My New Instagram Account

 

Portrait taken in the Camera Museum at the Galleria Taal

 

Visit my Instagram page: www.instagram.com/atommagadia

Movie Making is hard work. More than a year ago, after I finished shooting and editing my first feature film "Dagsin," I thought that I would be able to come back and regularly write on this blog, but I was wrong. Making and finishing a movie was just the first part of a long drawn process that also includes Marketing, Promoting and Selling the project. At this point, we are just beginning to submit "Dagsin" to Foreign Festivals, and are in talks with various distributors for possible Domestic and International Commercial Exhibition.

 

After the initial salvo of releasing our Trailers, I was caught up in the Cinemalaya Film Festival proper-- a 3 months long cycle of Press Releases, Press Conferences, TV/Radio interviews and appearances, print articles, Premieres and Gala events. On top of these, since Atom & Anne Mediaworks is an Indie Production Outfit, Anne and I also had to personally supervise the project's Social Media campaigns. We were literally swamped and we were drowning in work. When Cinemalaya ended, both of us have been working none stop 24/7 for a year and a half, and we were both burned-out! It was also time for us to work on the other projects we have placed on hold to concentrate on "Dagsin."

"Camera Obscura" effect at the Camera Museum in Taal.

 

Among those responsibilities I have neglected are this Blog and my Photography. I recently decided to open an Instagram account to simplify my process. Writing articles for this Blog takes quite a bit of time and deliberation. With Instagram, I am hoping to post pictures on the fly; on whatever catches my eye! Finally, Photography (maybe a few videos too) for the sake of Photography, with as little or no captions at all. Right now, if you visit my Instagram page, you will notice that most of the photos I have posted there were actually shot on my IPhone. Spontaneity in my life (and work) has been sorely lacking in the past year and a half. I miss it terribly and I am hoping to rectify it!

 

I will continue to post articles on this blog about my work and musings on Photography, Cinema and Visual Art, but if you just want to see my images without the thought and stories that go with them, then subscribe to my Instagram account. There, you will be able to see not only examples of my formal work (both still and motion), but also view my random doodles, experimental photos/video, family pics and casual sketches.

--Photos shot by Aria Magadia

My Very Own Superfriend

Anne's favorite Superhero is Wonder Woman... mine is Superman

If a Hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength; someone who goes beyond their limitations for the sake of another, then Anne Prado is a true Hero by any definition.  She has battled extreme adversity that most people would give up on.  But her deeds are not widely known, except to a few loved ones.  I have witnessed these acts of bravery and self-sacrifice, and I sincerely believe they should be made public.

Anne was a pretty and exceptionally talented child

Anne was born Anna Marie Prado on March 2 (Her birthday is today).  She was a precocious child who loved to sing, dance and entertain people.  Entertaining patients in her mom's dental clinic as soon as she was able to walk, she was offered several times to be a professional actress but her parents refused.  Poor Anne had to contend herself with using hairbrushes and flashlights during her impromtu concerts.

Anne finally blossomed when she attended school (Assumption & Maria Montessori).  She discovered Elocution and quickly became the favorite, winning gold medals year after year.  She also had a knack for writing, which she used to pen stories and essays.  Her first real trial came at the age of seven.

Growing up in a dysfunctional extended family, Anne suffered from blatant favoritism and discrimination early on.  She was systematically excluded and picked upon by her maternal aunt and uncle from participating in their outings or from using any of her cousins' toys for as long as she can remember.  So one day, while everyone was out having a good time, Anne snuck out a cousin's bike to take a quick ride around the block.  Not knowing the bike's brake was broken, She lost control of the bike going down a hill... Anne got thrown off and the bike landed on top of her.  What followed was a hell that lasted for more than four years.

