1999 Graphic Design

Fresh from university, I badly wanted to enter the adveritising industry. With no graphics experience, I tried to create something bold and eye-catching. 

I was able to land my first professional job using this flyer printed on mimeo paper. I was only 20 years old when I printed this for the first time. I want to find that fire in my belly again.

My first DSLR set

Whoa! It has been a great adventure exploring what my new pink Pentax K-r can do and I am not sure if I even scratched the surface. After hundreds of useless clicks, I was able to produce these photos.

These ones were taken at a notorious cruising place in Adelaide called Apex Park. It is also a quiet place for some wild birds to make babies. Goodness, this place is just so sexual!

I think the West Terrace Cemetery is the biggest in South Australia so it is inevitable that I visit it (being the morbid creature I am). I experimented with the camera's HDR capability so I decided to take advantage of it.

Lens Lust

 

I can actually remember the first time I picked up a camera. I took a photo of my father walking towards a swimming pool resort in the Philippines. I do not have the shot anymore but he is on the left side of the frame and the rest shows only the blue sky.

My second model is my sister as I asked her to sprawl on the stairs and I am sure it was not the most comfortable place to put your back on. I really wanted to do more shots but films were too expensive.

My family had a very simple point and shoot camera back then but I have already decided that I would buy myself a very good camera.

In Bangkok, I was able to buy another point and shoot but a bit of a high end. It is the Fuji S6500 and this is where most of the photos on this webiste come from. I had a lot of fun with it but I was still not happy.

A week ago, my Pentax K-r arrived from Hong Kong and it has been a struggle getting to know it. In a few weeks, I will be able to show some of my early creations with this pink baby.

RAW in the Barossa

It was the ANZAC holiday and it was the long weekend. Apart from working on Steven's family's backyard, I had time working on my photography.

I have not shot in RAW for about a year and this season's landscape begged for it.

Like It Is (play)

"Like It Is" is another multi-media presentation included in Adelaide's Feast Festival. Like "Journeys Made", this is also directed by Daniel Clarke and was staged at the Bakehouse Theatre.

I was shocked when I saw drinks were allowed inside the performance venue. I am not talking about water or softdrinks--I am talking about wine and beer. I did get used to it before the performance started.

As the audience were finding their seats, actors were walking around and taking thumbprints of many people, measuring, and oggling. I was very close to the stage and I was the only Asian there so I was a huge target (and yes, I am getting fat!).

The piece includes video clips of Adelaide people talking about the gay lifestyle, gay marriages, coming out and other aspects of gay life. The six young performers also talked about personal accounts of possibly their lives. Sometimes, it is easy to feel the nerves of the actors but most of the time, they seem to be enjoying it. I expected stronger emotions though but I guess they are just nervous.

The material in general is very entertaining but neither informative nor thought-provoking. One great part of this piece is it is very local. It does not pretend to be universal. It merely depicts the gay life/lives in Adelaide.

Journeys Made

I am so glad that I took a chance to answer an ad a fellow Filipino sent me. A few months ago, an Adelaide-based artist Daniel Clarke was looking for gay migrants to share their stories so that they will be a part of a sound installation piece that he collaborated with Jason Sweeney and Nicola Connor.

Journeys Made is one of the several events featured in Adelaide's Feast Festival. It was started by the parade and a huge picnic will close it.

A week ago, Steven and I went to the first unveiling of the 40-minute piece in Port Adelaide. It was a very beautiful collage of private thoughts from different people and I am sure it will appeal to all gays and lesbians.

Anyway, I won't say more because I am part of it.

Click here for the official Feast website.

Click here for a review.

Vandalised Cemetery

I do not know the name of this cemetery but it sparked my interest because it looks old and very desolate. There are many cemeteries in Adelaide and this one is only a few kilometres from our flat and I always pass by it on our way to the city.

A few months ago, many of the graves and tombstones were vandalised by some teenagers. They were never caught. Steven commented that people like that are the worst of the worst because those buried have no way to defend themselves from being violated.

Aiza Seguerra in Bangkok

She started in showbusiness when she was only 3 years old. Before she turned 5, she was the most bankable actress in Philippine cinema. She left the spotlight for a while and she returned as a serious musician. She came out before she was 18 and now she is adored by Filipinos in a different craft.

I have some of her albums (one of which was recorded when she was only 9 years old). My classmates used to laugh at me but that time, I really knew she was going to be really big.

After watching The Dark Knight in IMAX, I stumbled upon this poster of Aiza Seguerra. Yes, her album "Open Arms" is available in the most popular mall in Bangkok, Siam Paragon. Apparently, it is released in many South East Asian countries.

It is 600 THB so I have to wait until I get back in Manila to purchase her CD. I am sure it is going to be cheaper there. I am so proud of her.

Top 10 US Soldiers' Pastimes

Compiled by Dexter Mejia (http://dextermejia.blogspot.com/)

10. Put up a MySpace profile so they can collect names of people they will fuck upon returning to the US.

9. Sell guns and ammos to the enemies.

8. Get drunk on camp and pick fights with comrades.

7. Shoot comrades they had a fight with and report them as "killed in action".

6. Douse prisoners with buckets of water while they hang almost upside down and tell everyone that it is not a torture.

5. Get dogs to bite naked prisoners and tell everyone that their supervisor ordered them to do it.

4. Rape exotic women and get stationed to another base where there are more exotic women. Woohoo!

3. Treat local animals like shooting target practices.

2. Treat local kids like shooting target practices and tell local authorities that the kids looked like local animals.

1. Smile everytime an American (especially a presidential candidate) says they are modern heroes.

Bear Series

One thing that I do when I am bored (aside from chasing men) is taking photos. I took one of my teddy bears and used it as my model.

Click on each photo to see the original size. I hope you like them.

Earth from Above (exhibition)

Artist: http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/

It is amazing to see dozens of people looking at the pictures of this exhibition. The pieces are laid out back to back with plants to keep the window from toppling them to the ground. And the pairs are arranged in spirals and curves.

I am impressed with the photographer's camera because all of the shots are taken from a moving helicopter. He definitely has very long zoom lens that will also allow him to take clear pictures while moving. The details of the images are just amazing.

But there questions haunting me as I look at the photos. He is advocating the preservation of natural resources and the slowdown of climate change but what about his carbon footprint? He has to ride airplanes to be able to reach all the continents in the world. At the same time, he must have taken dozens of chopper rides to do his work.

I would really like to see if he has planted a whole forest to compensate for the carbon emissions involved in this venture.

World Press Photo (exhibition)

Photos from http://www.worldpressphoto.org/

I love photography but it was only a couple of years ago that I was able to buy my own camera and I spent a lot of money on it. Since then I decided that I would concentrate on profiles.

Last Thursday, I went to a photo exhibition advertised on the Bangkok Post so I went there with my own digital camera and took pics of my favorites.

One of which is a picture of a man cradling a wounded man. They are participants of a gay pride in Hungary. It was only taken a few years ago and some people attacked them. It is sad and scary that some people hold so much hatred for other people.

I also liked the portraits of Benazir Bhutto and Vladimir Putin. The Thai photographs discuss very limited topics and many of them are staged. I thought this is about photojournalism.

Anyway, I do not think I have the stomach to be a photojournalist. I am easily affected by the things around me to make it objective.

Develter Art (exhibition)

I went to a nice painting exhibition last night at the Sofitel Silom. I was impressed with the paintings but I was surprised with the crowd.

It was full of young gay people! Many of them were not even looking at the paintings. I felt like I was in Bed Supper Club (a high-class disco in Bangkok) but then I have not been there.

The name of the artist is Christian Develter and his website is www.develterart.com