Alicia and Kevin

It's been over two months since I did this shoot, but the thought of it still draws a big, bright smile in my face.  It was one fine day.  I had a blast.  They had a blast.

It was one of those exciting ideas that just sprung out of a casual conversation--one that I thought would just simply be forgotten and never seriously discussed again, let alone materialized.

But it was too good an opportunity to pass up, both for me and for them.  I was hungry for a photoshoot and they barely had any photos of themselves as a couple.

It's been over two months and I hadn't thought about this for a while, until recently.  Alicia came up to me and said she wanted a link to my website (which I don't have) or a contact info that she can reference on their wedding website. She said they love the photos so much and they want to give me credits on their site and tell all their friends and family about my work.  That was very nice of them!  I didn't know they were planning to build a website.  I guess the photos came handy afterall.

Alicia and Kevin make a very lovely couple.  They have been together for a long time (I can't recall how many years exactly, but I know they're been together for a while).  Alicia is one of my co-workers, and although we belong in different teams, I see her a lot because she is very good friends with somebody in my team.  Kevin is a Filipino, born in one of the US military bases in the Philippines but raised here in the US.

The day we did the shoot started out smoggy.  Alicia texted that maybe we shouldn't do it that day.  I insisted we give it a try because I actually prefer to shoot when it's overcast and not too sunny.  So off we went to San Francisco, starting off at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and wrapping up at China Beach.  When we got there, the fog started to vanish, the skies cleared and the sun started peeking through the clouds giving us just the right amount of light that we needed.  It was perfect!  

I just checked their link and there they were--the photos I took of them proudly displayed all over their site (and under Photo Albums). And I realized that all the photos they posted on their website were original because all they had were the unedited files that I gave to them in a DVD.  Yet they looked fine and I couldn't help but be proud of what I had done.  

To professional photographers, I know that these photos are considered average, but to me they are great.  My heart was swelling looking at them.  It was like a moment of sweet victory.  It was mission accomplished.  It was one of those things that I think I nailed.

I don't always give myself a pat on the back.  But this time, I may just have to!  :-)

Impromptu

Today, I came home to an almost empty fridge and an almost empty pantry.  This has never happened before.  We've never ran out of groceries.  On the contrary, we often find ourselves overstocking and throwing away perishables that don't get cooked in time before they turn bad.

Then it occurred to me that it's actually been a while since we last went grocery shopping.  We've been away so much on weekends--in fact, we were home probably only one weekend in the last 2 months that we haven't had the chance to replenish our supplies.  Well, Charles and I have both made short visits to the store to get milk, yogurt, bread and baby food.  But nothing like the usual grocery shopping that we would do every other week.

So I struggled for a moment trying to figure out what to make for dinner.  There weren't any leftovers so I had to come up with something.  I was so tempted to just pick up the phone and call for Chinese take-out, but we had Chinese food just a few days ago.

I started browsing--through the pantry, then the fridge, then back to the pantry.  I thought, "there has to be something here I can make".  I saw a box of spaghetti noodles and a can of tomato sauce, and in the freezer was a pack of cooked swiss meatballs.  Aha!  Traditional spaghetti was what immediately came to mind.

This was done for a little less than 30 minutes.  I didn't have all the right ingredients but it turned out ok.  The sauce was actually pretty good but the meatballs didn't go very well with the dish.  These swiss meatballs are better paired with thick mushroom gravy.

I sprinkled it with parmesan cheese and served it with love.  We had dinner!

Flicker

I am practicing with a new equipment right now.  The hubz got me a new [and improved] external flash to replace the one I broke.  I broke the flash on a Monday and he got me a new one before the end of that same week.  Good husband!  Lucky me!

This is not to say that it didn't surprise me at all!  We both knew it wasn't critical to have a new flash right away and I thought this would have to go through his usual 'several-months-long' research before it gets bought.  I guess not.  I guess he had already done his research a while back--who knows?  Also, we were going to first get either a replacement battery cover (which I also broke) or a battery grip, which obviously were more critical to keep the camera functional.  He also got both, by the way.

Yes, that's how supportive he is of my non-earning hobby!  I guess I should start earning from it so we'll have money to pay for the gear and also get something out of it other than the never-ending supply of Lucas' photos.

Speaking of earning, a friend of my friend Eva wants me to take photos of her too--the same way I took these and these photos.  She asked my friend to ask me if I would take $200 for even three photos.  I told my friend that "because she was a referral, I would take $200 for ten edited photos".  In my mind though, I was like screaming, "Dude!  I would TOTALLY do it!  Are you kidding me?!?!". :-)

The $200 would not pay for the flash, but I really hope it happens.  I've already said yes--it's just a matter of setting the date.

