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Kalesa | San Agustin Church @ Intramuros

From wiki: A kalesa or calesa (sometimes called a karitela) is a horse-driven calash (carriage) used in the Philippines. The word, also spelled calesa, predates the Spanish conquest and descends ultimately from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning “wheels.” This was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford. They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in tourist spots and […]

San Ignacio Church Ruins | The Five Religious Orders

There are a lot of old structures and ruins in Intramuros.  This particular one was one of the first we encountered during our photo walk.  The old San Ignacio Church ruins can be seen behind the statues.  The five statues symbolize the five religious orders to disembark in the Philippines.  They were the Augustinians, the Franciscans, the Jesuits, the Dominicans and the Recollects. Here is the view from the other side…. Here’s how I took this shot: Gears: Canon 7D […]

Intramuros Photo Walk

Wiki says: Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Its name, in Latin, intramuros, literally “within the walls”, meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish colonial period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself. —— I had […]

My photo walk buddies | HDR Portraits

I’m back from a short 2 weeks vacation from the Philippines. During my stay, it was hard to find time to shoot.  There’s just tons of things to do back home, not to mention that I was paranoid about the security issues of walking on the streets with a DSLR camera by myself.  Well, maybe it’s just all in my head but, better to be safe than sorry.  I mean, we all know Christmas season is just around the corner […]

Atlantis, Dubai

One of the most famous hotels here in Dubai.  It is located in one of the artificial man made islands called The Palm. This was taken using a point and shoot camera, Lumix LX3.  I took this shot while riding the train, hence the green tint which is from the tint of the windows of the train. This is actually one of my famous pic from my flickr photostream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecruz/3841479671/ Wiki says: Atlantis, the Palm is a resort at Palm […]

Dubai Marina Nightscape

From the same set as my previous post. I really like this place, especially now that the weather is getting better here in Dubai.  I need to go back and take more snaps, maybe from a different side of the Marina. How I took this shot: Settings: f8.0| 32 secs , f8.0| 15 seconds  (yes 2 shots) Gear: Canon EOS 7D Sigma 10-20mm Manfrotto 055XProB Manfrotto 468MGRC2 Ballhead Post Processing: Opened in ACR adjusted the contrast, clarity and vibrance Digital […]

Dubai Marina in HDR

This was the same day I took the Dubai Marina picture I posted before.  Taken during sunset. Dubai Marina is a great place to shoot, a lot of interesting subjects and not a lot of security guards that freaks out everytime they see a tripod. Here is how I took this shot: Settings: f6.4 | 1/25 | -3,0,+3 AEB Gears: Canon 7D + Tamron 18-270mm VC Post processing: Stacked and aligned from Photomatix Digital blending in Photoshop, resized and watermarked. […]

Hatta Desert Chair – HDR

Sometimes you go out and you find something weird.  Weird but good…  as a ‘photographic subject’ kind of way.  You get the point. So there we are, going back to Hatta, walking around and scouring  for a good spot for this good sky (these clouds that you see is a rarity in UAE).  There is just not enough clouds in this country. How I took it: Settings: F8 | Av mode | +2, 0, -2 AEB (bracketed shots) Gear: Canon […]

To my Aunt, Tita Vicky…

You have been the greatest aunt… Where ever you might be right now, I wish you well. I’m happy that your suffering is done, but I’m sad that I’m not going to see you when I go back home.   I know you are in a better place right now.  You have been the best aunt to us all, you will always be in my heart… forever. May God bless your soul.

Dubai Marina | Canon 7D

This is Dubai Marina.   Home of the rich folks with boats 🙂 These were during the early testing of Canon 7D.  (I still haven’t read the manual yet at this time.) How I took this shot: Settings: f8.0 | 25 secs. Gears: Canon EOS 7D Sigma 10-20mm Manfrotto 055XProB Manfrotto 468MGRC2 Ballhead Post Processing: Photoshop Curves Digital blending for the blown highlights Have a nice weekend 🙂 /Mike