[ patrick engman ]

After 2 flights which totaled to about 17hrs, we arrived in Seoul, Korea. From there, our next trip was to Manila. We were already super tired. My cousin Chris was taking advantage of our long wait to take a quick snooze. After I shot this, I also passed out.

Already feeling the jet lag, the girls are expressing their feelings about the last plane ride. As you can see, they weren't too thrilled.

Time passes and we all start getting excited that we're almost there! 1 more flight until we hit Manila. A bit of jokerster'n as we ride the walking escalator. The Korean terminal was pretty cool.

I found the bathrooms to be amusing. Especially the UV hand driers. They emitted a beam that killed the germs on your hands. It was pretty awesome. My uncle found other means of amusement.

Our flight out of Korea. The sky was looking pretty nice. It's about a 3hr ride to Manila.

After arriving in Manila, we checked into a hotel called "Swagman Inn". Aside from the freaky tripe that I ate, I didn't see much swag about this hotel. Well, I did see many American men pick up Filipino ladies here. Swagalicious. This was our view.

My cousin, Mike already calling downs on a bed. He was closest to the a/c and window which meant, he'd hear the roosters screaming more than we could. They were freakin' loud.

My cousin, Jomar who is a native to the Philippines came to stay with us from Angeles City. He's a cool dude.

Popped my head in to see if the girls were ready to head to the zoo. Not yet...

People don't offer tourists gifts to buy, they offer the tourist's children directly. They hand the item to the kid and let them go to their parents, they stand there waiting to get paid. Sneaky I say!

I think this is called an elephant but I can't be too sure...

A sneaky crocodile being all sneaky.

It's surprising how these monkeys know how to look all sad and dramatic. As soon as you get close enough, to sympathize with them, they try and snatch you!

My mom and her husband await for the lazy tiger's appearance. They never came out. It made us all rage.

The zoo's gift shop owner. This was actually, my only chance to buy gifts... The malls were nice but they didn't have anything relevant to a gift...I know, it's weird. Plans changed and we were to head to the province soon (Guiuan). Instead of staying in Manila for a week, we only stayed there for a few measly days.

My cousin Cat being taken over by these plotting birds.

If I had not taken this photo a second later, her face would have been totally different. More of a squeamish screaming face. I was slacking...

This bird told me to "c'mere". I came over to see why he was talking to me and then he struck a pose. This guy was slick!

My sister popping a squat. They weren't exactly easy on their animals at the zoo. I kinda felt bad.

Mike holding a baby monkey. Although, I'm not too sure it was actually a baby. The keeper yanked that sucker real quick and that thing was linky! His arms spanned an infinite distance!

After the zoo, we decided to go to another mall. Previously, we went to the Mall of Asia. I didn't bring my camera and good thing I didn't! We were there for hours and I fell asleep on some staircase. We didn't have too much time to browse here because plans were changing... I did buy a cell phone for P1,800 pesos which was around 25 bucks. Nice!

This mall was probably the best looking mall in Manila. It was a mixture of Korean and Filipino people. The stores were interesting but still housed American brands. I didn't see too many local products... Dang it!

Before we left the mall, the guys and I decided to take a quick detour straight for some Pho. It was the best Pho dish I ever had and probably the most rejuvenating. I had happy poops afterwards.

A few days past and were quickly boarding another plane to Tacloban which was a 3hr drive from Guiuan where my Nanay and Tatay live. (Grandma and Grandpa). The area was very elevated which made for some interesting photos. I dig it. The plane ride, not so much.

We arrived feeling groggy and ready to sleep. We had a 3hr bumpy ride ahead of us which we weren't really stoked about. I think a few times, we had to pull over to use the restroom in some random jungle. Perks of being a dude!

Straight out of camera. The window tint offered some nice lomo-esque look to these.

These are one of the more luxurious ways of traveling; jeepnee. (sp) Large metal busses with open windows and tons of stickers placed on the siding. As we drove through Tacloban, the quality started to decrease. Houses weren't made of concrete anymore, some were built from cinder blocks and some where bamboo and leaves.

We finally arrived at my Nanay's house! We were greeted by this quiet little girl. She just stared. People like to stare here. Her house had no a/c and no plumbing. You could either squat in a hole or squat in a ceramic bowl which lead the waste into the water under their house. I've seen people swim in that water, too. Ew!

The view from inside. Not exactly modern living right here. Aside from the poor community here, the heat was another story! I was slightly prepared since I live in Florida but the humidity caused instant sweat and sometimes overwhelming heat.