In the meantime, I'll continue playing around and practicing with the new flash--which I really, really love!  With my old flash, I found it hard to get rid of shadows on portrait orientation shots, irregardless of how I positioned the flash.  I think I may have found the solution and with the new flash, the results are so much better!  See [unedited] photos above--no trace of shadows!

The hubz asked me to also read the manual because he said there's a lot of good information in it.  I think I should, and I will--eventually.

Healthy and Delicious

The one thing I like about weekends is that it gives me plenty of time to prepare a meal.  I've always loved cooking and I cook almost everyday, but majority of the time work allows me to be home no earlier than 6:30 in the evening, so I often end up making quick meals.

Tonight I made Miso-glazed Chilean Sea Bass, and I served it in a bed of steamed green vegetables with garlic sauce.  I always try to have vegetables in every meal.  This meal was so good!  I ate it with some brown rice too.

I first has this dish at the Tao Restaurant in Las Vegas.  This was one of the chef's specialties.  It was heavenly!  The sweetness and saltiness of this dish is well-balanced and the fish almost melts in your mouth.  Two weeks later, I was in Las Vegas again.  I went to the Tao and ordered the same thing.  I couldn't get enough of it.  

When I got home from the trip, I googled the recipe.  There were so many of them but I did find the one from the Tao's executive chef!  I tried it for the first time last weekend at my sister's.  It was ok, but it wasn't as good as what I had at the restaurant.  The fish was too moist and just a little bit saltier than it should be.  

Hmmm... I guess chefs don't really reveal everything, especially when it comes to signature/specialty dishes.

But I was determined to try it again and perfect it.  So today, I made the dish again playing around with the portions and measurements of the exact same ingredients.  I also increased the oven temperature and cooking time a bit.  What came out was a perfectly cooked Chilean Sea Bass--brown and perfectly caramelized on the outside, and soft and flaky on the inside.  

It tasted just as good as the Tao's, with a perfectly balanced sweetness and saltiness to it.  This, I think, is my new favorite!

My hungry guests -- they were playing and laughing while I was serving dinner.  I cook because of them.  Although I love cooking, I still would not cook this much if only for myself.  I knew the little man would love the meal because he likes fish a lot.  And he did!  He kept saying, "Mmmm.... Mmmm...".

Charles loves it too, because it's healthy and delicious.  He likes delicious, but if it's not healthy, then it doesn't really impress him as much.  This one he refers to as "unlike your crab dish...".  :-)

And these are their portions!  Nah, Lucas ate half of mine.

Presence

I normally don't talk about work here.  I try not to.  I don't like mixing work and personal life, and this blog is very personal to me.  But I thought I'd make an exception because I just want to jot down some significant learnings that I recently had.

I never understood what "Presence" really meant until I went to this Leadership Presence workshop that my boss nominated me for.  I've been trying to get into this workshop for 3 years now, but the company only sends 20 people to this course annually.  There is one course held every quarter with 5 people in each of them.  So it's a very small class, very interactive and the coaching is hardcore.  A few of my colleagues who have gone through this course before think it's nerve-wracking and know of at least a couple of people who went through it the first day and never came back to finish it.

It's literally a Presentation workshop.  We were videotaped almost the entire time.  On our first day, we were each asked to make an executive presentation.  After the presentation, we were critiqued and there was no holding back on the criticisms.  The instructor is not a nice guy, but he was AWESOME!  When he introduced himself to us, he said "I don't need to be nice because you are not paying me to be nice.  You are paying me to help you."

I received criticisms for almost everything--from the way I spoke to the way I looked -- the way I stood up, where I placed my hands, the way I gestured, the way I looked at people when I was presenting, my facial expression, my face itself -- my make-up or the lack thereof, and even my hairstyle.  I saw how it can be humiliating to some people.  To me, it was more uncomfortable than humiliating, and that was how it was supposed to be.  Key learning?  If you're getting professional help for professional growth, don't take things personally!

After getting feedback, I was asked to present again..... and again..... and again until I did it right.  And oh, the video review was most horrifying!  I could hardly look at myself on the screen.  My face looked like a mirror ball that reflected all the light in that room.  Key learning?  Never go in front of the camera without make-up.  Style your hair so not even a tiny part of your eyes are covered.  Wear something that makes you feel good about yourself, and it has to be comfortable.

