A "SONG AND DANCE" EXPERIENCE.....

Powerdance And Their Power Moves.....






















Carla Guevarra as She Does Her Thing.....
















I love watching theater productions. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to watch the local theater here in the Philippines because of my backbreaking work schedule before. Besides, most of the time, theater productions were held at the Meralco Theater, which is very far from the place I live, here in Las Pinas. So when I went overseas and worked in an NHS hospital in London, I grabbed every opportunity to watch the musicals at the West End. The first play that I watched was "Fame", which was a continuation of the television series about the lives of budding performers. The next was "The King and I" then "Les Miserables", "Phantom of the Opera", "Rent" and the last musical was "Chicago". In between, I also watched non musical productions like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" which starred Brendan Fraser (yummy abs this guy has!) and "The Hobbit" (my first encounter with Gollum, "My Preciousss!"). I
missed watching "Miss Saigon" when I went to Leeds one time. They left for Scotland for the next performance venue during the day I arrived. And I also missed its Philippine run because I have left for UK at that time.

Repertory Philippines is a major theater company in the country. Lea Salonga and Monique Wilson are Repertory graduates. The company, under the guidance of the late Zenaida Amador was responsible for showing "Miss Saigon" with Cameron McIntosh's approval, at CCP with the usage of the original props of the show (remember the helicopter?) It also showed "Rent", though I have totally forgotten who played who. All I can remember was that critics were praising Michael Williams (me not sure if he played the role of "Angel"). I totally like him when he's performing, even if I have not watched him do so! Friends and relatives of mine who were able to watch plays that he is cast in swear that he is a major talent to watch. And I believed these people who say so. But I do remember the time when he auditioned for a role in "Miss Saigon". If Lea blew away McIntosh's mind among the female performers, Michael was the one who stood out among the males. Until now, I still have to watch a musical where in he is among the cast members.

Hence, imagine my elation when I got an invitation from my club mate John, telling me about a shoot that he had arranged for our photo club involving Repertory. We were invited to shoot the cast of "Song and Dance" during an actual performance at On Stage in Greenbelt One, Makati. It was an out of the blue invitation, primarily because Repertory has an account in the bank where John is the branch manager. Thus he actually knows the production people of the company.

The song part is actually a 45 minute monologue in songs performed by Carla Guevarra. This woman is amazing! She carried the first half of the musical by herself, telling us, the audience, about her life and loves in New York City. And the range of the songs were awesome. She can hit the very high and very low notes with such ease. Though sometimes, her voice seems to quiver a bit, but it is barely noticeable to the untrained ear (I used to sing solo and in a choir, so until now, I can detect the slightest deflection in a note being sung, whether it is off key or not). Such mishaps happen but one can't help but ignore the flaws altogether. She has a commanding stage presence! Did I say that she is so pretty too?

The dance part was taken care of by the Powerdance troupe under Douglas Nierras! One of my frustrations in life was to learn how to dance, jazz dancing to be exact. And Douglas Nierras is the Master of Jazz Dancing. I remember when he used to perform with his wards as a dancer and watch them in TV shows like Penthouse Live or even during the time when the Ms Universe beauty pageant was held here, he moves like a gazelle, an animal associated with grace and strength, particularly when he executes a jump or just does a pirouette. He choreographs the dance routines and his wards perform it to perfection. He is someone who really has the passion for dance. If I write for a living, he will certainly be one of the many people I admire who I'd like to sit down and do an interview with. For behind the tough exterior that he exudes, is a real person with a lot of things to say about his passion, his art, himself, and his country.

THREE MODELS, AN INTERIOR DESIGNER, A BAND LEADER AND A FLAMENCO DANCER

The Designer.....
















The Bandleader.....
















The Dancer.....














Tattoos. I never liked them. Whenever I had a patient in PGH who has tattoos, the first thing that came into my mind was that this man was a prisoner in some jail and that his tattoos signify the gang he belonged to. Not a good impression. Besides, with the closing of commercial blood banks, it means that the hospital relies more on blood donors for patients who need blood. Ideally, blood donors are a patient's next of kin. And one of the requirements for a donor to pass is that he must not have tattoos on his skin. So there, I'm saving myself as a donor for my family in case one of them needs blood. I have a high pain threshold therefore, a tattoo needle doesn't scare me. Having said this, I do thank God that not anyone in my family has blood dyscrasias or is afflicted with dengue, which requires blood transfusions of vast quantities.

