Project 365: June 2014

It's already 2015 and I haven't posted images for Project 365 from July 31-December 31 and on top of that I haven't blogged June to December yet! This was my mindset coming into 2015 and as promised I'll complete project 365 and so here I am continuing to blog about it although super late already :P

As I remember I was constantly evaluating light-wherever I go actually but I find myself still hesitant to pull out the camera to shoot at times. Despite all of this I still went on about and shot a few images that are outside my comfort zone.

Usually I just shoot at home and indoors, I rarely shoot outdoors - especially in the streets. 

Day 152 - The oldest nephew	Day 153 - This city(Pasig)	Day 154 - Bakery donuts(PAN de MANILA)
Day 155 - F. Ortigas Jr. Road	Day 156 - Figuring things out	Day 157 - Self portrait
Day 158 - Hitting the books again	Day 159 - From the dark side	Day 160 - Thor

One of those scenarios where I went out of my comfort zone was going out into the streets in the evening. It really is a challenge but I got a few shots down in spite of the under exposed images I still have a few decent shots(days 153, 155, 161, 167, and 168). 

Day 161 - Waiting for a ride	Day 162 - Our Independence	Day 163 - On a day like this
Day 165 - Acoustic performance	Day 166 - Poor bird	Day 167 - On a stand still
Day 168 - Towards the light	Day 169 - Evaluation	Day 170 -  Kurt Wagner

I was fortunate enough to get to shoot in a few events like the Independence day celebration in a mall(Day 162), live performance of a band(Day 165) and Toycon(Day 172).  Even if I only had a few (paying) gigs that month I still didn't give in to laziness and kept at it. 

Day 171 - The big blue sky	Day 172 - Facing them	Day 173 - Old jeans
Day 174 - Simplifying	Day 175 - Is that smog?	Day 176 - Decorated ceilings
Day 177 -  Having a break	Day 178 - Father daughter moments	Day 179 - Day break

As the end of the month approaches, I just kept at it.  There was a point in the year where I was already thinking of what the image would look like.  While I shot the last of the images of June, I had no thought of post processing images in black and white. When I was about to post process days 178,179, 180 and 181 ended up black and white because of the black and white challenge.  

Day 180 - Relentless	Day 181 - Dried fish

As I complete the 6th month of 2014, I still have some apprehensions and hesitations but if I let them take a hold of me, none of the shots that I have now will be possible.  Just don't let it matter and just keep clicking.

Team PCheng 2014 Recap: A look back at the year that was

2014 was a big year for us. We had big projects and arguably more projects that we ever had and we're very grateful for that- it just shows that all our hard work is finally paying off. Aside from the increase in projects we also got new equipment to help us with all the Team PCheng work, until recently Paul and I would have to share with my old HP laptop when working on photos for him and writing blog posts for me. Now this old HP laptop, is really old and really slow, we suspect some hardware problem with the heat sync or the cooling pad, or the thermal paste with the processor, something like that (I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about-because I don't). Basically the laptop overheats so much that it's so slow we have to put electric fans in front of it just so we can (barely) use it. But last August 2014 I won a freaking iPad mini! (Thank you Sky Cable! ^_^)

Julz Savard of Save Me Hollywood opening for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
in March at Eastwood City. 

The plan is to have the laptop fixed - you know just in case we need to bring work with us or maybe travel and work at the same time or have work as travel (any excuse just to travel, because we're not just a couple of nerds who like to stay at home to watch movies and DVDs, we like to travel too! And my wish for 2015 is to get to travel more :p Even if it means bringing work along-we do 't mind). 

So going back to the recap - Paul and I had to take turns using the really slow laptop, so having the iPad, I got to do blogging and some social media managing on the tablet while Paul worked on photos on the laptop. Before the year ended though we were finally able to get a new PC (thanks to our 13th month pay) and so even if it's not the PC specs that Paul would have liked it definitely has made things faster for us. It's really important for me to mention this upgrade as I am eternally grateful for it, especially when I think about how we would have to take turns with the old laptop before but now we each can get some work done at a faster and more efficient speed. Definitely a big highlight for our 2014! ^_^

We were tapped by Tokyo Bubble Tea to feature their new Milo Series of Drinks as well as other yummy food - hoping to get to blog more about food this year -
gotta watch the waist line though! :P 

Although we, for some reason covered less music shows, concerts and gigs for this year (blame our ugly schedule, which aside from night shifts also meant working on weekends) we got to have a wider scope of things to cover and blog about. For one, it was our first year to be part of Nuffnang which meant more blogging opportunities for us. We got to attend a couple of blocked screenings and win and enjoy prizes - remember all those Cadbury chocolate?! Yup- all thanks to Nuffnang! Definitely looking forward to more blogging opportunities with them and maybe win even bigger prizes in 2015. 

