I SPENT SOME TIME IN JAIL.....

Vigan Provincial Jail.....

Election Campaign Poster.....

The Prisoner And The Jail Guards.....

Students From UNP As Tour Guides.....

Jump Shot Daw.....

Relax!!!!! I did spend some time in the Vigan Provincial Jail, which has been renamed Gregoria M. Rivera Memorial Library. This former provincial jail was renamed in honor of the sixth President of the Philippines, Elpidio R. Quirino's mother. Rivera gave birth to the young Quirino on November 16, 1890 in one of the rooms on the second floor since his father, Mariano Quirino was the jail warden. The jail, located behind the provincial capitol and beside the Burgos Museum, still served its purpose until last year when it began its transformation as the new art center of Ilocos Sur.

I was impressed with this new museum because it was air conditioned and had thermostat controls. In one of its chambers, the 14 paintings of Esteban Pichay Villanueva which depicted the 1807 Basi Revolt were showcased. The paintings were originally displayed at the National Museum before it was returned to the provincial government when the art center was finally operational. Other exhibits being displayed were artifacts of tools used for basi making and some woven fabrics. On the second floor, some paintings of the former president Elpidio Quirino and his wife, Alicia Syquia which were all done by Fernando Amorsolo can be seen.

I think more exhibits are in the planning stage at the moment but I am so glad that such a repository of our heritage exists here in Vigan. Don't forget to check out this museum when you find yourself strolling around Vigan City in the future!

MAGIC MIKE XXXS.....

Caloy and Kyler Iblasin.....

Magic Mike XXXS.....

Last Friday, Lola and I went to Imus, Cavite to meet fellow photography club member Caloy Iblasin and his family to shoot his son for some portrait pictures for his birthday. I readily agreed to tag along since I wanted to try out my Pocket Wizard remote flash trigger and receiver. I've had it for a long time but because of my preference for landscape photography, I rarely get the chance to use it. So when I was asked to come along, I readily said yes.

Caloy and Maricar's little boy is such a cutie! And I kind of laughed when I saw that the parents came prepared with outfits. But they forgot the toys! No worries! We just have to rely on ourselves and make silly faces to elicit laughter from the young charmer.

We started shooting Kyler who wore a yellow collared shirt, black and white checkered shorts and a cap which also has the same pattern as his shorts. The next style was so cute! He wore his diaper with a suspender attached to it and wore a bow tie. Shades of Channing Tatum in Magic Mike! The final outfit he wore was a long sleeved onesie which I think made him uncomfortable because of the heat. A few hours under the shade of a tree, we decided to pack up since our star refused to smile anymore and preferred to be carried around.

The above photos are samples of what the Pocket Wizard can do. The photos I took of Caloy's with his son while we were at the park looked great on the lcd screen of my camera. But I didn't expect it to look this awesome when I saw the photos on my laptop screen. The fourth and fifth photos where taken at the garage. I am quite pleased with the results but I wish I can explore more set ups in the future. I still have to nail the ideal settings though as some shots have a slight blur like the last one. As for the set up, we asked Caloy to set up a sofa chair, covered it in white cloth and my flash was on the left side at an angle of 45 degrees with the young lad's high chair as its stand.

I carry a lot of my gear whenever I go out to shoot. Ever since I switched to using the Think Tank modular skin system, it has given me ample mobility whenever I shoot since it frees my back from the burden of carrying most of my gear. The system spreads the weight of my gear around my waist but I have to relieve the pressure when I am at rest. As I think about the possibilities of using my flash triggers for outdoor landscape shoots, the thought of adding extra weight makes me cringe. I wish I have a roller case!