One Saturday morning, I joined John as he had a schedule to shoot his models for his "Tattoo Pride" project. It's a good concept, as he opts to photograph people who sport tattoos that have no criminal record. And I was pleasantly surprised by my friend's audacity to approach people who are complete strangers and ask them to pose for him and his project. We photographed a popular band, dice-k, who sang the song my niece loved, "Itsumo"; fine arts students who see tattoos as art and some tattoo artists. That day, an interior designer and a band leader were the ones who confirmed their schedule. John did mention that a third model might show up, an underage girl who dances the flamenco and who can pass as an adult because of her height. She shall be a "bonus" model when she arrives.

It was an amazing photo shoot! Our models were game and good looking that it was impossible to take bad shots of them. And one of them even had the guts to bare all and go all the way (nude). No coercion was used in convincing him. He was the one who suggested it. As the shoot turned into a nude photography session, John and I therefore asked the other two to leave the studio and wait in the lounge outside. We wrapped up shooting our nude model in thirty minutes. As much as I wanted to shoot in a slower pace, I can't because of the other two people waiting for their turn. Given the circumstances, I was pleased with the results and so was the model.

Our second guy was the handsome one. I have never seen a man who has a set of very captivating eyes, though I have a female friend (a doctor) who has (and I do wish that I can get her to pose for me so I can look at her gorgeous eyes!). And because of his features, he doesn't really have a bad camera angle. What's more appealing is that he has a well toned torso. His abs isn't exactly washboard type but isn't that flabby either. My naughty side wished that he'd volunteer to be shot in his birthday suit as well but I know he wouldn't. The pace was relatively slower than the first hour when we were shooting the nude model but my adrenalin level was still way high. We were through with taking pictures for the second model in an hour.

The last was our "bonus" model, a young lady who doesn't have a tattoo but was asked by John if she was interested to pose wearing her flamenco dress. I admire kids who go out of their way to learn a new skill. The surprising thing about her is she chose to learn a Spanish dance, flamenco. I didn't have the chance to watch a flamenco performance when I went to Barcelona years ago because my friend and I were more interested in trying out each restaurant at the main boulevard called "Las Ramblas", in search of the best seafood paella and sangria. And despite the Spanish classes that I went through in college, I couldn't figure out if what I was saying was a Spanish word or something in Pilipino! Anyway, this kid also takes Spanish lessons as well, which I find amazing as well. We asked her to do some dance movements as we tried to photograph her dress as she swirled it in motion.
We finished in about 45 minutes and thus called it a day.

I was tired by the time I got home. I didn't think that I will have lots of photo opportunities by tagging along with John for this shoot. I guess it was my lucky day!

TAGAYTAY COMES A CALLING (AND A HEALTH CRISIS).....

At the Island Rose Farm.....























We are at it again! John scored a scoop of sorts by being able to get the owners of a rose farm, Arnold and Dustin Andaya of Island Rose (not surprising!)and Sonia of Sonia's Garden in Tagaytay, to agree for us, the club, to shoot in their farm and their restaurant cum garden respectively. Now this is one activity I look forward to doing since I can test using my close-up filter with my lens while taking pictures of flowers and getting to go to Sonia's Garden, which I would have wanted to eat in if I have the cash. We went last Saturday, March 17, 2007.

The day started at 5am, when I met John at Cecil's followed by meeting Norman, Cindy and Aiza in Sucat. Next, we went to his RCBC office in Pasong Tamo and met the rest of the group. I rode in Lian's car while the rest took the van and Bless had her own posse.

I thoroughly enjoyed the shoot, with my close up filter able to do the job that I hoped it would. I could get shots of the flowers up close and I just had to concern myself with maintaining it to be sharp, which is easier said than done. I used RAW, since I wanted to play with the white balance when I post process the pics.

