Category: Mobile Photography

Drama and Social Media Publishing

The Magic of Drama

A lost art indeed is the art of potrayal, many have been the victim of hyper publishing that drama is a lost art. Every media content out there is based on duplicity of one thing an algorithmic race towards the absurd prize of view counts and temporary fame that fades in a span of 3 months more or less. The 15 minutes of fame or 15 seconds of fame may now be realized by the users of social media and the consumer of Cable TV. A factual reality of hyper data consumpltion.

During the times of publishing 1 material per month to 1 material per week and the most hard time table is the 5 day stretch of 5 materials per week, a weekend rest then a restart. It was fun but tiring, each concept or material was thought of and carefully planned, producers pay money to make people see something beautiful Me myself It takes me days to make a Youtube video that is worth posting then editing and sound design for a separate day. Neglecting my drama and skill for portrayal it outputs a good material but with a taste of slack.  So for me to finish a 1 man production, I would need a 5 day work flow to output a good video polished ready for consumption. Rehearsing my lines and the magic of drama makes the difference.

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL JUNK MEDIA

Now 2023 we can say that imagery and poor portrayal is the pinnacle of content media. Bedroom banters and hyper screen writing. Let’s try to write a script in 5 minutes for a Youtube video.

EXT: ROAD – DAY

Man walks towards the checkpoint. He talks with a friend.

Man
Hey Kamusta na ang mga bagay bagay

Man2
Ayus lang naman, Malayo pa ba?

Man
hindi malapit na yan.

Man 2
Nandiyan na ba tayo?

Insert
face of man (Are we there yet face)

Man
Ayan na malapit na ang dulo ng walang hanggan.

Man2
Natatanaw ko na.

Man
nanabik na me.

Man 2
ako din.
(sexualization of tone and gesture)

Insert
Hot sun .

Man 1
nandito na tayo pare?

A hot girl appears wearing bikini.

Man2
Ang sarap…. Ang sharaap sharaap!

Man1
Oo ang sharap sharap!

Woman
Samalamig Samalamig kayo diyan samalamig.

Woman gives men a thirst quencher drink.

2 men party and drink with woman in bikini.

insert
Drink brand

Fades out.

It took me 5 minutes to write a silly scene like this .

This is the quality of material we see now on social media a 5 minute script and a simple multiple angle shoot the viola a good camera and microphone you get A grade material worth 5 minutes. I never did even think of sensible lines to hint and create misdirection towards the fact that they are thirsty.

ERROR OF TODAY
Error in my script is, How can the observer understand that they are walking and thirsty? What is the connection of sexualization towards the drinking of a beverage? Why are they walking in a freeway? A lot of gaps that needs to be filled in pre production and post but in today’s time who cares about that?

3 Point Lighting Recap as an Idea

BANGING OF LIGHT
Light touches another is like a union of sensations. A subject when touched by two light sources is like a good old delicious sandwich. 1 point or 1 source of light is not enough to make a good photo. 2 light sources creates a mergence of two light sources creating an extra dimensional feel. Let me illustrate this. In the day we have 1 light source that is the sun and in the night we have the moon. 2 point lighting and 3 point lighting creates the sensation of having an extra dimension impossible to our native or primal senses. Here is an example of 1 point lighting photo.

KEY LIGHT

See the light that touches the subject makes it seen with enough drama such as chiaroscuro a contrasting image that makes a person think directly to observe. Observing these types of images tickles the mind for it is normal and primal and touches the inner guts of experiencing life. It is familiar, normal and full of direct seeing or observing. It evokes the past and what is everyday life. It makes us feel and remember the day or what can be tommorow the dimension of normalcy or the mundane expressed in a drama.

FILL LIGHT

2 point lighting now creates a mergences of 2 light sources. We all know that more light creates a more quality photo. An image with more light sources in 2 positions now creates the extra dimension that most people do not experience. A house with lots of light sources is illuminated and creates a magical appearance compared to a house with one light source per room. The magic of light now is created in 2 point lighting. See the mergence of light in the face of the subject. This gives us the sensation of something extraordinary, the unfamilliar the impossible in our primal brains. This technique emerged and became the standard for most for it creates that feel of having that extra dimension beyond what is normal or the expanded drama of what is and what is possible. Compared to what is 2 point lighting it creates an additional layer of dimension that evokes and sees the future while the 1 point lighting makes us feel what is real and makes us re think the past and what is.

