Way behind....

by Ray

I was sorting out files in my hard drive when I saw these images from Lala and Christian's prenuptial shoot in UP. Jun was the main photographer that day and the UP shoot was actually a Part II of their prenup. They were in EcoPark the previous week. I joined them later in the afternoon. We were blessed with this great sunset, so we thought of taking some silhouette shots of the couple.

It's been a while...

by ray

The last blog entry was made in April. And it's already the first week of July. People who read this blog might think that we don't have any projects to write about.

Eksyusmeeee! Meron kaming projects, nagkataon lamang na panay high-profile ang aming mga nakuha kaya't di namin pwedeng i-share....hehehe. Isa pa, masyadong busy lang talaga kami kaya't walang makapagsulat rito sa blog. Multi-tasking kaming lahat para maabot namin mga deadlines namin. Ako nga, habang nagsusulat ngayon sa blog ay nageedit ako ng album, nagluluto, at naglalaba...

I'll try and post some of the photos of our May coverage and June coverages.

Wag kayong magsasawang umantabay sa kagilagilalas na pakikipagsapalaran ng pangkat ng RedPixel....amen?! AMEEEN!!!!

A lunar wedding

by ray

At 6 a.m., Saturday, we left the polluted air of Metro Manila for the cleaner and fresher environment of Batangas. Although we were on our way to cover Aris and Mary Grace's wedding, the idea of going home to the province is always relaxing. There's no smog and no traffic jam, or so we thought.

Traffic greeted us after we went down from the Alabang aqueduct. The lane widening and road repair project is still ongoing (and will probably continue for a year more or so). We did not expect any traffic that early in the morning. Fortunately, we were moving forward, a little slowly but moving nonetheless.

Aside from the traffic on/along the south highway, we also encountered choke points at Turbina, and at Carmel-Ray and First Philippines industrial parks. But it was a smooth drive after that. Before we reached the Laguna-Batangas boundary, we were going at a steady 80kph.

At nakalagpas na nga kami sa boundary. Ay siya! Batangas na! Kakaiba talaga kapag nasa sarili kang probinsya, pakiramdam mo baga'y alam na alam mo kung papano gumalaw at para gang kakilala mo lahat.

Tumungo na ang aming sasakyan papuntang Brgy. Luyos sa Tanauan. Wala pa sa amin nakakapunta roon pero ang sabi sa akin ni Aris ay malapit laang ang kanila: sa kananag bahagi sa tabi ng simbahan ng Luyos. Iyan ang pagkakasabi sa akin. Ang hindi niya nabanggit, at tuong hindi ko naman naitanong, ay kung gaano kalayo ang Luyos. Ay sus! malayo pala. Aba'y tan-aw na tan-aw mo na ang Tagaytay Highlands eh. Ang akala nga namin ay papar-un na kami. Buti na laang at hindi.

Medyo nagmamadali si Aris noong kami'y dumating dahil siya ay magaayos pa sa kanilang reception. Kinakailangang nandun na siya sa Shercon Resort sa Mataas na Kahoy ng maaga. Kaya kami naman ay mabilis na kumilos para matapos ang pagkuha sa kanyang preparasyon. Maganda naman ang mga kinalabasan. Are ga ang ilang sample.




Matapos naming kunan si Aris ay nagtungo na kami sa Galamay-Amo sa San Jose naman ito. Isa na namang malayong lupain, hehehe. Medyo naligaw kami sa pagpunta sa bahay ni Mary Grace dahil sa hindi ko maalala kung saang waiting shed dapat lumiko, kaya ayun, kami'y nakalagpas at kinailangang magtanong. Buti na laang kanyo na ang aming unang napagtanungan ay alam ang aming hinahanap, kaya mabilis na rin naming narating ang kina Mary Grace.

Duon na rin kami nananghali at ang daming nakain ni....ay siya di ko na laang babanggitin ang pangalan ni Toti at baka magalit (ooops!). Duon din namin natagpuan ang dalawang matandang (tiyuhin baga o lolo ata ni Mary Grace yung dalawa) na pwedeng pwedeng maging kasapi ng RedPixel dahil na rin sa angking galing bumato at sumambot ng dyok. Nabahaw sina Al at JR sa asaran eh. Akin laang tuong nakalimutan ang pangalan nung dalawa, sayang...tsk, tsk, tsk...tumatanda na rin ako.

Are naman ang ilang larawan na kinuha namin sa bahay nina Mary Grace.






Marami pa kayong makikitang larawan sa aming multiply account. Kaya kung kayo'y may oras, pwede kayong sumaglit dun.

