Ronald Carlos Abagat

5 Months to go…

Ron — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:20:21 +0000

Here we are 4 months into it. This was shot the night after we knew about it but only took the time to post it now.

To My Dear Wife:
There’s only about 5 months left and soon you’re gonna feel the baby kicking and swinging. I’m letting you know that I’m always here to help however way I can. Obviously I can’t carry the baby, endure your frequent morning sickness, or go through your mood swings. There are things that I can control and I hope I’ve done a good job so far and will continue to do so.

Shot 50mm f/5.6 - 1/160 seconds with off camera flash 1/16th power on high left of camera.

Infrared Photography

Ron — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:18:32 +0000

Fiat Lux (left) shot with 17mm, f/6.3 @ 25 seconds on a bright day.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).

When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike appearance. The effect is mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. In Portraits, it gives a milky look to the subject with the eyes black. (Source: Wikipedia)

Absence In Motion (left) is shot with 18mm, f/4.5 @ 30 seconds exposure.

If you think this is your kind of Photography, you can go IR all the way by having your digital camera or digital SLR converted. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can buy a camera specific sensor for around $200 and change it yourself, or you can have them done professionally for $350-$450 depending on your camera. (I would not trust my hands on this and sure I’d regret it not being done by a pro)

There’s also the half-hearted approach which is getting this Infrared Filter. I use the Hoya R72 myself. This option allows you not to pay top dollar to achieve this effect. You need not sacrifice your regular handy dandy camera or pay hundreds of dollars for conversion only to know it’s not for you. The only disadvantage is you have to do long exposures to get a desirable effect.

Inner Peace (left) shot with 18mm, f/6.3 @ 30 seconds exposure.

You might come back to me and say “I got the filter but all I’m getting is a red dominated picture?” With Infrared Photography, be it using a converted camera or just a filter, you have to go through a bit of Photoshop and adjust the levels to achieve something similar to the photos I posted here.

Hands-Free! It’s The Law!

Ron — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:54:21 +0000

A few days ago while driving down Interstate 10 at 75 mph on the fast lane, an idiot on the same lane talking on the phone was driving at 45 mph. I know. This happens to everyone.

In California, today marks the day that people using their cellphones while driving will be cited. It has caused thousands of deaths and injuries. By law, a first offense will bring a $20 ticket and subsequent violations will cost $50, with no points against a driver’s insurance.

While it would help drop the amount of accidents, it’s still best not to talk on the phone while driving. I’m 100% positive that there are more accidents caused by cellphones than what the records show. You could always post the question whether a driver has his attention on the wheel or who he’s talking to. People can easily throw their cellphones anywhere immediately after collision or after they get caught for any violation.

Moreover, as released by the Los Angeles Daily News, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University discovered listening to a conversation while driving reduces brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent!

Conclusion: Only take important calls and nothing else. When taking, use a hands free device.

Manny! Manny!

Ron — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:59:41 +0000

Choosing a topic is the most difficult thing in blogging… heh! as if I’ve been here long enough. Only my second post ladies and gentlemen. Thank you!

Last night’s fight was so lopsided. I believe everybody would agree. I have never seen this guy David Diaz fight nor have I ever heard anything about him up until this fight’s promotion. According to most boxing analysts, he’s a very good fighter with power being his typical advantage. On the other corner, Pacquiao has not been on the ring as a lightweight. Many thought including me that his speed would be compromised with his weight. Not!

I may have been swayed to believe that Diaz is a real good fighter but in this fight, Pacquiao made him looked average. I would consider Diaz to be tough though. From the get go, he appeared undermatched. Everybody was just waiting for him to go down, yet he stayed til the 9th. Both of them started with white trunks. One ended bloody pink. This PacMan win, coupled with Pretty Boy Mayweather’s retirement, could easily put Pacquiao as the top pound for pound fighter. Congratulations! He sure makes us Filipinos proud.

One interesting note on last night’s fight. After the fight, there was an interview with David Diaz and he dropped f bombs after f bombs. He effin looked cool in front of Cable TV. Effin thank you it’s on effin HBO! The coolest poft-fight interview I’ve seen. A real sport! MHOTY.

So why that picture you asked? Nothing. Just because I saw it printed huge in the center of the ring as one of the game’s sponsor. Shot @ f/1.8 - .005 seconds using two speedlights off-camera. One below facing the bottom of the bottle and the second slightly right of the camera facing the bottle triggered using built in flash through Nikon CLS.

Other than these bandwagonners. It’s a totally fun night!

My Blog Debut

Ron — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:06:13 +0000

After exactly 10 months and 5 days getting my hands on a real camera (Yes I’m done with those 0.44 megapixel camera phones), I decided to take a dip in this surprisingly expansive world of blogging.

I’m really not sure of what I’ll make of this blog… uncertain on whether I’ll make it solely for my photography venture or create this with a little bit of everything. On second thought, “everything” seems too wide of a topic considering all my interests. If I choose the latter, is it gonna be a complete waste of time? Or will I benefit more?

Ok forget all this what I’ll make of this blog thing. I’ll go back to it’s simplified sense. Is blogging really beneficial? For now, I can’t tell. I will have to visit this question in the future.

So I looked at the EXIF data and unexpectedly I had it @ f/3.5 - 13 seconds using an ND8 filter. Obviously at this point, I have no idea what I’m doing. Being the first photo I really got good response with, it’s also my first attempt at long exposure so the heck with EXIF. When I shot this, I was only playing with my camera for 2 good months. I look for this blog to be able to help me hone my skills.

All that said, I officially welcome myself to this ever growing digital world we live in. To the people who stayed up to this point, thank you.