http://vinceyandaggie.tumblr.com/

A Tumblog of Vince and Agnes which chronicles their adventures filled with food, fun and the one thing which initially brought the together…the camera.

Do follow my girlfriend (aagnessie) and my joint Tumblr account. We normally fill it up with the things we love doing together, the times we spend and the places we go to…of course the ocassional photos are here to stay :3

Peace out! :3

Photography has captured my heart and my interest for the past few years already, and as I have started photography much like how this generation did - through digital, I was one of those “delete-the-photo-when-it-doesn’t-look-good-on-the-LCD” types of photographers. I was trigger-happy, shooting and shooting to my heart’s content. Who cared? I had an 8GB memory card, I can shoot two thousand photos and my camera can still handle more.

AND THEN I MET FILM.

Film and I had a love-hate relationship even when I was a boy. Growing up during the last decade of the 20th century, most of the people around me, especially my parents shot in film. Weddings, birthdays, outings…name anything, they shot everything in film. We even had a book at home on how to do film photography. It was my Dad’s. The book was from 1985 and it’s still at home. I still use it as reference.

During our photography class during my fourth year in college, we had a subject in photography. My professor after briefing us with the rudiments, he asked us to produce a photography project every week — WITH FILM.

At first I was hesitant, being versed in digital…being able to delete crappy photos whenever they didn’t suit my liking…being able to shoot thousands of frames without hesitation. Now I had to carefully plan all my shots. Film didn’t have any room for mistakes… no re-takes…no more trigger-happy shoots. Yes, you can take a photo again, but you’d be wasting a precious frame of film.

I WAS IN BIG TROUBLE.

Gradually, as the semester progressed, I learned to shoot with film. I learned to love it dearly. I learned to carefully plan my shots. I learned to be reserved when shooting.

After the semester, I bought my blockmate’s Nikon F50, a film camera made in 1994. I bought it because it’s film and Nikon too…and I can use my existing lenses on it and more.

Why did I buy an 18 year old camera? 

Because it taught me to be reserved. To be focused. To be much more expressive and intimate in every shot that I take. Because it gives me an excitement every single time I have my rolls processed, waiting like a child in a candy store, waiting to be surprised and delighted how my photos turned out.

My name is Vincent Tanching, and I proudly bought a 18 year old camera.

Man is regarded as God’s most intelligent creature. Out of all that he created, He tasked man to take care of His other creation. Man is gifted not only in skills necessary for survival, but also skills which enable him to express himself.

Through the eons of time that passed, man has learned to better himself with the skills given to him. Innovations were seen and creativity flourished; man has expressed himself in various ways — dance, song, painting, poetry, sculpture, music, prose, and much more. But he has one expression that changed the world — the skill to capture and immortalize a moment of time, giving him an opportunity to replay or revisit that certain moment of history.

Photographers too, have long evolved from simply taking everyday photos to turning it into an art — even venturing it into a business. Photographers have begun to capture the world’s attention through their photographs, not only attention, if I may add, but praise and accolades as well, most especially those who are more well-off than others; who have better access to equipment, who have bigger and larger connections, and who can easily add more to what they already have. The world gives them more opportunities too — to shoot, to buy more stuff…to shoot again…to buy more stuff again…the cycle continues.

How about the ones from the other side of the spectrum? The ones who are on the flipside? Photographers who aren’t that well-equipped materially, but are equally good (or even better) than their counterparts? Sadly, the world turns a deaf ear towards them. All photographers are humans, in need of life and love. Sometimes giving them little praise wouldn’t hurt; that is, praise or even a pat on the back saying “Good Job”, “You shoot well” or even giving them small-time “business opprtunities” once in a while wouldn’t hurt. Everyone loves to experience “a little slice of heaven” once in a while, even photographers, and that is not exclusive to those ones who are well-off but also to those who are at the other side of the spectrum.

I heard someone once say to a photographer to “strive harder, if you really want something strive for it till you get it.” That in itself is noble act, and yet what if the world around you thinks otherwise? What if it does not give you any opportunity to reach your goal because you fall into the trap of being given a deaf ear? You may strive but efforts are in vain.

Let this open letter be an eye-opener for all of us; don’t give a deaf ear towards other “less-fortunate” ones. Hear them out, see their capabilities, give them opportunities and you just might find your “diamond in the rough”.

Rear caps are one of the most important accessories you can buy for your lenses, next to filters. Probably, the only thing that you want to protect with your lens, other than the front element is the lens mount, where all your electrical contacts, the rear element of your lens, even the lens diaphragm is located. 

Rear caps help protect your lens from foreign objects such as dust or grit from entering your lens’ rear element or contaminate the electrical contacts of your lens, which might cause your lens to malfunction or not mount properly, especially for lenses with plastic mounts.

When buying rear caps, stay away from counterfeit ones, which may not fit tightly on the lens itself when put on.

This is my camera. There are many like it, but this camera is mine.
My camera is my best friend.
It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.
My camera, without me, is useless. Without my camera, I am useless.
I must fire my camera true.
I must outshoot my enemy who is trying to outshoot me. I must outshoot him before he outshoots me. I will…

My camera and myself know that what counts is not the shots we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the flashes we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit…

My camera is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother.
I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its body and its lenses.
I will keep my camera clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready.
We will become part of each other. We will…
Before God I swear this creed.