Her spine was broken.  Anne had to have a major operation to fuse her back.  She went from one Specialist to another hearing the same negative prognosis -- she will never walk again and most probably will never have children.  A brilliant Doctor (Dr. Victor Reyes) finally took on her case as a personal challenge and the operation (after suffering substantial physical pain and anguish) was a success.  But that was just the start of her battle.

Anne had to undergo extensive physical therapy just to gain some sensitivity to the lower half of her body.  Upon gaining sensation, she had to relearn how to move and use her legs, suffering endless hours of gruelling excercises administered by tough therapists.  After months in bed (crawling from one room to the next), then in traction, she finally could go back to school in a wheelchair-- where (sadly) she had to endure ridicule and incessant teasing by her schoolmates for being a cripple.  When she finally conquered the wheelchair and had to wear a full back-brace, she was rechristened "Robo Cop" by some of her classmates.  For someone proud and strong-willed, these taunts were excruciatingly painful.  But Anne endured.  Except for a big scar on her back, she was able to regain all her faculties back through sheer determination and years of hard work.

Anne around the time I met her for the first time

When I finally met her in her mom's dental clinic for the first time, she was a beautiful, smart and outspoken normal High School student from St. Scholastica.  I would not even know that she had serious spinal surgery, until we started dating a few years down the line.  We instantly liked each other and we had a lot of common interests such as Art, Philosophy, Religion, the Occult and Debate.  Opinionated and naturally arguementative, we were both members of our High School interscholastic Debating Teams (Anne ended up competing internationally and was an accredited World-Championship Adjudicator), drama clubs and (by coincidence) both award-winning Elocutionists.  But I was living in Los Angeles during that time, so we only saw each other sporadically.  But we continued our friendship whenever I visited Manila.

After a string of unsuccessful relationships, many years down the line, I called her to have lunch.  I just broke up with my last girlfriend and I needed a friend.  We have not seen each other for three years at that point, so I was stunned when I saw her again.  She had blossomed into a beautiful and vivacious young woman.  I just couldn't stop looking at her.  So ended up asking her out for a couple of more dates before going back to LA.  To cut my story short, I went back to Manila the next year and after a few more months of dating, I asked for her hand in Marriage.  I had no plans of getting hitched, but the question just popped out one evening while we were arguing on the phone.  It just felt natural and inevitable-- I wanted to be with her forever.  She told me that she felt the same way too.  Little did we expect, that our love for each other would result in a lot of anguish and turmoil for everyone involved.  

Grounded 1: Meditations On The Terra Firma

Ribbon-cutting for "Grounded 1" last Dec. 7

I have been a practicing Photographer for more than thirty-three years.  Photography started out as a hobby at the age of eleven, and it has been a constant presence in my life ever since.

When I turned professional five years ago, I decided to keep a part of my photography personal and experimental.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is my first Series dedicated to the original impulse I had when I received my first camera -- to explore the medium of Photography and to use it to see our world in a different way.

I decided to start this personal (experimental) photographic journey at its core.  Light, shadow, texture, line, shape, color and composition comprise the most basic elements of the visual arts -- the fundamental building blocks of Photography.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is pure photography, concentrated on the most essential elements of the Art.  All the photographs in this Series were shot as is, without photo manipulation.*

Beside the "Grounded" Exhibit poster in Ayala Museum

I opted to use a simple camera from the onset, devoid of any controls, to force myself to focus on these crucial elements.  I ended up using an IPhone, instead of my Holga or my Polaroid cameras, because my cellphone is always with me.  It is the modern day counterpart of the Polaroid and the Instamatic camera, and everyone is familiar with it (very few remember what Polaroids are).  After all the camera, no matter how simple or complex, is just a gadget that captures images.  It is our ability to ‘See’ and delight in what we see that dictates what we photograph.

“Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is also my initial foray into Abstract Photography.  Inspired by the avant garde work of Aaron Siskind, I wanted to retrace the possibilities of  Abstract Expressionism in Photography.  Siskind deliberately obscured his subject matter by concentrating on form, texture and simple visual elements to push Photography into the realm of abstraction; Simple and direct, without employing elaborate tricks and gadgets.  Upon discovering the possibilities of abstraction Siskind exclaimed, “For the first time in my life subject matter as such, has ceased to be of primary importance.  Instead I found myself involved in the relationships of these objects, so much so that the pictures turned out to be deeply moving and personal experiences.”

Preparing the Prints for the exhibit

I was walking down Hollywood Blvd. one afternoon, when it dawned on me that the pavements on this street are probably the most photographed side-walks in the whole world -- Pavements normally ignored, but have transcended the mundane by virtue of the names and hand/footprints of the media celebrities imprinted on them.  Why not photograph regular pavements and celebrate them in the same manner?  Aaron Siskind had a series of photographs of ‘tar-marked asphalt roads (his last Series 1986-88),’ which he elevated into Abstract Art -- because they contain interesting calligraphic-like elements that most people overlook.  Since Siskind’s photos were mostly in Black & White, I became excited by the thought of doing mine in color -- a small but significant variable that can heighten visual impact.

“Grounded No. 1” was born.  Seventeen different Los Angeles Cities ‘abstracted’ in a quatrain of photographs like the stanza of a poem ...distilled from the most basic visual elements of the ground we work and play on.  Gravity grounds us to the earth and nothing is more constant in our lives than the firmament beneath us.  Art exists around us, if we just took the time to ‘Look and See.’  “Grounded” is my photographic meditation on the Terra  Firma, the terrain we live and walk on.

*Technical Notes - I used an IPhone App. called ‘Camera Bag’ in the ‘Lolo’ setting to heighten saturation -- a digital approximation of Medium Format Color Reversal Film (square format). But the pictures remain as they were originally shot (no tweaking in Photoshop), with color gradations reflecting the natural daylight color temperature shifts during the time of the day they were captured. No special lenses or attachments were used.

Like Father Like Son

(photo by Anne Prado-Magadia)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!

My son, Ari (Renato III), turned 7 today.  We had a big party for him last Saturday in my parent's home.  Most of his classmates and friends attended, and everybody had great fun (one fell into the pool, another ran naked in the garden and a couple of them wrestled in the mud).

I am proud of my son, who is not only bright and artistic, but is also very popular.  He is funny and full of life.  He is also beginning to show some interest in photography, using his Nintendo DS to shoot and edit, and I am excited about it.

My son clowning around in my studio

I wanted to get him a real camera for his birthday, but decided to delay it for another year or two (to see if he really wants it).  I gave my daughter her own camera when she turned 6, but she hardly uses it.  Unfortunately it was in Pink, so my son would not touch it with a ten foot pole.  I do not want to force photography on him, anymore than I want to determine what he wants to be or to eventually do with his life.  But I am struggling hard to restrain my fatherly instincts to make him like what I like.  I guess it is just natural for any father... 

Instead of a card this year, I am also giving my son a 'birthday comicbook,' like what I gave my daughter a month ago ("10 Years Ago Today").  As a storyteller, I find it more natural and fun to say what I am feeling by telling a story (plus I really love this iPhone App. - I highly recommend it).

10 Years Ago Today

Ten Years Ago...        I became a father.  It was a defining moment for me.

Today, my daughter turned 10, so I decided to give her something different.  Instead of the traditional card, I decided to give her a "Birthday Comicbook," chronicling her first ten years of life (through my eyes of course) and to celebrate a decade of fatherhood.

Singapore Vacation

My wife and I took our family to Singapore for a minivacation last week with my mom. The kids have been working hard in school and we all needed a break from our regular routine.  Singapore turned out to be the perfect destination for all of us -- it was just three hours away and it had a lot of new attractions we have not yet seen.

