It may be a different scene in the Southern part of the Philippines as far as photography is the point of discussion. For one, Zamboanga City has no photo clubs.  Yet the caliber of photographers this place produces is essentially as good as anyone from all over, where photographers’ groups come in big numbers. Bigmike Muin is a proof of that, with his photos serving as strong visual merits.  

Bigmike is a certified son of the South, being born in Davao City and raised in Zamboanga City. He now belongs to a Zamboanga-based professional events photography and has frequently participated in group exhibits around the area.

“My love affair with photography started in the early ‘90s when I was still a MassComm student at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University,” shared Bigmike who was born Maechel Kareem Braganza Muin and spent all his school life in that Mindanao chapter of Ateneo.

He was instantly attracted to photography which he counts “as a time-capsule on a glossy piece of photo paper.” While for quite some time he had been into film, he decided to buy his first point-and-shoot digital camera in 2006 when his wife Chyril Ann Cadiz delivered their first daughter. He saw the need to widen his knowledge about digital as Internet and updated photography books helped a lot in that department.

At present, he is into events and portraiture, as well as fashion and conceptual lifestyle. His interest in capturing people and human emotions does well for his development as a lensman. On the side, he deals with landscape and architectural shots with precision. But his touch for different personas is as natural as God’s heavenly creations that shooting people has become instinctive.

Bigmike disclosed, “Good pictures usually are subject-based and not in any way a photographer’s choice. It is only when one opens his heart and mind that he sees beauty in everyone and in everything. We are but vessels to encapsulate that which we have been privileged to experience.”

His good eye for creativity comes as a surprise, being the son of a couple attached to a profession seemingly not connected with visual art at all. Looking closely into his portfolio of eye-candy images, his parents Judge Abdulmaid Kiram Muin and Atty. Susana Braganza Muin must have found his talent believable beyond reasonable doubt.

On the other hand, Bigmike’s two brothers Dr. Michael Hussin Braganza Muin (of medical informatics) and Dr. Mikael Ali Braganza Muin (of dentistry) found no questions about his shots but consider them as a kind of effective antidote for the eye sore.

“I believe that being a photographer is more of a privilege than a right,” he analyzed. “In events photography, I am invited to experience and be part of special moments in people’s lives. It is such great pleasure and responsibility to be entrusted by people, mostly strangers, to document the facts and feelings of their lives.”

Bigmike has enjoyed joining photo contests where he gets to somehow measure his skill level. Two years back, he won second place in a photo contest held at the famed La Hermosa Festival. It wasn’t a top prize but the triumphant feeling was just the same as winning it all.

The owner and administrator of one called Smart Kids Learning Center, the loving father has three angels for inspiration, namely, Miguel Carlos, Mikaela Sandrina, and Adina Mariella. Like any true artist, he relies on good mood to produce properly done output.

This page has concluded he is in relaxed mood most of the time.

The penlight battery has always been the source of reliable power by mobile photographers who rely upon their flash to take pictures at any time. Indeed, the time-proven NiCad and the newer NiMH rechargeable batteries had already become an important part of photographers’ life. And for this reason, it is normal for a practicing photographer to own a few of “set of four” batteries for his portable flash.

Benjamin Rivera

Unfortunately even as he calls it a “set of four,” in reality after arriving from a job appointment, his batteries are but a mixed of discharged, partly discharged, and in extreme case, unused fully charged batteries being dumped together inside his camera bag compartment.

What follows next is to charge the battereis to ensure that they are fully charged for the next appointment.

Then what happens to the fully charged units which maybe still have 80% power when recharged altogether with the fully discharged ones? They are murdered! Yes. Batteries don’t always die by natural death. It is said that 70% of the batteries’ demise is caused by overcharging.

It is therefore of paramount importance that a photographer must organize his handling and management of his batteries. And among the cherished rewards would be his capability to project his firepower and of course, extended battery life. For that matter, the photographer may need what follows next.

