Source: Uploaded by user via Katie on Pinterest
So cute.
Take More Pictures. Celebrate More Moments. Tell More Stories.
Remember that life is full of beauty and wonder.
This wonderful poster reminds me of why I take pictures.
This is a collage of my recent favorite series of shots:
On the left is my partner in crime, Alfred. On the right, is my handsome, adorable, one-year-old nephew Amir. They were engaged in a staring match, that ended up in fits of laughter because of their funny faces!
It was such a tender moment, and I was glad to have captured it.
Why did I take these photos? Amir’s smile makes me feel good. His smile lights up the room, and his laughter makes all booboos go away. I took these photos because I wanted to capture those smiles in a way that would allow me to keep going back to them. Yes, that’s mainly why I take photos now – for memory keeping. I want to keep memories of this time in Amir’s life. He will grow up and might be embarrassed to give his old aunt a kiss in front of his friends, but I can always look to this photo, and the hundreds of snapshots we have of him, and all will be well.
I take photos of food I eat, things that interest me, people I’m with. I photograph everyday things, and special things too. All these I take because I want to remember them well someday.
There was a time when I took photos because I wanted to improve at photography. I photographed for art’s sake. But that didn’t work out for me. It frustrated me at times. But once I reframed my thoughts in line with why I really want to take those pictures, the experience became more enjoyable, and fulfilling.
Sometimes I wonder if we only photograph the beauty around us so we can later surround ourselves with what is good and beautiful. But you know what, sometimes I photograph the ugly too (if it turns out beautiful still, then that’s great!), and the sad. They are still memories worth preserving anyway.
Last month I posted the question on Facebook, why am I taking pictures? I am happy to be surrounded by people who are also after preserving memories.
I haven’t visited this DSLR Camera Simulator site in a long time, but I remember having been fascinated when I learned of it the first time. There’s also no memory of ever signing up for a newsletter, but I was very glad to open their message in my Inbox today.
And guess what? You can play around with the simulator right here, thanks for their embed code 
Cool isn’t it?
I still owe you an answer to why I take pictures.
Due to the real-life events, all my blogs have been quiet these past two weeks. I haven’t blogged why I take pictures, but I will soon.
Kodak has declared bankruptcy.
I’m not really sure what happens when a company files for bankruptcy. Initially, I though that Kodak will completely shut down. But the linked article says that they are receiving financial assistance to continue operations. I haven’t been to the mall in over a week so I have no idea if the Kodak kiosks in SM malls are still there.
I have Kodak Moments to remember too:
Kodak has had good advertising over the years, and coining Kodak Moments really was effective. In fact, there is Pinoy slang kodakan meaning picture-taking, or photo opportunity.
No matter where Kodak goes from now on, they have already made their mark not only in the world of photography, but in the world at large. Memory keeping has never been the same since the advent of the first Kodak.
What are your Kodak moments?
There is an interesting post over at The Digital Photography School that has definitely sparked a revolution in my head: The One Question You Should Ask Yourself Before Taking Any Picture.
I did a quick check of The {Newbie} Photographer’s About page, half hoping that there was an answer to that question there. Disappointment is what I found – I had not mentioned the reason I take pictures!
This blog has existed for quite awhile now, perhaps two or even three years. It’s non-success (very little traffic, very few posts) in the blogging world should probably be attributed to one thing: the goals I set for the blog were skewed. I had set off hoping to build a treasury of technical resources for the newbie photographer when I should have aimed for something that was closer to my heart: to provide a venue to share our love for photography. Along the way I may share tutorials or links to great tutorials on photography, but ultimately, I should blog about why I always feel like being a newbie in this field (and truly, I am), and why that is just fantastic. This blog must be about why I love capturing moments, and the many possible ways it can be done.
This question will also guide me as I embark on Project 365 for my Project Life in 2012.
I don’t have a profound answer just now, but I intend that to be on my next post. I would also like to hear from YOU – why do you take photos? or particular pictures? Leave your answer in the Comments box. 
This has been circulating around Facebook but I couldn’t find it on my wall anymore. A quick search in Google landed me on this blog, she may or may not be the author.
I wanted to share it here because, I can relate, and I’m sure my guy can too:
Date a girl who takes photographs. Date a girl whose favorite sound is the click-click of the shutter as it closes and opens to capture a memory. Date a girl who sees the wonder in the simplest things. Date a girl who looks at the world and wonders how to put a little of herself in it.
You might find her in the park, lost behind her lens, the world a blur around her as she tries to capture a single moment in time. You might find her in an exhibit, a look of concentration on her face as she contemplates a photograph that called out to her as she was passing by. Or maybe you will find her in a bookstore, a book in her lap as she pores over photographs of weddings all the while wondering what hers would look like.