Masaya ang aming naging shoot sa dalawang ito. Maraming pakulo sa reception na hindi namin nakita sa iba naming nakunan na. Biruin mo baga'y may basagan ng palayok pa at pabitin. Ang tema nila ay "fiesta" kaya may mga kakanin sa paligid ng reception tulad ng inihaw na mais, ice drop, nilabong itlog, suman, atbp. Buti na laang kanyo't walang palo sebo. Siguro'y nahirapang magisip ang dalawa kung sino sa kanila ang aakyat kaya din na laang isinali.

Nagkaroon laang ng kaunting problema sa sound system ng LCD projector, pero ganun pa man, nagawan naman ng paraan at naipalabas din ang kanilang mga videos. Bukod dito, wala ng iba pang naging problema.

Natapos ang gabi na kumakain kami ng pansit habang naglalangoy ang ibang bisita sa pool ng resort.

Masarap ang pansit.

Ay saglit, bakit pala "A lunar wedding"? Aba'y nung patapos na ang lahat ay sumikat ang buwan na kahit hindi kabilugan ay ubod naman ng liwanag at laki. Dagdag pa nito na ang apelyido ni Mary Grace ay "Luna" kaya naisip kong gamitin ang titulong iyon.

Ay siya...paalam muna

difficulties..

by jr

01.56am..wala nko magawa kya naicipan ko magsulat habang nghihintay na pumatak ang alas tres ng madaling araw papunta sa malayong lugar para lumanghap ng sariwang hangin at magtampisaw sa dalampasigan..gusto kong mag-edit pero hindi ko alam kung paano ako magsisimula..nawalan nko ng gana..ang hirap bumwelo..knina pko nakatitig sa monitor wala akong maicip na matino..cguro wala lang tlga ako sa mood… cguro dahil napipilitan lang ako na gumawa kc kailangan na.. o cguro excited lang ako na umalis..sana nga ganun n lang..sabi ko pa nman kanina hindi ako pupunta kina manang sarahs para maginom at doon nako maghihintay ng alas tres dahil dapat may matapos man lang ako bago ako umalis.. dahil cgurado pagbalik ko mas marami n akong kailangan pang tapusin at tyak n matatambak n nman..hay buhay..

sa sobrang pagkaburyong naicipan ko balikan si Nietzche.. bka sakali mainspire ako ng konti kahit alam ko nman na mas malamang na hindi..cguro dahil ang usual misconception sa kanya ay ang kanyang pagiging nihilist..that life is pointless..that everything deserves to perish…pero kung titingnan natin may punto si Nietzche.. we all at some point need to perish and experience difficulty..for it is a necessary evil if we really want to succeed.. Difficulty is normal ika nga.. we shouldn’t panic or give up when we experience it. We feel the pain because of the gap between who we are at the moment and the person we could ideally be…its because we cant master the ingredients of happiness in a straight way that we suffer as much as we do..the challenge is to learn to respond well to suffering and perhaps to use it to create something beautiful. That not everything that makes us suffer is necessarily bad for us and not everything which makes us feel good is necessarily good for us..labo ba?hehe..kung saan saan nko napunta..my apologies to whoever na makakabasa nito..wala lang ako magawa..muli, pasensya na..

mag-aalas tres na rin sa wakas..makaalis na..sana pagbalik ko makbwelo n ule ako..makabwelo hindi lang sa pag-eedit…salamat kay nietzche…

-jun

Simula ng Tag-araw 2008

by sam


Marahil ay marami ang nagrereklamo sa sobrang init ng panahon mula ng mga huling linggo ng Marso at unang linggo ng Abril, hudyat na talagang andito na ang panahon ng tag-araw sa 2008. Uso na naman ang halo-halo, mais con yelo, fruit shakes at iba pang pagkain na malamig. Napupuno rin ang mga malls ng mga taong nagwi-window-shopping at nagpapalamig lang. Napipilitan pumasok sa opisina ang ilan na ayaw maiwan sa bahay at magdusa sa init ni haring araw. Ngunit para sa iba, ito ay panahon ng bakasyon at byahe. At syempre pag sinabing bakasyon o byahe, ibig sabihin nito ay pangongolekta ng mga larawan at litrato at masasayang ala-ala.

Nagsimula ang tag-araw sa taong ito sa pamamagitan ng paglalakbay sa malayong lupain ng Bicol. Sa mga Isla ng Caramoan, Camarines Sur, kami ay buong araw na nag-island-hopping at swimming sa iba't-ibang klase ng pagka-asul na dagat sa Caramoan Peninsula. Pagkatapos nito ay camping sa isang isla doon at pinanood ang dahan na pagdilim at pagpalit ng kulay ng kalangitan at full moon na umakyat sa langit (bago kami inulan nung natutulog na kami).

