KAYBIANG TUNNEL

Last Thursday was an unexpected day for me. It turned out great because I was able to go outside and take photos. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera so I just used my phone again. This was an unplanned road trip since we were just supposed to eat breakfast around town after our morning jog. We ended up in Kaybiang Tunnel and outside Caylabne Resort in Ternate. Being the aspiring photographer that I am, I took lots of photos I could. I was sad I couldn't bring my camera because the photos would have turned out much better than phone photos.

   

This is me on the top of the tunnel. (I used the Snapchat camera for this one since I was taking photos/videos for Snapchat too and they all got deleted before I even got the chance to post them. Boo.)

Kaybiang Tunnel was opened in the year of 2013. It is considered as the country's longest underground highway tunnel at 300 meters. (Wikipedia)

While on our way to Caylabne Resort, we saw this little store along the road so we stopped and bought dirty ice cream. We ate our ice cream while admiring this view. I didn't mind the heat of the sun because of how beautiful our view is.

These photos above are my most favorite shots I took outside Caylabne resort. It reminds me of how beautiful our world is and it makes me sad that some people just take it for granted. Maybe sometimes still I do too, because I don't pay much attention to it the past few years due to overly use of the internet but I'm gladly thankful that God introduced me to Photography because taking photos of nature makes me feel so blessed because I get to witness the beauty of it not just that day but every single day.

I hope starting today, we won't take everything for granted, whether it be people, things, the chances we take and the choices we make. God knows, I am starting to do it now.

P.S. I tried putting watermarks on my photos but i'm not sure if it looks good or not. I'm a very indecisive person when it comes to putting design on my blog. I will probably put watermarks on my photos sometimes, but most of the time I won't. Or maybe it'll depend on the photos I will post. We'll see. 

- A

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GETTING INTO PHOTOGRAPHY

I've told you guys countless times before on other posts how I love photography so much but I didn't explain much further how I'm progressing with my photography skills or if I'm not at all. So I'm gonna talk about it more on this post. First, let me share with you a few quotes that I know I can relate to or agree with.

"The Earth is art, the photographer is only a witness." - Yaan Arthus-Bertrand

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever, it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything." - Aaron Siskind

"A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it." - Irving Penn

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand." - Ansel Adams

Honestly, I don't remember the first time I started getting interested in Photography. But I think it was by the time I started using Tumblr. I follow some people who were reblogging super good photos of nature, portraits, landscapes, etc. It caught my attention so I got interested. Papa bought our camera (Canon 60D) back in 2010/2011 but I didn't learn how to use it immediately. There are a lot of buttons and settings and whatsoever. I guess I became lazy before because every time I try to use the manual setting, my photos won't turn out good or the way I want it to. I was devastated so I gave up. I would even read or google how to use it the way professionals do but I couldn't just get it. So, I stuck to using my phone instead. Until now.

Well, I can't say that I'm good at taking great photos using our camera but I can say that I've learned a lot and I'm better than I was before. I really try my best to learn and apply it. A few weeks ago, I was googling about beginner's photography until I found Josh Dunlop's blog about photography - www.expertphotography.com. I'm learning a lot from him compared to what I've learned before and I even started taking notes! If you're interested in Photography like I am, I suggest you check out his blog. 

Okay so I told you that I'm learning a lot but I haven't gone out to really try what I've learned. I know this is not an excuse but I've got no one to go with but I most probably will this coming week since my cousins will be available so I invited them to go with me. I told them we'll be having a photowalk/photoshoot and that they're gonna be my models. But honestly, I prefer taking photos of nature & landscapes than portraits but I think it's also a good start if I take portraits. 

Here are some of the photos I took using my phone: (post-processed on VSCO)

The most favorite thing I take photos of are skies/sunrise/sunset.

And here are some photos I took using the dslr: (post-processed in Camera Raw of Photoshop or the raw image processor of the dslr)

I've also learned that I should start taking photos in RAW. So I can edit them in the future and anytime I want. And I should put credits on my photos next time.

They may not be the greatest photos yet but according to Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." Maybe he means it takes a lot of practice, trial and error to get the photography effect that you want or will satisfy you. But every time you try and fail, your skills just get better and better and it's an experience. I think that's what's important. The journey is more important than the destination because that's the part where you experience everything. And I still have a lot that I need to learn or focus on.

Now that I'm starting and trying at Photography again, I can say that I'm finally happy. It's the thing I love the most about me. My passion about Photography. It's the feeling it gives me whenever I see a great picture and it makes me inspired to get out and try again every time I fail. So I thank God for the inventor/s of Photography.

What about you? What is your passion in life?

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VSCO CAM + VSCO GRID

Ever since I was 17 (I'm 21 now), I've been interested in taking photos of anything using a digital camera or a dslr. But when papa bought the dslr, I wasn't able to learn how to take photos properly or how to take a picture the way I want to, or or just the basics of using the dslr. I just simply point and shoot. 

But lately, I've been fascinated by the VSCO Cam app and it's VSCO Grid. I've been seeing a lot of beautiful pictures, post processed in VSCO Cam of course, and taking pictures myself, also! I also followed some people who take great pictures and edit them really good.

But since I haven't been going out lately, because we're renovating the house, I just take my time to find something to take a picture of. Like, the neighbor's roof or gate, or my sister. Haha. Or editing some of the old photos I found in my phone. Here are some of the photos I edited and posted in my grid with the filters I used:

LV3 from the Levis collection

HB2 from the Hypebeast collection

C1 from the Vibrant collection

M5 from the Fade collection

A6 from the Analog collection

E2 from the Essence collection

F1 from the Mellow collection

S2 from the Clean collection

G2 from the Portraits collection

You can check my other photos on louelle.vsco.co, if you have a VSCO grid, feel free to follow me :)

- A

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WEEKEND GETAWAY

Last Saturday, July 7th, me and my classmate Debbie decided to go to MOA to unwind. We’ve been doing a lot of school works that’s why we planned to go to MOA that day. Actually, we just decided to go to MOA that day, on Saturday morning! lol since our classes start 4:30 in the afternoon.. So we went to MOA. We just wanna do a “photowalk”, and we did! These are some of the pictures we took using Debbie’s digicam and my iPhone. (All of the pictures are edited by me.)

Took these using my iPhone. I am really amazed in how good its camera is. It’s like a DSLR camera. (These were edited, too.)

We had fun that day. I don’t know, I just enjoyed the day that we didn’t even care that we missed the second subject because of traffic. (We didn’t have the first subject because the professor was not around.) :)

- A

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