And it works on my camera! :”>

Well, actually I am not. I just chose the title to catch your attention. :))

Anyway, back to business.

I am just confused on what kind of photographer I really am.

Am I a Landscape Photographer?

Am I a Street Photographer?

Am I an Architectural Photographer?

Am I a Portrait Photographer?

I SIMPLY DON’T KNOW.

All genres interest me, and I just don’t know which genre to focus on and really master :(

If I were to sell my photos in 12” x 8” prints na naka-frame, or any size for that matter, tapos ipanreregalo mo or for your personal consumption, will you be interested to buy any of my photos?

:)

I plan to do a photo of every building in UST as a tribute to it before I graduate :)

Does it sound good? :D

During our photography classes, our professor asked us to use film SLRs to complete our weekly photography plate. It started quite uncomfortable for me because I did start off photography by way of digital and going back to film was rather surreal.

With my trusty Pentax Z50P and its 28-80mm kit lens, I began conquering the world of analog photography. I started out rough, garnering only a 78 on my first plate. Weeks passed, my scores began ranking higher and higher. My last plate’s grade was a 90 :D

Film makes you think twice on your composition, lighting, and all other aspects that you take into consideration while shooting. When you shoots digital and have an awfulully underexposed, overexposed or just plain ugly picture, One just taps the “DELETE” button twice. On film, that frame is forever lost. A feeling of gulit and sadness fills you with the thought of a wasted frame.

And now as our class moves forward to the digital era and as I utilize my trusty Nikon once again, I can’t help but miss using my film camera. I can’t help miss the sound of the film advancing, and the buzz it creates as I the film rewinds. I can’t help but miss turning my aperture ring to f/16 to get a deeply focused image. I can’t help but miss the times I rant when I try to get a shot indoors using low speed film. I can’t help but miss the addicting smell of a newly opened canister of Kodak ColorPlus 200. Or the way I load the film inside the camera and watch the little LCD display show an “ISO 200” as it recognizes the film I’m using. I can’t help but miss the jitters I feel whenever I go to the laboratory to have my film developed and printed. I can’t help but remember the time I panicked because my roll of film overexposed and my project had to be repeated all over again. Good times, I reckon.

As I return to the school of digital photography, I have learned to appreciate film: its limitations, its permanence, both its stability and instability, its professionalism, its perpetuity, its beauty and the real skill and expertise photographers had for the past 103 years and still counting.

Hey guys! Am back! :) 

Sorry for a long hiatus…had really been busy with school :(

But I got a lot of photos to be uploaded in the next few, so just stick around and hope you enjoy!

:D 

Bokeh (ボケ) is a Japanese word used to describe the aesthetic quality of the blur of the out of focus part of an image. IT IS NOT THOSE CIRCLES OF LIGHT THAT PEOPLE USUALLY CONFUSE BOKEH FOR.

Bokeh is the quality of the blur, not the blur itself.

I have recently seen numerous posts here on Tumblr of those circles of light and with the caption below it as “BOKEH”. That is not bokeh, those are circles of light.

THIS IS NOT BOKEH.

You cannot photograph bokeh per se; it is always part of an image.

Bokeh, being the quality of the blur of the out-of-focus area of an image, although cannot be quantified by numbers, it is usually differentiated as GOOD BOKEH or BAD BOKEH. It is depends upon the maximum f-number and number of aperture blades of your lens.

Characteristic of GOOD BOKEH

• The blur melts away very smoothly or is very “creamy”
• Colors of the background are very soft and aren’t distracting.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAD BOKEH

• The blur circles are well defined and very harsh.
• Colors are quite distracting and takes your eyes away from the focal point of the photo.

Just to recap, bokeh cannot be photographed; it can a part of a photo, but not a photo in itself :)

(Source: vestphotography)

Bokeh (ボケ) is a Japanese word used to describe the aesthetic quality of the blur of the out of focus part of an image. IT IS NOT THOSE CIRCLES OF LIGHT THAT PEOPLE USUALLY CONFUSE BOKEH FOR.

Bokeh is the quality of the blur, not the blur itself.

I have recently seen numerous posts here on Tumblr of those circles of light and with the caption below it as “BOKEH”. That is not bokeh, those are circles of light.

THIS IS NOT BOKEH.

You cannot photograph bokeh per se; it is always part of an image.

Bokeh, being the quality of the blur of the out-of-focus area of an image, although cannot be quantified by numbers, it is usually differentiated as GOOD BOKEH or BAD BOKEH. It is depends upon the maximum f-number and number of aperture blades of your lens.

Characteristic of GOOD BOKEH

• The blur melts away very smoothly or is very “creamy”
• Colors of the background are very soft and aren’t distracting.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAD BOKEH

• The blur circles are well defined and very harsh.
• Colors are quite distracting and takes your eyes away from the focal point of the photo.

Just to recap, bokeh cannot be photographed; it can a part of a photo, but not a photo in itself :)