Tips for Capturing Beautiful Pictures.

A picture is said to be worth 1,000 words. When you take pictures of scenes in nature, these words can come into focus if you know how to capture the right balance of light and dark, as well as the details of what is in the picture.

You don’t have to take professional classes in order to capture the beauty of the outdoors, but you do need a quality camera. Photographers like Robert Rosenkranz can take one scene - such as an ocean wave - and turn it into a stunning masterpiece with a simple click of a button.

Photo credit: Favim.

Perspective
When you think of ways to take a picture, you might think that you have to sit directly in front of the subject. You don’t have to be right in front of something, and if you want the best picture possible, it’s probably best if you alter the perspective of the picture.

Try standing on top of a chair to get a different view of laying on the ground and looking up to get a wider view of the scene. You can often capture more of the missed details when you do change the perspective of how you take the picture.

Eye Contact
If you’re taking pictures of something that’s alive - whether it’s a person or an animal - try to get as much eye contact as possible. When you’re taking a picture of an animal, you might have to wait until it’s looking at you, or you might have to walk around to another spot so that you can capture the depths of the animal though the eyes.

Photo credit: Cute Overload.

With people, it’s a little easier. There are a few ways that you can take pictures by playing with the eye contact. Let the person focus on something that is off to the side or far away. This will create a picture that is a little more natural.

Looking at someone in the picture is another common way to capture beautiful images that show the love between two people, especially in engagement pictures. When you position the subject of the picture in the center, you can either have an amazing picture or something that looks like it’s been set down in the middle of the frame and forgotten about.

One way to create a picture that has depth is my placing the subject on the side of the frame. The lighting will also affect how the picture turns out depending on whether you use something bright or a dimmer light to pick up on natural features.

Wordless Wednesday #43 | Off to Antipolo!

 

Every year, my parents-in-law would hie off to Antipolo City to visit and hear mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Peace and Voyage, more commonly known as the Antipolo Cathedral. They do this in commemoration of their wedding anniversary, and this year they just celebrated their 35th. :)

Wordless Wednesday #39 | When the Going Gets Tough...

... the tough goes shopping! :)

Wordless Wednesday #28 | The Perennial Photobomber.

Hanguk Saram + Nihon Jin?

In her Facebook page, my Mum stated that her grandchildren are 'foreigners'.

One is Korean (referring to my son),

while the other is Japanese (referring to my niece).

She meant that in jest, of course. :)

Sharing with Pink Friday, Pink Saturday, Insta-Friday. 

Back on Board, and a Quick Weekend Recap.

Just got back from an awesome out-of-the-blue, out-of-town weekend with my sibs! I was fervently hoping there'd be wifi at the places we were going, but alas! Even the resort hotel we stayed at didn't have internet connection.

So pardon my excommunication for the past three days. I'll try to catch up on my blog roll, plus your comments, blog posts, tweets and wall posts. I'm looking forward to a busy week ahead, since the little man will be starting with his School Readiness Program. (That's tomorrow at 8 freaking 30 in the morning, good luck to my insomnia and good bye to my Kdrama marathons!!!)

Anyway, here are some snippets of the weekend that was. Full posts and more photos coming soon! :)

At The Aristocrat.

Memorial shadows.

St. John the Baptist Church.

Tiptoeing for holy water.

Between the salt and pepper shaker. :)

Arabella's.

Fancy some footwear?

Al fresco at Kainan sa Balay.

Balay. Bacoor. Brandon.

Brushes galore!

Suesh Alabang Town Center. Finally!

Turning Japanese.

And now we're back to regular programming!

*Photos were captured using Finn, my point-and-shoot Fuji FinePix J150W. Photos number 3, 4, and 5 were tweaked using Picnik's HDR (#3), Fancy Focus (#4), and Black and White Focus (#5) modes.

Sharing with Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Sunday Snapshot, Blue Monday, Green Monday, MYM, Mom and Me Monday, Rednesday, Wednesday Whites, and Color Connection. 

Good Boy, Good Friday.

With the Philippines being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, our commemoration of the Holy Week is nowhere near ordinary. For us Filipinos, it is a time for self-reflection and penance. A series of religious activities are held the entire week, beginning with the blessing of palm fronds on Palm Sunday and capping it off with a vigil and Mass on Easter Sunday.

During the Easter Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday), businesses and commercial establishments cease operations. while local TV stations go off the air or have limited broadcasting hours. For Yue, that meant no malling and no shopping - which is usually scheduled every Friday.

I had to explain to him why there's 'no shopping Friday' today.

 And why we're not going to SM to play at the arcade.

Or go shopping for books, clothes, and toys.

It was a tad difficult for me to find the right words to explain what Good Friday is all about, but I guess he understood the essence of what I was trying to say. I was quite sure of it, because he didn't bug me with endless questions after.

I promised him we'll go Easter Egg-hunting come Sunday instead. Hope everyone's having a soulful and meaningful Holy Week!

Sharing with InstaFriday, Photo Story Friday, Friday Favorite Things, and Oh, Snap!

Mum's the Word!

Something wonderful happened yesterday, and our entire family is pretty much in a sprightly mood because of this.

Camden Town Hall, City of London

After almost ten years of working in London as a cardiology nurse, my Mum is now officially a British citizen! Yay! She's been looking forward to this moment for quite some time now, and her turn to take the Citizenship Oath has finally come. Mum is beaming with pride in this photo, and my siblings and I are very, very happy for her. And while the three of us may not have been there to cheer her on, at least she had my aunt (her sister) and cousins (who became naturalized Brits last year) to savor this moment with her.

My cousin JN, always the goofball. :)

Mum is in a very celebratory mood after becoming British that she took my aunt and cousins out for dinner, went on a shopping spree for us and the kids, and is even planning on treating herself to another travel holiday elsewhere in Europe. She's on the lookout for travel discounts and holiday deals here, a travel deal website strongly recommended by a friend.

With her keen eyes, I'm sure Mum will be able to snag a great travel deal in no time. And when she does, count on her to go on another shopping spree again for us and her grandkids.

Sharing with Mommy Moments!

Insta-Family-Friday!

Last weekend was all about family. Saturday morning, my sibs, their better halves, and the kids all went together to a family gathering.

No, they're not twins.
Bro-in-law with his niece Wayen, my sister with our niece Maggie.

It was a thanksgiving party for my (second) cousins who recently passed the Nursing Licensure Exams.

My grandpa's garden has the lushest greens.

Now we have two new Florence Nightingales to our clan of RN's.

Yes, they're sisters. No, they're not twins.

Later that day, we made a quick trip to the mall. With the kids, of course.

Smile, kids!

Yue: Hey Maggie, why aren't you smiling?

Yue coaxing Maggie to smile.

My sister needed to go to the department store to have her defective wine rack replaced, while my brother lined up at the bank to pay bills. The little man had even more pressing matters to attend to.
Like how he will carry this huge Angry Bird plush couch all the way to the counter.

Yue: I should be the one who's angry, you know. You're awfully heavy!

And which candies will last all the way until Easter Sunday.

Decisions, decisions.

He ended up with strawberry wafer sticks instead.

The yum!

Sharing with InstaFriday, Photostory Friday, Scenic Sunday, Mellow Yellow Monday, and Blue Monday.