the front porch experiment

the guidelines were simple:

• limit yourself within a specified area
• shoot anything without directing nor rearranging stuff

this is a good exercise for those into photography. it trains the eyes to be more perceptive and the mind to be more creative.

i have planned that we would do this once we get a dslr because it would be an effective way of learning the controls of a professional camera. it would also be a nice bonding session with my wife. 😉 but we still don’t have a dslr so this activity remains in the “things-to-do” list.

october 29 was a holiday and it was barangay elections day. we went home to selle’s hometown for her to exercise her right vote (d na ako bumoto kasi hindi ko naman kilala na ang mga tumatakbo kung san ako naka-register). voting was quick and it was over and done with in less than 5 minutes. afterwards, we went to selle’s family’s house to rest, eat 🙂 and spend some quality time. while resting out in the front porch, their caged dog caught my attention. kinuha ko bigla camera namin and took a quick picture. pag tayo ko, i saw some flowers, so i took a picture of that too… and then another. then i thought to myself, why not do the experiment now? so i did just that. armed with our handy point-and-shoot, i started exploring and shot anything that looks interesting.

after a few minutes of shooting, here’s a glimpse of the experiment results:



flowers are always nice photo subjects.
(top) i particularly liked how this photo turned-out. the rule-of-thirds, shallow depth-of-field and subtle use of lines all work together to further emphasize the subject matter.
(bottom) basically the same technique was used here. we bought this plant at festival mall as a gift to selle’s mom. 🙂 that was a little over a year ago.


besides the obvious subject matters like flowers, things forming interesting shapes and/or patterns are always nice to photograph.
(top) have you ever imagined clothespins would be this nice? 😛
(bottom) do not underestimate simple geometrical shapes. in this case, it’s just 2 circles and a rectangle. the reflections on the water adds another dimension to this photo.


of course, whenever we’re taking pictures, there has got to be some lomography somewhere. 😀 these 2 photos are all about the play of lines and colors popping out… lomo style.


a collection of photos of mundane things. beauty can be seen everywhere. it’s just a matter of getting the right angle, the right approach and applying the right enhancements.


a couple more photos.
(top) a coconut tree taken at a different angle.
(bottom) the photo that started this whole experiement. galing din noong aso, no? marunong mag-project. 🙂

this experiment proved one thing… that we live in a wonderful world and that beautiful photos are not made… but it is discovered and subsequently captured.

despite the limitations of a point-and-shoot, this was a fun exercise with plenty of learning experiences.

we just can’t wait to get our hands on a dslr, right, favy? 😉