Multi-Tester

If you can’t find a battery tester (like in Photo A), this gadget should suit as an alternative. It is sold at around Php 150 in pushcart vendors along Raon St. in Quiapo. For the not-technically-oriented person, the use of this testing instrument (Photo B) could be tricky. But are you to believe that an aspiring photographer would be intimidated by this? Learning to use a multi-tester is much simpler than learning digital photography itself. For starter, refer to Table 1.

Storing your batteries

After each use, recharge batteries and store them in full-charged condition. It will reduce your mobilization time when encountering short notice job appointments. Take note that fully charged batteries do self-discharge at a rate depending on temperature. My research with some manufacturers’ literature hinted the following:

• At average room temperature (about 70 degrees F), a fully charged NiCad or NiMH battery will have its self-discharge rate of at least 1% (or more) per day.

• At freezing temperature (inside a freezer), a NiCad or NiMH battery will comfortably retain its full-charged condition for many days. Experimenters say that at least 90% of the battery’s stored energy is still retained after 30 days of storage in a freezer.

• If you store your fully charged batteries in the freezer, wrap it securely with a plastic bag so that no moisture gets in contact with the battery. Allow certain time for the battery to stabilize at room temperature before use.

• Store your battery in set of four as sorted by its identical power levels.

Since its introduction in 2001, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM has been the high performance telephoto zoom lens of choice of professional and advanced users, indispensable in applications ranging from photojournalism to sports photography. This year, Canon announces the replacement of this stalwart lens with the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, designed with greater performance, higher quality optics, and hardy construction to weather tough conditions in the field.

A large diameter f/2.8 lens offering telephoto 70-200mm focal range, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM offers premium build quality expected of a Canon L lens, with four-stop image stabilization, minimum focus distance of 1.2m over the entirety of its zoom range, and a combination of flourite and UD lens elements for best quality images.

Compared to earlier models, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM offers greater image quality throughout the whole zoom range, comprising of no less than 23 lens elements in 19 groups.

Flourite lens element, which Canon successfully synthesized in the 1960s, exhibits very low dispersion of light, resulting in reduced fringing when light passes through it compared to conventional optical glass.

In the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, a flourite lens element and a larger number of UD lenses are used to cut chromatic aberration to a minimum, especially for both axial and magnification type chromatic aberration, to realize high resolution and high contrast images throughout the entire zoom range of the lens. Lens disposition and coatings have also been optimized to cut ghosting and flare which frequently occur with digital cameras while the circular 8-leaf aperture produces very attractive, natural-looking background blur.

The EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM is designed for high performance: its ring USM drive and high speed CPU with improved AF algorithm offers fast, quiet auto focusing. In addition, a new IS unit has also been designed for this lens, incorporating the latest innovations such as an ultra-compact stepping motor and friction-reducing mechanisms in the stabilizing optics barrel. Together, these innovations give the lens a 4-stop advantage with IS switched on. Manual operation is also intuitive: the lens features full-time manual focusing, facilitated by a wide focusing ring on the barrel with fine rubber patterning to improve grip.

Professional users require a high performance lens that is able to perform as designed even under difficult conditions. To this end, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM features magnesium alloy construction for its main components for exceptional toughness while keeping the weight of the lens low. The fixed barrel has been strengthened compared to earlier models, along with the way the parts connect. Dust and water proofing has also been improved to make the lens suitable for use in harsh conditions, and the switches have been designed to prevent getting toggled accidentally.

For more information, visit the Canon website at www.canon.com.ph.

With the elections just two months away, readers may want to help out their chosen candidates by printing their own posters. There are free software and free online services available for anyone with access to the Internet.

Poster Forge 1.02 (2.81 mb) can be downloaded for free at www.ronyasoft.com. According to the accompanying Read Me file: Poster Forge is software for big banner printing, sign printing, poster printing. Any picture, digital photo, Microsoft Word or Excel document can be used as a source for the poster. It can print standard format (A0, A1 A2) poster or custom large poster. Simply select the image and the software will divide it into the necessary number of pages. To create a poster, you will also need glue, scissors, and a bit of skill.

