Thursday, January 31, 2013

Project 365: Week 1

One night, while I was in the office, I was looking for a camera app for my phone and I encountered Project365.  Then my head started asking questions, Can I really shoot 1 photo a day? Can I really take on this daily without forgetting?  Can I have add this to my daily routine?

During the start of the year, I had free time since I didn't have any scheduled shoots.  I felt that my photographic skills are deteriorating and I needed to keep on shooting no matter what the circumstances are.  

So I went ahead and downloaded the app 'Project 365', which forces me to shoot a photo a day for the whole year.  This app is tied to my mobile device(iPhone 4S) but I think it would be best to shoot with my camera(Canon 500d) in case I have it with me.  So my primary would be my DSLR, and secondary as my mobile device. 



January 24, 2013 #1 And It Begins

I started late for this side project (January 24, 2013).

#1 was shot with my iPhone.  The image on the right was shot on the night of 1/24/2013, same as the screenshot of the Project 365 app, bottom right is a self portrait shot 1/15/2013.  I put all of them together using Picsart app.  Images on the right were edited with Snapseed.

I like starting of with a collage as it puts together multiple shots. 
January 25, 2013 - #2 Safety and Security
At work, there are lockers that always mocked me to shoot them.  I finally had the chance to shoot it, since no one was around, and the security guard wasn't looking(oh yes, mobile phones and cameras are not allowed in the office). Shot with iPhone edited with Snapseed.

Series Spotlight: 'How I Met Your Mother' Renewed for Final Season


It's official! After much speculation, CBS has confirmed that 'How I Met Your Mother' will be renewed for its ninth and final season next year and Yes! Next year we will finally meet the Mother! 

Although it's taken more than 8 years to answer the question (I pity Ted's kids). It's been a wonderful 8 years! I've loved this series so much! 

If I wanted a good laugh with surprising awww moments then How I Met Your Mother has not failed to deliver. 

Book FInd! P99 for Hard bound Irving and Grisham books!


Every girl loves a sale, whether it is for dresses, shoes or make up. Like every other girl I love sales as well but there is another kind of sale that I love and that is a Book Sale! ^_^ 

Books can be very expensive so finding a great book in a book sale can be a real treat as well. 

I was recently at Robinson's Pioneer for my Mom's birthday lunch and I saw that National Bookstore was having a book sale. There were hard bound books for P99.00 only! (Woot! Woot! Jackpot!) 

So I quickly scanned through the books and found titles from some of my favorite authors- John Grisham and John Irving. 

I just loved John Grisham's 'A Time to Kill' I read it a long time ago, when I was in College (more or less 9 years ago) and it was just so amazing! It was deep, insightful and I remember the suspense level was way off the charts. 

Of course John Irving's The Cider House Rules' is another classic I really enjoyed reading, despite its telanovelaesque conflicts. 


It was a pretty easy decision to pick up the two books. :) P99.00 and they are hard bound! They would definitely be a good addition to our growing collection of books. 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Series Spotlight: The Following


I have recently been gripped by a new TV series- 'The Following' which stars Kevin Bacon, its a new TV series from Fox whose premise is about a serial killer who has recently escaped prison and the former FBI agent who caught him-pretty typical right? But that is where the similarities end because 'The Following' is nothing like any television series I have ever seen. 

Unlike other movie and TV series' serial killers there is something different about The Following's Joe Carroll, (played by the enigmatic James Purefoy) he has a network of followers who are at his beck and call and will do anything he tells them- anything

This 'Following' of Carroll's just makes things more difficult for former FBI agent Ryan Hardy (played by Kevin Bacon) since Carroll now has a source, ways and means for his sick and diabolical plans to come to fruition. -you can't trust anyone

Now, a serial killer inspiring others is not really a new concept since Hannibal Lecter also had his own 'follower' in the 'Red Dragon'- Carroll uses his followers in a grander scheme of things. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

100th blog post: My Rurouni Kenshin Poster and a nod from Isaac Marion


I think that is only apt that our 100th blog post will be about some of the things (both tangible and not) that we have gotten out of our blog. (Sort of like what we've reaped so far) My husband, Paul and I started this blog last year and within that time we've had 7,754 views. 

When we started out this blog we started it so that Paul has a medium to share his photos and I can write about things that I really want to write about. For me, it's really important to keep on writing or else you will just become dull and rusty over time and of course Paul also feels the same about photography-hence the blog. 

So in this 100th post we also wanted to thank you-our readers, followers or visitors. Even if you just visited our blog for one post out of curiosity or because you have a photo in there. Thank you for taking time for clicking that mouse and scrolling down the page. Hopefully you liked what you see and you liked what you read. Whether it is a photo blog, a product review, an event coverage or a book spotlight-thank you for being part of that 7,754- hoping that you visit us more in the future. 