Along with most Asian cultures, as guests we were greeted with a lot of food. It consisted of freshly caught fish, pork and rice. The food was a little gamey and at times, too fresh...I lost some weight. Other than that, spam and rice was a godsend.

Not the ideal pose I was looking for but owell! We wondered into an extremely old lady's house to say hello. Her caretaker's son was checking us out the whole time.

Here's a silhouette of my Uncle Gin. I still can't figure out if it's Jim or Gin...Anyways, he was standing on an addition spanning over the water. It's a spot were the local friends and family drink their 500mL Red Horse beer. They love to drink.

Jet lag + heat made for very tired guests. Myself included.

My sister and cousin standing outside which was actually cooler than inside. I suppose it was due to the open heated cooking source from the kitchen. It was blasting butt sweat like crazy!

I decided to mess around with CS4's HDR merging. Aside from the slight tonal artifacting, it's not too bad. This is the view from our hotel's roof. Life's hard here.

Some days pass and we have a little more freedom to walk around. On our quest to find relevant food to our interests, I capture a photo of this boy watching us. I saw him a few nights later begging for money at a local market.

I think the guy to the left is my uncle and that's my Tatay Pablo to the right. He loves his Red Horse beer. This is their living room.

Can't go to the Philippines without going to their beaches! This is Dunpao beach.

We must be special! Pigs are considered a celebratory source of food. They're not prepared a lot because they're expensive and the locals usually raise the pigs themselves. Out of nowhere, 2 guys carried the pig and dropped it on our table. I'm sure I was related to them. I have like 200 relatives.

Another HDR but of the shoreline. It was low tide and it's hard to see, but there's another shore a few thousand feet from where I was standing. I trekked through extremely hot water to reach the refreshing waves. Dehydration started to kick in as we headed back to shore. My sister had feinted shortly after. Some lady helped her up and casted some joojoo spell on her to help her out. There are supposedly real witches here but I'm kind of a sceptic.

For all I know, I could be related to this kid. Just a quick shot of him playing in the sand.

A few days nights later, I enjoy the last of my trip at the hotel. Our room was about 10x8ft big. Like a prison cell. The power occasionally went out and so did the water. I made due by drinking lots of water and distracting myself with freaky photos of my sister that resembled "The Ring".

Our last night at my Nanay's house. The parents were worn out and we just got there. Fashionably late is how we all rolled and I'm sure we got a few Filipino hisses out of it. This is my cousin and her brother. She said she liked this photo but I think she looks freaky.

Homosexuality in the Philippines is pretty big. I've seen many men walk around in public with women's clothing. I sort of gotten used to it by now. Here's a local hairdresser, Jessa and my relatives hanging out taking "girl" pictures.

I end it all with an unamusing photo of strangers at the Manila airport. The trip was a blast. I missed out on a lot of photo opportunities because a lot of our endeavors had to do with water. Being half dolphin, I know I couldn't get away with bringing my camera. My favorite part of the trip was a tiny canoe ride through a giant valley with sheer cliffs following our trip. At the end was an epic waterfall. We rode bamboo made rafts right into the waterfall which was amazing. It hurt but good things hurt sometimes.

Second best thing was, we rode a people packed boat to a privately owned island. We swam for hours and feasted afterwards. The locals challenged us to a game of basketball using a foam buoy as our ball. We lost horribly. That was their sport. My sport is eating and and playing video games.

Aside from the constant change of plans, constipation, family bickering and annoying children reading your emails out loud at the local internet cafe, I'd say this was an awesome trip. I'd totally do it again. Next time, I'll make sure I don't screw up my sleep schedule. It's been 4 days since I've gotten back and I still feel like a zombie. Oh the baby.

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Counts_Wedding_-_Faves.zip (2.16 MB)

In no particular order are my favorite photos I took during the Count's wedding with the frshnk crew. Hold on, my ipod is playing an annoying song.

Anyway, I decided to take a different route in post. I've noticed a lot of my photos lack deep contrast and real black tones. I changed up my workflow in Lightroom and adjusted my blacks, contrast and messed around with split toning & individual color values. I reaaaaally wish Adobe had included RGB curves adjustments. It doesn't make sense! I haven't looked into Lightroom 3 yet but if I has it, I'll juice magoose.

