Hello Tonichi

whiskey loaded beats and lyrical feats all between these wrinkled sheets

Give me afternoon sunlight and even the slightest hint of "yes, alright, you may, er, photograph me" and in five minutes I'm already emptying the SD card, switching lenses, and getting my photographer gear on - which includes an old orange house shirt with holes and a tangled, frizzy excuse for a hairstyle. Frolicking around the neighborhood looking like I ran a 5K while being devoured by mosquitoes.. I think this what they call, "suffer for your craft?" 

With one term left before I graduate and the million and one chips making themselves comfortable on my shoulder, I am thisclose to melting into a puddle of feelings (freshly squeezed from fresh tears). 

My sister is the best. I was sick with fever and tonsillitis last week, and naturally, she got sick as well (we're clingy like that, haha!), but she still obliged when I casually asked her to model for my Creative Photography class midterms. I was actually only too happy to have her as my subject again, but she was apologetic about how her short hair wasn't dreamy / surreal / ethereal enough for my concept! GUUURL, did we or did we not watch more seasons of ANTM than we'd like to admit?! In the words of philosopher, modeling queen, and professional narcissist, Tyra Banks: WERK IT.  

I don't know what it is about school lately but every week's more dull than the last. Maybe I'm just exhausted from the everyday grind. 

Summer is upon us! Or rather, upon me, because a lot of my batchmates are working this summer for their internship/OJT. I'm not taking mine yet because I have a handful of minors (prerequisites to going on an internship) left. Praise the Lord, hallelujah! I'm off the internship hook for this summer. Thank you, useless minors for being useful for once. :D Anyway, the first thing on our summer itinerary was to go to the beach, as always. My family went resort hopping in Bataan for a few days, and the first stop was Anvaya Cove. Apparently it's an exclusive resort or something because you can't spend the night there unless you're a member or know somebody who's a member. Luckily, my dad's good friend is one, so pack our bags we did, and off to Bataan we went! :D

Portraits I took of my sisters and myself. Self-timer of course, because I still have yet to be comfortable with someone else taking my photo :| :)) For some strange reason, I was waaay more at home with posing or smiling at a camera back in high school. I have more photos from 4th year high school than my whole college life. Is that sad?! Or maybe I just got more awkward. Orrrrr I guess I just got so used to being behind a lens. Yup, that must be it. *convinces self* Ehh, I gotta practice soon because graduation photos are coming up. Heh. heh. P.S. my hair color is edited, I don't think my hair is healthy enough to go through bleaching... yet. Hahaha XD Soon, dream hair. Very soon..

By some stroke of good luck (and a lot of coaxing from everyone), my sister finally agreed to be my subject for one of my personal shoots. She's a reluctant model and doesn't particularly enjoy being photographed, but oh woe is she - the camera loves her! She was such a trooper, lying down on the itchy grass, and kneeling on the sand without any complaints. Since she's pretty shy, we were really lucky that we had the beach all to ourselves. (Some Koreans arrived 10 minutes after we wrapped up, so the gods of photography must've been on my side that day haha!) There were so many more pictures I wanted to include but I didn't want to be overzealous, so these will have to do.. for now! XD As always, it's a challenge for me to shoot outdoors with the constantly shifting sun. I wonder, what is the maximum allowable time for a photographer to figure out the best settings when changing locations? Ack, I still have much to learn... I've been slacking of...