And as if we were cementing our foot hold in the blogging community, it was also our first time to attend Blogapalooza - we had fun even if we were dead tired since once again we had to come from work :p Will definitely attend this year but will make more preparations (file leaves and get enough rest) ^_^

Sealed with a kiss. Our biggest project up to date getting to cover the
wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Dayanghirang.
#DevAndEmEverAfter

Carvings at Pinto Art Gallery in Antipolo. 

This 2014 we also got to blog and feature a couple of galleries and attend opening of art exhibits of some artist friends. Hoping to get to do more of that in 2015 ^_^ 

We also officially became a partner blogger for Amplify.ph :) so even if we haven't been covering as much local gigs as we would have wanted, we got to feature a lot of up and coming local acts on the blog. We even got to meet Iligan based band Loop when they came over to Manila and for us who support local music as much as we do it was really an honor. It was like a culmination of our 2014 support of OPM. While there was a decrease in covering local gigs we got to do more album/EP reviews this year and I'm looking forward to doing more in 2015.

Iligan based band Loop during the Route 196 show of their Manila tour. 

Noticeably we had more projects this year- we have been tapped to cover weddings, birthdays, christening and a couple of team shoots. Even if it meant loosing rest and sleep at times, Paul and I went ahead and pursued these projects. It was an honor being able to capture memories in photos. Throughout 2014, Paul and I also continued on with our crusade to bring printed photos back in this day and age, where everything is digital and every one is just happy uploading everything on social media but Paul believes that photos just shouldn't end on your timeline but should be printed as well. I guess that's just our being 'old' :P For 2015 we will definitely continue on printing photos and sharing that with not only our clients but with people we meet. I'm hoping to get to buy an Instax, so we can have photos printed (through polaroids) right away. Maybe in the future (or in this year) we can include that in our photography packages. ^_^

2014 was a big year for us and as we begin with the first few days of 2015, Paul and I will continue to treat everything as we had like one big misadventure. Thank you for everyone who has been part of our 2014, whether you were a client, a follower or a reader, thank you so much for the support! Hoping that you'll join us for another crazy ride in 2015.

Click HERE for More Photos of our 2014 Recap! 

What 2013 Taught Me

Thorns in the wind. Photo by Paul Cheng. 

Do you know how people say- this wasn't their year? Well 2013 didn't really end well for me - for two months (September - October) I've been feeling down and all this started one fateful September night when the world as I knew it turned upside down. 

I was wrongly accused and 'punished' for something I didn't do. Although I won't be going into the details since this blog post isn't about what happened to me but how I was able to pick myself up and move on. I mean when I was ten years old I woke up to find out my father had passed away so I'm pretty much used to the universe throwing shit in my way. 

Needless to say I did go through a period of depression but through the grace of God and the love and support of my family and friends I was able to dig myself out of the hole I put myself in. 

Before I got officially over the depression though, it got worse when December came around but now that I'm okay I can feel and enjoy the cool December breeze. (it's colder up in Antipolo) and I was also able to admire the Christmas lights. Even Paul who doesn't really get excited about Christmas started the practice of opening the Christmas lights on the tree. 

Our tiny but mighty Christmas tree and the presents for family underneath, which Paul would light up in the evenings. Photo taken two days before Christmas.

For the first time in a long time I finally feel happy and content and I am ever grateful to God for allowing me to be healed from my wounds. It's not like he waved a magic wand and made all the pain go away; there will definitely be some scars and I might be tempted to pick at the scabs from time to time. 

Shit does happen, some shittier than others but what matters is that you clean yourself up and carry on. 

Whether we like it or not there will always be bumps on the road, it can never really be just smooth sailing along the way. No matter how much lying in bed, crying your eyes out while eating ice cream and watching cheesy shows sounds appealing when you are down and sad, you will really have to pick yourself up sooner or later. Sometimes you might force yourself to get better because of responsibilities and because your family depends on you (like in my case) but you should never forget that the person that you should be the utmost reason of getting yourself out of a rut is no other than yourself. 

Warm sunlight through the trees. Photo by Paul Cheng.