Wed on the Fourth of July!!!

WARNING: This is one LONG post. Consider yourself warned :D

Wow, it's been more than a month since that eventful day in July, and I am still overwhelmed with everything that has happened. It's not so much the what, but it's the how that grabs me. BLESSED is truly an understatement, since for the life of me, I could not have planned everything to make sure that things happened the way they did. The weather, the sunset, the food, the dancing, everything just worked. But that's the thing with God, He gives not because we deserved it, but simply because He can. God is truly good!!!

And so, let me tell the story of our wedding day through the lenses of the talented people of Imagine Nation:

Our airbrushed sneakers. Mine were courtesy of Loi's sister Yoh. Way cool!

The Journey of a Lifetime

All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go...

off to The Journey of a Lifetime

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go...

It's all going down this weekend!
Boracay, here I come!

LIFE: The Classic Collection

When I got started in photography, I started to build a library of resources that I hoped would help me reach my goals as a shooter, or if not, at least point me in the right direction. I remembered one of the books I read a lot as a kid, a hardbound, special edition book of photographs by LIFE magazine. We had a copy at home, but through the years and two address changes, this copy could no longer be located . I recall searching for a copy at National a few years back, but the cost was a few thousand pesos above my budget, so it remained elusive.

Legally in love - Elmer and Gie's Onsite Slideshow

It's always a blast covering the weddings of dear friends. In the case of Elmer and Gie, what makes it sweeter is that early on, we were in on the planning, as the couple would ask us for inputs on their wedding preps. Now that it's over, I look back and see clearly how God has led them to this most special day in their lives.

Photos to follow shortly, but for now, here's their onsite slideshow:



Elmer and Gie's Onsite Slideshow from Jason de Guzman on Vimeo.
Photos by Carlo Cecilio, Hyds "I.Q." Valencia and Jason de Guzman, for Imagine Nation.

The Bald and the Beautiful - The Jason and Loi Prenup

What do you get when you have:

1 engaged couple +
6 cool friends who happen to be kick@ss photographers +
1 uber-talented make-up artist +
1 super friendly friend +
4 sets worth of clothes +
5 Nikon DSLRs and a slew of lenses +
2 Lumix HD cams +
2 borrowed vehicles +
3 boats +
1 awesome God
-----------------------------------------------------
1 totally unforgettable day!

There seems to be some truth to the adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know". And we couldn't have been more blessed to have friends who were kind enough to lend us their talents for our prenup. And so, one fine day in March, we traveled 200+ kilometers to the sandy shores of Anawangin off the coast of Zambales for a day like none before it.

On the Edge - Day 1

Today was Day 1 of the workshop I enrolled in under Kristine Soguilon. Our objective today was to capture random stuff on the streets and see if we could make it into something worth printing. I don't know if I was able to comply, but I did enjoy the PP work I learned today. Here's my output from Day 1:

We were asked to choose 5 images that we are to present on Day 2. I couldn't help myself and choose 6. Sabihin ko na lang na mabuti na yung sobra, haha :D

Why I decided to become a baldhead

'Nuff said. Now you know.

Ticket Both

This one was spotted in Kalibo on our way to Boracay last year. It was posted at a, uhmm, ticket booth for shuttles to Caticlan. Actually, it might still be there :D

Come to think of it, the sign is actually quite smart, hitting 2 meanings at once. It can be read as 1) Dito ang bilihan ng ticket
2) Dito bumibili ng ticket

Or maybe they meant both :D

Kebab Marley

Spotted on the way to my last photo assignment:





Leave it to us Pinoys to come up with the craziest business names :D

Amazing Race - The jasondeg and Loi prenup teaser

Imagine Nation's Prenup Extreme

The Team:
ocampo|alto|lucas|cecilio|romero|valencia|delrosario|hernandez

Time Frame/Distance:
24hrs/400+kms

The subjects:
deguzman|concepcion

Location:
Anawangin


The result:

Jason and Loi AVP teaser from jayjay lucas on Vimeo.

Elmer and Gie's Prenup On-site

OK, so we finished shooting Elmer and Gie's prenup mid-morning of Sunday. By this time, their families were eagerly anticipating the outcome of all the wardrobe changes, make-up sessions and mysterious trips to unknown destinations. Instead of just showing them the photos, we decided to do one better and came up with an on-site, which personally is a first for me, since I normally only do on-sites for weddings. But we had such a great time with them that we thought the on-site was the least that we could do.

Here's what came out of our weekend. Photos taken by Carlo Cecilio, Gen Poe and myself:



Elmer and Gie's prenup slideshow from Jason de Guzman on Vimeo.

