royele rivera

I know this is a late post, but as much as I wanted to put this up earlier, I only got permission from Forever 21 last week. And yes, you heard it right, another Forever 21 event. How cool is that! =)

 The successful event held last October 12, 2011 was a promotional launch of  the Forever 21 Mastercard. The party was at Prive Luxury Bar and was attended by existing cardholders and those who had single-receipt purchases of at least 5000Php. Forever 21 and BDO VIPs, Forever 21 brand ambassadors, and people from the media were also there.

 I was so excited that I left our place 4 hours before my call time, and only made one stopover at Shell SLEX to gas up and have a quick bite. Unfortunately, I still wasn’t able tomake it on my call time due to the sudden downpour that caused insanely heavy traffic at Nicols exit. Imagine my chagrin! This would have ruined my day if I hadn’t arrived just in time for the start of the program at 9:30PM.

 The party was hosted by Patty Laurel and was kicked off by the presentation of the brand ambassadors (Stacy and Dana Guitierrez, David Guison, Lissa Kahayon, Tricia Gosingtian, and Patricia Prieto). Next, there was an informative talk from a BDO Mastercard representative about the features and perks of the trendiest MasterCard.

 Later on, while a video about the product was being played, I became entirely engrossed in hunting for moments to capture and did not immediately notice someone waving at me in the dim light. I was totally flabbergasted when I realized who it was: no other than Tricia Gosingtian! That was quite a thrill because I didn’t think she would see me at all, much less, take the time to say hello.

 I also bumped into David Guison and took the chance to take his photo. However, I wasn’t able to nail the shot because of my  camera’s AF is hunting when in the dark.

 The event finished off with the awarding of the night’s 6 best-dressed people, followed by prizes in the golden confetti shower.

 To know more about Forever 21 Mastercard and how to apply, click on the link below.

https://www.clg.bdo.com.ph/en/bdo-mastercard- forever-21

Special thanks to MoniQ Bautista for helping me out again in proofreading, editing and reconstructing this entry. I owe you a lot and my debt list is getting longer. LOL

You may also see some of the photos on the Forever 21 Philippines facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270246073020902.71932.117702421608602&type=1

Don’t be too surprised to find these romantic photos of lovebirds Joey Uy and Gel Dilao here. Nope, these are not reposts, ladies and gentlemen, but actual photos taken by (drumroll….) yours truly!

I have professional photographers Michelle Medina (Migzy) and Rudy Claver of EyeCandy to thank for this much-awaited opportunity to finally be able to participate in an “official” wedding gig. This was their booking, originally, but as a first-timer, they invited me to be a part of a team of four. This included myself, Migzy, Rudy, and another awesome photographer Kitty Bunag ( also the owner and designer at Kitty&Bee). I also appreciate Kitty’s husband Carlo for giving us invaluable technical assistance. Thanks, Bro!

Call time was at 1:00pm, at Heaven and Eggs Glorietta. Then we proceeded to Ascott to cover preparations being made by the bride and groom. After that, we were at Enderun Colleges by 3PM for the ceremony itself and the reception afterwards.

 I admit working with seasoned artists gave me jitters at first. Actually, the affair made me feel like a teenager on prom night: excited and scared at the same time. I was a little afraid that as a greenhorn, I won’t be able to live up to their standards, and my shots won’t be half as good as theirs. But as the day progressed, their supportiveness put an end to my apprehensions, and my confidence grew as I became more comfortable.

The warmth that the couple and their families showed and their genuine happiness on the occasion was also a plus in making this a grander experience.

One bitter-sweet moment for me, though, was near the end of the day when the couple decided to have their photo taken with the whole crew. I felt a bit like a sore thumb to find myself alone in a crowd of couples. Funny, really, and a little sad… But I didn’t let that ruin my day. =-)

 The whole exercise took until 10PM. It was tiring, (probably because the excitement put me on an adrenaline high for most of the day!) but every minute was worth it!

 You may visit and view the other photos in the EyeCandy website and their Facebook page. (But let’s save the comparisons for later, it will be more obviouse that their photos are a lot better. =-))

And speaking of comparisons, I am much indebted to my friend Moniq for her time and patience in proofreading, editing, rewriting, and otherwise, overhauling my blog entries. Hats off to you, sis! 

Model: Michelle Camballa. Michelle is a joy to work with and her enthusiasm is contagious. She knows exactly how she would like her photos to come out and she poses and projects herself comfortably and confidently. A natural! She has loads of brilliant ideas and things were positively easier for me during this photo shoot because it was very interactive.

I’m used to working alone but this session made me wish I had some technical assistance. There were fantastic shots we could have done but hadn’t been able to since they required some additional help such as with reflectors and a sunlight diffuser.

There were a lot of things I learned on this session. Things I wouldn’t have realized just by reading or watching, but can be gleaned only through experience in shooting in various locations and conditions.

Some of these shots were taken at Katarungan Village in Muntinlupa and some at ATC when we grabbed some coffee.  

Checkout more photos in my fb albums:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150324970145682.370323.548985681

Location has always been a challenge for me when planning for a shoot. One, because there are a lot of spots I am not familiar with; two, because I’m not an outgoing type; and three, because I hate all the paperwork and fees when securing permits to shoot on location (or maybe I’m just too lazy, LOL). But it’s different for this shoot. I didn’t need to worry about it at all. =) Many thanks to Macey Uy, for finding a location and organizing this pictorial session for us. Thanks also to Eric Yu, for allowing us to do the shoot at Victoria Ville clubhouse. Victoria Ville Subdivision is in Panapaan, Bacoor, Cavite. You may check out this link or their Facebook page for more info.

