They’re not just gadgets, they’re my children. Metal of my flesh, grease of my blood. I really had to dig deep, no, make that DEEEP, into my wallet for these two babies. But, every time naysayers say, well, nay, I give my requisite justification which is: these gadgets will be way too expensive once the dollar goes up again, which it will, and by then I couldn’t afford to purchase these wonderful equipment, crucial to finding my center and inner peace. So, by spending more now, I actually save more money in the long run. Makes sense? It does to me.
So first, I have been lusting after this lens for the longest time. I have the Nikon kit lens 18-55mm, but I’ve always longed for longer lenses, so I finally convinced myself that this is not luxury, but indeed, necessity. Presenting: my new Nikon 18-200mm lenses! Now I can go paparazzo on my subjects! Love this telephoto lens. Plus, my mom asked me to pick her gift for me, so I picked the Nikon SB600 external flash!
Next, we go to my mega baby, the baby to end all babies! This one, I really sweat bullets for before I decided to take the leap. I really couldn’t spare the budget for this, given that I’m saving up for more “important” things, but again, it was the dollar argument that done me in. Plus, given that I now host a world-famous and award-winning blog of all blogs, my friends convinced me that paired with my newfound hobby of photography, I’d need, not just a new laptop, but a desktop with a huge screen. Of course, given the techno-idiot that I am, I succumbed ever so willingly, and without any hesitation. So presenting, my spankin’ brand new…iMac!!! Woot-woo!!!
I know I’m going to pay for this for the whole year, but seeing that baby on my desk, was pure sensual pleasure! It’s worth every mamera. And oh, did I mention I bought both on the same day? If I may quote my Grade 5 Araling Panlipunan teacher when she lost her cool and threw reams of work sheets in the air, “Sabog kung SABOG!!!”
Now, how to deal with buyer’s remorse…
(gasp!) pambihirang patis!
I have both the 18-200VR and SB-600. Both work great! Have fun with your new equipment. I keep the 18-200VR on my camera about 95% of the time. If you visit my blog, except for the zoo and wildlife photos, all photos were taken with the 18-200VR.
I’m jealous of your new iMac though! LOL Still running an older Powerbook G4. I’ve been going between getting a new MacBook Pro or Nikon D300 for my next purchase. Decisions, Decisions…
congrats on the new lens and the imac!
Thanks Ragitnaej and al_dente! Nice of you drop by stphoto! I checked out your blog as well and you’ve got great pictures! Loved the sunrise and the vegetable shots and of course, the wildlife!
chico,
do you have a pink room? os is it the lighting?
i wanna buy an imac..or maybe a macbook pro..
nakakainggit naman nung mac. ang galing! naiinspire tuloy akong magtrabaho pa para magkaroon di ng ganyan, abah mas maganda pa.hehehe.
chicoooo… pano mo na picturan ung camera mo kung asa tapt mo ung camera mo…
hahaha! =D joke! peace!
i lost it… i just…. lost it…. you made me lose it chico! that iMac of yours…..
it’s killing me softly…
it’s ripping me apart!!
and now my rips are turned to shreds!!!
ok, now i’m dead with envy… enjoy your babies!!!
a gift from you, to you!!
Yabang!
Hehe! Kakainggit naman Mang Chico! But you deserve those gifts! Hehe!
whooo…mga spoiled brat talaga nabibili kahit anong gusto…if i know you’ve just won in 2 digit lotto…pa cheeseburger ka naman!!!!
congrats on the iMac, see you in philmug.ph
i always say – ang pera kinita yan! when i was younger, oh i splurged on my hobbies – travelling, gourmet foods, foreign language learnings, painting, photography, books, technological gadgets, badminton, tools, etc! as long as you don’t burden others with it…living within our means ika nga. as long as you can afford it – go! i’m the type who want things within my reach. as i got older, my priorities change…i let go or outgrew some of them. no regrets – ok naman ang resale value eh! oh they paid off very well!
congratulations!
hi.. welcome to the apple world.. hehe.. member ka na ba ng philmug? (philmug.com and philmug.ph) u can get a lot of information about mac and photography dun..
i consider it as my bible when it comes to taking care of my own gadget babies.. 
my macbook’s name is “maki”.. what is the name of your new baby? hehehe…
btw, you may want to join this contest.. i saw this in a forum earlier..
Photo Contest on Climate Change
Invitation to photojournalists and photo enthusiasts !
The Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, together with the Philippine Center for Photojournalism, Inc., invites all photojournalists and photo enthusiasts to submit entries for a photo contest on the theme of “Climate Change”.
Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines said that the photo contest is being launched in line with the European Union’s commitment to address the global challenge of climate change.
The European Union has long been in the lead in international efforts to cope with climate change and global warming. The EU has already committed itself to reducing its overall emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, and is ready to scale up this reduction to as much as 30% under a new global climate change agreement.
Ambassador MacDonald said that this photo-contest in the Philippines will help draw public attention to the challenge of climate change, and to the need for global and local action to address this issue, and to protect the futures of generations to come.
An exhibition of the winning and outstanding photographs is foreseen to be held in universities and malls such as The Podium and SM . An online version of the exhibition will also be uploaded to the websites of the sponsoring organizations.
