Sparks 2011 and a Surprise

Last week, my sister and I attended the Sparks 2011, an annual photography convention. It was the same date as Toycon but I opted to attend this one instead. Anyway, I didn’t take pictures that much because I want to grasp what the 18 guest photographers had to say on the lecture. See, each of them was only given five minutes to talk. I really learn a lot and they made me delve into photography even more.

Some of the photos I took during the convention.

 

These models posed very well esp. the one in yellow. Too bad I didn’t give them justice on my shots. Such a major failure. =/

The event had also an exhibit for the Beatles.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The photos I took after the event.

Here we are with a bogus fish eye effect.

If you’re an avid reader of my Tumblr/blog, you had already noticed that I am fond of Bokeh and blurred shots.

This child and her balloon caught my attention because of their colors. Had a hard time “freezing” them but still happy I was able to do so somehow. 

The event didn’t end on the lecture alone. In fact, there was a photographer’s ball after it and it had some raffles. Prizes include digital cameras, video cameras, tripod etc. I wanted to go because I had a strong feeling that sis or I would win. I wanted the tripod because I badly need it. But sis didn’t want to go and once she decided it would be final. We could’ve gone our separate ways but I didn’t want to risk our safety just because of my selfishness. So we decided to go home but we had dinner first.

Just took photos of the free drink stub to compensate somehow. 

When we got home, a surprise was waiting for me.

I was the winner of the Midnight Masquerade’s 100^th Mask giveaway. It looks like luck is on my side. Just last week, I also won The Abi Ong Project’s giveaway and last January, I won a post card set from Valerie Chua. Will keep you posted about my prizes. Ahh, I’m so ecstatic, can’t wait for my mask.

And on that note, I’ll end this post. :)

Giveaways from The Abi Ong Project

Weeks ago, I stumbled upon an online store called The Abi Ong Project and at the time, it was giving away these lovely prizes.

I decided to join because the mechanics are quite simple: just like its Facebook page, post a photo of how you spent your summer and describe the clothes you're wearing. So just imagine how excited I was when I found out that I was the winner.

My favorite among the prizes is the Almay periwinkle eyeliner, the color is just so so adorable.

Wondering what's my contest entry? Here it is. 

Notice that they even took the time to do a layout for my entry which is really cool. The store  also mentioned that it will be doing another giveaway in the future, so do watch out for it. Who knows you might be the winner this time. By the way, you might want to check the store's official website and Facebook page. It sells brand new  clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, beauty products from Japan and Korea. There are a lot to choose from and the products are great.

A Quiet Prize

These came in the mail the other day. It’s a 6-piece postcard set I won from Valerie Chua’s giveaway which also comes with a cute Niffy pen. It’s my first time winning online and I’m really happy because I know I’m not really lucky when it comes to raffles (the winners were picked randomly). What makes this prize special is that it was from someone I really admire. I’ve been an avid follower of Valerie Chua for a while now. She is a self-taught illustrator based here in Manila. Viewing her works has always been a pleasure to me so what more in seeing and holding them in real life. As a matter of fact, she had inspired me to start painting and do better on doing artworks. 

She also asked the winners to choose their favorite post card and she would sign it. Here’s my pick: 

See hi-res photos of the complete postcard set here and more of her artworks here. I also recommend you to see her lovely blog where she holds occasional giveaways. Who knows you might get lucky just like me. Needless to say, I’m very very happy with my prize. :)

Btw, I'm in the mood to do some different kinds of post-processing hence, the inconsistent colors.