I have been to Singapore several times, but my last trip was more than 10 years ago.  The city has grown considerably and is now one of the top Asian tour destinations in Southeast Asia.   We just stayed for a week, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel/Casino and Mall complex

One of its newest attractions is the Marina Bay Sands complex.  A bustling city within a city, which boasts of a one of a kind hotel/casino building with a ship-sized structure on top (worlds largest cantilevered platform) that houses restaurants, infinity pools and a spa with a 360 degree view of the city.

The "lotus like" Art & Science Museum of Singapore

The complex also has a beautiful mall (the Shoppes Mall) that houses luxury shops like Cartier and Louis Vuitton as well as 7 celebrity Chefs restaurants and a skating rink.  It is also home to Singapore's new state of the art Art & Science Museum as well as two world-class performing arts theatres and a huge convention center.

Shooting butterflies (shot by Anne)

Less picturesque but just as spectacular (occupying 121 acres), is Resorts World Sentosa which hosts Universal Studios Singapore.  The resort is still in varying stages of construction, but it will eventually be the home of 6 world-class hotels, a water park, a marine park and a maritime museum.  This certainly is not the same Singapore I visited 10 years ago.

Aside from these two grand resort developments we spent a lot of time in Underwaterworld Singapore, the Singapore Zoo and the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom.  Aside from the kids, I had a lot of fun photographing the different species of animals and insects for my own print series.  I came back with hundreds of photographs.  A lot of which, won't been seen publicly for years...

--Shot with a Canon 7D with various lenses.

Happy Halloween

"The Huntress" from my new series "Goddesses"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL!

2010 has been a real eventful year for me... Thank God it's almost over.

Unlike previous Halloweens, when I actually went out with the kids to Trick or Treat, I had to stay home this year.  Although I have been dismissed from Occupational Therapy, I still have a long way to go in Physical Therapy before I can have my old endurance back... walking all over Corinthian Gardens was just too much for me (our neighborhood).

Aside from playing with my guitars ( I can now somewhat strum), I have been writing ever since I discovered that I can still type.  Besides scripts, I have been busy with my first novel -- which used to be in graphic form, but has now been converted into a Narrative, because of my inability to use my right hand to draw properly.

Here I am in my present state with a big scar and a depression/hole on my forehead.  I don't need to scare myself this year, all I have to do is to look into a mirror!

At the Optometrist getting my vision checked.

--Shot with a Canon 1Ds Mark II and 24-70mm f/2.8L Zoom. Author photo by Anne Prado-Magadia.

Affordable Waterproof Housing For Your Cameras

Dicapac WP-610

For a few dollars, anyone can waterproof, weatherproof or dustproof their cameras with a Dicapac waterproof case.  Made from high-quality PVC with Silicon and TPU Rubber, it is the perfect camera housing for swimming, snorkling, diving, boating, camping, skiing, rafting or simply as a proctective covering against rain and dust. It is currently available in twelve different configurations to fit consumer sized video cameras and still cameras (from SLRs to compacts).

I bought a Dicapac WP-610 case for my Leica D-Lux 3 and tested it last weekend in our pool.  I am glad to report that it is effective and well worth its price.  Here are underwater photos of my wife and daughter swimming:

Aside from the Leica D-Lux 3 and D-Lux 4, Model WP-610 also fits the Canon Powershot G Series and the Sigma DP Series. The case features a UV coated optical lens barrel with a front port diameter of 62mm and an additional 3.5 inch extension barrel for longer lenses.  A detachable neck-strap and foam insert (for better fit) are also provided.  The case is guaranteed to a depth of 33 ft. or 10 meters using a double seal system with a waterproof zipper, plus roll and velcro closures.

Another case I am interested in is the WP-S10, which can easily accomodate a Canon 7D or 5D Mark II.  It features the same materials as the WP-610 in a larger dimension and features a bellowing/extending barrel that stretches to 200mm (80mm diameter) to accomodate a variety of lenses. It also features a finger sleeve to access the shutter release and for reaching the top side camera control knob. It is guaranteed up to 16 ft. or 5 meters in depth.  This case will be perfect for most of my professional still and DSLR HD work, as a weather proof case and as an underwater housing for light diving needs.  It retails for a low $150!