The following rules will apply to the contest:
1. Who may join: The competition is open to all Filipino (a citizenship verification system should be made or should be in the entry form) photojournalists and photography enthusiasts except for staff of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines.
2. Coverage/theme: Photographs, published or unpublished, taken in the Philippines from June 2007 to November 2008 covering the theme “Climate Change in the Philippines” are eligible as entries. The pictures shall illustrate either the effects, and/or the causes and/or the responses to this phenomenon:
(1) The effects of climate change: pictures of weather-related disasters, droughts, degraded soiled effects of communities in disaster-prompt areas (e.g. coastal communities) , etc.
(2) The causes of climate change: Pictures of deforestation, landscape change, heavy urbanization, transport pollution, fossil foils emissions sources (e.g. coal & petrol plants, etc).
(3) The response to climate change: Pictures illustrating renewable energy initiatives, energy efficiency, climate change adaptation measures (disaster preparedness, soil protection, etc)”.
3. A maximum of ten (10) stand alone single photos may be submitted by a participant. In addition, participants may submit up a maximum of five (5) photo stories comprising 5-12 images per photo story. All images in the photo stories will also be considered as single photo entries.
4. Entries should be taken with any camera using at least 135 mm film and/or digital camera with at least four (4) megapixel in size and set at the largest image capture mode.
5. Entries taken with a film camera must be digitized and all entries must be saved in a compact disk recordable (CDR) for submission.
Filename system should be as follows:
5.a. For single images: (Initials of photographer_ (Photo #-Total No. of Entries) – Example– JAD_Photo1-8; JAD_Photo2-8, etc.
5.b. For photo stories: (Initials of photographer) _(Photo Story #)_Photo#-Total number of photos in the photo story) – Example—JAD_PS1_ Photo1-12; JAD_PS1_Photo2- 12, etc.
6. Participants who will be included in the final selection process may be asked to submit their negatives and/or raw digital files.
7. Digitally-altered images will be disqualified. Traditional photo-enhancing must be limited to acceptable dodging, color level and contrast adjustments.
8. Contestants must enclose a paper containing the following details of his/her entries: entered in the contest.
Photo File Name
Photo Title/ Photo Essay Title
Date(s) and Place(s) Taken
Name of Participant
Complete Mailing Address
Contact Phone Numbers
Email Address
9. A duly signed certificate attesting that the photograph(s) is/are taken by the participant and that he holds the copyright to it must also be attached to the submitted entries. Such certification must enumerate the filenames and titles of the photographs. These must be sealed in an envelope submitted together with the entries. Only the photo title must appear outside the envelope.
10. The Board of Judges will be composed of respected photojournalists/ artists as well as officials from the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, Philippine Center for Photojournalism, Inc. and partners.
11. General criteria for judging the single photos will be: Relevance to the topic and theme – 50%; Technical excellence – 25%; and, Visual perception and creativity – 25%. In addition, the photo stories will be evaluated on their strength in terms of the flow and cohesiveness of the included single images arranged as a visual narrative.
12. All entries must be submitted on or before 12 noon on 6 November, or postmarked not later than 3 November 2008, to either of the following:
EC-PCP Climate Change Photojournalism Contest 2008
The Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines
30/F Tower II, RCBC Plaza
6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Phone: 8595100
EC-PCP Climate Change Photojournalism Contest 2008
The Philippine Center for Photojournalism
c/o European Press Photo Agency
Unit 2-D, Michel Apartment
Mabini Street, Malate 2030 Manila.
13. Copyright ownership of the photographs entered into the competition remains with the photographer. By entering this competition, the photographer agrees to share certain rights regarding their photograph entries with the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines for fair use in the latter’s publications and including usage for events/activities, for non-commercial purposes and without additional remuneration to the photographer for a period of two years starting on the deadline of submission of entries. The photographer will be adviced accordingly prior to the usage of the photograph/s.
14. Awarding of prizes will coincide with the opening of the exhibit of winning and outstanding entries in the early part of November 2008, at a date and place to be announced.
15. The following winners will be chosen. All winners will each receive a trophy plus in-kind prizes as follows:
First Prize (Singles); € 1,000
Second Prize (Singles): € 800
Third Prize (Singles): € 600
10 Honorable Mentions: Trophies or Certificates
Special Prize (Photo Story): € 800
Five Honorable Mentions (Photo Story) Trophies or Certificates
Special Prize for a Photo on EC response to Climate Change: € 800
In addition, all winners may receive special prizes from the European Commission and partners.
16. Prizes not claimed within 30 days after the awarding ceremony shall be forfeited.
17. For further information, please refer to posters and to the website of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines or to the website of The Philippine Center for Photojournalism, Inc.: http://philippinece nter4photojourna lism.org/
golly-gee!
ang bonggacious! congrats on your new babies! what’s a year, if every DAY maligaya ka naman? just helping you justify your purchases. tee-hee-hee…
Damn! I love that iMac!
i love you babies!!!
Sabi na nga ba, di makakatiis, bibili din ng 18-200.
Congrats on your brand new spanking iMac! Inggit ako.
