World's Largest Dance Class - Update

An Update to my post last July 3.

It's now official. Cebu City now holds the Guinness record for the World's Largest Dance Class.

Barely a month after the record attempt, April Tudtud, DTCC publicist, received an email from Kaoru Ishikawa of Guinness World Records. The email stated - “We are pleased to confirm that you have set the new Guinness World Record for ‘largest dance class’ and a certificate to commemorate has been sent by post”.

Congratulation!

A Walk Down The Aisle

The bride's father anxiously awaits to take Gwen the rest of the way. She gingerly adjusts her veil as she slowly marches down that aisle. At the end of that seemingly long walk, Julio patiently watches his beloved drawing nearer with every step. The grandiose interior of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral makes it difficult to contain the outpouring of joyful emotions.

Vows will be said and tears of happiness will be shed. A demonstration of love, witnessed by those who are closest to Julio and Gwen.

www.dunquephotography.com

The Rehearsal

After taking photos over at the groom's room, I spotted two of the flower girls rehearsing thier march down the aisle. They were skipping along while chanting "tan-tan-tadan"(wedding march). The hotel corridor was poorly lighted, but there were patches of light coming from the ceiling. The moment I saw them, I grabbed my camera and took aim. Then, I waited for them to reach a lighted portion of the hallway.

I love this photo - the right foot of the older girl leaving the floor, the sway of the hair and each looking at the other. I'd say I was in the right place at the right time.

This photo was from the Rex and Burnz wedding last Saturday.

www.dunquephotography.com

My Trusty 85

Most photographers have a favorite piece of equipment in their arsenal. I'm one of them. When on a shoot, especially weddings, there's one lens I use every time. It's the Canon EF 85mm f1.8 USM. Since I got it, I've never left it in the bag. I'll tell you why I love it so much and how I use this magnificent lens.

First of all, it's affordable. You get a lot of value for the price. The 85mm is not a zoom lens so it does not have the flexibility that you get from a variable focal length lens. But, it doesn't have the issues that's usually associated with zooms in the same price range. It's light weight. It won't add much weight in your bag and won't leave your shoulder and arms aching. The best feature of this lens is it's image quality. The colors are crisp and images are amazingly sharp. The 1.8 aperture produces beautiful, silky smooth bokeh, effectively separating the subject from the background. I won't get too technical here. If you really want to get to know this lens, read some reviews online. If you have a chance, try it out. You'll love it too.

When shooting weddings, I mounted it almost exclusively on my second camera body, a Canon 400D (Rebel XTi). With a 1.6x crop factor, the effective focal length will be 135mm on a full frame body. This means I can shoot farther away from the subject. This makes for a good, light weight setup for candid shots. I'll usually mount my Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (also a sharp and affordable lens) on my main body (Canon 40D) set on Manual mode. I like shooting in manual but I find keeping track of the settings of 2 camera bodies a little confusing. So, on my 400D/85mm, I set it on Av mode and always at f1.8. But, the very shallow depth of field requires me to focus precisely. I just adjust compensation to get the right exposure and change my ISO when going from one lighting condition to another. This way, my 85 is always ready to capture anything on the fly. I just need to make sure my shutter speed is not too slow. The 40D/17-50mm setup is generally for group shoots, setup poses and anything that requires a wide angle shot. If feel the need to change to my ultra-wide angle zoom or telephoto zoom, it's always the 40D that gets a lens swap. Also, the 40D gets mounted with a flash. I shoot using available light with the 400D/85mm. Though, I normally use a flash only at the reception and sometimes during the ceremony.

My way of utilizing the lens' capability may not be suited to your style of shooting, but no matter how you use it, this lens is great. The Canon EF 85mm f1.8 USM certainly made my shooting easier and more enjoyable. Here are some shots taken with my 85mm at f1.8 on Av mode. Their from the Roel and Jocelyn wedding taken yesterday.

World's Largest Dance Class

Last June 27, 2009, was a momentous occasion for the people of Cebu City. On this day, 7,770 dancers assembled at the Cebu City Sports Center to break the Guiness World Record for the World’s Largest Dance Class. This record was previously held by Budapest, Hungary since May of 2009 with 2,289 participants. Our dance troop surpassed the previous record by 5,481 dancers.

The Cebu Images Camera Club was invited to cover the event and provide photographs of the record breaking event. Along with myself, Kenneth Sy, Celso Dayo, Jacob Maentz, Jojo Wan and Manny Barcenas represented the club.

Registration of the participants started at around 1 pm, then at 2:30 the organizers started to get them into their places. The group was finally in formation at around 4 pm. Soon after, they rehearsed their moves before the actual attempt at the record. As soon as the lead dance instructor, Mr. Loloi Rendon, was satisfied, the ceremony began.

Fr. Vicente Uy led the crowd in a prayer then Ms. Ricca Alix conducted the singing of the National Anthem. The participants and visitors present were then formally welcomed by DTCC Director Edward Hayco. The mayor of Cebu City, Hon. Tomas Osmeña, gave an inspirational message and ceremonially authorized the attempt at the world record.

The music started and the dancers energetically went through their routine. In the front of the pack was Ms. Cutie Del Mar, who was number 7,770. The prospect of being in the Guiness Book of World Records excited the dancers and they gave their absolute best. The sight was awesome.

I then learned later that the purpose of the event was not only to put Cebu City in the Guiness Wrold Records, but also to position Cebu City as the Dance Capital Of The World.

Caught from Behind

I just love photos of the bride helped into her wedding gown. I shot a wedding yesterday and captured this scene. I also have wider shots, but I especially like this one. You can see only the hands busy fixing the dress. One pair of hands was actually sewing on the band of pearls to the dress.

It is also important to me to shoot photos of the brides back. This is the only part that the bride cannot see herself in the mirror. She would definitely want to know what she looks like from behind. Also, the gown's sexy and elegant back is showcased in this photo.

Majestic Mayon

Relishing the summer interlude, I brought my camera with me to Albay Province where I got to see for myself the famed Mayon Volcano. Situated 15 kilometres northwest of Legazpi City, it is renowned for its perfect cone. I took less than an hour to reach Legaspi via plane from Cebu.

Mayon Volcano has the most symmetrical volcano in the world. Mayon Volcano bares its serene exquisiteness with sporadic tendrils of smoke rising from its crater. Clouds every now and then wrap the volcano, concealing its grandeur from the admiring eyes of the sightseers. It’s also amazing that you can see the volcano from almost every part of the province and even from the neighboring island province of Catanduanes.

I then hopped on a van for an hour's trip to Tabaco, Albay port where a ship transported me, after another two hours, to San Andres, Catanduanes. This pearly island in the pacific offer scenic natural surroundings. A laid back rural charm virtually untouched, unspoiled and unexplored. If one looks for a serene feel, a lifestyle among gracious people away from the bustling urban pace, Catanduanes Island is just perfect!

Simple and Serene

August of last year, a few of my photographer friends and I decided to go on an impromptu photo safari/road trip. It was already late in the afternoon and the day had worn me down. We stopped to catch the last couple of hours of sunlight. While everyone was taking pictures of an old man sitting by a big rock, I noticed, from a distance, rows of young mangroves in the sand.

From afar, the sight of the seemed insignificant and did not present any obvious photographic promise. Curiosity caught me and I started walking towards them. As soon as I was close enough, I took out my telephoto zoom lens and took several frames. It wasn't my best photo of that day but my curiosity rewarded me with this simple and serene image.