This episode, we speak with Jason Tablante, a commercial photographer who also specializes in highly conceptualized cosplay productions.
We talk about his beginnings, his inspirations and his latest project out in the market, the very first gravure book in the Philippines: The Jinri Experience.
Check out his awesome website!
http://www.jaytablantephotography.com/
I hope you enjoy listening and learn a thing or two.
The Pentax K-30 excited me.
Weather sealing, front and rear dials, light and compact, uses the same battery as my Pentax KR. I was eager to try it out once it hit the stores.
I patiently waited for CameraHaus Robinson’s Place Manila to have one on display. Everytime I went to the mall (it’s very near where I live), I come by the store and ask if it has already come.
Until that day finally arrived.
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At last I had the chance to see the K30 personally, feel its body, caress its curves… and here are some of my impressions:
The body design is not very appealing to me. It looks like a robot in desguise as a camera, waiting for the right time to transform and introduce itself to the new owner.
Aside from that, everything handles very well.
The deep grip is very comfortable and secure to hold. The dials and buttons are nicely placed and not very alien to me, a KR user. The menu screen is very user friendly (or am I just being to familiar with the Pentax menus?).
Focusing is zip zip fast. With the da18-135wr attached, it locks focus almost instantaneously. I didn’t measure how fast AF is in milliseconds, and I am not intending to.
Live view Focus peaking is also a nice touch, especially for using manual lenses.
Also, it uses screw drive afutofocus when SDM focus fails. I tested it on my non SDM da*50-135. Although its a bit sluggish almost like it’s confused as to which AF module to use… surprise surprise!
The Pentax K30 is living up to my expectations… so far.
I wanted to test the video mode. I work in the TV industry so this is important to me as I want to use my Pentax glass to shoot with. I tried the adapter for Canon EOS (my network uses mostly Canon DSLRs if it needs dslr video). I don’t like the ergonomics and the results.
That’s why I was happy to finally find out that the Pentax K30 has manual controls for video for all lenses! Hooray for Pentax! Now I can use my sharpest primes for video work! But wait, there’s more…
Here’s a sample video I shot with my SMC Pentax M 40 f2.8.
Can you see? The video is wobbling all over the place when I start to pan (camera movement from left to right).
Anyway, I still like the Pentax K30. But I’m not in a rush to buy it yet.
A quick google search of the name Manny Librodo leads you to hundreds if not thousands of awesome images.
Colorful, dramatic, always teeming with emotions. That’s how I can describe his works. I have only known of him before through photography forums where forum members talk about his style and how they can achieve this themselves.
On this episode of Pinoy Photography Podcast, I get to interview him at last. He was very accommodating and cheerful, and patiently and candidly answered all my questions.
In this interview I learn he still shoot “just” aperture priority and jpeg! How cool is that? Yet he creates breath taking images.
Enough reading, start listening.
http://pinoyphotopodcast.podomatic.com/entry/2012-05-01T09_04_04-07_00
I have been really wanting to go to Sagada since 1999. That was when I found out about the place. Friends tell me of how hard it is to get there, the long and bumpy ride you have to endure, but when you arrive, you will be transported back in time.
That was exactly what me and my Weekend Getaway team went through last week when we headed there for a shoot.
Going there, we went the Nueva Vizcaya route (apparently there were 2 routes getting there from Manila), which should save us 2 hours travel time if we went via the other route Baguio City. I was asleep, I didn’t notice if we encountered bad traffic or not.
Rewind, days before we left Manila, I emailed the Pentaxian Mailing List and asked which interesting places and things should we be visiting in Sagada. Many thanks to all that answered. You know who you are.
When we arrived, I was expecting piercing cold weather. It was 4 in the afternoon. To my surprise, it was just as cold as in Tagaytay. Well, it must be the unusually hot summer we are experiencing now.
To my dissappointment, Sagada was not what I imagined it to be. I was thinking more of rolling mountains with terraces, old Ifugao houses made of wood, soil walkways etc. To me, Sagada is just like Baguio City, only with fewer buildings and commercial establishments. This is the town of Sagada. I am not saying it’s bad or good. Maybe I was just expecting to be arriving on a textbook definition of a place.
But upon closer inspection and actually spending time in Sagada, I have discovered that the wholes Sagada experience is not just what the eyes can see, but with how you feel it through the places you visit and the people you encounter.
Sagada really is one of those “time-space warp” places. Old and new blend together seemlessly and beautifully. You can even feel the town and people’s sense of community once you get to talk to the poeple.