But what I am actually concerned about is my health. The night before, I wasn't able to sleep even for an hour! I thus brought a spygmomanometer along with my camera to be sure that I can monitor my blood pressure. Prior to leaving the house to meet John, my BP was 140/100 mm Hg, which is high. To help it go down, I took a 20mg tab of Furosemide. So even if I don't want to produce more urine during a day of travel, I was left with no choice if I wanted to keep my bp down. What I forgot to do was drink lots of water to make up for the enormous urine production my kidneys were making. Hence, by the time we went to Sonia's Garden to shoot, I couldn't do it anymore. I was so thirsty and tired, I ended up seating on the chairs and resting. I knew at that moment that I have an upcoming "episode". A check on my pulse proved to be me having tachycardia. And even if I wanted to ask Robert right there and then to take my bp, I can't since I didn't want to cause a scene. When we finally had the chance to go to Lian's car and Rob took my bp, I was floored with the results. It was 160/110 mm Hg, give and take a few errors in the numbers, it was still high. I just had to go with them and leave early while I tried to sort myself out.

I still am not convinced that I have essential hypertension! I think my bp spikes are the result of my inability to rest and basically abusing my body. I feel if I change some of my habits, I wont be having such episodes. I recently saw a friend of mine whom I have not seen for years, Dr. Roen Cacas in, among all places, Intramuros, during a bridal fair! She gave me her card. At least when I do need a cardiologist, I know where to find her!

I was thankful to Lian that she stuck it out with me. I told her that I shall be alone in the house if I decided to go home and was not feeling comfortable with the possibility that something might happen to me while by my lonesome. I assured her that all I needed was to get some sleep in her car as we returned to Makati. Rob and I then decided to attend her Aunt Gemma's book launching. And true to form, I did feel better after I slept in the car. Whew! That was close!

ANOTHER WEDDING TO SHOOT......

At The Reception.....






The Bride.....






The Groom.....






With Their Families.....






During my post about the World Pyro Olympics, I mentioned about shooting for a wedding that I have agreed to. It was the main reason why I didn't go to Esplanade for 2 consecutive nights, since I had to prepare myself for the shoot. And that means no physical, emotional and yes, even spiritual exertions the night before a wedding shoot. Shooting a wedding can be very draining because of the long hours involved. But nothing beats looking at a very happy and satisfied couple and knowing that me, as a photographer, am one of the reasons why they were happy during this most glorious day of a couple's life.

It's Jonathan and Te-ann's wedding that I shot. Thank God they are not a Chinese couple! I enjoyed my last shoot but I wasn't prepared to last until the wee hours of the night covering the event. Preparations for the wedding were done at The Astoria Plaza Hotel, which is in Escriva Drive in Ortigas. The ceremony was held at Sacred Heart Church which is in Greenhills. Reception was at The Oasis, a condotel where John Mateos Ong's Imagine-nation studio is located in Aurora Boulevard. I didn't know that the place can hold a wedding reception. So, I was surprised when the rest of us saw the venue. It even has a lawn where photographers can take pictures of the couple for formal portraits for the wedding album.

For one thing, I realized that the secret in having good photographs for a wedding album of the couple is a breathtaking venue, if money isn't an issue. I have said enough! Just enjoy the pictures! c",)

PREWEDDING SHOOT.....

Shot In Lipa, Batangas


















I got asked by one of my Nayon clubmates, John, to go to Lipa, Batangas with him to shoot a prenuptial for his wedding client. Now why go far for a wedding prenuptial shoot? This turns out to be a long story.

The couple that we shot were Miko Gatidoc and Kriscelle Kintanar. And they were the ones who wanted to have the prenup done at the Kintanar farm house in Lipa. John had agreed to do a wedding prenup but forgot to set boundaries when it came to the location of the shoot. Imagine his surprise when he found out that the shoot will take place in Lipa. And I tagged along to help him out. The site was awesome! And the bride to be's mom was a perfect host. John and I wanted to capture everything using available light,the sun! And we were not disappointed. What kept us from working without hitch though was the strong winds coming from the valley across. Imagine the wind during typhoon milenyo, it was that strong! My heart skipped beats when the rings that I was taking pictures of got blown away by the wind, one was saved while the other landed on the grassy lot. Thanks to John, he found the temporarily missing ring! Whew! That was close!

We worked until 7pm. But we had fun doing so. Miko and KC were the perfect couple to work with for the prenup. They were game and were so playful with each other informing us that being "sweet" to each other wasn't their cup of tea. But it turns out that this same playful quality gave us the shots that we needed to be shown in a signature frame and a divider frame during the wedding.

Thank you John for this opportunity. See you during the wedding day!