Location: Victoria Ville Subdivision in Panapaan, Bacoor, Cavite

http://victoriaville.multiply.com

http://www.evyvictoriaville.com

Model: Xyza De Guzman. You’ll never stop laughing when you’re around this bubbly, pretty, carefree lady. She’s amazingly talented and easy to get along and work with. She’s an extremely good singer and song-writer, and she also designs and makes handmade jewelry and accessories. The best thing is that she’s God-fearing and a really sweet person.

I thank God that she’s also gifted with a lot of patience because I had some difficulty focusing my lens when daylight started to fade out. Auto focus does not work in low light and low contrast situations. Switching to Manual would not help at all either, especially when the subject can’t be seenbecause of the total darkness or if it’s behind/against a very strong light source and all you see is a silhouette. I always have that problem because Canon does not have AF assist lamp built-in on their DSLR. I love Canon and their cameras are great, but they missed out on this very important thing. Well, I don’t have any choice but to live with it and be more resourceful and creative.

Location: La Mesa Ecopark (www.lamesaecopark.com/). The place is a very popular photo-shoot session venue for hobbyists and camera clubs/groups. Funny because the first time I visited, I didn’t shoot using my camera, but I shot people with a paintball gun.

What I like most at Ecopark is that getting a permit is incredibly easy. Forms are already available at the registration area. You just need to fill them out, pay the entrance fee, which only costs 50Php per head (10Php if you’re from Quezon City, just present a valid ID), and you’re done. It’s also good to know that when you visit or do photoshoots there (specially in big groups) you’re already helping in environmental preservation, as per their website slogan, “just by visiting, you are already actively participating in saving La Mesa Watershed.”

Model: Christia Asistio. This lass is not just a pretty face, she’s very feminine, soft-spoken, and kind of a shy type. I’ve also witnessed her geek or nerdy side when i saw her reviewing her lessons during our breaks and while i’m setting up. (Got a wall post from Christia last sunday informing me that was not reviewing her lessons at that time but she was just sharing facts she found lol) I’ve also witnessed her geeky side when she shared facts about smoking during our break, which i thought were her lessons that she was reviewing. (Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t smoke and I don’t know how to smoke and never will i do, specially hearing Christia’s facts on smoking lol)  She was the first “Candy face of the week” and Candy teen model finalist, and was also seen in the Panoxyl ad.

There’s nothing sweeter and heart-warming than when your previous team members/friends remember and treat you out on your birthday. I want to make a special entry to thank Ruby, Janeth, MoniQ and Madz. 

We were actually up for Max’s or pizza, but for some reason both were closed that day, so we decided to go to our usual meeting/hang out/vent out/bonding place, at Coffee Bean &Tea Leaf.

http://www.coffeebean.com.ph/

Good thing Janeth brought her camera! picture picture muna. =)

This is MoniQ and she was the one who started these seemingly candid poses.

…and then the rest of us followed. =)

This is Ruby.

Janeth.

and of course, myself.

Madz, made it just in time! =)

By the way, I’d also like to thank and mention the following:

Mom and Dad for the pasta, ice cream, chicken fingers, pancit from Felzar’s (the best pancit i’ve ever tasted) and the very nice polo!

Jello (my bro), for the pants. But he has to return it, because the size he bought was small or maybe, I grew bigger. LOL

Chichai, for the cute mini cake.

Rams, for the v-neck shirt from Solo.

Lynn and Macey for the Iphone 4 pillow! =)

Advanced “thank you” to my ate and Wilj, because I know that they’re just preparing something really big and special. LOL!

I know that it’s already been more than a week since my birthday, but like they say when people forget to greet someone on their birthday, “better late, than never”. So, belated happy birthday to me! =) Big thanks to everyone who greeted me personally, through Facebook wall, messages, email, and sms. Your greetings really made me feel that it was my day!

  

It was in 2002 when I first saw this blue cola/soda. It looked really appealing to me that it made me want to try it and then I suddenly just realized that I already have one in my hand. Holding it was really exciting and seeing it a lot closer was so amusing. I never saw anything like it before, even in my imagination. I opened the bottle and I was thinking what it would be like because it was my first time to in take a blue substance. As soon as it touched my lips, it made me feel happy. I was amazed and surprised that the blue thing tasted like Pepsi. LOL! The blue Pepsi was only around for a limited time only. It was last month when I started to see posters of the blue Pepsi at 7/11 stores, but this time it has a different name, Pepsi Pinas. The name did not only change but also the packaging. When I saw the poster, just like before, I became excited again to buy it. I rushed in to the store the first time I saw the poster and looked for it in the fridge. However, I was only disappointed because it was not yet available that time. I kept on coming back and I even looked for it at other stores but I didn’t find one. But not until yesterday, when I saw one of my officemate holding a bottle containing blue fluid. I immediately approached him to see what it was.  When I got closer, I was surprised with what I saw. He was drinking blue Pepsi! I asked him where he bought it and on my way home, I dropped by one of the 7/11 stores near our place, and I finally got… not one, but two bottles of the special edition Pepsi Pinas! =)