Elmer and Gie's Punta Fuego Prenup weekend

In my previous post, I mentioned how I love my job as a photographer. Things get all the more sweeter when the subjects happen to be good friends of ours

Carlo, Gen and I were with Elmer and Gie over the weekend in Punta Fuego. I consider them my contemporaries in SFC since we've been in the same household for a good number of years, and back then, wedding plans and suppliers and deposits were not even part of our conversation. This time around though, things were different since we found ourselves in pretty much the same situation, with them getting hitched just a few months ahead of us.

Got there Friday night after escaping most of the Friday rush hour traffic. After settling down, we went over the sets we were planning to do and matched clothes for those sets and set a timeline. It was past midnight when we called it a day, since we decided to get an early start if we were to shoot all the sets we planned.

Set One was dubbed the Marina Set, but while we were on our way to the Marina, we chanced upon a cool stairway crossing a small hill and we couldn't help but stop and shoot off a few frames.

A Thousand Miles...

Or so it seems.

Been all around Luzon this past week. Last Monday, we headed to Zambales for my fiancee's prenup (she had a starring role while I played supporting cast). It literally was a 24 hour prenup as we hit the road at 3am and got back to Manila at 3am the next day. Good thing we had such great company and that made all the difference in making the trip a memorable one. It is officially SUMMER!!!

Cecilio Abad is W@W's 2008 Supplier of the Year!!!

Congratulations, Cecil! A well-deserved award for a truly talented and kind-hearted person :D

Photos from the first W@W Videofest

W@W, or Weddings at Work kicked off their 10th year Anniversary festivities with a Videofest featuring 5 of the country's top videographers, who graciously lent their time, skills and talents to tell their take on how W@W started and grew to what it is today.

From its humble beginnings as a helpsite for newlyweds, it has now grown to the premiere reference point when planning a Pinoy wedding, with over 4,000 member-couples who pitch in their ideas to help current soon-to-weds with their preparations. It has also helped countless suppliers reach their market, most of whom grew their businesses alongside W@W. Through the years, one thing has remained constant: the passion and love which founders John and Benz Rana have put into W@W. Surely, better things are yet to come, all for the benefit of those who have decided to tie the knot.

It was a fun evening, but not without some hitches. Nonetheless, nothing could detract from the fact that John and Benz put their 110% in preparing for this event, along with the 5 featured videographers for the evening. Friends and fellow suppliers came dressed to the Nines to celebrate with W@W's First Couple and watch what videographers Phoeben Teocson, Bob Nicolas, Shierdan Pamintuan, Threelogy and Jason Magbanua came up with. No one went home disappointed as all the videos were excellently made and showed the history of W@W and where it has gone in 10 years. Bravo to all the videographers! You guys rock!

Again, congratulations to John and Benz for pulling off the videofest with style and panache! We'll be celebrating with you guys 10 years from now, for I'm sure W@W will be even bigger and better by then.

And now, the photos...

Isang Daan, Chapter 3

Ready for the ride (November 12, 2007) - taken during the prenup of my good friends Jong and El. Both full-time workers for Gawad Kalinga, they were featured in The Philippine Star, and this was the photo they used.


Calling it a day (Novermber 22, 2007)


In bloom (December 9, 2007)


Teamwork (December 9, 2007)


Into the future (December 15, 2007)


May I? (December 15, 2007)


Buds (December 17, 2007)

Read the Main Entry here.

Isang Daan, Chapter 2

Transformation (September 1, 2007)


The next step (September 1, 2007) - one of my favorite stairs shots


Preacher in blue jeans (September 19, 2007) - I love Bo's preaching and I was blessed to shoot some portraits of him for Kerygma.


On bended knees (September 28, 2007)


Bvlgari (October 28, 2007) - love these rings. They belong to my cousin BTW.


His and hers (November 10, 2007) - my first Bora wedding!


Paradise found (November 10, 2007) - I liked this so much that I chose this for my business card. I still like it today.


All together now (November 10, 2007)

Read the Main Entry here.

Isang Daan, Chapter 1

All systems go (February 10, 2007)

Two of a kind (March 18, 2007)



Don't forget (April 28, 2007)



Buddy and Tin (June 23, 2007) - one of my most charming couples, they are now into wedding photography as well.



Before I do (July 7, 2007)



Who's the star? (July 7, 2007)

Heat (August 8, 2007)

Read the Main Entry here.

Isang Daan - The First 100 Weddings

Isang Daan.

A collection of photos from my first 100 weddings, it captures why I fell in love with wedding photography and how I see things from my viewfinder. There is nothing quite like the tension of a bride before her walk, the anticipation of a groom looking down the aisle, the joy and excitement of a first kiss, the relief of a couple when everything turns out well, and all the other mundane moments that make each wedding unique and special. It is my hope that through this collection, I can share with you a part of this merry mix of emotions.