Ito ang ilan sa mga kuha mula sa camera ko. Ang iba pang mga larawan ay nasa account ko sa Multiply.





Pagkatapos, noong nakaraang linggo ay nagpalamig at nag-ikot sa sinasabi nilang "summer capital of the Philippines" - sa Baguio City. Di tulad ng mga nakaraang mga tag-araw sa Baguio, nabawasan ng konti ang lamig sa araw, lalo na sa hapon kung saan sa sobrang init ay mabenta ang mga halo-halo at napupuno ang SM sa tambay. Pero bilang patotoo sa kanyang titulo, maraming pamilya, magbabarkada, magkaka-opisina ang umakyat pa rin na nandoon at nagbabakasyon. Puno ang mga kinagawian na mga puntahan doon tulad ng Mines View Park, Burnham Park, Tam-awan Village, Bell Church, Botanical Garden, Wright Park at iba pa. Pati mga sikat na kainan (Cafe by the Ruins, Oh My Khan, atbp.) ay may mahaba ang pila sa labas pagdating ng tanghalian.

Patunay na ang Baguio ay patuloy at walang kupas sa mga paboritong puntahan ng mga tao kahit ilang beses na silang nakapunta dito.

Ito ang ilan sa mga kuha ko at ang iba pa ay nasa Multiply account ko.





Hanggang sa muling pagbyahe,

- Sam

A rally and a wedding

by ray


Ayala in recent years has been a "hot spot" for protest marches and rallies. Being the business district of Makati and considered as the business center of Metro Manila, activists, advocates, protesters, rebels, mutineers, etc. hold their protest actions here to elicit support from the business big wigs or send a message to the business community. This withstanding, if we have EDSA I, II and II, why not consider an Ayala I, II or III? Hehehe...Now you're thinking what the heck's my point. Nothing. I just needed a serious and even a catchy intro.

Anyways, last Feb 29 an interfaith rally was held in Makati and this time I was not caught with my pants down. Knowing in advance that a rally will be held on that day, I brought my camera with me. I can't tell you how many times I've let an opportunity to shoot protest actions gone by simply because I forgot to bring my camera. This time, I came prepared. Well, actually I also brought my camera to take photos at my friend's wedding, but the rally was also on my mind.

Here are a couple of shots from my camera. You can find more photos in my Multiply account here.

After an hour or so of shooting, I went to Glorietta 5 (I didn't know that there was already a Glorietta 5! hehehe) to attend the reception of Fats and David's wedding. I was late but I was still able to sample the dishes of Fish Under Water.

The resto was okay. The food was okay as well, although, there was nothing extraordinary in it, in my opinion (no offense to the couple).

The serving was small, as expected from such restaurants. Don't you just hate it when you're served with such small portions of food? Give me big mangkok of steaming hot rice and a huge serving of ulam (adobo! sarap!), that's my idea of a good meal. Hehehe, di talaga ako pang-sosyal.

I didn't dare to ask how much it was per plate. After dinner, we went around the mall and took some shots of the couple. The two looked good and we were able to find a couple of interesting areas to have our photoshoot. We had a permit so the guards pretty much stayed out of our way, well not at first but after confirming our permit, they did.

Al took quite a number of great shots when Fats and David were still in their hotel room. Fats is Al's older sister, by the way. Not that they need any introduction, you will find the resemblance uncanny.

More shots at RedPixel's Multiply.

- ray

Quest on photography

by ray


I was surfing channels last Sunday when I came across Richard Quest's show on CNN. When I tuned in, Quest was talking to someone while flipping the pages of a coffee table book. Immediately, the photos on that book caught my attention. And after hearing the words "photograph", "camera" and "photographer", I set down the remote and made myself comfortable.

It turns out that Quest was talking to Raghu Rai, an Indian photographer who has spent his career taking photos of India. Rai is a member of Magnum Photos, an internationally known photographic-cooperative.

The show continues with Quest interviewing great and well-known photographers today. After talking to Rai, he went and interviewed Anne Geddes, the famous baby photographer; Frans Lanting, wildlife photographer; a supermodel who loves being behind the lens as much as being in front of it; Darren Lyons, a celebrity photographer in London; and wedding photographers Alisha and Brook Todd who talked about the trend nowadays of using photojournalism styles in capturing events like weddings.