BACK LIGHT / HAIR LIGHT

3 point lighting is the crowning glory of graphing light, photography made this the standard and in film because it made people look like royals infront of the camera. The hair light and back light made them like the holy saints of religious culture. Think about the aura, how can a person produce an aura in the physical world? The hair light or back light made this happen, a sense of royal divinity in photo imaging. This 3 point lighting technique is used in most glamour shoots and portrait shoots to create that feel of importance and royal status even though the person is not a real royal to the nation but a royal to its people as a sub culture and a society.

Enjoy 3 point lighting and my views about it, make use of it as a creative process and expression, my claims and ramblings about light and photography is not set in stone, we are forever evolving in understanding printing and light. The graphing of light continues to evolve even if Ai is kind of winning the game let us embrace the old techniques that are neglected and forgotten in time let’s keep and recelebrate the methods for the futures to come.

Fractal Orgone Pyramid Idea

Hello this is a blog post about the Orgone Infinity Concept Shoot, it is composed of a Citrine sphere stone, a Pyramid Orgone and two mirrors. The basic idea is to just create an infinite look or evoke and expansive feeling when you see the photograph, seeing the artwork behind orgone items I figured this will be a cool blog post.

CAMERA AND LENS

I will use a Nikon Entry level 3500 camera for this one, a low budget concept shoot for the website. Lenses I used are 11 – 50mm AF-P and 70 – 300mm AF P kit lenses. The two lens usually is with the d3500 camera as a package. AF-P lenses has good AF response and focusing system.

FIGURING IT OUT

The basic idea was in my head due to going to barber shops. As a kid it is amusing seeing an infinity effect on a face to face mirror, you see multiple versions of the same thing it is trance inducing while getting a haircut, experiencing that  made it memorable. I decided to create something of that nature and used the orgone pyramids I bought months ago. I placed it in a pattern like manner and took a photo. It looks good now lets duplicate this and make this like a sea of orgone pyramids.

THE CHALLENGE

 

First problem I had is how do I take a photo of the infinity when my camera is too big. If I buy a big mirror that would be really expensive. Taking the photo with a camera on the right or left side to be erased in photo editing was an option but doing it seems hard. I can’t fit the camera inside the frame and the only camera I have that is small is the Nikon sb5100 point and shoot. My phone was an option but its quality is not that good in my mind.

NOT ENOUGH MINERALS



 

Not having enough money to buy a micro camera (go-pros) or even do the amount of work necessary to materialize my imagination I decided to work around the subject by changing angles taking sample photos making the most of what I can capture just to get a feel on what will be possible and what approaches could work.

Camera placement and angles was explored, sometimes adapting to the condition is a better option than buying your way into a desired situation. Film making made me realize that quick.

TAKING THE PHOTOS

Doing my thinking for a couple of days before doing my formal shoot and concept I decided to slack and just have fun doing the shoot, it took me a couple of hours to finish my shot by just taking multiple focused exposures and using the infinity concept as a peripheral rather than my main focus. Taking good photos over obsessing with the idea. I still managed to get some infinity effects on camera but I will not publish all of it in this website. You can contact me to see it via email contactus@martinbelgica.com

Here is a Gallery of some Images I took with some processing.

ORGONE INFINITY
Produced in MJB STUDIOS
Produced by Majos Belgica
Camera : Nikon 3500
Lightsource : 50watts Bulb 
Lens : Nikkor AF-P DX 18 – 55mm
 and AF -P  DX 55 – 300mm 

Studio Moments for 2023 Pre Purchasing

             Hello 2023. The 50 watts bulb for the cheap softboxes just came. Price is like 5 dollars per bulb, around 500 Philippine pesos. I tested it to see if it will work compared to continous light Yungnuo. I am having struggle to complete my budget for this small studio. My purchasing month will be march and before I can use the studio for projects it will take time, for now let me show you some of the pictures the studio can produce pre purchasing of equipment. #Hardtimes.

I took my Video light and plugged the softbox. It looked like shit.

But lets still check on how the lights would look based on a wall background rather than a Cloth or paper backdrop.

NIKON COOLPIX SB5100

Nikon Sb5100
Nikon Sb5100

I used 2 cameras for testing, the Nikon point and shoot sb5100 and my Oppo Reno6. Oppo has good exposures while the old Sb5100 is kinda struggling with the Auto Focus so I had to take a number of shots just to get something in focus.

