After having Alaminos longganisa (around P65 with rice) for breakfast at the market, the first island we went to was Governor’s Island.

It was a very straightforward shot with two off-camera light sources. Since I was packing light, I had brought only an SB-600 flash. I used it bare at camera right to balance the light so that our faces wouldn’t underexpose. The second light was the sun which served as a nice kicker light. You can see the lightstand and flash in this setup shot. I upped the ambient in the final shot by adjusting my shutter speed since I felt it was a tad too dark (very moody, but didn’t fit the happy 100 islands mood).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I used a Cokin P-Series Gradual filter to handle the bright sky

Right now, I’m packing my stuff (very densely) while three of the guys are playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on the PSP. We had just spent the whole morning till about 3 o’ clock hopping from one island to another. We were able to get some pretty nifty photos, especially while we were playing around at Children’s Island. Here are some of the photos, most especially Kenny’s, whose pictures we all agreed seem to always looked great. After getting back to the inn, some of us headed for the shower while some of us bought halo-halo (P15) while waiting for our turn. After that, most of us slept, dead tired.

Dinner a while ago was fantastic. We ate at Maxine By The Sea. We wanted to try out their famous calamares. Maxine’s is probably the priciest place in the area, but the food was supposedly good. True enough, it was fantastic! We had the Maxine Special Calamares (P195), Bangus Bellies Sinigang (P220), Sizzling Gambas, and Tanguige Kelawin plus 8 cups of rice. All in all, it set us back only P1,287 (service charge included), but it’s a feast for six people.

Tomorrow, we’re off to see the Agoo Basilica so we’re getting up very early to catch the 6:00am bus to Dagupan where we’ll transfer to another bus to Agoo. And then it’s off to Vigan.

Stay tuned, more adventures up ahead.

Tripod curls using a heavy-duty tripod

As I mentioned last time, in a few days me and my buddies are off to our Northern Exposure trip. Since we’ll be travelling by bus, we’re going to be foregoing the luxury of trunk space and instead we’ll have to rely on our backs to carry all our luggage.

It’s important nowadays for photographer’s to stay in shape. This isn’t only for outdoor photographers to keep up with the rigors of on-location work, but also for studio photographer’s who might find it easy to just kick back and relax in the comfort of your studio. Fortunately, you can do these exercises without having to go to the gym and using equipment you might already have.

Disclaimer: I am a photographer, not a trainer. Do these exercises after consulting with your doctor or trainer.

Read on to start getting in shape.

For all the exercises below, I recommend going through them all with little or no break in-between. After going through the circuit, have a 2-minute break before repeating the circuit. Doing this, your body will warm up and burn more calories at a more explosive rate. While you will want to use heavier tripods/lightstands as weights, the general rule is to use weights as close or a bit heavier than the gear you’ll be carrying on your trip. Do this every other day or 3-4 times a week. And do the Brisk Weighted-Walking (see below) in betweens.

Crossover stepups to train your legs for uneven terrain

Crossover Stepups

When you’re traveling on foot, your going to have to give your lower body a lot of prerparation. Find a bench, stool, or in my case, a small trash can, or any other stable platform you can step on. Grab two light stands and hang them to your sides. Heavy studio-light light stands are best. Stand to the right of the bench/stool/trashcan and step on it with your right foot. Elevate yourself smoothly. Straighten your right leg but keep your left foot hanging. Step down by reversing the motion. Repeat this for around 8-10 reps for each leg.

Squats

Find a nearby wall, grab a medicine ball and put it between the wall and the small of your back. With your feet square with your shoulder extend your arms forward. Slowly squat down and then come back up. As an alternative to the medicine ball, you can grab a heavy-tripod or even your whole stand bag (containing your tripod and/or lightstands of course), hold it behind your head, and do the squats. Do 6-8 reps.

Tripod curls using a heavy-duty tripod

Tripod Curls

It’s equally important to keep your arms in shape, for those times when you’re going to be doing some lifting of your baggages getting on and off the bus. Find a chair to sit on, and with your tripod (preferably steel, carbon fiber tripods are too light. And you had better not be using those cheap aluminum tripods, for exercise nor for shooting!). Make sure you hold the tripod where it’s balanced in your hand. Start by letting your arm hang loose straight down then curl your biceps upwards. Do 6-8 reps per arm.

Camera Speed Twist

Hold your camera with both hands just in front of your chest and sit on the floor with your knees bent. Heavier cameras are best, which means no Nikon D40/50/60/5000 or Canon 350D/400D/450Ds. Raise your feet off the ground. Twist your body and cmaera to your right, then to the left, while maintaining your back-position and feet off the floor. Do 8-10 reps.

Other Exercises

Some other exercises you may want to include into the circuit.

Push-Ups

Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups – If you’re background stand can handle your weight, you can use that for chin-ups or pull-ups

Remember to go through the circuit with little or no break, and pause for 2-minutes before doing the circuit again.

Brisk weighted-walking to quickly build up stamina

Brisk Weighted-Walking

On days when you’re not doing the above circuit of exercises, go for a brisk walk around the block. With a fully-loaded light-stand/tripod bag, sling it over your shoulder. Walk briskly for a minimum of 30 minutes. The heavy load on your back should help you gain stamina quickly. Note, however, that this is not recommended for jogging or running because the weight would be an additional strain to your knees and ankles and could result in injury.

Conclusion

So there you have it, an exercise circuit that will quickly get you ready for your trip. You should start noticing results after 2-4 weeks of doing this.

I’d love to hear your opinions on these exercises, and especially your experiences after going through them. Hit the comments!

Our first stop’s gonna be at the Hundred Islands; the last time I’ve been there was when I was still a kid. After that, we’ll be moving to Vigan and indulge in our old Spanish heritage. We’re then off to the beaches at Pagudpud, not to mention the wind farm in Bangui, then we’ll stay for a night in Laoag before heading back to Manila.

The last time me and my batchmates went on a long trip like this, we went up to Sagada for four days on a convoy of two cars. Jami brought his Pajero so it took the rocky, mountain terrain pretty well, but it sure gave my Opel Astra a beating.  This time, we’re foregoing the luxury of a car; we’re going to be backpacking through the terrain and traveling by public transport. On one hand, that’s a good thing for me because I won’t be driving. When we went to Sagada, Jami and I drove through the night for 12 hours! On the other hand, I have to carry all my gear on my back, so I have to pack really light.

It’s just sad my girlfriend’s not gonna be able to join us, even after I offered to pay her salary for her week-long absence. The Game Developer’s Conference is just around the corner, so they’re quite busy working on the game which they’ll be showing there.

I’m gonna be posting my checklist for this trip within the week, as well as an exercise regimen for photographers who need to stay in tip top shape for trips like this. Stay tuned on this channel for more updates on our trip (for those of you with feed readers eg. Google Reader, Liferea, etc., here’s the feed URL)

Update: Here are the subsequent posts on this trip:

• Exercises for Traveling Photographers
• Hundred Islands
• Food Tripping In Vigan
• Pet Tiger and the Belltower
• One Fine Beach
• To Laoag and Back
• To Laoag and Back (Part 2)
  

Be sure to check them all out!:)