The past month we've been suuuup duper busy! We as in frshnk the company I work for has 2 main photographers (me being 1) the co-owner Dustin and an intern, Lydia who wants to become a pro. So far, Dustin and I have been shooting things ranging from engagement parties to heart surgeries. Definitely something you can create into an art but it's definitely an interesting experience!

I recently got promoted to studio manager which is pretty awesome! If it were a few years back, I would have never imagined taking up such a big responsibility. I guess I really have grown up. I still want to be a kid and go on adventures all the time, though. Speaking of that, I wanna go camping. I lost my train of thought. I wanna make a band called Dude Monsoon.

Sweet.

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New_Orleans_Photo_Overload.zip (16.56 MB)

About 2 weeks ago, my girlfriend Hilary and I took a 6hr trip to New Orleans. I had to shoot a Bachelor's party and she wasn't doing anything so I snagged her with me for the trip! We drove on like 5 bridges. It was pretty cool. Hilary puckered a few times 'cause she doesn't like driving on bridges. I puckered too because I like puckering.

We stayed in the French Quarter which isn't really French like at all. Pffft. It was pretty cool. I'd totally come back again. This time with money. I wanna check out some tranny strip clubs. Psyche! There were plenty of strip clubs to choose from... We drove around everywhere to check out the sites. We also went to an insectarium. We love bugs! The Bachelor party was cool but I was glad to get it over with.

Not much to say about the trip except parking was a biotch. Note to self, save money on parking and ride a cab!

Anyways, I'll let the photos do the talking!

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Photo_update.zip (2.12 MB)

Holy poop. I haven't updated in a while! I suppose work has devoured most of my creative time...I'll make it up to you with some pictures I took last night of my girlfriend. I think I'm going to change up my blog's direction. It'll still have some informative photography stuff but it'll also house a lot of my personal photo endeavors. Maybe I'll come across and amazing adventure.

I'll be traveling to New Orleans over the weekend to shoot a bachelor party. My girlfriend is tagging along to assist and keep the hotel's bed warm for me...Sweet! I'll be leaving Friday morning but before that, I have to assist in shooting the Downtown Panama City visitor's guide cover. Then, I have to consult a client on shooting her wedding. I'll return Sunday to shoot a wedding... Whew! I've got a lot of editing building up already! I'm going to be a busy dood over the next 2-3 weeks. I can't wait to let my guard down a little when I go to the Philippines in July.

I'll make sure to keep this thang more active for you 3 subscribers. ;)

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Making_the_best_of_it_all.zip (3.77 MB)

So about 2 weeks ago, I had set up a shoot for an article e5 Magazine that frshnk (our parent company) designs and publishes. Things were working themselves together pretty well and I was totally ready to shoot it. Well, as the model and her father walked in for the scheduled shoot, the designer had misinterpreted the scheduling and didn't come. I felt pretty bad and offered to shoot the model and give her the photos for modeling/personal use.

She did really well and I wish we had the outfits to shoot in. It sucks but at least we made the best of it and moved forward instead of backwards (meaning sending everyone home empty handed.)

I messed around with editing as I didn't want every photo to look too similar. I finished editing this today on a Sunday. I usually work weekdays but I had to get my internet 'fix' since my internet at my apt is totally unreliable atm. It's usually dead. Anyways, I decided to do a little bit of work since I am here anyways. Other than that, I'm drawing up a blank! I must be hungry!

Here's an older shot I took in Downtown Panama City during Friday Fest. I think I shot FF about 3-4 times now. Out of all the pictures I have taken, I think this one is my favorite. I really can't explain why. I suppose these folks remind me of my Grandparents and the blue van reminds me of our RV adventures in Washington State. It was definitely the high light of my childhood. I remember my Grandparents bought me a road bike from a yard sale when I was 9. I could barely touch the pedals but I still sailed like graceful bald eagle down the hills of Vancouver.

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What gear do I currently use and is it worth buying again? The second part is hard to answer. Why? It's so easy for us to hone in on the weaknesses rather than praise the strengths of our current equipment. I see it all over forums that I visit everyday. The internet spoils us and causes us to heighten our expectations and judge our current gear as obsolete. What we once praised as an ISO killer, AF beast, Cream Machine...etc. is now a thing that limits us as photographers. This may hold true in certain aspects but I've seen some killer photos taken with analog film cameras! 

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Here's a before and after shot of frshnk's co-owner and design guru, Chris Merriam. The difference isn't a huge leap but the work put into making things look as simple as possible actually stacks up!

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