Leo
Be careful with the wires and cables, Chico. Avoid overheating.
daya! akin nalang! hmmf!
nice bday treat! ^_^, tira! tira!
Hahah you have a pink wall! =)
oh well, YA-MAN ni Ka- MONSTER! hahah
nice buys chics! its worth the Ya-bang powers naman eh
Hi Chico!
So happy for you! I’ve been saving up for a Nikon D60, I can almost feel the excitement when I finally get to buy one. As for the iMac, well, a newbie photographer’s (like me) dream…
BTW, how do I get in touch with your station if my company would like to to some marketing activity through your program?
Fin
The fan beside the iMac made me laugh. LOL.
Welcome to the Mac world.
my dream lens!! we will be expecting more telephotos in the coming days!
*drool*(over the mac)
ang kyut ng mini tiny itsy bitsy fan mo.
I just got my macbook pro last week too! Sadly, I don’t have any upgrade for my d40 yet. lol. May I ask how much you got the 18-55mm for?
Mominthecity and hobbes, I do NOT have a PINK room — it’s BEIGE! Not that I’d have anything against a pink room, it’s just not pink, it’s BEIGE!
Fin, mag-D80 ka na! At least that’s what my friends say. They say from D40, might as well go for D80. Ayagirl and Raych, believe it or not, that itsy-bitsy fan is also Nikon, not the camera brand, the fan brand. And hi to my guru, Leo!!! I took my classes with him. See you in September for Photoworks 2 ok? 
Wushuuu Beyj Beyjzzhh ka jan. Pinahirap mo lang sabihin yung pink. =)
wow!!! kaiinggit!
(buti na lang mura ang lomo cam.. heehee… hanggang dun muna ako)
omg. i am sooo the same way with my techie tech gadgets. and my shoes. they’re my children!
Hey Chico! Yup see you in September, Photoworks2 expected to start September 20.
While I’m here, plugging na din if you don’t mind.
I’ve just started http://www.photoworksacademy.com. Still very raw and very much under construction.
The sked for the next Photoworks class is there though.
Watch out for future skeds there.
Also, Karlo & I are launching a new class: Low Light Photography. Abangan.
Leo
ang saya saya mo! hehe
hey, chico!
today is the 26th, ako yung girl who’s having lunch at almon marina-mega na bumati sa inyo ni dell
so nice to see you guys in person for the first time!
drools…
Great set-up bro!
We should really stop goin’ to JT. hehehe.(As if we can help ourselves…)
Lenlen also got her new oooh-wahhh the other day.
We’re all set!!!
@Leo,
See yah at Photoworks II!!!
Congrats on the new site!!!
:-p
Kakasabi ko palang…
Len & Leigh are goin to JT to get another oooh-wahhh this lunch break!!!
The tradition continuous…
Waaah!!! Adiiik!!!
:-p
nice set of gadgets chico!!! Been longing for a Nikon 18-200VR too, I have a Nikon 55-200VR though, paired with my 18-55 kit lens, pde na din ehehe. ma tyaga nman ako magpalit ng lens.
Your mac looks gorgeous! Konting wire management na lang sa likod to make it clean and clutter free para mas masarap mag work/blog/etc.
chico, pwedeng mag-solicit sayo? kailangan ko din ng ninong for christmas.
mamamasko ako sa inyo!!! 
“dear santa chico…” LOL
i wish they were my babies…
NO EFFING WAY!!!
can you be my daddy?
Hobbes, my room is NOT PINK.
Bjay, so that’s you! Hahaha, sayang we just waved at each other. Leo, I checked out the website, YABANG! It’s so nice na, kahit under construction palang! And that low light class really sounds interesting! Ano Greg, Photoworks 2 and Low Light? Let’s tell the girls! 
Joni it’s 30k. 
Game na ang photoworks II…at syempre game din sa Lowlight! Dapat ang name ng grupo natin is Whattanerd no? Hehe! See you guys tomorrow! Excited na sa landscape! Uhwow!
Congratulations on your new gadgets chico!
Wow dami mo na gear…ako wala pa. just me and my humble kitlens 
pahiram ng UWA lens!! 
BTW, having a flashgun is uber-fun! Try slow sync flash, you’d get interesting results!
you’ll never regret getting an iMac. it’s the coolest thing ever!
congrats on your spiffy toys
uy, next na bibilhin nyan time capsule na…to save his growing files of photos.
Oh may gulay! im falling inlove with ur new babies… hope to have my own D-SLR & iMac =)
see yah around =) pwede ba maging subject mo =P
regards to del
wow..!! cool! congratz, chico. take good care of your babies!! teehehe.
hi chico-i’m drooling on your photos; ive got myself a dslr, a nikon d40 (jr version of your cam).it drained me my one month allowance here in UK but it’s worth it.since i dont have more to spend,i settled for a “2nd grade” version of the 18-200mm lens (and im still waiting for it). im really impressed with the camera’s performance that i also want now to take photog 101 seriously. id like to know where did you take your class,im overly eager to learn to…
i will be back soon this month, and will have the time again to listen to your show…
ive missed you and delle, their radio programs suck bigtime!
my regards to Delle
MJ