Take her out to photo walks and laugh as she tries to take a picture of you. When she gets tired of walking, buy her cupcakes but wait until she has taken pictures of them before proceeding to eat them. Listen as she tells you her ideas for a photo shoot on the ride home.
Take her to a restaurant and wait patiently as she surveys the menu carefully, appreciating the food photography. And again, wait until she has taken a photo of your food before digging in. Allow her introduce you to Ansel Adams while you both eat your lunch. Introduce her to your favorite musician as you wait for the bill to arrive. When you get home, change your Facebook profile picture into a photograph she took of you. She silently hoped for it.
Take stolen shots of her. Compile it and give it to her on her birthday. Tell her you love her over and over until your voice replaces the click of the shutter as her favorite sound. Kiss her after she lifts her head up from the camera. Give her camera-shaped necklaces. Go places with her.
You will never be bored again.
Date a girl who takes photographs. She will never whine about a little dirt on her favorite pair of jeans as she kneels down to get a better angle of her subject. She will never be afraid to take adventures with you. She will take photographs of you not just with her camera but with her mind as well and keep it to herself to admire at night. But above all, she will teach you how to look at the world with a brand new perspective and she will do that unknowingly.
Marry a girl who takes photographs. Ditch those wedding photography books and give her the most beautiful wedding you could. She will teach your kids to find the beauty in everything just as she had taught you. Every day will be an adventure as she tries to create photograph-worthy memories with you. She may wake you up in the middle of the night because she is buzzing with ideas but she will make it up in the morning with a stack of hot pancakes beside a steaming cup of your favorite coffee blend.
Grow old with a girl who takes photographs. Sit with her on the front porch as you both pore over the bits and pieces of the moments you’ve had together. Stroke her hair as you both relive the photo walks that you took and the places you have been when you were both young. Smile as you both reenact your clever wedding vows.
Date a girl who takes photographs because she will always see that “something” in the most “nothing” of things. She will never let anyone take you away from her like she never lets anyone steal her photos and that is just one of the evidences that she loves you.
I’m a girl who photographs so I don’t get to be on many of the photographs here. Haha. Here’s a self portrait I took three years ago (I think).
I have written about Project 365 before, and I will probably write about it again. Specially if I actually make it happen in 2012.
Today, The Daily Digi also tackles P365, and Steph features the iPhone app Photo 365. I got that app a few weeks back and loved using it. Without committing to a new P365, I actually took photos each day for a few days after getting it installed. I didn’t know about the alarm feature though, maybe I should have that activated.
For 2012, I really want to get serious with Project Life. P365, I think, will be crucial to making that happen. So yes, in 2012, the focus of my Project 365 will still be documenting the everyday life. Improving my photography and finding my voice will be a bonus.
In 2010, I started my P365 on the first day of the year. This was that photo:
My next attempt will be that way too. I will start on January 1. But it doesn’t mean I have to wait until then to get in to the habit of taking daily photos.
The last photo I posted on the photo blog for 2010 was the one below, but it probably wasn’t the last photo I took for the project. There probably were more, but not posting them became the reason I stopped altogether.
Not being able to share my photos online was a bad reason to stop doing it. After all, the reason for starting it was to get good at taking photos. Maybe I got it wrong. Perhaps at the time, my reason for taking on the task was to have something pretty to share at the end of the day. And perhaps too, that’s why I failed. Each time.
Katrina Kennedy who runs CaptureYour365 really got it. You need to start your 365 project with your purpose in mind. Without that purpose, it will be tough to stick it out until day 365.
So Project 365 2012 edition for me will be about documenting the everyday life.
Thank you Photojojo for this amazing idea.
Someday, I will do this with my own beautiful images. Would be nice to use a photo of the person I’m gifting ro. So many possibilities really!
Anyhoo click through the image to read more.
Source: content.photojojo.com via Vera on Pinterest
A few weeks ago, my host disabled this blog due to a malicious attack. Since then, I have been trying on and off to get The {Newbie} Photographer back online. I found a way to get the posts back to a new WordPress installation, but I have yet to get all the photos uploaded.
I have resorted to manually re-uploading the photos from the old directory to the new one so that the links in the posts will still work. But doing so is proving to be quite the challenge. My idea was that FTP would make things faster, but I always get timed out. Not sure if it’s a host issue, or my Internet connection. Please be forgiving of the missing photos in my posts for now, and the generic design. I started uploading the older photos first, but I will reverse that after the current folder (month) completes uploading.
Anyway… Just think of all this mess as a process of remodeling the site. 
I am not going to make the effort to get my old premium theme installed because I’d already forgotten all the tweaks I did on it. So I’ll restart with a different theme.
Thank you for your patience.