Happy Holidays from #TheShyPhotographer and the Wife

From the Philippines, where it's always hot, humid and interesting!

A Weekend at Laiya

The wife and I wanted to squeeze in a weekend getaway before the craziness of the school year starts. One of the advantages if living in the tropics is it's almost always beach season! So, we took a bus ride, a tricycle ride, and walked on the sands of San Juan, Batangas, a province south of Metro Manila.

These are some of my photos all taken with my trusty iPhone 5s. I never even needed my G15!

Filtered photos made with the Hipstamatic App for the iPhone:

Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for the iPhone 5/5s (and iPod Touch 5th Gen)

Want to take your iPhone photography to the next level? Then I have the perfect solution for you.

The Olloclip 4-in-1 is a simple system that can be attached to your iPhone 5/5s. It is made of high-grade aluminum and real glass - it is not some cheap knock-off that can degrade your photos. The plastic it is made up off is also of high quality.

The lenses have plastic covers and, when removed, will reveal the wide-angle and the fish-eye lenses. I usually go by feel whenever I shoot photos and I can easily distinguish the fish-eye lens by its larger size. Then, you can actually unscrew the lenses and you will get a 10x-macro and a 15x-macro. For reference, the lens under the fish-eye lens is the 15x-macro.

Included in the box is a cloth bag where you can store the olloclip system. This cloth can also be used to wipe off your fingerprint on the glass. Also included is an adapter for the 5th generation iPod touch so iPod touch users will not feel left out.

Using the olloclip is very easy: all you need to do is slide it on the corner where the power button is (and the camera, of course). This means that those who prefer to use a case would be required to take the iPhone 5/5s out first. Even having a plastic film on the phone presents some difficulty. And, yes, the lens can only be used with the rear camera. So, those who like to take selfies with the front camera (something I don’t condone because of its lower quality) would be forced to use the better, higher megapixel iSight camera.

Using the olloclip is a joy. It expands the capabilities of your iPhone making it, in essence, an interchangeable-lens camera. I especially like the fish-eye lens, something that I have mentioned in my review of the Manfrotto Klyp+. This gives a 180-degree view of what’s in front of you. Be careful or you might get your feet in the shot!

The wide-angle lens halves the focal length of the iPhone camera. This will double your field. And you can actually improve your panoramas with the wide angle lens!

The following photos were taken with just the iPhone camera, the wide angle lens, and the fish-eye lens respectively:

And of course, the two macro lenses will make for interesting shots. You have to be careful, though, when you use either of the macro lenses. Focusing on macro scales can be finicky, so I suggest you use a tripod to get perfect macro shots. If it will make you feel any better, the same is true when you use, say, a Canon 100mm macro...

A Henry VIII sighting!!! So, here he is, the first photo of which was taken with the iPhone camera. The second one was taken with the 10x macro at the same distance. The camera had a hard time focusing since the maximum focusing distance was reduced!

Now, Henry VIII is a very private... ah, entity... so he does not want his face shown... So, I took a photo of his back instead. Again, the first photo was taken with just the iPhone camera, the second one was taken with the 10x macro at the same distance, while the third one was taken at 10x macro at the proper focusing distance. And lastly, the photo at 15x macro at a still closer focusing distance. At that point, the focusing distance is at less than 10mm...

Combined with your favorite photo editing app, the Olloclip 4-in-1 will greatly expand your iPhone photography. For myself, the two photo apps I use most often are Camera+ and Hipstamatic.

Check out the two photos below which I made using the Hipstamatic app while the wife was giving a lecture about the latest scientific discovery, the BICEP2. The first photo was made with just the iPhone camera while the second one was made with the Olloclip fish-eye lens. See the difference?

Truly your level of creativity is increased with the Olloclip 4-in-1.

Every time I use the Olloclip 4-in-1, I am often asked what it is and what it does. Of course I am always happy to answer photography questions. Your iPhone photography is taken to a whole new level with it. And you can have it on your phone in, literally, a couple of seconds. And because of the high quality of the glass, the photos shot with the lenses do not degrade in quality. And combined with the best iphone camera apps, you have yourself a great photography system.

Highly recommended!

And check out the time lapse that I made with the Olloclip on the video below!

A Day at the National Museum of the Philippines

I always love spending time in museums. Learning from the great masters always bring a certain high. And learning from Filipino masters is, always, a very special treat.

These are some of the photos of my favorites.

I am happy that the National Museum of the Philippines had greatly improved from the last time I visited it. Visiting this place gave me a very positive feeling.

Special thanks to our friend Sandy for the tour.

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Gear used to make this post:

-- Canon Powershot G15 (Reviews Part 1 and Part 2)

-- Think Tank Photo Retrospective7 (review)

-- Joby DSLR Wrist Strap (review)