There are also some photos that are not from weddings, but they are markers of my journey and growth in this thing I am so passionate about. They serve as pegs on where I have been and where my craft has brought me.

Isang Daan also translates to "One Way", for photography has truly been one way of showing how much God has blessed me with. More than just being a witness to all these, He has allowed me to be a part of lives of people whom I otherwise would not have met, brides and grooms I have prayed for and prayed with, families who have warmly welcomed me, couples who have gone from being clients to becoming friends. Calm Dawns and awesome Sunsets; intimate chapels and grandiose cathedrals; flowers in vibrant colors. Laughter. Tears. Love. Life.

To my Creator, I humbly offer these back to you, that all may know that Your Majesty knows no bounds. Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, now and forever.

Happy Grateful!!!

2008, what a year!

For the followers of my blog (yes, that's both of you), I'm sorry for not posting anything lately. Things got quite hectic towards year-end, both with my photography and my non-photography related life (I have one, ya know). So let me start 2009 with a Happy Grateful list, or the best things that happened to me in 2008. I'm bound to forget something, but hey, that's what the edit button is for, right?

So here's my Happy Grateful List '08 Edition:

- My 2 sisters and how well they're doing in whatever it is they're doing

- That no one in my family got seriously ill or hospitalized :D

- 61 weddings (including some very dear friends)

- TRIPS! I flew and traveled more in 2008 than I ever did in any other year, including:
> Kiangan, Ifugao (for a wedding)
> Bataan (for a wedding and a post-nup shoot in Mt. Samat)
> Tarlac (for the prenup of dear friends Pao and Bambi)
> San Pablo, Laguna (for a wedding)
> San Rafael, Bulacan (for a wedding)
> Clark Field, Pampanga (for prenups and a conference)
> Cebu (for a wedding)
> Kalibo (one for vacation and one for relief operations after Typhoon Frank)
> Boracay (2 weddings, a prenup and a vacation)
> Bacolod (for our anniversary and ...)
> Hong Kong (My first time in 10 years, and we got to go twice! Both for vacation, one of which was free. Thanks, Cebu Pacific!)
> Sydney, Australia (for the wedding of my dear friends Jez and Che, plus 2 prenups on the side. It was definitely soooo good to be back, despite the 10 deg C weather. The warmth of old friends kept me sane)

I love travelling :)

- NAIA's Terminal 3. It brings air travel to where it should be: convenient, modern, not crowded

- My probably-once-in-a-lifetime ride in the cockpit of an Airbus A320. Coming home from HK, I found out that the captain is a good friend from SFC. Mid-flight, he calls me from my seat and brings me to the cockpit, gives me the jumpseat where I stayed until we touched down and taxied to the gate. Uber cool!!!

- My Macbook Pro

- New photo gear (Clean ISO3200 images and true 16mm wideness. Yummy!) :)

- My extended families! Family friends, my SFC family, my Imagine Nation family, our wedding industry friends, as well as my couples who have now become my friends. Bless you all!

- The fact that I actually experienced an 08-08-08 day in my lifetime

- KIDS! Lots of my friends gave birth in '08. Congratulations to the new (and old) parents!

- New photo opportunities to expand my portfolio

- Our Wii

- Savings! I actually have savings!

- The fact that some of my photos were published, some in Town&Country, Metro Weddings and the 2009 W@W Calendar

- My 2nd billboard came out (not a picture of me though, just pictures that I took :p)

- I got to work more than once with wedding industry luminaries such as John Mateos Ong, Erron Ocampo, Madge Lejano, Jesy Alto and Steve Pagsanjan, Jason Magbanua, laugh-a-minute Threelogy, Randall of MangoRED, uber coordinator Christine Ong-Te, Boracay Princess Amanda Tirol, Karen Marek, ace stylist Teddy Manuel, supernice Benz Rana of W@W, top-notch designers Cecilio Abad and Veluz Reyes, among others

- I was able to shoot and rub elbows with Master Eddie Boy Escudero

- New food finds, both high-end and el cheapo. And friends with whom I can share them

- My phone (wasn't planning this, but my old phone died on me. Boo)

- My ex-girlfriend, who is now my fiancee. Yes, I got engaged last year (this is the "..." after my Bacolod entry. We were a few minutes from touching down in Manila, so who knows where I actually proposed. It could well have been over Laguna Bay or Alabang Town Center) :D

- All the other things, big and small, that are either too mundane or too personal to write down, but nonetheless made 2008 what it was: GREAT!

Wishing everyone (yep, that's both of you again) an even greater 2009!

Thanks, God! You are AWESOME!