of the main event, but after what happened during Pacquiao-Marquez IV, I decided I didn't want to miss a decisive punch while looking at the M's LCD. I wanted to see everything live, so I barely took photos. (Also lost my appetite to shoot after seeing so many people around me recording the fight or taking selfies with their phones and tablets.)

Here's what I was able to shoot, had a little fun with captions and hashtags :

I don't know how many fights Manny has left in him, it seems not a lot. This may very well be the last time I get to see watch him live, unless they can cut the crap and sign the deal for Pacquiao-Mayweather. I think Manny will lose that one, but I'm sure I'll watch that fight.

Let it be!

Walk. Shoot. Walk. Hide from the sun. Walk. Shoot. Walk again. Rest. Do it over.

That must have been my routine during last weekend's Canon PhotoMarathon 2013. It was my second time to attend the event (I first joined in 2011), the country's biggest on-the-spot photo contest exclusively for Canon users. Being a Canon loyalist since my point-and-shoot days, I take pride that we have an event like it. I like the venue better than last time. The weather and sky was good (although I still regret forgetting sunblock and arm sleeves). It was exhausting, the given contest themes left a lot to interpretation (which is my way of saying it was difficult), but overall I enjoyed walking around Bonifacio Global City to find spots and take pictures.

Here are my captures...

Of course, attending the event was made more fun because of company. I was there together with fellow members of Focus Bulacan. Here's our group shot before we were sweaty.

We didn't get to finish the program and announcement of prizes, but congratulations to all the winners!

Thank you, Canon! Let's do it again next year! :)

Here are photos from a maternity shoot featuring our good friend Donna who's 33 weeks heavy with baby girl Sapphire. Not counting the countless preggy photos I took during my wife's pregnancy, this is my first time to do this. Donna wanted a lifestyle-kind of shoot, no daring and baring, with a little participation from his partner Mark.

Well, then, I won't hold you any further...

Shoutout to Ronna Cervantes for the hair and makeup, my wife Anie... our posing coach. Of course, to the beautiful Lei Miguel for the shoot location.

Congratulations in advance, Donna! Enjoy the bliss of motherhood. :)

Our photography club Focus Bulacan had a recent food shoot at Hapag Restaurant & Events Place in Malolos City. It was the first time for some in the group to try food photography using their DSLRs - most of the time they snap photos of their meals with their phone's cameras. Fortunately for us, the food in Hapag looks great coming out of the kitchen, very minimal styling is needed for photos.

I wasn't able to shoot all the dishes, but here's what I was able to :

I'd like to share here a few practical pointers to help improve your food photography. This is part of the quick lecture we had before the food shoot :

- Food photography's goal, whatever your purpose may be in shooting food, is to make food look appetizing.

- There are five elements of food photography : food styling (make the food look at its most delicious form), props styling (arrange objects/elements that can complement or highlight the food), lighting (illuminate the food in a way that its appeal and details stand out), composition (shoot with proper angles or use of space to create an attractive image), and processing (correct details or accentuate the look of your food photo).

- Try to make food look three-dimensional. Shooting from the top view sometimes works, but don't get lazy to always do that. A three-dimensional view makes the food look more real-life and appealing.

- Get close. Highlighting the food's texture and details is definitely more important than including the whole plate in your photo. Remember, the star of the photo is the food, not the plate.

- Focus on the essential. When shooting food, try to think of the most important ingredient. If it's a hamburger, focus on the patty, not the bread, not the sesame seeds, and certainly not the plate. It's not a burger without the patty after all.

- Keep it simple. Draw the viewer's eyes to the food. Distracting (foreground or background) elements won't help.

- Relax... your subject won't run away. Take your time in getting the best shot you could possibly take. Experiment with angles and composition. Unless, of course, you're already hungry and can't want to grab that food. And unless, of course, your food is of the melting variety.

I would love to share some more tips but I think I'll stop here. I'd like to give the food shoot participants the advantage of having learned everything that I wanted to share. Peace.


Anyway, here's our group photo after the shoot. Terribly sorry for those who left early.

Hopefully I got to help improve your next food photo, whether you do it for your Instagram or Facebook account, or just personal use, or even for a commissioned project.

Pray. Shoot. Upload. Eat. LOL.