Category: Street Photography

Japan A trip of Questions and Amazements

Posted on by martinbelgica

Japan Nihon…

A very interesting space on earth. A land full of culture and heritage leaping with technological force. Seeing Japan is like acquiring a cube. A land with different faces. My family went to Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto. I being a very relaxed person, do not push forward towards something without the necessary training to perform tasks. Japan was a strong land to deal with and so my Nihongo was my downfall. Interesting people are Japanese people without a decent amount of Japanese words counts to me as not taking photographs based on the standards of the land, expect my photographs to be just a beginner level Nihon taking photos of a very advanced level Nihon. Japan is an advanced subject to tackle, I was not prepared to take it on and so we step back and see what can be photographed and what is the proper ways to capture Japan on a standard of a ‘BAKA’ (Idiot).

OSAKA JAPAN

1st to tackle is the streets of Osaka Japan, Osaka is a lively place with a lot of infrastructure and interesting people, Osaka is a friendly place with a tint of modern living. We stayed at a building in Tanimachi 9 Chome with good air conditioning and a safe neighborhood. What you can do there is visit the night life and eat some good ramen.

 Stores are also present if you are into shopping tech and Japanese items for consumption or to take back home as a tourist. Osaka nightlife is kinda shaded with the artificial lights of signs giving the vibe of a cultural phenomenon of strictly business in Osaka japan.

People are blurry while the Osaka city lights shines well. Moving photographer capturing at shutter speed. 1/160 f/8 ISO3200

there are a lot of shops and bars inside Osaka Japan. In Tanimachi 9 Chome where I stayed it was quiet enough to sleep but when you want to party, be kinda loud(Not so much) and enjoy, the trains station is just around the corner where you can just ride to a near machi or town and have a go. Having friends in Japan is super required and is pleasurable for you can visit easily if you have the luxury of time and money. 

 Food in Osaka is delicious, I tried a ramen house with the family and enjoyed it very well, also some udon Yakisoba was sweet and superb.

KYOTO JAPAN

Kyoto the samurai vibes, A very cool relaxed town in Kyoto Japan. People with kimono and also Bhuddist temples all over the place. It was a nice place to visit and have fun. To feel and experience the diverse religious beliefs of Japan from Shinto to Bhuddism and beyond, Kyoto must be on your list. The strict appearance of Kyoto and its people will be the testament of what Japan is. Experiencing the place makes you think of what the world really is.

The Bamboo forest of Kyoto japan is a place to take deep insight towards the beauty of nature. The natural parallel forms of the bamboo touched by the light of the heavens makes you turn towards the soul or the divine just being there.

People are seeing the wonders of the bamboo forest. Assisting each other as they walk towards the pathways.
the light on the background spills forward towards the observer. The parallel lines of the bamboo creates a filter or buffer of light.

NAGOYA JAPAN

What can I say about Nagoya Japan? Interesting people live in Nagoya, you will see a lot of cosplay, good food, gaming culture and a good marketplace. You can find everything in Nagoya Japan. Sadly we only stayed 2 nights in Nagoya but the place was kind of relaxing and home like.

TRAIN MADNESS

The train stations in Japan is very effecient but due to my lack of Nihongo it is kinda confusing. The subway system is vast and impressive. Taking yourself all over japan is like just taking train rides to places. It is very fun but confusing. It is like a maze transferring from platform to platform and train to train. Having decent nihongo and knowing how to read kanji will make your trip much more fun. 

 

Going back to Japan is a natural tendency. Studying their language adds the fun to Japan. Not knowing anything about their language is a big ‘NO’ due to the people not really answering back in english but in Nihongo. They have love and pride towards their own culture and preserving it is sensed. English speakers are found in Government establishments and Hotels but as for the people of Japan it is not in their mind I think or purposefully not their intention to start speaking English for Non-Japanese tourists. I do know they can speak English I can see it in their jaw, but I tell you they will not and that for me is a good thing. 

Till next time 
SAYONARA 🙂 NIHON 🙂 

New Year FIreworks 2023

Posted on by martinbelgica

Happy new year everyone. 2022 was not a blast but a transitionary phase extending 2021 post covid paradigm to 2022. Now that it is 2023 the question in my mind is what will be this year? My plans this year is to open the Majos Studios for work and fund it for film and photography jobs. I basically need a couple of million pesos to make this happen with an estimated quarter of a million annual expense. Where will I get the money? I still do not know where to get it based on current economic demands and situations. Photography has been challenged for the past 3 years, everyone seems to be doing photography for fun and imagery is evolving into a more metaverse metafi type of way. Images are no longer for the moments but for the rarity and aesthetics. This is a downside for me for I prioritize the moments over the quality of the photo, or is it me being lazy.

THE CHAMBA EFFECT

I like the chamba effect it surprises me and increases my sensitivity towards my photography, sometimes a good moment is just nearby, getting your camera ready to shoot is a fun feeling. In a photography most of the time the value is seen in post rather than during the shoot or during the capturing of moments. A lot of things are happening during a shoot that your mind cannot precisely see value, even if you write everything down and create the image piece by piece in a studio, values starts to emerge during post. The contemplative effect of processing for me made me realize that as a fact. I may be wrong but my style of photography taught me that.

