My First Winning! Yippeee!

Yipppeee! This is a very exciting day for me because I finally won my first ever grand prize from contests and giveaways that I have joined here in the web. And guess what my prize is, hmmmm my long awaited FREE BLOG MAKEOVER from the very generous and super talented LadyJava. Thanks so much! You're my angel!

I'm so excited and I'm running out of words. I'm looking forward for my blog's new look.

Another Centennial Scene

It's Wednesday and last day of work for this week because of the observance of the Holy Week, and before I'll start my so busy day today (I have to prepare 5days ancillary schedule, week-ahead operation plan for thermal plants, and more assessment reports), I'll post my Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday first. 

This is another scene taken at Centennial Park a favorite sunset spot in Iligan City. Damn I need to explore more, I'm running out of photos. sigh* Anyway this favorite spot will always remain beautiful wherever angle you'll position yourself or your camera.

Happy Wednesday! Watch out for new series of photos soon. Wahhhh! I just need a vacation!

My First Try on HDR Imaging

I've read about High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging in a photography magazine before, then I've tried shooting images that will qualify for HDR processing, i.e. shooting subjects in three (3) different exposures. I did the process using photoshop but I was not satisfied with the result I had to do more toning and more enhancement and I simply can't get the the desired result I want, so I stopped doing it because I was unsuccessful most of the time.

Until this month, an officemate of mine who is already a professional photographer (because he has his own Wedding Photography studio) showed me an HDR image. My jaw almost fell on the ground (lol) because it was so so beautiful and I was so envious. I asked him how he did it, since I was so unsuccessful with my previous try. He told me that photoshop may have done the trick but it will take so much of your time adjusting/enhancing, instead he used another software called photomatix. 

I tried the same software and viola, I got my first HDR imaging. And today I'm sharing to you my project from raw images to processed image.

The photos below were taken in December 2009 at Cabanglasan Bukidnon. I adjusted manually the exposure from normal to -2 and +2 setting (I don't know how to use the auto-exposure bracketing feature of my camera yet) and of course with the use of a tripod.

(+2  overexposed)

 (normal exposure)

(-2 underexposed)

After merging the three photos this is the result. 

An image like this cannot be captured by the camera alone manipulation is badly needed.

Hope you like it. 

In case a professional photographer will bumped into my post I hope you can give me some comments to further improve myself. Thanks!

This is my World on Tuesday.

Have a Nice Day!

Little Queen

My husband took this tiny flower about less than 1cm in size at Taytay Swimming Pool. None of us know what's her name. Maybe I should call her the Little Queen for now until I'll find out what her real name is. Why little queen?  because of the crown-like yellow bulb on top of the white curled petals. Hope someone knows her name. sigh*

Pretty Pink Hibiscus

Hmm I saw this pretty pink hibiscus at Gloria's in Timoga Iligan City on March 6, 2010. While hubby did the purchase of 3 kilograms lechon baboy (for our group picnic), I was at the side of the stall waiting, then capturing the beauty of one of the pretty flowers of a 5 feet tall hibiscus plant. 

This is her isn't she a beauty?

 Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.

~Denis Waitley~

Life's Obstacles

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin--real life. 

But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. 

Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

~ Alfred D. Souza~

Against Gray Sky

Last Saturday Nice and Joven accompanied me on a subject hunt since hubby is at work. I was on search for a landscape scene (and still searching) for me to be able to  join a photography contest here in Iligan with theme "Landscape: Iligan Scene". But I wasn't that lucky because the sky was so gray and gloomy that day. Anyway since we're already on the area, we visited one of the Memorial Gardens here in Iligan City. It was my first time to visit and the views are amazing, but the problem is the sky was not cooperative that day but still I manage to take some photos to share.

Here's one of the shot that I took against the the gray sky. 

Hope you like it even though it's not that attractive. ciao! 

Easter Basket Blog Hop

 

Anne of A Journey Towards Success hopped on my blog today and invited me to join the Hershey's Better Basket: Blog Hop.

It's so easy to join just copy and paste these rules to your blog post.

• Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
• Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
• Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
• Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
• Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.

 
And I'm passing the Basket to: Ann, Vernz, Grace & Eden

Free Blog Makeover

I saw a pretty blinking badge at the adgitize earlier today and it says LadyJava Creations Giveaway. I hurriedly clicked the badge and guess what, LadyJava is giving away a blog makeover yippee. I wanted so much to have a blog makeover and I do hope I'll win.

Today is the last day of the contest, so what are you waiting for joined now and who knows you might be the lucky winner of a beautiful and creative blog makeover only from LadyJava.