You guys can definitely count on us to keep on taking photos, writing and blogging and you guys are more than welcome to join us along the ride. 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Book Spotlight: Warm Bodies




Honestly, Warm Bodies for me was a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting to be impressed as I was when I started reading the book. 

Unlike friends and most of the public I haven't really jumped the 'zombie bandwagon' I mean I don't like zombies. They're ugly, they're rotting and they eat you. 

That scene in the very first game of Resident Evil where in your character comes upon a zombie eating a human- flesh tearing, blood oozing out of the body; zoom in on the zombie, then zombie turns to you with pale white, rotting flesh, yellow eyes and blood in it's mouth - that very scene still makes up the stuff of my nightmares and this Resident Evil game came out more than 15 years ago. 

So no, I haven't been following The Walking Dead series and other Zombie media out there but this is were the pleasant surprise comes in. I don't like zombies but I did like the novel- Warm Bodies. 

I was not even planning to read the novel, it all started when my friend came from Full Booked with a copy of the sought-after novel. Why is it sought-after you ask? Well my friend had to make a reservation to get the book and they were a lot of other people who made reservations as well. Since my friend was currently reading another zombie novel, I started reading the book- just the first few pages-then I was hooked and about 9-10 hours later I finished it. 

In my whole life as a bookworm I have never ever finished a book in one sitting but that came easy with Warm Bodies. 

Why you may ask? Well for one thing it is very well written. There is wisdom and humor written in those pages which I was not expecting at all. There were so many lines I liked that I started writing them down. 


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Hayley Williams Collection for MAC


Woke up to great news! ^_^ 

MAC will be collaborating with my all time favorite Hayley Williams for a Spring collection this coming April! 

The tones will mostly be warm, more specifically they will be 'orange-y'. 

Right now, I'm still in the fan-girl momentum (I gotttsaaa...gottssaaa..have this!) but I don't really wear orange so I'm not really sure how to work it yet-if ever I do decide to get the collection. 



So here is what the collection is made up off: 


Book Spotlight: A Dance with Dragons


As I am currently writing this I’m still suffering from the effects of DWDWS (Dance with Dragons Withdrawal Symptoms) Yes! It’s a thing!

I stayed up way past my bed time earlier finishing the book and when it was time to wake up, I lost a long battle with my alarm clock. When I came to my senses, I was awake in bed thinking about how the characters would get out of their ‘out-of-the pan and into the fire’ situations (or if they would get out at all-alive). 

Then I realized that my husband and I were already late for work.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Cosplay Shoot: Shakugan no Shana


This is another super late blog post. Last October we had a Halloween Party in the office and of course with Halloween parties, comes costumes and the time to wear scary masks and the like. I decided on doing a cosplay, after all why put up all the effort just to look scary right? 

I decided to us 'Shana' from 'Shakugan no Shana' since we have the same body built. Research has led me to this great Cosplay shop on Facebook. Mame's Cosplay shop. You can rent/buy your cosplay needs from them. Any of my friends can tell you I'm not one for arts and crafts and sewing, so making my own costume would be far from reality. 

Good thing that there are cosplay shops that can help you with your cosplay needs :) I also ordered by contact lenses through Facebook. 

I just borrowed the wig and sword from my friend Kaye. I bought the stockings and borrowed the shoes from my sister. :) So I really didn't spend that much. ^_^ 


After work Paul and I had a little photoshoot while I was still in costume. Since I just rented the costume I had to return it after 3 days, so we made use of the chance that I was already wearing it. 


Monday, January 21, 2013

Our Adventures: Coron Day 5



Day 5 of our Coron Adventure was actually our last day :( Bohooo hoo! :(

But we still wanted to make the most of our trip so while our flight was in the afternoon we walked around the town (plus we had to get souvenirs) so we set out to this stall in the market that makes keychains and can even personalize them.  



Friendly neighborhood lizard. 
This lizard was actually lounging about in our hotel. Paul was just happy as he followed the lizard around clicking away. 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Our Adventures: Coron Day 4

Part of our boat :) 

FINALLY! We were able to upload our photos from our October Coron trip in the blog. So after all those months I am now blogging about Day 4 of our Coron adventures. 

Our guides promised a more relaxing trip for our itinerary compared to Days 2 and 3. For Day 4 we were heading out to the many white beaches in Coron! 

As mentioned before there are many different islands you can go to and some of these are nice quiet, white sand beaches-without the modern comforts and offerings of Boracay. 

Setting out to white sand beaches! Just check out the blue mountains! 



First Stop is Malcapuya Island! :) 

Welcome to Malcapuya Island! 