Anatomy of a Family Portrait - 2

Here are the 'couples only' pictures from our family portrait shoot.  This time around, I am actually behind the camera.  I opted to provide each couple with two shots one in Color and one in B&W.  The Color shots are more quirkier/modern and the B&W are more formal/classic head shots.

I lit these pictures naturally with one big light source to emulate a large window...  I normally light my portraits individually to suit each sitter (matching the light and shadow to their personalities).  But since these pictures were shot as a set, I had to make sure that the lighting matched.  So I took extra care in showing as much individuality in each shot, through my subjects personalities as well as through their body language.  I believe I was able to capture an essence of each couple in all of the pictures.

  -- Shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 24-70mm L f/2.8 lens.

Anatomy of a Family Portrait

First off... I want to apologize for my long absence from blogging.  Like for most people, the Holidays are a hectic time for me.  Aside from the usual hustle and bustle brought about by numerous parties and the distribution of gifts to friends and business clients (not to mention the kind people in my children's respective schools), my whole family flew in for a visit and for the first time in years, we were complete.  Which brings me to the topic of this particular blog entry...  Our Family Portrait.

L-R Back: Reno, France, my wife Anne, Mom, Me, Dad and Ren

L-R Front: my daughter, my son and Pinky

My brother Reno just got married last June, and this was our first family reunion in three years.  Now that we all have spouses (my two brothers and I), it somehow felt cosmically symmetrical to my parents to capture the moment for all eternity in a "Formal Portrait."

The last Portrait of my family was done around fifteen years ago by renowned Pasadena photographer Charis, when the three of us were not married yet.  With Charis long gone, and with a studio of my own, the task naturally fell on me.

I love taking pictures and would naturally jump at any opportunity to click a shutter, but this photograph includes me and my son.  Shooting myself is a daunting enough... add an over-active and somewhat willful five year-old boy into the mix and you've got the right ingredients for a disaster!

I calmly assessed the task before me.  If this was a movie, it will be like directing and acting at the same time -- a hard proposition, but not an impossible job.  Anyway, I will just be shooting my family.  I expected them to give me a little bit more room for error (at least I hoped).

To deal with the gap of not being able to see my shots after each firing and to avoid using the self-timer, I downloaded the DSL Remote for the IPhone by onOne software.  It is a bit pricey, but well worth it -- if you can get it to work.  It has support for both my Canon 1Ds Mark IIs and my 40D, but has yet to get updated for my newer 7D.  Since it does not have live-view for the 1Ds, I was left with the 40D.  I had a hard time configuring it since I had to use an ad-hoc network setting, because my home and studio networks are different.  After several hours of wrestling with the software, I was finally able to make it work in my house.

To make a long story short... when I tried the DSL Remote in the Studio on the day of the shoot, it did not work.  My neighbors' wireless networks kept intruding on its frequency.  In the end, I got to shoot with the 7D with an infrared trigger to get the job done.  If you look at the picture closely, you will see the trigger on my left hand.  I am particularly proud of this accomplishment and have chosen to keep the trigger in the final photo.

The final picture is a composite of four individual shots... an option I did not have much control over since I was not only dealing with a group shot (where blinking is always a problem), but I was also in the picture so I could not see what I was shooting and my son (in the foreground) was in a sour mood and would not cooperate.

Here are the four individual shots I used:

Charity Work for Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Last Sunday, my daughter was the Guest of Honor at the Portuguese Bend National Horse Show, held at the Rolling Hills Estates in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. She awarded the Gabriel C. Duque, Jr. memorial trophy with Childrens Hospital LA Head of Radiology, Dr. Marvin Nelson.

Seeing her award that trophy brought tears to my eyes...