Exploring the chamba effect this 2023 will be lessened due to me opening up a studio. This will be a challenge for me for I need to think of ways to create value not based on what is happening but based on what will according to my fixed sets of elements inside a small studio. I am thinking to start with the glamour project but that could lead to women and dating. I read some glamour photography books but it doesn’t hit me well, I feel like Paparazzi photography is a better thing to do, chasing celebrities is fun. I wish myself luck on this Portrait photography studio project. I will post a full tour of the studio in the future.

THE STUDIO

The studio ideally will be composed of 2 50sqm apartments but I can only rent 1 as of now. 1 studio will be for portrait photography and the other will be for music and video production. My longterm plan is to purchase a property and make it a production studio. The studios will be small but in time I hope I can get a 300sqm to 500sqm place where I can do my photography and get higher paying projects. as of now this is just in my head and 10% on paper and assets. Let us see what will happen.

NEW YEAR 2023

All I can say is this New Year 2023 will be a hard one and full of handling errand such as purchasing, budgeting and getting things together so for now lets just look at the fireworks and hope for the best.

Photo Walk with Cousins

Posted on by martinbelgica

Last year My Cousin and I bought a Nikon p900 🙂 We tested it on the streets of our humble village. 

Me being a fan of zoom cameras I had this urge to get pictures too. The p900 s is a good camera. I have no good sample photos of it but using another nikon product sb5100 I took some photos. Photo below is my cousin Franz who owns the Nikon p900s. 

and also my other cousin Abba a Fine Arts Major, also an enthusiast in the subject of photography.

Here in this photo they are trying to get the picture of the Mediatrix Monument, A huge monument of Mother Mary.

After them having fun with the camera I figured to get some photos for Social realism and do some Street photography. 

Nothing magical or spectacular happened but here is a gallery of what I got. 

Fireworks 2022

Posted on by martinbelgica

It’s been 2 years of keeping that tradition of taking photos of fireworks when the end of the year comes, my 2021 firework photos got deleted due to storage errors. I lost a lot of photos since 2014 and when I say a lot i mean really a lot like years of work and practice. I always felt like quitting this photography and imagine gig. Anyways 2022 is a New year lets hope for the best. I am writing this 2022 december cause I am such a liar. 

Meow Experience

Posted on by martinbelgica

With my Cousin hanging out at F Manalo street a kitty appeared. My cousing gesturing to get some photos and so… Hmmm this kitty looks interesting. A couple of snaps and a story emerged.

Once upon a time a kitty was alone in the urban jungle of rizal and this kitty is very hungry.

“Meow meow!” says the kitty.

  

I am hungrly! , Meow Meow… 

As the kitty walked further into the vast deserted asphalt, a shining fortress emerged and the hope for food was seen and is near.

“I am going to that fortress I smell food!!! Meow Meow. !!”

The kitty walked towards the fortress of good smells, tapa, porkchop and lutong ulam. Food for Kings and Queens.

 

The kitty then passed the giant observer. (Me) A titan Overlord of Felix Manalo for that day. 

At last Kitty saw the giant fortress it is time for kitty to eat. 

“MEEEEOOOWWW MEEEOOOWWW !!!! ITS TIME !!!”

What happened to kitty after this who knows?!?! Did Kitty get the right amounts of courage to eat at the large fortress of VIVIANS EATERY!? Who knows..?

Philippine Airlines

Still not in the Mood to take Photos of the Streets

Posted on by martinbelgica

Days pass since my last post still the streets are not in the mood for some photography. So I decided to grab the CX900. its been days. Here are the photos.

I FEEL LIKE SLEEPING STUCK WITH THE D80… MY Z6 is still PAWNED !!!!!!!!
First payment this march… #HARDTIMES

PHOTOS OF PLANE PASSING BY
Old Jeep car in Villagrande; Black and white

Tamron 18 – 400mm test metering problems

Posted on by martinbelgica

I went outside the house and walked around our village with my d80. ISO at 800 fixed and on shutter/aperture priority with exposure at normal setting. My metering was on spot metering. The sun was blazing so I figured I can get enough light.

 I started to have problems with exposures the shutter priority mode tends to have a hard time. I take pictures on the go so checking my metering tends to be unconscious, remember its the d80 so the ISO auto is disabled and I usually prefer it fixed so I cannot rely on the automation much but only on the exposure compensation when needed 2 stops down or up. I shot this on fixed exposures. it failed to expose correctly. Another is the aperture adjustment I think is not working correctly with the Tamron D80 combo. New Nikon bodies I think would be much better.

f/6.7
1/125
75mm
ISO 800

Here is what happened when I switched to 18mm it kept its aperture at f/6.7 the metering was off and so again I shoot on the go so I do not check that much when I do these types of photography, the lens camera relationship didn’t work. I was expecting the lens to go to aperture f/3.5 at 18mm.

ISO 800
1/125
f/6.7
18mm

My metering was off but that is part of my style of photography checking your metering is recommended but sometimes that moment has passed when you look at the view finder you lost that shot. I was expecting it to go to f/3.5 but the case is the lens needed to adjust at that metering and so the lens has a lag on switching apertures pre focusing I guess would help to get a better shot and exposure.

Overall it was a good lens to shoot with. Focal lengths at your disposal with a relaxed paced shooting it will fit this lens well. Fast paced action and photography though I recommend faster lenses never mind the fungus I will get it cleaned in the future.