Sagada is one of a kind. It really leaves a lasting impression.
TOOLS USED: Pentax K10d, DA* 50-135 f2.8, DA 35 f2.4 al
*heavy setup but I’m glad I brought it because of the heavy fogging and dampness of the weather. Especially in the early morning and late afternoon to earyly evening. Weather sealing takes one thing off my mind, worrying about slight drizzles or even heavy rain. Most of the time, the da35 stays in the van. 🙂
One of the very first Pentaxians I have met is Bong Manayon. He was with Joey Reyes and Mau Carillo in Hidalgo, Quiapo that fateful day. Here is a one on one interview with the man himself… recorded as episode 1 of my Pinoy Photography Podcast.
http://pinoyphotopodcast.podomatic.com/entry/2008-11-02T18_07_20-08_00
Listen up and hit me with comments! I’m planning to revive this podcast project of mine…
There’s so many stuff on sale in various sites right now!
http://www.tipidpc.com — so many lenses and bodies! m50 1.7, da16-45, sigma 10-20, da40limited, k20, k7… and the list goes on! If you are just a starting Pentaxian, You’re very lucky indeed! All the lenses and bodies you need, you can find right here! And with negotiable prices to boot!
http://www.sulit.com.ph — some sellers in http://www.tipidpc.com (TPC) also sell in http://www.sulit.com.ph (sulit), but some don’t. Gems are just waiting to be found!
Also yesterday was Pentax Mailing List For Sale Friday — if you are a member of the Pinoy Pentaxian mailing list, probably you received for sale notices… sigma 18-50, vivitar 285hv, mz-5
Ah, if I only had extra cash…
I am recently trying shoot exclusively with my K10d _da*50-135 and da35 f2.4 combo. Even though the combination makes for a heavy bag (k10d with grip and extra batt) I certainly am happy with the results I am getting.
Plus the “Wow, ampogi ng gamit mo…” comments I get from other photogs, priceless. Hehehe. What can I say, iba talaga PENTAX.
I’m just waiting for an opportunity to shoot in the rain… I wonder how that feels like.
What can i say? I think I am really obsessed with Pentax. Everytime I log on to the net, the first thing I do is look for Pentax lenses on sale, Pentax articles, Pentax photos. I do it even before I check my email, social networking site updates… Why?
In the past few weeks, I have had Pentax lenses and bodies (film and digital) come and go through my hands and still i have yet to finish my mission, complete the SMC Pentax M series primes. So far, these are what I have:
Thats the some 28’s (2.8, 3.5), 35 2.8, 50’s (1.4, 2.0, f4 macro), 85 f2, 100 f2.8, 135 f3.5, 150 f3.5, 200 f4, an MX and a KM. My all-mechanical family.
I know I wont be shooting with all of them anytime soon, except maybe for the 50s and 85 or 100. But having them and seeing them together brings unexplained happiness to me! Aside from that, I enjoy immensely the thrill of hunting for them. Oh, Pentax, what have you done to me?
Thank God these lenses are not so darn expensive. Just hard to find.
Recently got bitten by the LBA bug… yet again! And this time it’s got me bad.
It all started — again — with an early trip to Hidalgo. Spotted an M100 2.8, then an M85 f2, then an M150 f3.5, then an M135 f3.5! All with good prices and in great condition! Oh man. That was it. I told myself I have to complete the whole M Primes set since I’ve already got some of the rarer (at least in hidalg) ones.
The M 50’s and M 28’s were up next.
And now…
there’s a new place to look for old pentax cams and lenses. thanks for the tip, Joey Reyes (In My Mind’s Eye).
its just underneath the lrt carriedo station, the store sells used guitars, amps, electronics and what not. maybe all imported from japan (radiated?) hahaha.
there were a few pentax stuff, the first thing that caught my eye was an me with a m50 1.7, and another body with a m50 f2. there were other cams but they didnt interest me. too bad the 50 1.7 had a stuck filter (prrying it open may need more brute force than i was willing to give it.)
the m50 f2 was starting fog ever so slightly.
get this, they have a promo! buy 2 and slash 50 percent off their individual prices. neat.
pentax hunting in quiapo got a little bit more fun.
found:
vivitar series 1 70-210 (got it)
tamron 70-300 af (very nice!) @ jojo’s
m28 2.8, m35 2.8, m135 3.5, zenitar fisheye 16 2.8 @allans
thats all.
joey reyes hinted of a cubao and makati branch, that will be my next stop.
happy hunting!
Pentax Hunter 