Monday, January 7, 2013

My J.CO Experience


*Disclaimer, photos were taken from my phone but edited through our trusty Abode Lightroom. ^_^ 


The J.CO story: Part 1: The line: Waiting in line before the store opens. 
I have heard of this ominous new Donut/Coffee store named J.CO with infamous lines that would go on even before the store opened. Some have even said that a normal waiting time in order to sink your teeth into these sought-after donuts was 2 hours! 

2 hours! That's already a whole movie and for what? A box of donuts?! As Sheldon Cooper said 'color me intrigued' and I definitely was. So when a branch of J.CO opened near where I work I grabbed the opportunity. 

Now, I'm not really one to jump into the band wagon but my team did deserve a little sweet treat and what better way than to satisfy their clamoring than with a box...err two boxes of this elusive donut brand. 

So even if the store was to open at 7:00AM we already set out before then and lo and behold there was already a line of eager patrons outside of the store. I don't remember people ever lining up for anything and it must have been a sight since Eastwood guards were also taking photos of the growing line. You could tell that they were given the task since there were two different guards with a camera each taking photos of the line (at different angles mind you!). 

As if by some cruel jape of the business deity-this was the golden hour, the perfect opportunity since night owls such as myself who work in the BPO industry clock out (log off/log out) and go home at this time; so it really is not a chore for them to line up before 7:00AM to take home some of this donut goodness (a midnight snack at 7:00AM is not so absurd in our world). It was definitely the stuff of which a business owners' dreams were made of. 

It could easily be deduced that the line was composed of people working in different Call Centers who were either on their way home or probably on their breaks and there we were in the line with them. 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

2012: A year in photos

2012 for us(me and Ica) has been a blast!  We shot projects that we never thought that we'd undertake.  It was a year of wrestling with work schedule, event shoots, post processing, writing and blogging.  We have learned a lot and still have lots to learn. 

Its hard to believe that we have lots of blog posts as we started posting our adventures, projects and what not at around 1st quarter of 2012.  We may not have been posting at a certain schedule but we still managed to wrestle with our time and manage to post right here.

Ica: So here is our 2012 in photos. Not much blogging here since we want the photos to do the talking. If you were a part of our 2012 thank you so much and if you want to be part of our 2013-let's make it happen! 

PCheng Photography: 2012- A year in photos: 

*For regular followers of our blog (sana meron!-assuming much!) we added some photos here that we have not posted yet! ^_^ 


April 24, 2012
Eleven band shoot.




Product Review: The Face Shop: Mini Floral Pet: Hand Cream


This was given to me as a gift from my good friend Haru and I absolutely love it! 
If you are not moved into a 'awww that is soo cuteee!' frenzy by the package alone then you have a heart of stone. Because just look at it! It is sooo cute! 

This Mini Floral Pet Hand Cream from The Face Shop is definitely a win-win buy. 
For about P 300.00 not sure of the exact price, you have this adowable (yup! adowable) container that has hand cream that is so soft and so fragrant. You definitely have no excuse to have rough and dry hands if you have this.  

Another great thing about this product is that I actually use it when there are strong scents in my hands and fingers like when I've been chopping onions or garlic. Sometimes when you wash your hands you just can't get the smell of onions or garlic off but with Mini Pet Floral that can easily be fixed and it does so it a subtle and fragrant way. 



Product Review: Etude House: Moistfull: Facial Moisturizer


Just like my Tony Moly Prestige Gel Liner product review, this is also a late review already since I purchased this Moistfull (facial) lotion in September of 2012. So I have been using this product for about 4 months now and I guess that gives me more to say about it. I bought this since I was looking for a good facial moisturizer. I did some research online and I found this product that seemed to do the trick when it comes to keeping your face moisturized. 


Product Review: Tony Moly: Prestige Eyeliner Gel

Not so brand new. You can already see the writing erased due to it being a couple of months old. 

This is actually already a late blog post since I made this purchase way back in September of 2012 (Paul bought it for me as an Anniversary gift). We did the product shoot for this in October, all this while thinking that we erased the photos but as I was going through our photos for our year end in photos lo! and behold! I saw the photos stashed away in one of our folders so here I am now months and months after making this late blog post. 

One advantage of writing this product review after a few months is that I've already been using the product for some time and here is what I have to say about it: 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Discovery: SoundCloud




I have recently discovered SoundCloud. Although this is not a new platform since it was developed in 2007. I came upon it by chance when I listened to a track by one of my favorite Japanese singers (Namie Amuro) which was posted on her facebook page. I was able to listen to the track by simply clicking on a SoundCloud link which was shared on Facebook and after that everything was just an avalanche. 


I immediately created a SoundCloud account and went about trying to learn the ropes of the social networking device. 

Although the purpose of the platform was for musicians to be able to share their music to fans and other musicians easily. It was also an avenue for music lovers such as myself to enjoy music :)