The key to a successful presentation is connecting to the people you are presenting to.  Look into their eyes and talk to them as if it was a two-way conversation.  Once you establish the connection, your tone, enunciation, facial expression and gestures will just naturally flow, and you may not even know it.  But what if you are presenting to a huge crowd--say in a huge hall filled with hundreds of people?  Well, split the room into quadrants.  Randomly select people in every quadrant and connect to them.  Then the rest of the people will just connect to you.

Of course, the other key to a successful presentation is really knowing what you are talking about.

The two day workshop was a torture, but it was an awesome torture.  It was like getting a deep-tissue massage after a long laborious day -- you feel a lot of pain in the process but in the end you are changed, refreshed and renewed!

I would do this workshop again in a heartbeat.  It taught me not only about how to make great presentations, but also all about presence.  I learned that "presence" is not just being there, but it's leaving a trail wherever you go.  Presence is leaving a footprint or making an impact.  Presence is spending 15 minutes with a person you just met and after a year or so that person may not remember your name, but he will remember you.

It also taught me so much about myself.  I was stunned at the realization that there is so much about me that I didn't know.  I thought all this time that I had a really strong accent and that I say a lot of 'aahs' and 'uhmms'.  None of those showed.  I realize that I am sometimes too hard on myself and that I do not give myself enough credit for hard work.  I realized that I am insecure about my being in the minority and I often hesitate to assert myself because I feel "this isn't my territory".  I realized that I have a lot of great ideas but I just don't say them because I fear people won't like them.  But I also realized that if I don't present my idea, somebody else will.

I learned that if I want to be great, I need to trust myself more, have confidence and really believe in what I can do.  And just stop holding back and do it!

For-Eva

Posting more photos of Eva here because I told her I would--that instead of Facebook, I would post them here.

She is sultry and sweltering hot!  I can only wish I have her body.

She takes really good care of herself.  She eats healthy, exercises regularly, takes naps and gets adequate sleep--something that I have been depriving myself of.  I sleep an average of 5 hours a day.  She reminded me that getting enough sleep will keep us looking young.  I'm inspired by her.  I have to do the same.

She knows how to work it too.  It was so easy and fun photographing her (even if we had to lift stuff and move furniture around).

She wishes to have a baby someday.  Oh, I think she's going to be a great mom!  Her baby is going to have the nicest of things!  And she's going to love him/her to death!  I wish she will be blessed with a child one day.

She has a big heart too.  She has a lot of "scholars" back in the Philippines--relatives, close and distant whom she sends to school.  She does not ask for anything in return other than to finish school and help others when it's their turn to make money.

Minerva is a beautiful person inside and out.  Everyone who knows her will agree with me.  She has gone a long way and lives a very comfortable life, but she remains humble and very kind.  She goes back home often and feeds pretty much anyone who comes to their house. I often tease her that if she runs mayor of Guindulman, Bohol, she will win without a doubt.

Thank you to my friend, Minerva for trusting me to take her photos!  I look forward to the next photo session with her.  October maybe--I'll be in Vegas again!

Eva

This is my friend Minerva  or "Eva".  I first met her in high school.  We weren't close and we didn't hang out--let's just leave it at that.  But she is one of the few people I know from home who migrated here in the US so we connected when I moved here, and we have since been good friends.

Eva isn't shy when it comes to photos.  She always dresses well, is always made up and loves being photographed.  She's posed for me quite a few times when we got together with other friends, but when I asked her once to pose for a boudoir session, she politely declined saying "she does not have the body to flaunt".  Of course, she was being modest but I never asked her again.

When I was in Las Vegas two weeks ago for a conference, we agreed to meet.  But it was the night of the Miss Universe pageant and after learning that Miss Philippines had a good shot at the crown, we both did not want to miss it.  So instead of going out, we brought dinner in and watched the pageant at my hotel room.

After a night of good conversations, super delicious Thai food, a disappointing pageant and a little bit of vodka, I took out my camera to take photos of her.  Imagine my surprise when she also pulled out a bag of sexy lingerie and said she's ready to pose for me in them.  She said she's only doing so because she knows the photos will come out decent and tasteful.  I was flattered.

I hope I did not disappoint her with these photos.  My flash broke earlier that day so I took these without adequate lighting.  We had to move around furniture and lamps inside the hotel room to get some good lighting.  Most of the photos came out dark and blurry--I had to discard more than half of what I took.  But these are a few that came out nice.

I think she's happy with these photos.  She said it was ok to post them in my FB account.  I said "hmm...maybe not".  She said, "It's ok. Afterall, I'm not naked!"  So I posted select ones there too and told her I would post the good stuff in my blog because all my friends here have artistic eyes.