Week 52/52 : Farewell 2014

And I’m done 🙂 Another project completed. I didn’t think I’d be able to finish two self portraits today, but hooray! I debated on whether I should be lazy and just use another picture we took when we went to Ancient Siam, but I figured I should put in a bit of effort on my last self portrait for 2014.

This was shot literally 20 minutes ago. I only have about an hour before 2014 ends so I figured I should edit and post this immediately. Thanks to my sister for helping me take this.

I wish everyone a very happy new year! I hope you guys all had a wonderful 2014! And I wish you the best for 2015.

Week 51/52 : Life is one grand, sweet song

I just realized that it’s the last day of the year and I’ve still got 2 self portraits left for this project, eek!

My family just returned from Thailand yesterday. I brought my camera and laptop with me, but I was too busy enjoying my vacation that I forgot all about my self portraits. But here’s one that my sister helped me take while we were in Ancient Siam. I thought the lighting in the photo was really nice so I decided to include it in my project.

(Quote in the title is by Ronald Reagan)

Week 50/52 : Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Technically it’s only the 24th, but our family celebrates it on this day so today feels more like Christmas to me. We usually just stay home and relax on the 25th, eating leftovers from our Noche Buena the night before. (Although we’ve got something a bit more special planned this year)

Thank you very much to my sister for helping me with this shot. I was setting up the camera and tripod when she walked in to use the bathroom. I figured it would be easier to have her take the picture instead. I’m glad she was around because it would have been extremely difficult to align my “beard” without her help 😀

I wish you guys a very Merry Christmas! And for those who don’t celebrate it – Happy Holidays!!

Week 49/52 : The most wonderful time of the year

My first holiday self portrait for the year, just in time for Christmas 🙂 This was taken by Brinks during our Christmas party at her place the other day. Her family moved to a new house this year and they went all out with the Christmas decors. Our friends and I had a lot of fun taking pictures with their beautiful Christmas tree.

I actually already had a self portrait with our family’s Christmas tree edited and ready for upload before this was take, but Brinky’s tree looked so much nicer so I decided to go with this photo instead. This is also my first self portrait taken with my new lens – the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. It’s a birthday gift from Ckloy and my parents, but we never got around to ordering it until last week. Brinks ordered and picked it up for me the other day. Getting our hands on this lens was quite stressful because (for some reason) the usual shops we buy lenses from don’t stock it. Fortunately, one of the shops were able to get one unit at the last minute and Brinks rushed over there to pick it up. Thanks Kup!

Christmas eve tomorrow!  I can’t wait! 😀

Week 48/52 : Make your own rainbows

I meant to post this last week, right after Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit left the Philippines. I think all our prayers worked and we were able to avoid major devastation this time, phew~

Anyway, the reason I didn’t upload this immediately was because I wasn’t happy with the final image. I played around with it some more on Photoshop today and it looks a little better. I’m still a little unsure about the blending around the paintbrush, but I figured I should just upload it and move on to my next self portrait.

Paint brush stock  HERE.

Week 47/52 : Eighty Eight

I was able to squeeze in this simple photomanipulation in between checking exams and reports last week. I had a difficult time with the blending in this one, but I think the final image looks okay. I’m still not completely satisfied with the shadows on my feet though.

I only have 5 more self portraits left for my 52-week project this 2014. I’m confident that I’ll be able to complete them in time since I’m done with all exams and checking. I only need to finalize my grades, submit them, and my semester is finished 😀 I keep reminding myself to be extra careful in my computations so I won’t have to go through the grueling process of requesting a change of grade from the university. I almost made a huge mistake the other day but fortunately one of my students caught the error and notified me immediately. Phew~

In case you’re wondering about the title, that’s how many keys there are on a standard piano.

 

Week 46/52 : I will trust in the shelter of your wings

Psalm 61:4

As you may know, the Philippines suffered major devastation last year due to Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Cities were wiped out and thousands of people died. Many places still have not recovered from the aftermath. Now, there’s another super typhoon headed our way.

Here’s a clip from an article posted yesterday at interaksyon.com:

MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon “Hagupit” (local name: “Ruby”) is officially this year’s strongest storm and could intensify even further before making landfall, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Friday morning.

Soon after, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas, at a briefing of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said Hagupit had become a “super typhoon.”

The latest data from PAGASA showed Hagupit bearing winds of 215 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 250 kph — as strong as typhoon “Ompong” (international name: “Vongfong”), which entered the Philippine area of responsibility in October but did not make landfall.

Hagupit is also slated to be the most powerful storm to hit land this year.

People are still traumatized by the events of last year and the impending arrival of Typhoon Hagupit is throwing a lot of them into panic. On the other hand, there are those who believe that we’re better prepared now thanks to what happened with Typhoon Yolanda. Typhoon Hagupit is expected to make landfall in Eastern Samar later this evening, which means we probably won’t feel it here in Laguna until tomorrow afternoon. I read online that Hagupit’s wind speeds are less compared to Yolanda, but it’s still very strong. Also, it’s travelling very slowly, which means it will stay in a certain location for longer periods of time. Everyone is worried about how much devastation Hagupit will bring to the Philippins. There’s not really much we can do right now but hope and pray for the best.

Week 44/52 : I know what it’s like to be afraid of your own mind

(Quote is by Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds)

This image was partly inspired by the book Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters. It’s a very dark and disturbing book, and I probably won’t be reading the second one in the series. Not because it’s bad or anything, I just prefer novels with a lighter plot. But the book did leave a very strong impression on me (probably because I haven’t read many others like it). It’s about a girl who goes to Mexico with her boyfriend, where she ends up kidnapped and sold as a sex slave.

Here’s an excerpt from a summary I found on Goodreads:

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Like I said, the story’s a little disturbing, but its written beautifully and it will definitely stick with me for a long time.

Photoshop brushes are by http://www.obsidiandawn.com

Week 43/52 : Keep your eye on the prize

*I’m not sure if you can tell, but that’s supposed to be the golden snitch hovering above my hand*

Things are getting pretty busy over here. We only have one week of classes left before the finals. I’ve been staring at the pile of quizzes and reports on my table for the past hour, wondering how I can get through them all in time. I’m proud to say that I managed to put quite a dent in my checking load these past few days, but there’s still a lot left to do. I’m on the verge of breaking down but I just keep reminding myself that we only have a few more weeks before the holidays, and I can finally relax. I just need to hold on for a while longer.  There’s a nice reward waiting for me at the end 🙂

Week 42/52 : I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on Earth – then I ask myself the same question

I just realized I only have 10 self portraits left to do for this project. (Although there are only 4-5 weeks left in the year, so I’m still really far behind.)

When I conceptualized this photo, I was aiming for something completely different. This was actually an outtake. I was playing around because I needed some shots of the fabric moving. But when I was scanning the photos, I realized I liked this one more than the “real” shots I took. I looked so stiff and uncomfortable in the other ones while this one seemed more naturaly and flowy.  It’s probably because I wasn’t too focused on having to pose, I was more concerned about getting a good shot of my dress. (I did have to get my right hand from another photo though, since it didn’t look as graceful in the original after I threw the fabric.)

Photoshop brushes (hair, birds, mist) are from http://www.obsidiandawn.com