Erick Lirios

PosteRazor (484 kb) is available at http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/. PosteRazor cuts raster images into multipage PDF documents. This is a simple executable program that needs no installation on the computer. Just choose the image, settings (size, # of pages, etc.), save and print.

If you prefer to create your poster online, a site to visit is www.blockposters.com. Upload the image from your computer and choose how many sheets wide you would like your poster to be when it is printed. Then download the PDF file containing your newly created images and print each page to make a massively blown up huge pixel poster. Another online site to try is http://wallpostr.com. It uses the same procedure for making your poster.

And now to our readers.

When this column featured Alice Villa-real five years ago, she was very much into astronomy (then vice-president of the Astronomical League of the Philippines) and her photography focused solely on the celestial bodies. Recently, however, Alice says that she “got bitten also by the ‘photography bug’” and now declares herself as “a photography enthusiast.” Also an active member of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) and serious birdwatcher, Alice shares that she would like to do bird photography in the future. Her photographs on this page were shot from a recent trip to Puerto Princesa in Palawan. More of Alice’s work can be viewed at http://starbird77.multiply.com.

Medical analyst and student Christy Ann Egar Padre writes that she started taking pictures in high school as the photojournalist for the student paper. She did not take pictures in college and resumed her photography only two years ago. Today, she is a part of Lomomanila. “I enjoy using full manual camera, but I am also using DLSR,” says Tea-Anne.

From Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Mariano Marcos State University Laboratory High School teacher James Ventura writes: “I am the type of person who finds beauty in everything at different angles. I always bring my camera with me anywhere I go. Each day, I always capture unguarded moments, fascinating views, pristine landscapes and unparalleled gaiety from living organisms.” He shares that while he is still a neophyte in photography, he already has so much passion for it.

Also from Mariano Marcos State University Laboratory High School, fourth year student Ulysses Gaygay rues that the only camera he owns is a film camera he received in grade five. These days, he is able to shoot when he can borrow the camera of his teacher who happens to be James Ventura. “I am a hobbyist photographer without any digital camera on hand possessing the eyes of a truthful lensman,” he writes. “I do not use Photoshop to edit my photos. I only use the software to watermark the images.” Ulysses invites the readers to see more of his work at http://www.froastbyte.multiply.com, http://flickr.com/earthkeeper, or at his facebook: Ulysses Gaygay.

Also in today’s issue are first time contributors Leo A. Tiukeng, a Baguio entrepreneur who says that he got his first DSLR only last November and still calls himself a newbie in photography, Jovie Naval of the PLDT-Lens camera club, and Kevin Louie C. David, a first year Accountancy student at the Holy Angel University in Angeles City.

Previously featured readers also sharing their images today are Mike Gerald C. David and Dennis Caparas Abrina who covered the Sorteo Festival of Carmona, Cavite.

Now on its 25th year of servicing the society, the Camera Club of Davao (CCD) is an association of skilled craftsmen brought together by a common love for capturing the light. The club adheres to an unwritten mandate to spur each other to become better artists, as well as to be even better public servants with integrity.

Today, the family has grown into 25 active members composed of professionals, seasoned hobbyists, and full-time photographers, all bonded for the love of documenting life around them. The previously close knitted founding members (some were in the business since the ’70s) now opened their doors to welcome new and young photographers armed with new techniques but eager to embrace the wisdom and experiences of the old ones.

The club has conducted countless seminars and lectures on various subjects of photography, from basic to advance. Its members’ specialties span a wide and varied range of photography: portraits, events, photojournalism, weddings, industrial, fashion restoration, and a myriad of unending line of uses and applications.

On their silver anniversary, CCD members recently published their very first coffee-table book “Culture, Creativity and Diversity,” celebrating the club’s 25 years of commitment to the craft and to Durianburg (Davao’s moniker), as it compiles the best images that the city has to offer.