Later, I read on the CNN website that, earlier in the show, Quest also interviewed National Geo photographer Steve McCury (idddolll!) and famous fashion and portrait photographer Patrick Demarchelier.

It's always nice to hear how the Great Ones started out, to learn about their techniques, and to be inspired by their works.

- Ray

Not Bad for a Weekend

by albenks


Nothing tastes better than fresh Friday airconditioned office air. Uhh-hhmmm... In a few hours, i will be wiping away all traces of this week from my memory with some nice food and a drink or two. Probably put in a partial harakiri in there, for good measure.

It didn't help that Monday and I got off on the wrong foot. which pretty much ruined the remaining days of the week. Sorry Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but your sister M was a real B.

But Friday.. oh Friday i will always have a sweet spot in my heart for you. Just thinking about you makes my gums numb... and that's a good sign. There is nothing like a good weekend to wipe away a whole week's mess. The real challenge however is how to make the most out of this little slice of time.

I'd like to inspire myself by recalling what i did last weekend. On Saturday, I attended a friend's wedding... quite refreshing. But even as a guest, it's hard to concentrate specially if you get so used to shooting weddings. my trigger finger kept twitching.

Well, Sunday was a little more exciting for me. We did a shoot for one of my old orgs in college and it was a real nice trip. I enjoyed the shoot mostly because someone else was holding the reins. I just love it when someone else is responsible for me.. Thanks to my old buddy Francis (and I mean old, he's either 28 or 64, it's hard to tell), I think it's going to turn out real great.

What's it about? Well, it's a short video message we were hoping to show during the 32nd Anniv Night of our old org, UP Batangan. That's right, ladies, I hail from Batangas, also known as the Land of the Rising Sun. No, that's Japan. Well, google it if you really want to know what we're known for.

Anyway, it was a pretty sharp concept. The visual style is crisp and the message, golden, thanks to our wonderful writers. Can't really tell you much more except that well, aside from you'll probably sprout goosebumps when you watch it, organizing everything took a lot of work. First, it's was hard to get everyone together. Let alone contact the, let's just say, 'more mature' alumni population. And second, the challenge of weaving all these personalities, from different generations, into one grand evocative narrative.

Ok, enough promoting. Here's some snaps:


We had some pretty young alumni showing off their pearly whites here.

Francis( in black) making ever-so-slight posing adjustments. Actually, i really don't know what he's doing here. probably just posing for the camera.

Tata, my brand-new wife, or as I call her, Big Boss. From the look on her face, she looks like she can get used to this.

Yep, that's right. I like to put on a ton of makeup and look gay. Exactly the look I want onscreen.


Kudos to Francis the producer and all around nice-guy. Thanks Big Boss Apaul for keeping my batchmate in line.

The Batangueños as we finished shooting . Ok, the guy to the left isn't really from Batangas. But his accent is pretty damn close. So, well.

With our production crew.

Thanks to all the alumni who took the time to go to that weekend shoot. Special mention to Tiano, Ella, Joan, Redel, Eugene, Carina, Apaul, Francis and everyone who helped organize and put this thing together.

Also, our gratitude to the production crew who helped us through these dark times.

Now, to edit down.

Why do we do this?

by albenks


So many times, I get people coming up to me and asking me how this all started.

It always brings me back to that evening almost 3 years ago, in Baguio.

Cold, frustrated by our careers, and mostly because of the tapuy in our young beautiful heads (we were eighteenish then), we decided that the only way to get true joy out of work is to do something that makes you feel good and makes you feel alive (naks!). And to make it last, make sure you do it with people that you like.

Fast forward to 2008, we’re still here and we still feel alive during shoots. In fact, that’s about the only time we really enjoy working.

You see, the red pixel is essentially a group of friends who really just enjoy photography and editing any stuff we get on tape. We’re not going out there trying to make a killing. We have full-time jobs where we pour in the same undying love and dedication. Haha. I have to stop. That’s funny.

So, on top of all the albums and the prenups and the videos we have to produce, we also have to think about our real careers. And yup, it comes with all the complications. Mainly, you have to deal with the boss. No other four letter word can bring so much shivers down my lying spine. If making creative excuses for not coming in to work was a sport, I think we’ll be bagging our first Olympic gold. Singles and relay.

Come to think of it, the red pixel is really just an escape for us. A mini-vacation from the everyday DTR-signing, keyboard-stomping, lunch-munching, lunch-hurling, officemate-annoying, aircon-freezing drudgery of office life. Not that I have anything against work.

I guess everyone wants to have a piece of that. Who doesn’t?
We do what we can.