In monochrome
In monochrome
Underexposed Photo using Coolpix SB5100
Underexposed Photo using Coolpix SB5100

Old Nikon Cameras can still produce good images but you can tell the developments from modern coolpix cameras that sb5100 is very old. Last photo for the Nikon Coolpix.

The light was received okay using the coolpix but not as good as newer Coolpix cameras. My exposure meter was right on the middle not overexposed but just right.

OPPO RENO 6

The Oppo Reno6 had better exposures but the quality is much more less in terms of texture and pixel. The technology and Ai of the oppo produced better looking pictures but with less quality.

I had fun with the Oppo its focus system was better and it was just tap tap tap. A very usable device to take decent portraits for Social Media and blogs. Who needs a Bridge and a point and shoot?
“I still prefer point and shoots though. Shhhhhh….”

Mobile Portraits is fun. I am not into portrait photography but sometimes I take photos of family and friends. It is not my forte but it is also a fun style or type of photography. Taking portraits is also one of my lack in terms of photographic imaging and style. I am planning to venture in depth with this style in the future. Portrait photography is also the unescapable image for everybody wants to be photographed and be seen in a rectagular space or square. It brings memories or maybe just pure vanity.

I can’t post family portraits here or portraits I took cause it feels weird to post family pictures specially if it is your family. I can post maybe some simple portraits just for reference on how I take portraits. One is landscape square and one is a traditional portrait.

 

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY NAHHHH!!!

Some say that cropping is done not on the joint but I just think of it this way, do not crop out of context of your shape. That is my simple rule but if you do not like my rule then shit. I suck at portraits. I just prefer to crop in context of the shape. A round face must be contained what is within that round face must be expressed. It is that simple cropping rules can go to the trash bin but most of the times cropping rules still fit with my technique I just don’t like thinking of it. 

SELF PORTRAITS

Self portraits is just selfies. It is challenging and fun and so the only thing I can do with it is to practice my posing, my gestures and my directing as per models. To know how to direct a model is to slightly know how it works.

So to end this blog is to just say lets hope this studio goes somewhere in the future and produce good photographs to be published and be seen by the people who supports it. 

Guava photography martin belgica mobile photography

Myphone WX2 Pro Photo Samples

Self Portraits were Uploaded on instagram but due to Social Media Frenzy I bailed out and deleted everything, just bear with my laziness and hope most people get back to their senses. It is much worse than you can imagine. The frenzy is way beyond human mundane thinking. The world is insane. Think tech hysteria with a twist. 

Nissin Cup noodles with crab sticks

Month of April Mobile Photography Update for Myphone MyXl1 Plus

Here are update photos for Myphone Myxl1 Plus Month of April

Photos are completely random to see all go to my instagram account Martin Joseph Belgica (@mbphotographymyphone) • Instagram photos and videos

Now shifting to the MyWx2 Pro I plan to take portraits stay tuned on instagram.

Vello bracket Setup with Myphone mobile phone

MyPhone Vello Bracket Setup

Doing Mobile Photography with smartphones using Myphone Myxi1 Plus, sometimes lacks things like extra key light and the usage of bokeh effect with light so I decided to gear things up with my vello brackets.

Vello bracket Setup with Myphone mobile phone 

Vello bracket Setup with Myphone mobile phone[/caption]

I put up 2 Andoer Video lights and a vello bracket CB 510 and a clamp on with a wide angle Clip on lens.

Singing Bowl Photo taken using Myphone Mobile Phones
Singing Bowl Photo taken using Myphone Mobile Phones
Stuffed toys Bear and Bunny Photo taken using Myphone Mobile Phones
Stuffed toys Bear and Bunny Photo taken using Myphone Mobile Phones

It might look stupid for some but it can create a different type of photo a different look and feel.

 

Will resume taking photos for instagram with my phone in a couple of days. 🙂
Follow my instagram

Martin Joseph Belgica (@martin.belgica) • Instagram photos and videos

Martin Joseph Belgica Self portrait 3 Overexposed

Skin Color and Exposures

It is interesting how skin color is based on light particles hitting the subject. Two images one is underexposed adjusted in post and other is overexposed adjusted in post.

Underexposed Photo(left) Corrected on post (right) 

Overexposed Photo(left) Corrected on post (right) 

More light means whiter complexion and less light means darker complexion. The main character of the image is based on the captured exposure that dictates the quality of the skin. 2 stops above and below could give you the desired base for adjustments.