my thoughts and my photos

kirsty

2008-12-19T17:02:00.001+11:00

kirsty, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

the spirit of christmas has changed

2008-12-07T01:50:00.001+11:00

the spirit of christmas has changed, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

as the title goes, i think it has changed. me and my family was in Centro Lavington today to kill some time before we go to the fiesta filipina, lucky enough we saw santa at the food court of the shopping centre, and so we decided to stop by and get a photo of him with ainslea, so i took out my D700 with 70-200f/2.8 still attached to it from the spring nats event, and just after this shot, the security guard approached me and said "excuse me mate! it's not allowed to take a photo", and i said "beg your pardon? that is my daughter that im talking a photo of" and he repeated "sorry mate, you are not allowed to take a photo, there is a photographer and we have signs all over the shopping mall that says it's not allowed to take photos" so i said "sorry mate" and i put my camera back to my bag.

now here's what i don't understand... isn't it christmas is all about giving, love, sharing, santa, gifts, kids and all that stuff, why are we not allowed to take photos of "our own child" inside the shopping center with santa? the answer? because we have to pay to get a photo! and the santa inside the shopping center is a gimmick to make money! don't they have enough money from shoppers that they have to stop people from taking photos of "our own child" so we have to pay? where is the spirit of giving? i understand that they have to pay the person as a santa to sit there and a photographer to wait there, but it's christmas! for &$*&@# sake! they don't sit there the whole &*^%$ day!

it's a good feeling that one day you can tell your son or daughter that hey i took that photo when you are little!

now all i can say to my daughter is sorry love i wasn't allowed to take a photo and this is all we got. i could have paid someone to do it but i do have a very expensive camera that i can't use because it's CHRISTMAS in the shopping centers have to make MONEY!

yet another apple shot

2008-10-23T11:39:00.001+11:00

yet another apple shot, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

by the window

2008-10-23T11:38:00.001+11:00

by the window, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

my first pregnancy photoshoot

2008-06-21T20:47:00.001+10:00

sharon, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

special thanks to sharon and steve for giving me the chance to photograph them it was a tiring shoot but at the end of the day it was worth it because of the wonderful photos.

inspired by strobist i experimented with my lights and yes it was so worth giving it a try i love the lightings on each of every photos, i don't even have to edit them!

again thanks guys for the opportunity

kodie

2008-06-20T22:44:00.001+10:00

kodie, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

love the emotion on this one it's so natural

bike ride

2008-06-12T16:07:00.001+10:00

bike ride, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

one sunday morning took my son (noah) for a bike ride, he made me so proud when he actually went up to a ramp and ride his bike down, i was really impressed on his bravery. well done son!

twisted portrait

2008-06-06T13:02:00.001+10:00

twisted portrait, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

when i was processing this photo my eyes hurts because the body of the kid looks twisted, it looks like it's back to front!

I Went Flying

2008-06-03T13:01:00.001+10:00

I went Flying with steve (the IT boss) last Saturday and took some photos here are some of my favorites shots:

The modules

The Feedmill

The Top Office

Thank you steve for that wonderful experience that i can tell my grand kids about :)

and i have photos to show too!

This is a test from Word 2007

2008-05-30T15:56:00.001+10:00

I have to find out how to insert photo for this

engagement - will and aleesa

2008-05-18T12:10:00.001+10:00

will and aleesa2, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

i will shoot the wedding of these two lovely couple in september, can't wait! i did their engagement shoot and they are so easy to shoot!

thanks for the giving me the opportunity to do your wedding guys! looking forward to it.

wedding - michael & nicole - edited edition

2008-05-17T00:46:00.001+10:00

wedding - michael & nicole - edited3, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

just a sample of edited photos from michael and nicole's wedding day.

experimenting

2008-05-06T12:11:00.001+10:00

noah - backlighted, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

experimenting with lights, color and composition. i believe experience is the best teacher and practise is.... you know :)

2008-05-02T15:16:00.005+10:00

I finally finish selecting photos from the wedding that me and my wife shoot last 19th of April, it was a long day but it was sure fun!

Nicole and Michael was so easy to work with not to mention they made me laugh the whole time they made us so comfortable and the wedding went so smooth!

emotion

2008-04-24T12:07:00.001+10:00

emma & rob wedding, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

wedding photography is not that easy... you gotta have the love for it, the passion and the gear for it! not just for the money!

it is a never ending journey for someone who wants to go into this bussiness and it takes courage to do so.

it's a day full of emotion that you have to capture in your lens and for me i just love hunting for that emotion waiting to catch the best one of the day, emotion that you can feel on your photo, emotion that will last forever.

food - chicken bbq

2008-04-14T16:15:00.001+10:00

food - chicken bbq, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

i love chicken bbq specially the wing part! i love love love love it! last saturday we are invited by our friend to have lunch at their place and they served my favorite! after a few dish of rice i couldn't hardly move :)

after lunch i wonder around their backyard and captured a few shots of my friends' kids. they have a massive backyard and i felt like i was in another world. i'll upload some photos soon.

for now i am surfing blogs for some ideas for a wedding this weekend.

Another inspiring Story

2008-04-11T10:21:00.003+10:00

i found this article on one of my favorite site jpgmag.com it is a long read but it has a lot of good tip on how to succeed. it also gives inspiration to a lot of new comers in photography (like me) who does'nt know where to start.

here is the link

click and read it if you have time :)

my kids

2008-04-10T16:44:00.002+10:00

they inspire me on everything i do...

babies' bestfriend

2008-04-10T12:20:00.002+10:00

babies' bestfriend, originally uploaded by Michael Esplana.

commercial photography sounds fun :) one day i will try to get work as a commercial photographer (i wish)

A New Beginning

2008-04-10T10:56:00.002+10:00

Today, as per usual i get to work and sit on my desk surfing the net while waiting for a call to fix a computer problem. Lucky enough i am fixing a desktop while reading blogs on the net. And i was inspired to write mine as well.

here is one of the blog/article i read today: it is inspiring (i think).

Pool Car

2006-08-22T15:37:00.000+10:00

Pool Car
Originally uploaded by mayk esplana.

My most loved company car crushed!!!!

another boring day...

2006-08-03T08:48:00.000+10:00

Woke up early this morning and nothings seems to be different from every past morning... boring...

too much power...

2006-07-28T10:19:00.000+10:00

one of our developer asked me: what difference it would make if you have too much power going in to your pc?

do you have any answer...

The First

2006-07-27T11:55:00.000+10:00

Just thought i'd create a blog to write down my thoughts... that's all