My Flickr is full!

Last day of Fashion Vibes this Sunday and I won't be able to upload anything on Flickr until end of April. I tried pbase.com but the output sucks look at this.

Fashion Vibes @ Hylam Street

I thought it’s over. I am already planning a location shoot at Pulau Ubin this weekend until Nathan emailed about a fashion show @ Hylam Street. Now I can correct the past mistakes I’ve done from the last fashion shows, truly a good exercise. Anyway the Fashion Vibes will be in the following schedule:

April 14 3:30pm and 5:30pm
April 15 3:30pm and 5:30pm
April 16 3:30pm and 5:30pm

After the rules of composition has been laid down, and most of the time so amazingly broken, there’s one rule that will always prevail. The rule of averages; the more you shoot, the better your picture gets.

Fashion Mosaic @ Paragon

Finally, it’s a wrap! Good thing it rained. It’s 2 ‘o clock, me and my photo buddy Nathan were already at the front of the show entrance. We knew it’s by invitation only so we approached one of the organizing staff, so here goes the Filipino way of negotiation; winning the battle without shots being fired. So we approached the staff and asked if all the guest will come(those who RSVP’d), she said that she doesn’t think so and we politely asked if we can go in and shoot if all the guests are inside, she agreed and after that we also offered to give them copy of our shots which pleased them so well, so they sent us in immediately before the guests starts pouring in! Isn’t it nice?

Too sad, the babes from those former Soviet Republic territories will be leaving us all. At least they left us with some lasting memories.

Kyzinia from Kyrghyzstan

This event has drained my two batteries, left 70 shots out of 400++ from my CF card, taught me some points on Shutter Speed priority(centerweights has greater chance of overexposure). Thanks also to Browning for giving pointers on how to shoot in a fashion show, that’s very insightful. I would say this is one of the very rare on-the-field training a hobbyist like us can have. Lucky.

One more shot to go

The Singapore Fashion Festival has just been concluded but other stores is not yet ready to get over the Fashion Fever. So here are some scheds for next week.

Fashion Mosaic at Paragon

April 7 – Petite / Petite Pois 7pm

April 8 – iBLUES 3pm

April 8 – Liz Claiborne / Metro 3pm & 5pm

The show is by INVITATION only. Hopefully, this will mean that we’ll going to see “Kristine Hermosa” again. This time I will experiment on shutter priority(Tv) at 1/800.

It’s Monday

Do I need to tell you why I hate Monday? It's just the first day of the week and the silicon chips inside my head are starting to overload. And imagine how it's like through my lens.

 

Suntec Tower 3 standing to me. 

Island Shop @ Ngee Ann City

Finally, we're booked. I thought I'll never get a shot from inside The Tent. Fortunately, Nathan has a couple of numbers reserved for us. But what for? It's almost a free-for-all event. So we're in, but there are house rules, shooters are only allowed in a designated area, no flashes. Hah! Fair game, I thought, I ran out of luck but we found a good place. The pictures will tell more.

Island Shop is a programme from the Singapore Fashion Festival that runs March 24 – April 2. All other shopping centers have their own shows during the span of the Festival. The Tent was especially constructed for this event at Ngee Ann City along Orchard Road. 

This is my weekend's best. Everyone's got a fair shot at least. I think I got enough portfolio to slap to the "coniotic" asshats in the Philippines hehehe.

Adidas Originals Concept Show

This show is actually part of the launching of the Adidas retro store at Raffles City, remember? Before the "Brand with the 3 stripes" there was the Trefoil? So it's all retro.

I found out about this show from the a local photography group called "ClubSnap" they're talking a lot of crap about this, and for some reasons no one said that the show was invitation only. So when we got to the venue I feel that some of them are in the sidelines like a boy in a candy store. Nathan, one of my photo buddy got inside first, to me that's unacceptable, so I follow. We went in to the backstage, and we were blocked by an usher until I was able "to talk him out" and we're allowed to get in with Melvin in the slippers behind me. So all of us 3 were now inside ready for show time. If this ClubSNAP is just a pissing contest, piss is what they're going to get, we're by the stage and they're all in the bleachers wishing they have a backstage pass. With all those expensive gears, dang, with a wrong position, your shots are cheaper than a low-level P & S camera. Pinoy ako eh!!!

Liz Claiborne and Mexx Sping/Summer 2006 Fashion Show

This is the second-half of my weekend yesterday. My weapons training has became very useful for this show. First, only the sidelines are allowed for shooters, and they are really serious about it this time(of course, it's Liz Clairborne). So I pulled the long Sigma 70-300mm lens, worried that this is going to be real tricky for long range, therefore proper stance for more stability is important. Second, acquiring target, this time getting into the focus much quicker, peering through the viewfinder with one eye closed is stressful, so I kept both eyes opened and the result are effortless shots at an average of 30m range.

Photonski! Aarggh! They picked a wrong spot to shoot from, because when I stayed at their spot for a few seconds I know there's nothing in there but Aunties. I've figured out where the best position is, ironically, no shooters were there. This is what I am talking about.

Because the entrance to the ramp is somehow obscured directly from the audience, and the ramp is a "S" shaped ramp. The safest position is called the "ambush" once again acquired from the weapons training years ago, this where the shooter(me) waits for the models to come out directly out their den, once the subject has been "acquired" properly then it's showtime. No one is in that area but me, until some few minutes others try to scramble for position, I'm esconsed. So the question will boil down to "who will the models look at this time?", the answer is obvious even at 30 meters.

I remembered there's a guy(again) I thought he's another "asskisser" but he's not, he's just one of the audience, asked me "Are you shooting for a magazine", I told him, "No, for me".

See, some technique in photography aren't from photography itself. That's why I said I am only a person with a camera and a couple of lens and that's it.

Spring in Bloom at Parkway Parade

Today's the last day of Singapore Fashion Festival and there's really so much to cover with little time, last week there's only Fashion Fever at Marina Square but since the Adidas Originals Concept Show there's just so much in our plates. Good thing I got my second lens, a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG as recommended by another photo buddy, Nathan, which is a decent lens for this occassion.

Spring in Bloom is quite unique that it didn't use a ramp where models can catwalk. This is quite challenging 'cause I need to trail behind the models to get a good shot. Fortunately, settled in a position which is I think the "Funnel" of the show where the models will walk their last leg, stop, scan for any cameras around and then "snap!", so that's a good spot. One model after another now knows where to look and that's me!

These models will not bother who are the "Official" photographers for the event, so the "Official" photographer was running around like crazy. My advice, don't take this kind of project alone.

Words I heard around during the show was this guy is a Filipino. Cool!

And this one too!

This brief one-hour show was quite fun with some non-security staff or the "asskissers" of the event telling us that we're not allowed to take photos, what! In a public venue you can't stop people from doing so, just because I had a different camera. Good thing those friendly real security personnel politely told them that we'll be thrown away only if we're causing real trouble. Bleh! So I just kept on shooting while the nuts keep on talking to my ears.

Some shot before we ran after the show.