Rough Groove

The new look of Binary Silver, my photoblog

If not for a surprise email that I got this weekend, two in fact, I woudn’t have redesigned my photoblog, Binary Silver in a huff! My second blog to be redesigned in three days. Well, I will just announce the surprise when the time is ripe.

Anyway, I was so busy the whole day today making a very big change to the way my photoblog looks, a major overhaul that seems to be a big leap forward. My idea was to have a clean and simple design. A minimalist approach that will highlight more the images with the overall layout not stealing the thunder from the photos. All styling is done in cascading style sheets or CSS.

First and foremost, it has lots of white space. Text is uncluttered and revolves around the images. I did away with the sidebar and opted instead to subdivide the 960px width into two with about 2/3 devoted to the content while a third is reserved for the post title and details. A 300px wide Google Adsense ad will also be placed here.

The color scheme is limited to two gradations of grays, orange and light yellow for a fresh feel to it. If you will notice, there are no other images other than the main photo and the rest is text. Horizontal lines are also predominant and the only other design element with a shape is the header menu which is a rectangle (of course, other than the photos).

The header got me some problems earlier. At first I opted for a left float so that the header title and the header menu will be at the same level but when I placed a clear below the header, there was just a very wide space underneath. I wasn’t able to resolve this problem that I opted to do away with it. To remedy the disconnect, I placed a border below the title. I think it was a good decision. However, when I get to solve this technical problem, I might change the way the header look.

As for the footer, I was at a bind on how to do it. At first, I had this dark gray block with lighter yellow links but it just doesn’t jive. Later, I replaced the dark block and opted for a white background. To separate this from the main content area, a gray line, 5px in width is used as a divider. The three columns are all widget ready.

Now, its more unified.

Last few days of World Press Photo 2008 exhibit at The Block

Catch this very exciting photography exhibit while you still can! The World Press Photo 2008 exhibit will be wrapping up this week as its three week showing in the Philippines will end this 22 August at The Block in SM North Edsa. Gaze at over a hundred breathtaking images taken by photojournalists. From a high of around 80,000 images from 5,000 photographers from 125 countries, these are the photos that made it. This exhibit is also a look of what is happening in our world today and the kind of images that is transforming the field of Photojournalism.

Spyder2express

Any serious photographer or imager, for that matter, cares about having a calibrated monitor. It is not only a matter of practice that colors are as faithful as possible regardless of which monitor displays it but for one who does a lot of Photoshop and Lightroom, getting the colors right in the first place is a must.

I’ve been using ColorVision’s Spyder2express, for more than a year now. It’s an inexpensive color calibrator which works well for CRT and LCD displays. I just need to install the software, plug in the calibrator and after about 15 minutes in a totally dark room, My notebook computer’s LCD is calibrated.

As there is a tendency that displays degrade over time, I set the software to prompt me each month to do the recalibration. Really, this is a very helpful device. No guessing the colors here.

Just check the image at the right and compare the difference. Of course, if your monitor is not calibrated, you will never see what the benefits are. ColorVision already have an upgraded calibrator but mine is still working perfectly.

I made it to ACFJ!

I applied for the Diploma in Photojournalism program of Ateneo de Manila’s Konrad Adenauer Asian Center For Journalism (ACFJ) around the third quarter of 2007 but unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the cut off of 12 students per batch. Much to my surprise when Jimmy Domingo, the coordinator sent me a text message informing me that my application has been reactivated. I just have to respond positively and update some documents without the need for a face to face interview as I had it already last year. That was around March.

Also known as the ACFJ, the Asian Center for Journalism is dedicated to the promotion of excellence in journalism in Southeast Asia. It aims to foster a free, viable and responsible press that will nurture the public discourse essential to an informed practice of citizenship and democracy.

Letter of Acceptance After much waiting, I finally got a response in the 3rd week of April. In an email, I was informed that I was granted a full scholarship. I was just left speechless. I’ve been wanting to be in the program ever since I’ve known about it in 2006 and there I was in the internet cafe, reading such good news, wanting to shout with joy but just contained myself!

The Diploma in Photojournalism offers a unique opportunity to learn photojournalism in the context of the ethical and social values as well as professional standards which Ateneo promotes

The program is unique as it’s a hybrid on-campus/online class but the former is just around 2 weeks while the rest is via weekly readings, chat sessions, assignments posted in the discussion boards. Its a big departure from what I have had and really very challenging as there is very little face to face interactions.

Now that I am with the program, I really am looking forward to fulfill my dreams of making it in photojournalism. I am also grateful to Kitoy for the help and advise. Bai, dako kaayo akong pasalamat pud sa imo!

urbanMANILA

urbanMANILA is the website that I developed, gratis et amore, for the projects made during the workshop conducted by World Press Photo 05 awardee Peter Bialobrzesky, a program of the Goethe Institut, Manila. This was held from 31 January - 26 February 08 at the Silverlens Gallery. From the original 10 participants, eight of us finished the month long collaboration.

The workshop was free. In return, we accompanied and assisted Peter, one on one, for his current work. The learnings and new insights gained ranging from technique, approach to photography as an art, business and as a career were really priceless. I have always wanted to do urban photography and Peter’s inputs really is spot on.

I never regretted joining the workshop. Now, I can just smile and look back when I almost didn’t make it. When I first learned about it from Dennis Rito early January, it was already too late as the selection was concluded December. But when I saw that only 8 out of 10 slots were filled, I immediately contacted Paula Guevarra of Goethe Institut but was told that it was already too late. Seeing that this will be important for me, I sent an email to Jimmy Domingo of ACFJ as well as to Peter. They discussed it and luckily, the selection was reopened just a few days before the start of the workshop. And from there, it was history. It pays to be persistent!

The website is just a simple HTML and CSS based project. I was tempted to do it in flash or integrate flash elements in it but decided not to. The design is uncluttered and I opted for a black background so that the photos will look better. I also tried out a new design where the content is organized in such a way that it floats against the dark backdrop. I did not follow a top-left placement of the site name but instead, positioned it at level with the photo. The main content only holds the site name as well as the images. As for the footer, I utilized this area to hold the thumbnails, navigation and other information. One of the photographers, Tammy David requested not to include her images while I’m still awaiting the text for the About page.

The entire project was done in one sitting. Overnight.