Magical Fountain

Just came back from Jarod Nathaniel's funeral (Jong & Mia's first child). It was a very sad morning for our friends Jong & Mia and the rest of us who have witness the sweetness of a beautiful 1 day old baby. I cried most of the time because I've felt their grief too. But everything has a reason, and this little angel was taken by the Creator is now at peace in HIS arms.

Anyway it's another Wednesday, and time for another Watery & Outdoor share today. Hubby and I enjoys dining out especially when we're too tired to cook for ourselves. And while having our dinner at Enangs, they lit this fountain at their open space. And it look so magical because of the green light that reflected the water. Who could resist the beauty? I can't, so I took my camera and set the shutter speed to 30 seconds, then place the camera on top of the table since I wasn't able to bring the tripod with me. And viola I got this shot yipppeeee!

Hope you like it too! Happy Wednesday!

Iligan City: Pryce Garden

Joven, Nice and I went to Upper Hinaplanon near Ma. Cristina Memorial Garden to hunt for a natural landscape scene, but the sky was not that friendly. It was so gloomy that only small light coming from the almighty sun can pass through.

We hoped it had rained so hard that day so we could have stayed at home, but it did not just gray cloud covering the sky that allowed us to explore Iligan City. But still I was unlucky to get a bright sunlit landscape just this two photo against the gray sky.

An overlooking shot of Iligan Bay.

And before going home, we went to Maria Cristina Memorial Gardens and took some photos inside this luxurious and beautiful resting place.


This is my world on Tuesday.

Have a Nice Day!

Macro Croton Flower

I was searching the internet for the international name of this very common colorful houseplant locally known as "San Francisco" here in the Philippines and luckily found it in better homes and gardens (bhg) plant encyclopedia. Her international name is "Croton" a colorful shrub with leathery leaves that grows from 1 to 6 feet tall and her special feature is her attractive and colorful foliage.

I thought this very common plant does not bloom, but on March 6, 2010 while spending the day at Taytay Swimming Pool, I came across bushes of croton and found them to be blooming with tiny star like flower. Good thing hubby and I brought our DIY macro lens and ring light and took a close-up shot of this pretty star flowers.

Here it is and hope you like how I took it...


This is my Mellow Yellow Monday and Macro Monday for today.

By the way this is one of the vast species of croton plant that I have took last year.


Enjoy!

To Little Angel Nathan

This white flower that symbolizes purity is offered to our little angel Nathan, our friend's Jong and Mia's
one day old son who joined our Creator last night. He will be our little angel who will be guiding us and making his parents strong to move on with their lives.

Let us help them through prayers.

A Monochrome Sunset

This is a happy Saturday for me because I was featured again on Monochrome Weekend Wall. Yipppeee! Thanks Aileni for choosing my last week's entry.

Today I've converted a lovely sunset shot into a monochrome scene let us see how it looks like...


hmmm what do you think??

Paul Bowles:

... we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.

This will also be my Scenic Sunday entry...


Enjoy!

My Not So Spooky Moon Shot

Before starting my always busy Friday, I'm sharing to you first my SkyWatch Friday for today. This is a bright moon on an early evening of February 27, 2010 6:57PM taken along Dalipuga Iligan City. My hubby and I stopped by at the area since was so dark there because of the brownout to experiment a trail of light shots. And before going into our purpose, I saw this bright moon as early as 6:57PM and decided capture it's beauty. I was trying to make it more spooky but I was not that successful. Anyway here's my share for today "My not so Spooky Moon Shot".

As a bonus I want to share to you to one of the trail of lights that I have taken on the same night. I've waited for a well lighted multicolored vehicle tail lights but I was not that fortunate. These is the best I've got so far...

The Ocean

"A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching."

~Sivananda ~

This is my watery wednesday and outdoor wednesday for today.

Enjoy & Have a Nice Day!

Rocks and Sunset

"When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator."

~ Indira Gandhi~

This is just another bright sunset taken at the Centennial Park in Iligan City. I guess I need to explore and shoot again because I'm running out of photos to share with you.

This is my World on Tuesday, I'm taking you to the Southern Part of the Philippines.

Plumeria Bud

Last week I featured a full bloom yellow/white plumeria flower on Today's Flower and Mellow Yellow Monday.

Today I'm showing you a close up shot of plumeria flower at it's the earlier stage. My share for Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday for today.

This is a beautiful yellow, white and a little purple stripes of a plumeria flower bud taken the closest as possible.

Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.
~Gerald De Nerval~

White and Maroon

Perfect contrast of tiny white flowers with the maroon colored leaves. Taken at MVC Lagoon in Iligan City

"We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~